Rolf Hansen

Unless it is a newer Marlin 7 and older Xcaliber 6.

You did not include links to the original adverts or give and indication of price so it is difficult to make a call. Both those forks look like Suntour XCM which is like @GhostSixFour said is not air. If they are XCM then there is a possibility that it could be air as it is available in both coil and air options.

Agreed. The amount of dust and stones that will get kicked up and work its way into every nook and cranny when you ride is way more then will ever get close to the bike when it is transported. If you are worried about the frame where it touches the "carrier" apply some dedicated bike protection film or buy a sheet of quality vinyl, cut it into a pleasing shape and apply over the area whenever required.

I use Huawei Health. It obviously works with my smart watch but that is not required.

You can get a very decent helmet and riding glasses from Decathlon for sub R1k.

I am going to have to agree. There is very little that I cannot buy at Cycle Lab or Cajees for much less than my LBS. If you main aim is service/workshop then I would say go for it.

Got my Lyne dropper from David on Friday and fitted it before Saturday's ride at Avianto. I will be using the original front derailleur cable routing for it but for now I just cable-tied it to the shock mount to test it out. Not too much opportunity to use it on this particular trail but the one place I did it seemed to do the trick albeit feeling a little strange because it felt like my seat was missing.

I bought my yellow Ryder one from Cycle Lab two months ago for R229. All aluminium now. Works amazing. They have a R180 pump as well but the Ryder one looked better. A floor pump under R300 is a bargain.

No not at all. It still works as it did at the start. It is just a very budget fork with a harsh, unforgiving coil spring. Rough trails will give your forearms and wrists a workout.

Mechanical brakes do give your hands a beating. The ones on my Stride do work well though but requires stronger input.

It would probably be OK. Hydro formed, custom Butted 6061 Aluminium frame VAXA 860 Coil, 100mm travel, HL/O, Tapered steerer Surface Triple crankset, 42/34/24tT MICROshift RD M21L 2/3 x 6/7speed rear derailleur Sunrace 7spd Surface Symmetrical Alloy, 23mm wheels, TR Adapted POP geometry Jieke NUTT Hydraulic Disc Brakes, 160/160mm rotors, Surface Symmetrical Double wall alloy, 23mm ID, Tubeless Ready CST C1820 2.35" higher volume tyres Surface Comfort saddle The fork and the brakes are about the cheapest you can get - the same that can be found on an even cheaper bicycle. I am not too familiar with the MICROshift derailleurs but based on the spec/brand of the other components I would hazard a guess that it is pretty much as basic as it gets as well. I have a 2018 Silverback Stride MD which my wife now uses. It has a ZOOM fork (VAXA seems to be the same thing). It is a terrible fork. It has Shimano Tourney gears which I was not impressed with either. It came with Tektro mechanical brakes which are also entry level but I have no complaints there, they work very well.

I am technically/mechanically very savvy so that helps I suppose. I also do all my own work and servicing on my bike, including fork services. I have only done fork lowers services up to now but will do a full service in the near future and check if the travel can be increased to 120mm. David and myself have come to an arrangement and I will hopefully receive the dropper early next week. Thanks @David Sutcliffe for the help and effort. I will keep everyone updated on how it rides with the dropper once fitted. As for the tyres, I run a Maxxis Ardent EXO on the front and a Maxxis Crossmark II EXO on the rear, both 2.25. I doubt that my fork has clearance for anything wider - the clearance is pretty small as it sits. I have not had grip issues up to date and can run pretty low pressures so I believe the tyres are fine for now.

Well that won't help. I have also been vaccinated but all it does is prevent me from becoming very ill. You can still get and spread Covid the same way an unvaccinated person can.

Thanks. Lyne does not have stock of the 27.2 droppers. I cannot seem to find anywhere. As for the stem and bars, I did consider the Lyne special and I might still go for it in future. I did change the stem and bar after the first photo I posted and I am currently running a 60mm stem with 740mm bar. It does handle trails very well and does currently work well as a trail bike.

I was in the Trek store to buy the Roscoe 8 several months ago. They sold the last one the day before so I ended up not buying anything.

Thanks for all the suggestions! I think I will do just that then - keep it and enjoy it the way it is, mostly. I have been looking around for droppers but 27.2 seems like a bit of a rarity. Lyne has been out of stock on the 27.2 forever. Resale luckily is of zero importance for this bike. If at some point I decide to buy a new bike it will be moved on to my youngest who currently rides a 24".

I have to start by saying that I cannot throw lots of money at my plan(s). Well not a lot of money all at once anyway. I'll start by giving details on my current bike: 2008 Cannondale Rush SL 26" RockShox Reba Team Dual Air with remote lockout - recently serviced with no issues. Works great. Fox 23RP shock American Classic hubs and rims - not sure what they weigh but they are incredibly light weight. Tubeless with Maxxis Ardent and Crossmark II. Avid Juice Seven brakes with fairly new pads. Specialized Trail stem with Syncros wide bars, decent silicone grips. SRAM X-9 shifter and rear derailleur with 34T oval chainring - 1 x 9. The bike is in great condition and I really enjoy riding it. I don't think there is anything that really needs to be done on it. I ride every weekend and I enjoy technical trails like Hennops and Wolwespruit. I don't jump but plan to learn how to jump properly in the near future. Not Darkfest but just the normal jumps available on the regular trails. If money was no object I would have bought a Scott Genius or Cannondale Jekyll and be done with it. I am fairly confident that my type of riding leans more towards a trail bike than an XC bike. These bikes are known to convert very well to 650B with some limitation to rear tyre width - 2.1. I currently have a straight steerer fork but the bike's headtube accepts onepointfive headsets so I could make a tapered fork work without too much issue. I also have no issue with buying parts 2nd hand. Would it be worth my while changing the fork and wheels to 650b and perhaps upgrade the drivetrain to 11x1? My sons both have bikes that would benefit from the Reba and SRAM X-9 if I upgrade so the parts will go to good use. If I go for a new(used) bike it would probably be a 650b above a 29er but this is not set in stone. Should I rather go for a decent specced, newer hardtail like a Trek Roscoe or a Rapide Tigre? Should I just leave it be and keep on riding it the way it is?

Not sure I understand this correctly. Surely it does not matter what you think is the correct way in South Africa; last time I checked it is illegal in South Africa to ride abreast.

This to me is the most impressive riding I have ever seen.

Man those are some gnarly drops!

OK

I only ride MTB on trails, not even gravel roads so bananas generally don't hold up well. Being in Gauteng, South Africa unfortunately also robs me from filling my bottle from a mountain stream. Same goes for coffee and pastries out on the trail - not readily available. I don't mean to sound rude but which is it: "... have never had the need for anything more than whatever is available from the local cafe or convenience store." "...few of my grannies recipe date balls...I used to make my own protein balls from rendered beef or lamb.. "

I cannot comment on this model but we have a Siemens Surpresso S40 that is more than 10 years old and it is still going strong. I therefore would not hesitate to buy a Siemens again. I have to add that we do not use the frother.

I have had issues with their online specials advertised only being available at one specific store (not stated in the site). Apart from that I have had nothing but stellar service from Cycle Lab in Lynnwood and more specifically Herman. I also find their prices in general to be very competitive.

Absolutely. I ride a 26" Cannondale dual suspension that is an XC bike from days gone by but it is a bit of an inbetween XC/Trail bike when compared to other bikes of the time. It now has more aggressive tires fitted, short stem and wide bars so it is leaning even more towards a trail bike. I like gnarly trails with tough technical single-track and don't like flat gravel and Jeep tracks. Is this 14 year old xc/trail bike mishmash the perfect bike for the riding I do? Probably not even close but I bloody love riding this bike anywhere I like.