JasonW

30 - 35 psi

i personally think that time is a much better way to check your training than to look at distance. Or if you have a power meter then TSS, CTL, etc

10 - 15 hours is plenty if you do the right thing. Also depends on whether you are doing stage races or just single stage events

Ah, yes I see now. thanks for the tip!

Last time I did Groenlandberg it was fine from the Nuweberg side, but unrideable (going up) on the other side due to bad errosion. Its a great ride if you go from Grabouw over Groenland down to the N2 for lunch at the farm stall. Then on to Bot River and back via Van der Stells pass. About 110 kms I think

Damn, that's a weird chainring combo!

In case you are planning to buy an Ergomo, read this first. http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=tech/2007/news/12-08 Its not very encouraging from a failure rate point of view.

My Anthem Adv is 10.5 kgs and doesn't have any serious weight weenie stuff. Big saving is the wheels Stans Olympic ZTR with AC hubs. Foldable Kenda Small Block 8 on the back and Larsen mimo on the front. Could save quite a bit by losing the XTR pedals and getting Eggbeaters. Saddle is also a bit heavy (SLR XC).

I think we all obsess about weight too much. Was looking at the pro bikes on cyclingnews.com and ... Adam Craig (US) - Giant Anthem FS - 11.03 kgs Geoff Kabush (Canada) - Litespeed Sewanee FS - 11 kgs Julien Absalom - Orbea HT - 9.5 - 9.7 kgs (tyre dependant) None of these are super light, but get the job done! On the other hand, Liam Kileen's customised Epic weighs 9.45 kgs!!!

IMO "flexstay" is a bit of a marketing gimmick. If you want comfort then get a DS. If you want pain and/or you are a podium contender then get a HT. Again IMO there is little point in getting a HT unless you make a living out of racing!

Hi. Under 11kgs is really good for a DS and you need to spend quite a bit to get under this weight. To get the wight of an equivalent hardtail you can generally subtract 1kg. The Scalpel is a bit of an unfair comparison as it has less travel and therefore less weight than "normal" DS bikes. My Giant Anthem Advanced is about 10.5kgs (medium). bear in mind that weight for MTBs is very dependent on wheel / tyre choice

Depends on the price, but seems quite heavy. Try the equivalent Giant, Scott or Merida

But purely from a performance point of view, why would they be better than a set of 404 tubbies given the 300g weight difference?

I also thought it was a great climb with a bit of a sting in the tail at the end. But what was that idiot doing driving down (red golf I think) when we (VA) were starting up? And why did the organisers not make sure this didn't happen!?!

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=BUY_PRODUCT_STANDARD&PRODUCT.ID=4593&CATEGORY.ID=6&MODE=&TFC=TRUE $1400 !!! Better start saving

Great, thanks for the responses guys. Not really fussed about cosmetics. Would rather have something that works! Does anybody know if Shimano will bring out a compact DA set?

The theroy should be fairly easy to test with a power meter, i.e. which position allows you to generate most power at a defined time period or defined heart rate.

I'm thinking of upgrading my crankset (Ultegra) to either Dura Ace or to a FSA carbon crankset. Does anybody have an opinions on recent model FSA cranksets? I notice that roadbikereview is often not very complimentary, however this seems to be for older models.

On a related matter. I find it much easier to sustain a high power (i.e. my FTP and higher) on a steep hill than on the flats. Are all cyclists basically just better at transmitting power when there is a constant resistatnce, or am I just bad at riding on flat roads? Does it then matter whether you base your FTP on a flat TT or a hilly TT?

First quater of 2008 if there website is to be believed. About $ 1100 excluding the computer

Notubes Olympic ZTR www.notubes.com

I agree. Maybe have one week day where you take it super easy (i.e. 60 - 70 % the whole ride). I do however think you should add in some more intense interval training and races closer to the events, otherwise you will be really fit, but not very fast! 13,5 hours a week is more that enough for a three day race in my opinion.

Marius, I'm just going by what they say on the website. They say the SL is available in the wider width to fit in a MTB frame. No idea about how durable it would be. I agree that this is probably a major problem.

See: http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=tech/2007/news/11-06 At least its some news!