Nikolais

Here is a Pic of Danny letting it all hang out during qualifying. And heres the link to the Pinkbike article http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Fort-William-2011--The-Story.html

I actually ride a pair of 2002 Shivers (Inverted) and absolutely love the forks. I may not be World Champ material, but I definitely ride hard and have never had a problem with them. They are an awesome 'Privateer fork' as they perform buttery smooth for months and months between services. I have never really felt the 'flex' much while riding, but this is explained in the PB article. 'The old argument of inverted forks having less torsional flex needs to be thrown out the window as it is far less relevant than most believe. Keeping in mind that the fork is well into its travel when being ridden, which stiffens the inverted chassis up greatly, the cliche test of pinching the front wheel between your legs and twisting really has no bearing in real world applications' My one problem is that the lowers are subject to damage primarily on uplifts. That said I have ridden my forks since 2003 and didnt get one scratch until I lent the stanchion guards to a friend and didnt get them back for a year. Now i have one small scratch and a tiny dent from someones pedal on an uplift. But i am not going to argue either. I dont really mind which way around my forks are - as long as they work and are easy/cheap to maintain.

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Fox-Prototype-Inverted-DH-fork-World-Exclusive.html

Yeah, its this weekend Pierre. See below. I have had bad luck lately and my back shock and forks are out for the count.... But I am doing the race on my Girlfriends jump bike!!! HAHA I emailed Morne asking if the course is viable on an HT and she assured me it was not too Gnarly (But not in those words - HAHAHA) Here is the original mail from Morne. And below that; a Map (I have not been there so I made the map using the directions given) ____ GREG MINNAAR RACING and MONGOOSE 2011 DOWNHILL SERIES CUP 4# 22 MAY 2011 VENUE CHANGE Hi Everyone, IMPORTANT NOTICE - CHANGE OF VENUE Please note that we had to change the venue from Karkloof back to Pietermaritzburg, FISHERIES PARK, on the corner of PARKER ROAD and CHASEVALLEY ROAD is where it will be all happening. REGISTRATION/ENTRY: From 8h00 – 10h30 At Venue on race day PRACTISE RUNS: 08h30 – 12h00 (Minimum 2 runs required to qualify) RACING START AT 13HOO Race Format, TWO TIMED RUNS, best to count ENTRY FEE: R 100 include transport for riders Directions: From Cascades, drive down McCarthy Road past filling station to T-junction with Chasevalley Road, turn left in Chasevalley Road towards English Road, the first street towards your right hand is Parker Road and Fisheries Park is on your right hand side. The track will only be open to riders from Friday, we are working, taping and marking the track on Wednesday, please no riders then. A formal warning to all those itching, aspiring “track builders” if I catch you changing a rock, a jump, a landing or anything else on this track or any other, you will be disqualified from the race. Rules clearly state that no rider or spectator are allowed to remove or make any changes to a track, please respect this rule. Lastly but by no means least, a very big thank you to everyone that came and help on Saturday and Sunday, cleaning and preparing the track, see you all at the race. Regards/Groete MORNE ODENDAAL CSA COMMISSAIRE KZN MTB DOWNHILL COMMISSIONER Tel. 033 347 0468 (home) Office 031 300 0254 Cell. 082 498 8088 e-mail: morneodendaal7@gmail.com <mailto:morneodendaal7@gmail.com>

Almost like your leg has a puncture..... HAHA

Ok, now this goes back a few years to 2006. The course; Ferncliff, the Section: Cloud 9. Now Ferncliff is what Cascades used to be referred to back in the day. The Ferncliff course used the same Grade as the new World Cup course, with the new course hardly using any of the sections that the old Ferncliff course used. Except for Cloud 9!!!! It was a Nationals in good-ol 2006 and I found myself crashing on Cloud 9 the entire weekend... I was overcooking it into there every time. Come my first run that I all I could think about (much to my detriment). I came into it too fast and ended up losing control and planting a tree, I came down hard on my knee and hyper-extended it SIDEWAYS!!!! After 6 weeks back and forth from a Doctor (Who basically called me a hypochondriac) he finally sent me to a Orthopedic Surgeon (Doctor Thompson) at PMB MediClinic. After a 10 minute physical exam he booked me in for an op the very next day at 6am!! I was super nervous, but was told it would be an easy op with minimal healing time. I awoke hours after the op only to be told that after going in with the fibre optic camera they realised it was worse that expected. Some of my cartilage had been pinched between the joint and they had to make another larger incision to cut it out and clean up the joint. For 2 weeks I was not allowed to move my leg and after 3 weeks I had to go and see the Physio... I admit on my first visit to the physio my eyes watered - the pain was incredible. My recovery was long and slow and I actually didnt touch my bike for a few years... My knee was so weak and I was made lazy from all the months of sitting around... Procrastination snuck in and 3 years passed... I faced up to Cloud 9 the other day and came out on top - even though a little slow... Here is a pic of my knee post-op.

Ok, 1st up - A recent Crash I had on the Cascades course about 3 months ago. For one of the provincials we used the lower half of the World Cup course. The starting point was a new piece that ran quite close to the 'Bombhole' section of the Worlds course, down a chute and joined where the 4X course starts. Along the first section of track is a smallish road jump after a 300m pedaling section - and this is where it gets interesting. I met a few guys there to ride this course as practice. Spent a while sorting my bike as I was having problems with the drivetrain. Get on my bike, pedal up to the road jump for the first time, my front wheel washes ever so slightly and my pedal connects with a stump just before the jump. I was catapulted straight into the ground at quite some speed!!!! After regaining myself, I picked up my bike only to realise I have broken my back shock - the bike had obviously flipped over and come down so hard on the rear wheel (in the opp direction of Travel) that the shaft sheared right off!!!! Here are some pics of the injuries - I should have taken a pic of the bike too, but it wasnt on my mind at the time... It hurt to breathe for the next few weeks due to the stress my internals were subjected to. The second pic is of my Thigh, that bruise didnt go away for weeks and it was 2 months before the pain went completely. Also you can see another scar on the inside of my thigh - this was from a provincial a few weeks before, caused by having my car key in my pocket during a crash - not a good idea!!!

Nige, I took my DH bike there (Swells) and got concussed on a big double. I carried on riding until my helmet didnt fit so well, so in my slowed-up concussed state I took off my helmet and carried on riding until a mate stopped me. I went to work the next day and was sent home after walking smack into a wall. I remember every time I travelled in the car for the next week I felt like my brain was going to pop out the top of my head.

Sweet bike Pierre, I saw the Viggen up for sale the other day and thought you might be leaving DH behind... But this makes me happy!!! HAHA. See you on the Trails

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Tech-Tuesday-tire-pressure-2011.html Pretty darn thorough

Or World Cups.... HAHAHA I agree

https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/98159-29er-dh-bikes/

I will be there this weekend Dean - we will hook up and pass loud comments about like; 'We do that way faster'... and 'How come that guy is sponsored and not us'.. you know - the usual trackside banter - HAHAHAHAHA

FINALLY - the Deemax's are reunited - Looking sweet!!!!

What a porker...... HAHAHAHA

HAHAHAHA, Was thinking exactly the same thing..

I just saw this on PB this morning...... WOW!!!!!

Hey Omega, I have priced Csixx's as they are pimping, but at R1400 a piece it is rather steep. I would if I could...

If you choose a Fox 36, Marzocchi 55 or Rock Shox Domain/Lyrik you will not have to worry about having to upgrade again. These forks are built super strong and stiff - Riders use these for Freeride and even some DH, so they should be more fork than you will ever need. Your next upgrade would have to be a Full DH/Freeride bike!!! HAHAHA

The question is what fork you have at the moment. There are very few (if any) 160mm dual crown forks available that are worth the money. Also, slapping a dual crown fork on to a frame that is not designed for it causes major stress at the head tube area and could cause a crack or break. Single crown 160mm forks, however, are much more readily available and are super stiff thanks to tech advancements. Fox Talas 36 being sold here on the hub - awesome fork. http://www.thehubsa...._1#entry1342492 http://www.buycycle....m-rockshox.html http://www.buycycle....e-rockshox.html http://www.buycycle....r-rockshox.html The Domain is a tried and trusted Freeride fork with a super stiff 20mm axle. The Sektor is quite a new fork and is an 'entry level pricepoint' all mountain/freeride fork, but with a Rock Shox pedigree you cant go wrong - also has a 20mm axle. Also have a look at Johan Bornman (on the Hub) he has some ex-stock Marzocchi forks including 55's and 66's at ridiculous prices. The 66's and 55's are awesome Freeride forks and at the price they are going for - they are a steal. The 66 is a longer travel fork boasting 180mm of travel whilst the 55 has 160mm (both have 20mm through axles) http://www.thehubsa...._1#entry1337928 Marzocchi are absolutely bombproof.

Sweet. You think that dirt is unforgiving when you stack at 40/50kmh - Imagine what concrete and tar feel like!!!!!! I would love to see this years footage.... Pinkbike better post it up!!!!!

The GT IT-1 is a really nice DH/Freeride bike but will be pretty much useless for Cross Country (XC).

I would say you should go for a strong All-mountain bike like a Giant Trance or Mongoose Khyber (As Ceres and MXKid recommended). There are also a few Giant AC's for sale on Gumtree. What you are looking for is a bike with 5-6" of rear travel and 5-6" of front travel - preferably with disc Brakes. Full suspension bikes are excellent for all-round riding, but you start to feel it when putting in long hours in the saddle. But.... technical advancements have been made and All-Mountain bikes have become lighter and more efficient when pedaling. (Some suspension designs tend to sap all your energy while pedaling, so test ride a bike before making any decisions) You could also look at a strong Hardtail Trail bike (No rear suspension), this will suit trailriding perfectly See below for a suggestion https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/98013-jumper-160mm-travel/page__p__1324101__hl__dmr__fromsearch__1#entry1324101 But I do think that because you come from MX a full suspension bike would be better suited to you. If you do find a deal on a bike that you are considering, then post it here and get some more opinions before making a purchase. The people on The Hub are extremely helpful. Remember that sellers may try to talk you into the purchase when they find out that you are new to MTB - so dont make any rash decisions. Nothing against the person selling the Trek, but that is quite an old bike and the parts are rather dated. The Trek will also only have 4" travel front and rear - but this may suit you fine.... It all depends on how far you want to go with MTB.

Thanks a mil Patches - I will get hold of you if I get a device that needs the adaptor. Thanks again for the help.

There is also generally a bash ring to prevent your chainring from bashing into rocks. Here is a pic (this pic does not have a bash ring)