Spafsack

Awesome B, understood, keep it up guy!

Hey Boxer, getting rid of 8kg is flippen amazing, well done man!!! Just a quick one...You say you have an XL, what is your weight, height...looking at your pics, seems XL might be to big for you, but might be the angle as well. Or maybe try lower bars in front, take spacers out, so you attack those trails like a concorde That Suntour Raidon fork is very very underated, Giants came out with those, they dam good. Wish i could lose half the amount of weight you have, guess we must just keep on training.

Very cool news. Wiggle, via skynet, just delivered my parcel Exactly 10 days as they said, i am amazed at the service. Customs rushed me 30% duties on the shoes, but i expected that. So grand total for shoes and pedals worked out to a landed cost, at my door, of R3 450. I paid over R3 000 for my Five Tens years ago, so i think i got a good deal It is a pitty i could not get hold of ride concepts as a demo to test, compare, and probably buy a pair, but stock was low, they were and are selling like hot cakes. Then again, i know what i have with Five Tens, and can expect the same reliability for the next 4 years i would say and they had the exact same size in stock which i have now, so i know, if i order it will fit the same. The DMR V12's mags are crazy light. Un real workmnship, i really cant wait to fit later today and test. Looking forward to finally testing new shoes with new pedals. The standard V12's i have borrowed from a mate work like a charm, they just getting better every ride, numb feet gone. The DMR must be one of the best value for money out there.

My perception is the foot numbness, pins and needles, is a combination of what shoe you have and pedals. Since changing to V12's, i have way less of any of these symptoms as the peddle is now in the middle of my shoe. The numbness is caused by the spikes pushing on nerves. My current five tens are old, but when i move my foot around, you can feel the 'tender' points. Soft soles just dont work. My five tens lasted long, they not down and out, but i recon a 30km ride will show up the numbness again. My new five tens and pedals arrive this Friday, nice new stiff sole for a change, start with good position and habbits, and if they last 3 to 4 years, then i recon it is good value for money.

It was a big sale, day after i went onto wiggle and shoes were 40% more. I paid R2 700 looking at the conversion rate. Its now in customs, so i am in for 30% duties on the shoes, so i recon i will be all in, landed cost, to my door, in for 3k. Its still a good deal as you just dont find five tens anymore. Should arrive this week Thursday, so says tracking details....

Spiderman, looking at your two links, the merida is lighter, allot actually, more of a racer, the silverback, as you can see, has a slacker head angle, more fun in trails, downhills, more relaxed ride i would say. Both are really cool, it all depends on what kind of riding you will be doing. That x fusion dropper on the slade is tit, very good. Its a tough choice. Hope this helps.

I love technical, always have. Slow, steady, two fingers on breaks at all times, down steep drops, rocks, that kind of stuff. At my age i should not be doing this lol but i do it none the less and keep up with mates who are younger, and are on proper trail bikes. Best thing i did was buy a dropper. Most important thing is moving your weight around. On steep downs my ass is hanging over the back wheel, it is truly amazing what a hard tail can do. Mine is a silverback superspeed 2, not the usual choice for this type of riding, but you cant believe how it can perform. I have never needed more than 100mm travel either. The fun part is when you done with the technical and need to climb back up, or go home, long gravel roads, then you dam glad you have a lightweight hardtail. Just to add, the dropper has been the single best add on i have ever done. Not only can you move around better, on high speed downhills, anything can happen, and you dont want your seat in the way.

Update 8 august. Borrowed a mates dmr v12 pedals for ****s and giggles. I can see why they are rated so highly. The difference between these and my current giants are: Dmr sits further away from crank, this means allot, and its probably been my issue from day one. My foot / shoe is now is in the middle of the peddle.This makes a huge difference. On the giants, i had to shift my foot against the crank to try get this right but my foot still felt as though it is not centered on the pedal. The dmr concave is a tad less than the giant but very very comfy. After three rides i am 100% used to it. The bearings are smooth, the spikes, grub screws are less sharp so you have more movement when adjusting foot position, without loosing grip. The numb feet.......well........only after 17 on kays did i get a sense of numbness, on the giants it started at 10 kays already. I can only assume that having my feet centered and less spiky pins are making that possible. I am so happy with these loaners i decided to pull the trigger, order online, wiggle uk, got myself a pair of magnesium dmr v12's on the way to me. Added in a brand new pair of five tens in uk 11, last pair i could fine, and to be honest, they served me well for 4 years. It is unfortunate i could not test drive a pair of ride concepts, but stocks flew like no tomorrow, and i wanted a specific pair. The price inc landed costs for my five tens & mag v12 pedals is 2.4k. I dont think this is bad for what i am getting. Will gooi pics and update when they arrive in 10 days time.

Almost forgot, as you state, you are starting out, get a paid of flat pedals, good quality, replace the standard issue. Learn to ride like that, if you later want to change to clips then at least you have learnt a few important basics.

I bought my wife the AL5, round about a year ago max. She is 1.65, small frame. She loves her bike. Only upgrades i did was carbon straight bar, second hand, different saddle and seat post. The fork is fine for her as she is light. Upgrading parts will cost allot. Enjoy!

Hi guys, thanx, yip, vat is charged in UK, and then in SA, eish, will think about this...thanx.

Hi guys, looking at buying a set of pedals from merlin cycles uk, will use my global shopper aramex account. Would i pay import duties or just vat? As i recall bike parts are duty free?

Hi DT, thanx, i did check that link out, the dmr are rates tops. It is first on my wish list. Regarding my feet angle, you are right. For the last month i have purposefully kept my feet straight, as they would be with clipped in. On downhills i do shift them back, heels lower as well. The issue is i cant just lay out almost 5k for new shoes and pedals. I need to know what i buy is perfect and will last. PAre the v12's smaller than the vaults, any more info you can send, platform size comparisons and so on. First prize is ride concepts and larger dmr pedals. I am sure both together will eliminate all these frustrating issues i have been dealing with. Thanx again for all the help.

Hi Chris, thanx for the info. Those Pinners look nice, are they also concave like my current Giants. Just on a side note, i googled the Pinners and this came up, not sure what version you have or are available in SA. https://www.bicyclenetwork.com.au/newsroom/2020/01/13/giant-flatties-fail/ They are however dam nice looking pedals, and the extra width i am sure will cure allot of my current issues.

Morning gents. I was hoping to be the lucky one and get to test a few types of pedals and shoes but it does not seem it is going to happen. I have bought various flat pedals in my life time but i really need to make the right choice now as money is tight, with all of us. Okay, so, after 3 days of consecutive testing, 20km rides, 1 hour, i took pics of my pedals, shoes, measured them. My Giant pedals have served me well, but i have a feeling the issues i am having with numb feet, edge curl, has to be platform size. Secondly, i need a new pair of shoes with stiff soles. But lets get back to the pedal size, in my pics, you can see my size uk11 five ten is wider than the pedal. In my mind, this does not make for perfect power delivery, handling, grip. I measure the Giant at 100mm, even though online they state 105mm. If i measure my shoe, i need 110mm, edge to edge. I think than when shoes are new, mega stif soles, you dont pick up the size difference, but when they get old like mine, the difference between platform and shoe size becomes evident. I would like to test the Dmr vaults or v12 pedals, strugling to see exactly which one is wider as i would need 110mm or a bit more. My requirements are: Must be concave, 110mm wide minimal. I also noticed on the Giants, they mount flush to my crank. This is actually not ideal in my view. I think the other makes have a small gap, which makes sense, as when i put down the power it feels as if my feet are pressing inwards not straight down. As soon as i can get a new set of pedals to test i will give further updates. I think my continuing issues i have had with my feet are a combination of pedals and old shoes. Hope this info kind of helps others who may have similar problems.

Hi Sky, yip, those are / were the ones. There is actually such a big market for flat shoes, proper ones.

Last time i walked around the mall, i saw Terrex at cape union, teckie town, mr teckie.

Cool Stew, well bike addict lost a deal then. In these times people need to get back to people Fast! Congrats, make sure they do a proper bike set up from the start. Enjoy my man!

Hey Stew, congrats. A few questions though if i may. Why did you end up with the expert compared to the slade which is a one by? I am not sure what the exact differences are between the expert and slade... https://bike-addict.co.za/collections/silverback/products/silverback-slade-comp-2020 As mnetioned, hope they threw in a few freebies, enjoy!

I think i know why those Terrex's work. Those soles are dam stiff, and tough as nails. Would still love to do a decent test between a few makes and review.

White men cant jump...

Hi Stew, i am a bit of a Silverback fan. You tend to get more bang for your buck. I know you said your budget was 10k, but if you can up it a tad, you get a much better bike. 1 times gearing in front, this is nice to start off with. Lighter frames. Maybe you can find one of these second hand or demo. Also, these silverbacks below will be in my opinion comfortable as they are slightly trail focused so your riding position will be less jet fighter aimed. Maybe try and find 2019 models of the below. Rather get newer gear technology from the start i would say. https://bike-addict.co.za/collections/silverback/products/silverback-stride-sx-29-2020 https://bike-addict.co.za/collections/silverback/products/silverback-slade-comp-2020 https://bike-addict.co.za/collections/silverback/products/silverback-29-stride-expert-2020

Hi Marc, what an awesome gesture. I have requested a demo. Cant wait to give feedback.

Hi bA Will load tomorrow, still available 082 9277 168

Myth, this is intersting. How would you rate the rc's versus five tens, do they flex allot, or stiffer sole. I am starting to think everything has to do with sole stifness..... I have decided to put back my old giant pedals, test those, i dont think my feet like the crank brothers, will be adding them to market place shortly. Looking at around R900 bucks, few months old, i will include free shipping. It seems my feet are used to the Giants as when i used the c brothers it made no difference at all with regards to the numbness. Will shop around for uk11 flat shoes and see what i can find, i dont want to go back to clipless.