mountain_lion

I had the unfortunate encounter on the southern side of Jonkershoek. Lesser used than the northern side, but gets enough bike traffic. Not a lush green patch as you sometimes get on unused trails, but just enough to cause a problem on a damp day combined with some pilot error. Had I rolled the rut (which would have been possible) and not jumped it as I did or had it been a dry day, I would not have had a problem. Guess it was not a perfect landing either. I would not label the spot as generally dangerous.

Johan, are you saying that the adapter is well worth it if you go for the new XT hub, or are you saying it is worth it to upgrade from the Formula cup & cone hub to the XT hub? If it was the rear hub, I would definitely have gone for an upgrade, but front I think the Formula will do fine.

As far as I could establish, the 2007 Giant Anthem 2 was supplied with Formula hubs, but I am not sure which model. I looked at the new XT hubs, but they have changed the brake rotor mounting from bolt on to lock ring, so I will need to replace the brake rotor as well to use them. Minty, I am sure Chris King hubs are very good, but as I said from the start, bling is not my thing and then there is the price... I have not had problems with the Formula hubs. Perhaps not sealed as well as others, but they are plain and simple to maintain. Just open up and clean. Repack with same or new ball bearings. I will use a DRC MT17 rim on my existing Formula hub.

Thanks JB According to http://www.drc.it/mounta.htm you get both the MT17 & MT18 in double and single eyelet, so I will make sure that I get the double eyelet. I was just wondering if there was any benefit in getting the heavier MT18, which I guess will be slightly "stronger". But if the MT17 is good enough, then that will do for me. mountain_lion2008-06-18 00:46:44

DannyBoi, either you are a roadie or have never cycled off-road around Stellenbosch (or anywhere where you have clay ground) in winter! On damp clay (often in the pine plantations) you get this green algae (??)... Which can only be aptly described as "snot glad"! Just roling over it is looking for trouble; landing on it from a jump is suicidal! Problem is that you often only see it when it is too late.

OK, I checked the hubs and doubt if it is Shimano. Drivetrain is Shimano LX, but the hubs must have been supplied to Giant in a no-name deal. I could not find any branding on it at all. They are black and were supplied standard with the 2007 Giant Anthem 2. Worked fine until now. Rim is/was Alex DP17 disc specific. So not sure if I need to "upgrade" the hub.

Have not had a problem with my No-tubes in 18 months either. Once sealed, they are sealed. Just a bit of hassle some times get it done with a floor pump, but I am not going to buy a compressor just for when I have to replace a worn tyre... Now if you can give your valued opinion on which DRC rim to get, you could actually add some value here!

Ja, Ja Mampara... ons vat dit maar van wie dit kom If everybody had to post when ever they had a puncture with Yes-tubes, TheHub would be a very boring read...

To spare you the green slime of death...

c'mon Johan - you know thats what we MTBers don't want to hear' date=' deep down we know that kit is fine, but we just have to have the latest cool parts on our bikes......[/quote'] You have to consider all the options when the opportunity presents itself to replace bike parts, but I am thinking along the same lines as JB. Main reason I am considering getting tubeless rims is that with my existing rims I always struggle to get the tire to seal around the value stem using the Stans kit (and yes, I did drill out the valve hole). Does this problem improve with true tubeless rims? Might be just the design of the specific Alex rims I have. JB: any specific DRC rim you would recommend for a 90kg XC mountain biker who does hammer the bike a bit on the down hills? Looks like DRC MT17 or MT18 will work, but they also do a DH18 which is disc specific and lighter...

So there I was just riding along, going down hill not too fast in Jonkershoek , jumped over a rut in the road and landed on a spot covered in the green slime of death... I tried my best and almost recovered it, but in the end it was a choice: Either I go into the embankment, or the bike goes into the embankment and I roll down the road. End result: I have one very small scratch from rolling down the road. Problem is, I only managed to launch my 90kg off the bike on impact. Front wheel did not like that and is a total write off. Had to walk back to the gate. Fork should be OK. I had non-tubeless Alex rims with Stans tubeless conversion on my Giant Anthem 2. Not 100% sure, but think the hubs are Shimano LX. Brakes are Juicy 3 disks (standard 2007 anthem spec). I am not a race snake, so don't need the very best or absolute lightest and bling is not my thing. Durability and affordability counts much more in my book. So the question is what do I replace with? 1. New standard rim built on original hub + Stans kit. 2. New tubeless rim on original hub 3. New tubeless front wheel 4. Complete new tubeless wheel set. What would you do? LBS have the follwong tubeless options in stock: Mavic 819 tubeless rim @ R1085 (excluding spokes and build) Cervino A class tubless wheel set @ R3415. Shimano XT tubeless wheel set @ R4300. Any comments on these? If going for the full new set, is the XT set that much better than the A class? mountain_lion2008-06-17 05:08:45

The Edge 305 / 705 have been discussed a few times recently. A search will find this and other threads relating to the Edge 305 & 705. mountain_lion2008-06-17 02:39:42

I have just taken my Crossmarks off. They are great in the dry, but do not work well in the Cape mud. Will use them again in summer. I got a set of Kenda Karma's for winter. Have not ridden them, so can't comment yet. However mrs mountain_lion has been using a set for a while and where my Crossmarks turned into mud slicks her Karma's had no problem in clearing the mud.

Plotting a waypoint on a 1:50k map is no problem. I do it often in the mountains. If you are on a known track or road it is even easier. But you are correct. Lets talk lights on this thread.

OK, so you have a solution. If this is the case, it sounds like a bad idea to have a GPS on your bar. You say GPS is switched off, but it can easily be switched on. Very useful to do a quick position check... (I suppose only a problem if you are a top contender for the podium). The Edge 305 is a bit peculiar in that it cannot output your current position directly. You need to take a waypoint to get your current position. Good luck and enjoy!

Clearly I am in the wrong job... If I had that kind of cash lying around B-L would have received my order long ago, plus I would still have plenty change in hand!

AfricaTopo is my hobby project and is compatible with all Garmin mapping type GPS units. Madmappers does the sales. Email them and they will advise how to order. Else if you want to collect from me in Stellenbosch, I can burn you a CD.

Exactly my sentiments. On top of this they force you to buy their expensive map products by bundling it with the GPS units. (Avinc also own Garmap). All my Garmin devices are self imported and I do not own any Garmap products. At the time there was a substantial saving even after paying VAT and shipping. Not sure if this is still the case. So far I have not had any problems with any of my devices. mountain_lion2008-06-08 07:36:53

Much depends on your intended use of the GPS. If only for training and recording your tracks, the 305 will do fine. If however you want to use it for navigation as well, get the 705. Much easier with the maps. If you do get the 705, have a look at AfricaTopo This hobby project of mine snowballed a bit... When I bought my first GPS (2003??) there were no topographic GPS maps available for SA. I needed contours maps for my mountaineering trips (also very useful on the MTB), so I started doing my own maps. At present AfricaTopo covers the whole of RSA.

As others have said, remember to factor in VAT and shipping when importing yourself. Also, the local agents (Avnic) only honor the international Garmin guarantee if the unit is imported by them. If you have a problem (unlikely) with your self imported unit, you will need to ship it back to the supplier at your own cost. Depending on your intended use of the unit, you might want to check which map sets are included when you compare the local price against self import options. Buying the Garmap maps separately can be costly. The Garmap products are not bad in the cities, but off the beaten track the quality varies a lot. I do not often use a GPS for city navigation and thus do not own any Garmap map products. I use the Tracks4africa maps (Jonkershoek is 99% covered). When I bought my first GPS (2003??) there were no topographic GPS maps available for SA. I needed contours maps for my mountaineering trips (also very useful on the MTB), so I started doing my own maps. At present AfricaTopo covers the whole of RSA.

Your longer run time should tell you that your LED is driven at a lower current and thus is not emitting as much light as the supplier is claiming.

If you want a real pro set-up done, taking into account your bio-mechanics, go to Dr Jeroen Swart at the Sport Science Institute in Cape Town. He is a medical Dr and cycles himself. (is/was racing for GT/Mr Price). He will do your MTB and road bike. Email him for an appointment jeroen.swart [ at ] uct.ac.za