MTBRIDER1234

Sorry, I meant that mine was welded by Pat himself... it was a very early slakline frame, hence the red headtube badge. I am aware that now not all of them are made by Pat himself haha

Haha yeah I knew that, but each PYGA frame is handbuilt by Pat himself, so the welds on each one vary slightly. Each frame is slightly individual and you just don't get that with mass produced alu and carbon. By hand built, I meant done by a human and not robots - both the aluminium bike and steel bike I have are fully handmade and tell their own 'story' which I think is rad. Because try as you might, you can never exactly replicate the welds on the alu bike, or the brazing on the steel one. I love that about them.

Nino is very impressive, but no way he could win enduro or DH. Those racers have next level skill and massive balls to match. Granted, Nino is crazy fast and is one of the best, but for me, Minaar takes the crown. He is 40 and still remains stupid fast and highly competitive.

As someone who works as a mechanic in a bikeshop, I can tell you that generosity will be the single biggest thing to get customers to come back. Whether it is something as simple as changing a tube/tire with no labour charge, giving them a free nut or bolt; or something like giving a 5% discount to regular customers, it will help you a lot. If you also plan to service bikes, then some good mechanics will be crucial. They must know how to work on bikes, but must also be very good at talking to customers and explaining things in a way that is easy to understand. Also consult your customer if any additional problems arise, as opposed to slapping them with a big bill they didn't expect. Also keep as wide a selection of parts as you can. If people buy parts from your shop, you get to fit it and charge labour. I all too often see shops not carrying essential stuff like bars, pedals, rims, hubs etc. and it will turn people away if they are wanting to build a bike. Establish what kind of store you want to be (high end, affordable, servicing only etc.), if you wish to sell bikes, then carry stock that matches it. For example, don't carry chinese tires and cheap carbon bars in a santa cruz store. I love to drool over anodised parts like Hope, Spank, you name it; so definitely keep some high end parts which lure people in and make your store look good. Sorry for the long post, but I hope it helped somewhat

Well... this is an interesting read and suggests you may well be faster without a chain on the demo https://dirtmountainbike.com/longform/aaron-gwin-chainless-how-did-he-do-it

I am wanting more midstroke support from my rear shock and was wondering if anyone here has experience with the MegNeg and if the difference between that and the standard super deluxe can is noticeable. In case it helps, it's for a PYGA slakline and I am running 25% sag with 2 tokens in the rear shock. If it does make a noticeable difference; then it seems like a fairly good bang for buck upgrade. The supposed increase in small bump sensitivity is also a positive, as I love the plushness of a coil shock and the poppiness and progressiveness of air.

They are a niche for sure, not many people have the money to do it or the skills to be able to. You're right, it is set up exactly like a jump bike, just with gears and a dropper (sometimes). But most proper dirtjump okes remove the front brake because it isn't really needed and adds extra complication.

Yip. On a gravity focused bike AXS makes little sense. I crash enough for it to be a worry to break derailleurs and shifters, and if I ran a groupset and dropper that cost north of 20k then I would always have that in the back of my mind. For road and xc, like escape-ist said, it does make more sense but still offers negligible benefits IMO and IME.

They run front brake through the steerer tube and lengthen the rear brake. If you want to tailwhip a bike with cables, you have to make them really, really long and it looks really bad and you have more cables to get caught and damaged. Also not sure where you got the notion that they don't run brakes?? Also if you can afford axs, then I say why not? That little whirring noise of the motor is the most subtle flex that you are rich haha MTB ABS is only for E bikes, and I also wonder why you are riding trails if you can't control your braking to the point where you need ABS on a bicycle?

I run cable operated stuff on my MTB, but that is down to that fact that I prefer the feel and simplicity of them. Wireless cockpits look amazing and have advantages like the fact that if you crash, there are less cables to get pulled out, you never have to replace shifter or dropper cables and you don't have to fiddle with internal cable routing. That said, they don't offer great value and the gains are marginal. I do know a few guys who also like wireless because they can do barspins and tailwhips on their enduro bikes, so I guess in some situations they are needed.

Yep. Putting my PYGA on a hanging type rack is extremely awkward, due to the triangle shape by the seattube and the way that the toptube is very wide where it meets the headtube. It sticks out to the side and I have to remember to be conscious of that haha

I can fit 2 29er large mountain bikes on my thule 3 bike rack. It is a little bit tight, but they do not hit each other. It may take an extra few minutes to get them on nicely, but it is worth it when your bike remains unscratched. I have never personally used a holdfast rack, but I have heard that they do the job. Also for a bakkie, a tailgate pad is a no brainer. Get a good one and it will last years and it is super easy to use; and much quicker to take on and off.

That is an insane dream build for sure, but I was referring more to his other builds like the 13 kilo dh bike, the 7 kilo spark and the 6 kilo scale. What you have is a beauty for sure and that is exactly what I would want if I was building an xc bike. Great job Wayne!

I do understand that riding with gloves is personal preference, but I do think that not enough people wear them. They save a lot of skin when you fall, they soak up moisture and provide enhanced grip. What's not to like? Also people can't say that gloves are too bulky because they make some that are thinner than paper One thing that is a downside of wearìng gloves is that my arms are tanned and my hands are a much lighter shade... which I get strange looks and questions about

Yeah I do like Santa Cruz but I think by now I have probably made it clear that I am a PYGA fanboy 😛 All jokes aside, I think the VPP looks very interesting and I am curious how it compares to a horst link or similar. I am also inquisitive about the yeti switch infinity; because that looks even more interesting than VPP. It is always funny when people think the switch infinity is extra suspension or something and they are super confused by it haha

They forgot to add yeti and santa cruz - if someone has one of them, then somehow they will always slip that info into your conversation... you could be talking about literally anything and they always find some way haha

Well... I am actually selling my beloved Mercer hungry monkey - sad to see that bike go but I need the money and having 2 bikes just isn't working for me unfortunately. But when I have the ronds, I wanna get a 170mm hardtail frame built up with Dave

I ALWAYS wear a helmet even when test riding my bike on a flat road etc. It is so stupid that some guys wear a helmet when they are going downhill - my helmet has saved my life many times when I was going fast and overcooked a drop or a jump. But I guess if they want to win a darwin award and do us a favour by removing themselves from the gene pool, then so be it haha

I made that decision with my bike build, I chose ally over carbon because on a 16 kilo bike I don't care about weight - and I find aluminium to be stronger. Also, when it is handmade, it looks far better than mass-produced carbon (excluding my carbon rear seatstays lol). I have owned aluminium, steel and carbon hardtails and if you asked me to tell the difference between ride quality and stiffness of the alu xc hardtail vs the carbon xc hardtail, I would notice little to no change. Tire pressure and tire volume has a far more drastic effect than frame material. I am a gravity focused rider, so while I acknowledge the benefits of carbon bars, wheels etc. they offer little benefit when they are built to be tough enough for DH. There is a negligible weight difference between them and their aluminium counterparts - but they are far, far more expensive. Also carbon bikes ain't faster because the quickest 2 riders at the Witfontein enduro were on aluminium PYGA slaklines...

Yep, I have bought many bikes and parts and have never needed the owner to show me a receipt. Common sense should tell you if a deal is too good to be true or looks shady, not a receipt.

I often say that MTB is the new golf, people spend stupid money on the same gear the professionals have and often have really no idea how to use it. Everything is extremely expensive and the markups are huge. If you have ever worked on a shifter, then you can't say with a straight face that paying 4K for a SRAM XX1 12 speed shifter is not ridiculous. Same goes for a brake system, if you have ever rebuilt brakes, then you will see why paying 5 grand for a code RSC lever and caliper is just stupid. (not as bad as an XX1 shifter though...) A lot of people think that having XX1 or grip2 will make them a better rider or increase their enjoyment. Sorry to break it to you but it doesn't. Also don't even get me started on fox's Kashima coat...

If you replace a chain before it hits 0.5, then your cassette will last 1000's of km. A lot of people also neglect to wax their chain and clean it, which doesn't exactly help...

I have actually chatted to Gustav and he seems like a really cool guy with a very bold style. When you see a guy wearing those shorts, it should come as no surprise that he builds bold bikes. I think what he does is awesome and the attention to detail that goes into them is absolutely next level; I challenge anyone to show me a custom bike build like one of his. I wouldn't ride this bike, but I certainly would ride all of the others. To each their own, and that's what makes the sport so rad!

The amount of people I see who have a chain past 0.75% and just want to replace it and leave the rest of the drivetrain is shocking. You will never get shifting perfect and it will slip under power. IMO it is just better to leave it and ride it till it completely dies once the chain is past 0.75

I also find smoove doesn't last as long as squirt