sometime

Topeak from Morningside Cycles. It was expensive (R385) but I needed an accurate one for a race car and since it works with both Presta and Schrader valves I decided to make the investment.

29er HT: Started at 2 bar and now use 1.7 bar. The improvment in comfort and grip levels at the lower pressure is significant. I weigh 85kg and have had no problems with the bumping through to the rim or burping the tyre. I do however run high volume Schwalbe 29x2.25 tyres. It's also NB to get your gauge calibrated. there is such a difference in the supposed pressures shown by the gauges on pumps as to make this whole debate almost pointless. I evenutally bought a digital gauge to check my pressures. Turns out 1.8 bar on my pump gauge is 1.6bar on my digital gauge.

Gobi is the single most uncomfortable saddle I ever owned - getting a numb **** after 30 mins of riding made it even worse - can't believe I kept it for so long. Now use Spez Henge and Phenom - very happy with both.

Agree with everything above (incl the dodgy tummy today)

Now that you mention it I'm curious how they start at Wine? Is that in a giant bottle or barrel? Or maybe that just pour a little wine over your head as you start and slap you across the cheek with a whale fillet as you finish? That must be it. Also how dare the Tour de France organisers call it the Tour de France when we all know the race has over the years incluced countries like England, Holland, Spain, Italy, Switzerland etc. They should really rename it Tour de Europe!

I believe the Geax tyres are nearly impossible to mount on the Stans. I'm running Schwalbe's with no problems

I'm running Arch rims with Hope Pro II Evo hubs for 6 months now. I'm 85kg riding a carbon hardtail 29er. I ride this bike hard and the wheelset and hub combination is perfect for me. YOu can get lighter and you can get cheaper but as an overall combination they're hard to beat.

If their racing is anything like the spelling on their website, they'll do well to beat toddlers on tricycles!

Yawn... Why for the love of all things holy do you call yourself Sadamhussein when your name clearly is not? (1 question mark should suffice) Yawn...

Me three. The change when I went from Racing Ralph up front to Nobby Nic was significant. The more you lay the bike over the more it grips and when it does start to lose grip it is much more forgiving and predictable. The Rocket Ron's I have on my training wheels give no warning when you lose grip - you just go down. The Ralphs are a lot better and for the expert or pro rider are a good option. For the 95% of us who don't match that description the Nic upfront and the Ralph at the back are a great combo.

Snakeskin version of the RR is almost as tough as the venerable Crossmarks and significantly lighter. The RR was probably the most popular tyre on the Epic and of the 3 teams I knew racing Epic on them, only 1 team had a puncture in 8 days.

Not a great tyre for South African conditions. Puncture resistance and wear rate is poor - Schwalbe say as much on their website. This is a dedicated XC race orientated tyre.

Covie the whole discussion around the relative surface areas of 26" tyres and 29" tyres is actually very interesting so it's a pity that instead of engaing in an interesting discussion from which we all can learn, you chose to not answer my question by asking a rhetorical one. For shoes to support a person's weight the upward force exerted by the shoe, opposing the weight, much be equivalent to that weight. So for a woman's heel measuring 1 square inch in surface area to support 100kg (=220 pounds), then that force opposing the weight would be the equivalent of 220 pounds per square inch (psi). However for a man's shoe with a surface area of say 44 square inches the force would reduce to the equivalent of approx. 5psi. That's why we run 10 bar in our road tyres and 2 bar in our MTB tyres - the surface area is vastly different. So once again (phew!) do we know if the surface area of a 26" tyre is less than that of a 29" tyre? From my perspective I'm running much lower pressures on my 29er than I did on my 26er but I'm running high volume Schwalbe 29x2.25 vs. low volume Maxxis Larsen 26x2.0 and 2.1 so the comparison is pointless for the purposes of this discussion.

The contact surface area

Thanks Mate! Physics tells us that in order to support a given weight, with a given pressure, the surface area must be the same. (all other things being the same) So back to my original question which you dismissed as me "missing the plot". Does a 26" MTB tyre have the same surface area as a similarly constructed and dimensioned 29" tyre?

Agreed - now we're getting somewhere. So on the assumption that the surface area is the same for all tyre sizes then 2 bar for any tyre diameter is 2 bar. But the surface area of a 9" tyre is quite different as is that of a road bike tyre hence the very different pressures required on each to support the same weight. Question is is the surface area of a 29" tyre the same as a 26" tyre?

So if I follow your reasoning you can also run your road bike tyre (assuming the same sidewall construction) at 2 bar for a 100kg rider?

You haven't answered my question?

So there's no difference in a 100kg rider riding a bike with 9" wheels pumped to 2 bar or 29" wheels pumped to 2 bar? i.e. both tyre size will be equally capable of holding the riders weight?

There's a dedicated place to charge phones, cameras, shavers, toothbrushes etc

If they're normal Racing Ralphs and not the Snakeskin Evo variety then I would be very wary of using them on Sani. I've punctured Crossmarks on that route before. Having said that Sani is a well manicured course and if you're in either the Adventure or Race then you have the added benefit of those riding the route the day before you, picking up all the thorns in their tyres . But there are rocks that will slice a thin sidewall very quickly if you're careless when passing them. There's a reason you can buy the normal Racing Ralphs at 1/3 of the price of the Snakeskin versions. Schwalbe Snakeskin tyres (Nobby Nic or Racing Ralph) are perfect for Sani.

I'm willing to bet that in a "blind" test at least 95% of riders will not be able to distinguish which skewer system was fitted to two identical bikes in a back to back test. But like most "upgrades" done by most non-pro's the placebo benefits will justify the "upgrade".

QED

So the people who have been walking (either on their own or with their dogs) for literally decades, must now walk through tall grass that is often wet, sometimes has thorns, often has blackjacks, possibly has snakes, also has concealed holes and rocks, all so that you can exclusively enjoy the trails that have existed there for decades on your bike? Don't bother answering - it's a rhetorical question. Do you understand how uneducated, intolerant, selfish and juvenile you sound when you write stuff like this? Do you understand that attitudes like yours is what gives cyclists the terrible reputation that they have with the general public. Cyclists use public parks at the pleasure of City Parks. I can assure you, if you intentionally ride into some who is excercising their right to use these public parks, then you (who represent the 5% of cyclists giving the rest of us a bad name) will be the direct cause of the 95% who do respect other's rights, being denied access to ALL City Parks? Don't worry - it's another rhetorical question. 2c indeed.

I've been riding my bike in Delta Park for 10+ years. I've been walking my dogs in Delta Park for 20+ years. I do my best to make walkers aware that I am behind them just as I slow down to a safe speed when there are dogs present - you cannot predict that they are going to do and I don't want to injure myself or a dog by crashing into one. As for leads - I do not walk my dogs on a lead and I will not - I think that applies to 90% of dogs walkers in Delta. The park gives our dogs the freedom to run around and do what dogs do and I love watching them play freely as much as I love cycling in the park. BY the same token my dogs are obedient and will walk to heel when commanded to do so. Cyclists cannot impose themselves on the rest of the public that are using the park - if they do and behaviour like that described above continues, then it will be a matter of time before cyclists are banned from the park.