Li Mu Bai

Rather go visit Dangle in Crowthorne, if you want proper Specialised service.

flashing lights grab your attention, and the battery life is longer too.

no ways. hard enough to set up a 29" with the current limited choices, cant imagine 650b. Enjoying my 29er immensly.

+1

Perhaps its time Slowbee and moderators either put a stop to all the auctions, or insist that they be conducted in a proper, 'legal' manner. All the ambiguity created and bent T&C's rules doesnt make sense. You dont have this sort of thing going on when you bid at eBay, Aucor, or Bidorbuy, so why here?

looks like that shop owner salesman is giving poor advice in order to make a sale. Firstly, getting 26" in SA might be an issue since everyone is gaga over 29" here, overseas not so much. There is no way a 29" hardtail is the equivalent of a 26" dual suspension, that is just wrong. Dual suspension and hardtail are two completely different bikes with different handling, and characteristics, and uses - no matter if its 26" or 29". 29" has its own issues, and as said above, chose according to your size, riding style, intended usage, budget.

nonsense. Bombs dont cause this. Sealent is made up of latex rubber particles in a liquid base. The liquid base makeup varies from manufacturer to manufacture, but the latex is common to most. as you ride this latex coats the inside of your tire and bonds as per the photo. This is primarily why you need to add sealent after a few weeks of riding, as most of the active particles have adhered to the inside of the tire not leaving much to 'seal' a new puncture hole should you get one. People think it dies up or evaporates, but this is not the case. make sure you 'top up' on sealent regularily. When you do get a puncture, stop immediately, get that hole to the bottom of the wheel, and move the weel slightly forward and back so that the sealent can fill and close the puncture hole. DONT ride it in the hope it will seal itself, it might not and it will most likely break the bond of the tire edge bead that the tire has with the rim when the air pressure inside is too little, leaving you with a MUCH bigger problem of now trying to seal a dirty, sticky latex clogged tire bead that has seperated from the rim. Obviously very large holes need to be plugged, once again be very careful not to disturb the tire bead / rim edge seal. I have used sludge (not good), Stans (much better) and Joes (preferred)

MTB up the Spruit and back I assume?

thanks

I watched "Wanted" with Angie Jolie, and their ice baths really seemed to help...

what utter rubbish. The bikes geometry is tailored to suit the wheels, perhaps you have just been riding an XL when you should be on a M.

Who says 29" is clearly the way forward?

Easton Havens 29" came in at R4600 incl Vat and clearance, free shipping from CRC, 4 days. Niiicceee! They even had the 12mm x 142mm rear hub option for my Spark. Next best would be Hope/ZTR crest or Arch (depending on your body weight) from Buycycle at R5700, similar weight (arch) for 29" wheelset.

It all comes down to personal preference borne out of trying each product. There will be those whos opinions on this differ, but here is my experience so far: Road bike: I have moved from Dura Ace 7800 to Sram Red. Immediate differences which i enjoy so far is the definite click (clunk) between each gear shift rather than fishing especially on the front deraileur. The double tap system works very well, pushing 1 lever far for up, or short for down shifting. It certainly isnt a quiet system, so no sneaking past a fellow rider without him knowing i have just shifted down. so far its been very relaible (no schlecking), very smooth, crisp, definite, operation, and setup/maintainence is easy. MTB: Started out with shimano XT and Deore, XT brakes spongy, perhaps hoses not stiff enough. Used Formula Oro brakes for last 3 years - excellent and simple (bleed, maintain, setup) Recently started using Avid Elixir 9R - so far no complaints, also very simple operation. Drivetrain shifted from Shimano to Sram X9 and now using X0. Lightweight, easy to setup and maintain, reliable. Powerlinks in chains are superb (pity 10speed is not reusable) X0 Gripshifts are the business, used the 9sp version for 3 years, and now using the new 10sp Gripshifts. Excellent so far, no knees bumping trigger levers on steep climbs, or double downshifts as wobbly thumb presses on triggers on rocky descents. Being able to dump 9/10 gears in one quick twist or gain them is a great racing advantage, especially on blind corners when faced with a sudden steep climb. Shimano doesnt offer gripshift. Sram 1:1 actuation is great, 1 shift, 1 click, 1 gear, once again no fishing around or half shifts. XO Rear and Front deraileurs setup is very simple. Sram Carbon cranks are light and stiff, pity the GXP BB is specific to Sram/Truvative cranks. Shimano XTR BB is really bombproof and excellent long term value for money. The only things I still use from Shimano are my MTB socks and MTB pedals. @theV - yup, the extreme extra cost that XX comes with certainly doesnt justify it. XO works great, and XT too I suppose, so make your choices and stick with it.

The Haven wheelset is seriously bling, just got a set 56% off the regular price from CRC with free shipping. the 29" tire installation was effortless, the tubeless rims are really solid. And it also dropped some weight off my previous setup. Reviews on them are both excellent BUT some raising concerns over the rear hub, so issues on earlier models have been found. I have always preferred Sram over Shimano, having used both, and currently run XO throughout. really enjoying it so far.

potty mind.

CONSIDERING IT FOR 2014

Well, the problem as I see it, in future tours will Froome be in the same top condition he is in right now? Injury, illness, etc can all change the future. Pity he cannot use his current form to go for the WIN! Wiggens has proved he is the best time trialer, no question. Froome has proved he is very strong in the climbs and may well make back time lost in time trials. Both have had the support of a fantastically strong team working their butts off to keep the other GC riders under pressure (even the TDF multi-stage winning World Champ has been ferrying bottles/food back and forth to them). CF is doing his job, and so is Wiggens. Hopefully they will finish 1 and 2 this year. If BW cracks on the mountains and cannot stay with an attacking nibali or evans, then CF will most likely be asked to keep up with the attacks and keep the Sky banner flying. waiting eagerly to see...

2 weeks of Flu, still feel run down. I hope I can make these hills... have been looking forward to my first Jock for months now...

saving milligrams is expensive. rather visit the loo and sit a little longer

you should do LOTS of core work, mtb marathon does require a strong core.

well you certainly have not added much riding time. Marathons need a huge LSD base for endurance as well as intervals for speed and power closer to target race day. diluting your time on the bike wont make you a better marathon rider.

where is SwartPiet to shed some light?

I honestly think there are too few staff manning the SASeeding battle stations (probably just an army of 1) errors keep creeping back and forth into results and points scored. My sons Clarens results still have not been added to the system. SAS friendly races have not been added such as Karkloof etc. I have 2 entries added for Sabie, and it still has not been adressed for months after raising the problem. Carli and Nadine are also probably heavily involved in the advendurance races so all SAS work stops in the week of any MTN or Trailseeker event. pity, frustrating, and will SAS last?

Seating the 29" tire is a pain i find, especially if you dont have a very big compressor. This is especially true for 'loose' fitting tires like Schwalbe Ralphs and Nics, and if you are just using tape, not heavy rubber rim strips Best tip i can add is unpack your new tire and unfold it. let it lie flat on its side for a day or two to take full shape (creases from folding should diminish) fit the tire without sealent, pump it hard to seat it properly (small compressor works, or if you are very lucky, a floor pump). you may still need to 'massage the new tire into place whilst inflating. remove the valve core and apply sealent (Joes pointy nosed bottle works well for this). be careful so as not to unseat the edge of the tire. Bombs are a waste for setting a 29" tire as you dont get enough explosive air into the system when out riding you can now buy 25g bombs specifically for 29" wheels, much better than the 16g used for 26"