T-Bob

Like a penny farthing!

All new for 2019... New, newness from your marketing department and being spotted on YT's Decoy already.

Truthfully you shouldn't need one for a couple of weeks. It works really well if you do a couple of loops that take in most of the typical terrain you ride. Check, calibrate, retest and pretty much you're sorted.

Completely redesigned but looks exactly the same... but better'r. Just what everyone wants! Very sexy looking sled (apart from the very average-afterthought-bottle-placing).

Not that hard. Spend some time at a few gyms and you'll get contacts for supplies, doctors who are 'helpful' and more than enough websites to deliver a smorgasbord to where ever you want to point it.

I had a Ardent race on the back for a while and found it a fun, fast rolling summer tyre for alot of the tygerberg trails but then I got into the Semi slicks with a Spez Slaughter and now a E13 and find them to be great for most things (apart from the moon dust of Helderberg where it drifted more than the Fast n the Furious!)

and water tanks are cheap as chips..

Just bought the Race Strap at a great price. Quick delivery and good looking bit of kit. Bought on a whim and as a bit of research for a project but reckon I'll start using it.

That Banshee is a stupid bargain and some great picks from Eddy. Add in an eagle NX groupset from CRC and get some wheels (there were some Sun Ringle Durox going cheap, cheap... and there have been some Hope / Hope on Flows about... or ping me and I might know of someone) and you're done, set and ready to go. Also that Meta is my old bike and I can vouch that is a hell of a build for the coin... Curas, MRP Stage fork, GX 11sp, Nice wide rims, Bike of the year a couple of years back and top 3 for 2 following years. Nothing to do at all just shred and enjoy.

Thanks, it is pretty nice for sure. When I moved to the coil I found it took a lot longer to get that sweet spot than my Pike but when it got there... woah that thing tracks and moves silky smooth. Really like the fact the ramp control is there just to balance everything at the end of the travel out as I'm running the soft spring. I deffo think my air fork was way more poppy. Maybe I still need play with spring / settings but it's not a bad thing, just different. The frame is less of a goofy hooligan than my evil so it matches up well. Funnily enough I was thinking coil out back but funds are low now and renovations are on the horizon. I got the DPx2 instead of the X2 (which was an optional upgrade) because the Ibis team had been running it with good feedback, it was tuned for the frame and was supposed to be more playful than the enduro / race focused X2. Having had an X2 on my Orange it drove me crazy with the pure range of adjustments on offer and constantly thinking that something might be set wrong but in this case, with this suspension platform, being able to tune couple of little things differently would have been just that bit more awesome.

Sounds like like the right bike for your uses. I still think that a shorter travel 29'r with some DH / AM DNA is the best option for trails around here. To date my Smuggler with a CC coil is the bike that could have been designed for SA. No idea how tat bike did what it did and rode how it rode (for me) with 115mm of travel at the back.

Sweet. Sounds good. That said I might just nick the Cura's back, not 100% on the Hopes yet.

One thing I can say is that the steeper seat angle is actually a 'thing'. Had a couple of rides on my new Ibis Ripmo and hell that thing fires up hills. One review said it was 'like riding a an ebike' up hills and while that might be a bit far fetched I can honestly say it climbs like no other bike I've owned and it's 160 / 145 travel 29'r. It surges forward so well just on normal peddling that I might actually come too like the 'ups' on a ride once I drop a few kegs. The Seat angle does make you feel a bit pitched forward on the bike but a couple of rides in you start to forget that. One point that the reviews repeat is that it's a really playful bike. I've just come off a Evil Following and believe me the Ripmo isn't that playful (prolly an unfair comparison tbh). Maybe measured up to some other enduro sleds it is or maybe it's because I'm running a coil front fork but nah... It's not dead by any means and deffo appreciates some moving around by the rider to get the flow going. The flip side is that it seems unfazed by most things in front of it to the point of 'oh yay, another DH line... nice view'. It's very ridable and fun at most speeds on standard trails but get it going fast and it all of a sudden just electrifies and steps up into a new realm leaving you to realise where this is designed to be and how far you are off getting it there on a regular basis.

Astana must be doing something special again, shame most of those that leave Vino's team have struggles getting back up to those levels.

Why did you mark them sold, would be weird to pull them then mark them sold. Unless you needed to remind yourself. Don't tell me you marked them sold and left them up... oh the horror.

I have always marked my ads as ' on hold' when they are and 'sold' for 24 - 48hrs max for couple of reason. 1) so people who have been interested and may not have contacted me know it's status. I also try to contact everyone who enquires about something I'm selling but I'm not 100% perfect and 'sold' lets them know swell. 2) because it gives a relevant guide to prices and market value. I've used 'sold' ads before to give me an idea on price, speed something sold at and the current value. 3) so people who bought can rate if they want. TBH I get the same feeling when people start freaking out about cluttering up the adverts or the time it takes to having to scroll through them or site sponsors posting a few adverts in a row. Really, less than a second to scroll past? What did that stop? Curing cancer? Finding world peace? On a serious note, most people scroll through more adverts that aren't relevant / they aren't interested in than the very few 'sold' ones.

Personal fav's are: - a nice big 'BARGAIN' to start the title... and then it's not - One day only special: "I'm going to drop this for 1 day / 1 week only and if it doesn't sell I'm putting it back up to the original price" Which it blatantly hasn't sold at for weeks and weeks - Groupsets which are a rear mech, shifter and cassette. It's not a groupset it's not even a drive train as you'd need a crank. I'm not too bothered with the 'like new' or 'nearly new' as it gives an indication (if the owner is honest) of wear etc. It's the VGC and then you check the photos and it's been dragged through a bush, throw down a hill and ridden without any grease for 10,000kms.

Of course pro's need racing to prep'. They are on training trajectories and have set goals that their season are based around. Even Sagan can't be on it from start to finish of a season. I'm guessing the Tour is the biggest goal for both LM and Cavendish and if they get the wins there, give the team the limelight they need and glory the sponsors desire then a DNF in Paris Nice will soon play into the background. Some of the best training for racing is... racing. Read some of the Chad Haga blog posts from a few years back when he started his season late despite training well in the off season. The kicking he got from those races because he wasn't race ready was hilarious. Of course they will try but if it could damage the longer term goals and the management of their year it's not going to happen. Don't also discount the fact that organisers and sponsors want the famous riders at their races and teams need exposure to give back to sponsors investment regardless of their condition, performance expectations and more. Remember when Quickstep brought Cavendish out for the Argus and him and Renshaw got sick impacting his training for MSR. There were some 'diplomatic' quotes around the need for Lefevere to ship him to SA to satisfy the owner of Klein Constantia.

Nice breakdown of Quickkstep and Strade. http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/deceuninck-quickstep-use-strength-in-depth-to-dominate-strade-bianche-analysis/

Killer day again for Sky. Distancing more in 2 days of bruce-bonus winds for Bernal and Kwaito.

"A ride like that from Egan is just pure class," said Rowe. "I was trying to explain to him this morning about how to get back into an echelon and how to ride and then he just goes and smashes it. You've either got it or you haven't and he's certainly got it. Class."

OMG that sets off every OCD sensor in my body. They've even airbrushed off the valves so I can't see if they line up either. Sure as hell the logos on the tyres aren't matching the wheel decals and then the under carriage. Preggo pooch realm for sure!

TBH you might sell them if they were more expensive. Strange call but if something is too cheap then people get spooked. There is always this sense of paranoia around scammers on the hub and mix that with Oakleys (which have the be one of the most copied manufacturers about) and you'll get people asking. I wouldn't get offended about that, answer them honestly, let them know and they should sell. Lowballers are part of the deal unfortunately you get the most brazen and incredible stories wanting 50% off. I simply say 'the price is good so that's what it is. If I'd wanted to give 50% off I'd have increased the price by that'. Personally I've never had any issues selling kit quickly. I look after my stuff, sell at a good price and am upfront about issues.

Stoked I just bought a Ribbon Coil.

Hey, that is my old bike! Loved that build, the El Guapo bars n stem are pretty fun and the MRP and Curas work so well. That fork has made me buy an MRP for my 29'r and ditch my pike. The Slaughter is a legendary bit of rubber for the back but up front I'd be slipping a Spez Eliminator 2.6 on for sure. Not sure if the rear mud guard is still on there but get one of these plastic mud guards and attach it to the chainstays by the pivot, there is a open hole in the linkage that fills up with dirt if you're not careful. Google it and you'll see the way people have got it covered. Other people have cut a bit of high density rubber / foam and sued it as a plug. Check here: https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/116861-boast-about-your-latest-purchases-here/page-582 Enjoy the KMs on the Commie it'll keep you smiling the whole way down (and climbs pretty good as well).