covie

you need hills for this

suspect if you bring in forks, rubber and a good backup service you might get some calls. Though most shops dont even stock enough 29er rubber and thats frustrating enough as is.

Its not CRC its the post office, they no there is no tracking on royl mail orders and it mysteriously "dissapears" the minute it hits the post office.

lol when are people going to learn pay the couple of cents to have it courier'd royl mail and parcel force are both fine but once it gets to SAPO your crap begings.

Im just loving the fact that Dual suspension are kicking the HT's asses on this race, hope everyone that says the weight penalty is a negative thing eats their shorts right about now.

For the record, 29'ers cant corner ... total myth, those that are poorly designed and "dead footed" as i call them yeah they suck, bikes like RM, SANTA, Pyaga, Kona, ellsworth, etc are superb in the tight stuff. The reason why the UK havent moved over to 29'ers are becuase 90% of their riding is done in AM/Trail bike conditions, most people in the UK look at a 100mm travel bike as their version of a commuter bike. There was a big gap in the market for long travel 29'ers manufacturers were keeping them at 100mm for XC purposes, and as they now get the geometry right, they are starting to bring out longer travel 29'ers and those are doing well in the UK. 120mm and up. The next bike on my shopping list is defintily http://www.bikes.com/main+en+01_102+ALTITUDE_970_29_.html?BIKE=988&CATID=1&SCATID=22&Y=2012

Its all a matter of perception, i initially bought my 29'er purly becuase i wanted to use it for stage races and marathons. Thought i would keep the 26 for the tight technical stuff. The 29'er is so much nicer especially in the tight technical stuff, my 26" is standing gathering dust, ive never once thought since ive bought the new steed hrmm im doing a technical trail i better rack up the 26". But like i said, its about your comfort and perception, and yes a large number of 29'ers are useless, ive test ridden a crapload before i eventually bought. And its not just about the wheelsize somehow i just feel more balanced and more stable with the ENTIRE geometry of the bike. And that translates into more confidence. Well for me at least. I will never say 29 is better than 26" but it sure as hell is working for me ... and i use to be a hater.

I couldnt care if they bring out a 28.323 wheelsize, if it works it works. some tracks will still suit a 26" some will suit 27.5 and some will suit 29, but thats all minors as there is no track/race that you wont be able to do on any of the wheelsizes. Its going to be down to personal prefrence, not one of those dimensions will make you a better rider. However what makes sense is that balance point wise taller people feel more comofrtable on 29'ers and short people feel comfortable on 26" rigs. So it would make sense to have Small frames 26" Medium frames at 27.5" Large and XL 29"

I see your ipad and i raise you a commodore 64,,,,

Well over the last three years prices have actually come down on complete builds, parts are still expensive if you upgrade. In 2010 you could buy a giant anthem alu frame for R10500 now you can buy the carbon 2011 frame for 8k. that same carbon frame if you wanted it in 2010 would have costed you 17k. Basically we buy cause we want the latest and gratest, the market knows this and sells everything at over inflated prices for current models, and next year when the new stuff comes out they sell the previous years model, at proper market values, that way they make a crap load on the new kit, while getting rid of the old kit and still showing a hefty profit sheet.

Theres a thread somewhere on the hub "32GI that stuff rocks" or something similar from last year where it was discussed indepth, I cant remember all the technical details, but a lot of people complained they bonked suddenly on the stuff, or that it did absolutly nothing for some people. While others swore by the product. The short and sweet was that the people who bonked took coke at waterpoints and just hit the wall, while the others had sugar intake before the rides and using 32gi. The importer/producer of 32gi gave a huge breakdown of how the low GI stuff works and to get optimal results only low GI foods should be taken during a race as well as prior.

No we just know how to have fun, a lighter bike does climb better, and its easier to throw around than a heavier machine, But i have my new baby, and she's a bit overweight, even with the additional weight till she goes on her diet plan its the most awesome machine ever built. Bottom line its nice to have a light bike but not the alpha and the omega for someone who goes out to enjoy mountainbiking, if your a A group contender, and mountainbike to race then sure get your 9kg carbon hardtail. For the rest of us, as you upgrade your spec your bike will loose weight anyway.

You got ripped Giant has a disclaimer on their site where they refuse to specify their bike weights.

Ok Im invoking official thread anti-hijack rights here

To the OP what my learned collegues are trying to convey is this. Energy drinks are weird what works for some doesnt work for others, youll have to try them and see which one works best for you personally. I personally prefer Hammer, because its a mix of complex natural carbs, and its not very sweet. The longer you ride the sweeter your drink gets for some reason. 32gi works great for some doesnt work at all for others basically becuase to use 32gi if you cant take in any other kind of sugar i.e. sugar in your coffee before you ride, no sugar in your serial, and no glass of coke at the water point. If you do it renders the stuff useless. Now that i have bought a new bike and is a poor again, im using evox, but only for a pre ride drink, while i ride i only use water, but long distance races ill still use hammer perpetium (unflavoured) doesnt taste like much but works like a charm.

got nothing to do with the 120 being skittish, its any bike thats not properly setup will end up being skittish, you need to get your tyre and shock pressures right, as well as your rebound settings, otherwise your bike will feel seriously unstable at times.

Can confirm Rocky got it spot one, maaaaan its the best bike ive ever ridden.

Bulls 2 also just hit a flat they cant fix, any idea what tyres they are running and suggestions as to what they should be running?

My knickers aint in a knot, what im saying is they could go out on 2 ton kenda nevegals, and it can still happen, karoo rock is a bitch they slice through anything. Sometimes you just have bad luck and sometimes crap happens, its the nature of the beast.

Ok so what tyre should he have chosen this last year ive cut 2 Geax sugaro's 1 AKA ripped knobs of a MNT king 2 Tread cut on a Rocket Ron sidewall cut on X-king I throw my tyres away the minute they get damaged but as you can see there is no tyre that will not cut, it could be as simple as a peace of glass, or sharp wire, or simply a sharp rock that cut the tyre, no peace of rubber is going to withstand that.

oh lol, I know what they are but dont do them religiously, every now and again when i get bored on a flat peace of Tarmac (and it doesnt happen often that i go on tarmac) ill do intervals to alleviate the boredeom and cramps in my ass, and to expulge the fumes ive been sucking. My idea of mixing up my training is doing a different MTB route everyday each route gives its own little uniqueness.

Are you taking the piss out us again?

The communication should happen before you slam it all over the interwebs, That said at least you got a conclusion out of this whole afair.

What our hub experts should do however is form a panel, so that the hub can give Evans and George a sheet for next years epic including What diet to follow What training plan to do What bikes to ride with specified kit. (including wheels) What massage therapist to use What coaches to use, What clothing to wear And what strategy to use during the race, They surely cant fail then now can they? HUB EXPERTS TO INFINITY AND BYEOND!!!!!!

Because he can and is usually right, you dont get to where he is by being wrong very often.