Li Mu Bai

On the bike: 1 bottle cage carries a Pro tool cannister 500ml, with plug kit, 2x tire levers, 2x 25g bombs, bomb applicator, spare gear cables and deraileur hanger, and Topeak multi-tool. As far as possible, I let the bike frame carry most heavy things. On me: That said I prefer using a flat 2litre racing camelback lite rather than bottles which get muddy/pooed/dusty/filthy when riding as I hydrate every 20mins. So car key or cellphone go into the small front pocket and emergency hand pump on the side in the main chamber with the full camelback bladder. Gels/baby taters, spare tube, and swat canister in rear shirt pockets. In the past I have used saddlebags, but generally these have not lasted and the holding straps have been torn open/away with all the bumps etc mountain biking brings.

Same weekend as Mabalingwe Lionman, what a shame...

yes, very fine silicone granules. Parktool have one with larger granules. Basic idea is that the granules require less torque to tighten components with as the 'space' between the components is now reduced(filled up). As your BB is pressed in, grease would be what your manufacturer probably recommends. in the unlikely event that your BB is still hopelessly mismatched to the frame in terms of size, then the CAP may help. (hopefully extraction wont be an issue.) Has your BB shell on the frame been properly "faced" prior to the BB cups being pressed in? If not, then the mis-alignment may also add to the poor fit and creaking.

if you read the reverse of the sachet, you will notice that its recommended every 45mins or so (depending on the manufacturer) For each person its different, so go and practice with the various types on your training rides. Some taste like medicine, others are sickly sweet, and others are bitter. The amount you use also depends on your total food intake for the specific event you are doing. if you are doing a 9-10 hour epic day, your needs will be vastly different to a 3 hour 100km road race. practice makes perfect.

Your local bike shop may have this, I found it locally at a fraction of the cost that schweinhund suggests, and have had great results with it for seatposts, handle bars etc. as said previously, generous grease applied does the job. If it persists then go CAP. if you read up on the CAP you will understand its composition and use.http://www.competitivecyclist.com/images/items/900/TAC/TAC0005/ONECOL.jpg

usually grease is applied to the bearing cups prior to them being pressed into the bottom bracket shell.

Carbon Assembly Paste

that looks like a std 1 1/8th " NON tapered headtube. you dont need a tapered headset.

a std 1 1/8th headset has identical diameter bearings (usually 44mm) on both the top and bottom cups of the headset and is designed for a fork with a straight 1 1/8th" steerer tube A tapered steerer tube has a fatter diameter at the crown of the fork and uses a 1 1/8th" diameter top bearing cup and a 1 1/2" wider bottom bearing cup. Tapered headsets need to be checked that they will fit your frame, as they can use 49 or 56mm bearings for the bottom cup Some headsets have external cups, where the part holding the bearing is outside the headtube of the frame. Other headsets have their cups with bearings fitting completely inside the headtube

Arnt e-Tolls just wonderfulll....

Well at the end of the day, the Type2 Clutch is the right choice for whatever bike you own.

I enjoy Avid brakes too. Have been using XO and Elixir 9R for 2 years now and they work great. easy to bleed. Before that I used Formula Oro, also great and would be my first choice. Before that Shimano deore, cant recall any issues either.

yes, full carbon On*One Lurcher 1x10

keeping your chain fairly 'dirty' helps keep it in place too. Also not pedalling backwards (even to adjust both pedals to horizontal) makes a huge difference in a 1x10 setup, especially when you are in the 11 small sprocket. Ultimately the safest setup is both type 2 and narrow/wide. As I said, riding the BnB I had no drops on terrain much gnarlier than the flat Down&Dirty dirt dash - go figure. you only need to drop a chain a few times in a race and loose several hard earned positions to decide that the extra spent on a n/w chainring or slightly cheaper chainkeeper is woth it.

Brilliant little device, yes I agree. I have been using the X9 type 2 now for a while on 2 bikes and its great. Chain slap reduced, wheel removal easier, and easier to work on the chain and crankset. I dont know if the 15g saving offered between the X0 and the X9 is worth R1000+ but thats the indiv choice. Should it be coupled with a narrow wide chainring (XX1 style)? from my experience yes. I have ridden Berg and Bush without dropping a chain once, and then Down and Dirty in Irene and dropped the chain 5 times off a non-narrow/wide chainring. differing terrain definitely impacts on your drivetrain, so if you are riding flat easy northern farm stuff a narrow/wide might not be needed. Once you hit the hectic corrugated rutted stuff, or really technical gnarly decents, the narrow/wide chainring with the type 2 rear derailleur comes into its own and you can expect you chain to stay put.

Gor for it Nigel!

its just you.

Sorry to hear. All the best to Anton and family.

do both

Enter the MTN National Series, as well as the Trailseeker series, Sani2c, Berg n bush. These are all covered by Sa Seeding and once you have a few races done, you will have a seeding index according to their calculations. This index is then generally used to determine which start group you belong in. It takes a little time, but once you have put in the initial effort and got your index, you will eventually get earlier starts with similar riders. Be consistant too, it doesnt help taking a year off between races either.

whats todays special code? anyone?

Thomson Elite I like my Ritchey WCS Carbon too, but thats more expensive.

I thought it spoke volumes...

Yup, retaliating when you have karate training gives you some idea of handling a situation (not always), but lets face it, not everyone has years of training in them and a good little street fighter will hurt you.

I think when it comes down to it, these bandits are a lot tougher than most weekend warriors here. It takes a serious commitment to tackle somebody who has nothing to lose. Nice sentiments, but hardly a reality...