averageguy

I have been lucky enough to be testing the new Raleigh since November last year. My partner and I both rode the bike at the Epic this year and finished a respectable 61st. This is my fourth Epic and this was our best finish. I had the choice to ride a carbon hardtail like last year or this new prototype. For me the choice was easy. Please remember that there is a very big difference between pedal induced bob and the suspension simply moving because of the weight of the rider as he pedals. Yes, some platform damped shocks remove this rider induced movement, but this also comes at the expense of small bump sensitivity. And trust me, on the corrugations we experienced in the Epic, I will take the slight movement and have a fully active suspension. The new bike is very active and extremely supple over all bumps. And believe me, if David (or me) was experiencing any pedal induced bob, we would not have been riding these bikes. Pedal induced bob, sucks energy and at the end of a 147km stage you would know all about it. As for the shock being in an exposed position, this is true, but again, we experienced no problems. I have been riding my frame for about 6000km and the shock is still working perfectly. When I saw 80% of the other full suspension riders, with water bottles attached to seat posts or stuffed into back pockets it made the ride even sweeter for me! This is really the holy grail. No Hydration pack to worry about, 2 full bottles. Light, supple and fast with four inches of fully active travel. For those who actually ride mountain bikes and are not just arm chair experts, I am sure they will see the benefit.

I have one for you. Send me your address and I will send it to you.

Spidy and I had a great weekend together. In fact I love riding this bike so much that I rode to work on it this morning! It is by far one of the smoothest bikes over small bumps, and when things get ugly on the trail it really comes into its own. No, they are not cheap! But when you want a bike that stands out in performance and looks you will be happy to pay the bucks. Stock has arrived and we are busy appointing dealers now. There will only be a handful of real MTB stores selling these around the country.

I think that you will find that Raleigh in South Africa is at the cutting edge of bicycle technology. The other Raleigh regions have been trying to keep up with what has happened to Raleigh here in the last 7 years. The elite bikes for this country are all designed here and serve the purposes of the local customers.

Team BBB will be sharing all our training information leading up to the 2008 Cape Epic. You can check it out at: http://www.live2ride.co.za/teambbb/training.htm

http://www.mtbonline.co.za/averageguy/oakleyradar.htm

I for one, think that it would be great if Probike got the Specialized brand. Then at least we will see it reach it's true potential in South Africa. They at least have the Budget and the experience to see it through to its rightful place in this country.

I have just seen a sneak peak of the new Raleigh MTB's http://www.mtbonline.co.za/averageguy/blog.htm