JRN89

@RossTopher Sorry I didn’t see this response come in - glad I rechecked the thread. Yip these were all Cyclelab prices, very helpful with the comparisons, wasn’t aware of the Omega BB issues. I’ll snoop around and see if there are any elites then to test. That Scultura 5000 keeps catching my eye though, dammit!

Sorry to hijack the thread but my question is the same - similar price bracket, first road bike. Not familiar with road components / value. I see the Valerians are: Titan V Elite ~ R35k Titan V Comp ~ R35k Titan V Ltd ~ R30k And the Merida 5000 ~R42k Not sure of the bike weights (which seems most important to the roadies) but I’ve got some of my own to shed 😂 Anything else to consider perhaps for cruising the smoothest of Jhb streets?

Nothern Farms, Asidlale (Leeukop Prison), and Cradle Moon (red loop I hear has taken a beating after the rain) are all in pretty good condition. Last 20 odd Km of Modderfontein yellow loop was alright the other day, first 10km or so of yellow route was quite overgrown unfortunately.

@ACE Cycles Manny, is that MTB, road or both? Just moved to Lonehill, recently got a MTB and would be good to meet up / cycle with some people in the area.

Agreed, I also did Asidlale on Sunday and can agree with everything above - cycled from Lonehill, did the red loop and then back via Kyalami and Beaulieu, a nice +60km loop which the legs weren't quite prepared for. The blue route (10km) is not marked/available yet, so you've got the 5km green route and ~30km red loop (which you could easily add sections onto once you know the lay of the land better) to keep you busy. The first few km's are grassy with two muddy sections but nothing serious, once on the red route, it's very straight forward, few grassy and muddy sections but nothing too technical at all. That sewage spill at the pig farm is a disaster and it's no wonder the Jukskei river is in the condition that it is, I'd hate to know how long it has been running like that for, and getting that all over your water bottles seems like a sure way to loose weight quickly. I'm only a few weeks into this MTBing 'hobby' and the flow line caught me by surprise too, clipped the pedals on the rocks at the start and ate some dirt and chickened out on the drop beneath the tree. That said, for the guys who know what they're doing, this must be some serious fun. I look forward to trying it again, knowing what lies ahead now. Needs some traffic to kill the grass, and I'm intrigued to see what this will be like in summer though. Great to have something like this close to home, the work done so far is commendable. I see an additional flow line is also nearing completion, hopefully it gets the traffic is deserves.

@justin_rhys_nicolau Mainly travel, wildlife and birding but now that I finally have a MTB, no doubt some images from the trails!

Is it possible to delete messages/conversations I've had when looking at buying items off the hub? So not direct message conversations as I'd originally thought. I'm probably missing something obvious, but can only find an archive option. I want to do some spring cleaning.

@Schnavel thanks for the info, votes of confidence are always well received - which front light do you have? I’d probably just look at getting one at the same time as the rear.

@JulienR what ended up happening with the repair? Looking for a rear light for my MTB - was directed to look at a Bontrager Flare RT. What model do (did) you have?

I’ve got the same fork and due for new tyres - so would be keen to hear how you found the 2.35 upfront (and tyre choice?). Currently running 2.25 front and rear.

@Marcv sounds promising - route markers seem like things are headed the right direction. Will head out there and report back.

Is there still a MTB route on the Leeukop grounds? I’ve just moved to Lonehill and would be great to have something around the corner - hoping for good news.

Hey all, I’ve never ridden the venue before, so some quick questions: Have the trails been repaired? If not. Only 10 & 20km loops? Can you ride any day of the week? appreciate any guidance 👌🏽

@Steady Spin thanks for the insight - sounds like a nice little colour scheme you've got going there, what colour is the new paint job? @RobbyB thanks, that's what I'd heard too, great relief in exchange for a few pennies. @kerradoh thanks for the advice, super excited to finally get out there on the trails. I'm one of those 'professional' researcher types, very much to my own detriment. Spend 5 months researching grips, creating spreadsheets, only to finally make a choice and there's no stock anymore. Enter another 5 months of research. Pathetic really 😂 @MTBRIDER1234 @MajG @Eddy Gordo @gemmerbal @ichnusa thanks for the comments, links etc, noted. 🙌 @RossTopher that's exactly it, I know they're 'just grips' but at R500 a set, I don't want to only get it right on my 5th brand/model. Hence asking here so I can hopefully get something that works at leats within the first 3 tries 😆 @MORNE @Jewbacca all those options look great, thanks for sharing! Makes sense having solid ends, I suspect I'll be hitting the floor a few times while I figure this all out.

Reviving the dead! Just got a 2nd hand bike (my first bike) and looking for new grips as the current ones will be wearing out soon. Are these ESI Chunkies still the go to at +_ R400? My riding “plan” to start, is just to try do some long rides for fitness and to get outdoors - unlikely to be very technical. So no enduro/downhill style riding. So looking for something that will be comfortable after a couple hours on a hardtail. I’ve just bought gloves (unpadded), if any of this influences your feedback. I saw some Ergon grips online with bar ends etc, but also three times the price at R1000-R1500. Would I get 3x times the comfort and longevity? Not sure where to throw my money 💵😂

At least that grass looked soft, here it’s glass, gravel and kakiebos!

Doug. If you leg press 600kg, without squirting out your spleen - I'll show you at least one new bird for your southern african list ????

David, thanks for those links. Both are quite appealing to the eye, and seem to have the parts to back them! I didn't know cycling had become such a 'craze' in recent years, finding very limited stock across all the brands to be a common theme.

Yip, both great looking bikes - good to know their values seem to hold well, will keep that in mind thanks.

Rolf, this is exactly the sort of help I appreciate from the hub, thank you. You know a fair bit more than me, so this was a good starting point ???? Now to spend a few lunch breaks reading up on forks....exciting !

Hi Robert, thanks for getting in touch - I was looking for something in the second hand range, probably from 2018/19 onwards. I think this frame is closer to 2013?

David, thank you for the response - what you consider as decent, or not? The possible forks coming with those options would be: - Manitou Machete Comp - Manitou Markhor Comp - Rockshox Sid SL Select - Rockshox Judy Silver - Rockshox Judy Gold - Marzocchi Bomber Z2 - Fox Rhythm 32 Float 2 Are there any that really stand out as superior / inferior to anyone reading?

117, thank you for the response ???? Some valid points there, and I'd be more than happy to relook the budget in favour of some other gear, I'd set aside a separate budget for that but I'm always up for a haggle, especially when that card you speak of certainly does have a limit! Will post a request in the 'comments on classifieds thread' and see what comes of it. Any reason for your preferences towards Merida & Norco?

117, thank you for the response ???? Some valid points there, and I'd be more than happy to relook the budget in favour of some other gear, I'd set aside a separate budget for that but I'm always up for a haggle, especially when that card you speak of certainly does have a limit! Will post a request in the 'comments on classifieds thread' and see what comes of it. Any reason for your preferences towards Merida & Norco?

Afternoon guys & girls, I'm sure there have been countless similar threads, so in advance I appreciate any advice you're able to offer me here. The more criticism the better, as I'm somewhat lost with all the options available and trying my best to make an informed purchase. I guess to start off, a few 'fun' facts that might help guide some of your views, and probably a bunch of unnecessary waffling: I'm 32, 1.86m, 90kg, optimal weight probably 85kg, so always going to be a bit on the heavy end. Based in Fourways, Jhb. So a fair amount of my 'weekly training' would likely be Cradle/Northern Farms I assume. I travel often around the country for work and other hobbies, so I'd get to explore a few more scenic and technical trails too I'm sure. I'm looking for a bike to keep fit, enjoy the outdoors and social aspect, and ultimately challenge myself with a few longer 100km rides here and there. I'm not looking for some crazy downhill racing bike, but more along the lines of XC and open gravel road cycling, although some technical challenges would be good fun. Budget, at this stage I'm unsure, but I don't really want to be looking at potentially outriding my bike, so I'm happy to spend more on the initial purchase in the hope of ultimately keeping this one for a good number of years, but let's say circa 25k. So, this is where I'm lost, with all the potential options available. 1. I don't think the budget allows, but I was hoping to start off with a carbon frame, and then slowly work on the components to bring the weight of the bike down over the years. Perhaps the new alloy frames are light enough for this not to be an issue. 2. I understand look and feel is not important, but I quite liked the look of the Titan Drones, and colour scheme of the dash. So if they look good, and ride well, I may have reached a biased conclusion but I don't want to get caught up in that, only to find out there were better specced bikes at similar prices, or with better after market service etc, which I why I'm here asking for pointers. Bike Options that I'm aware of, could be missing a few: Titan Drone Dash, Elite, Comp, Pro Merida Big 9 XT Scott Scale 965 Norco Charger 1 Trek Roscoe Trek X-Caliber Silverback Superspeed I'd be more than open to secondhand bikes, but thought I'd ask for some pointers here before looking what is on the hub. Over to you ????