sometime

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.

<p>Is it possible to get a line entry for the 45km MTB on Sat?</p>

So is each "lap" 30km or is the total of both laps 30km? I think I'm going to give this a go. Not sure a racing hardtail is the best weapon of choice but that's all I'll have with me so what the heck.

I also bought into the Gobi hype of a couple of years ago when it was "the" saddle to have. It turned out to be the most uncomfortable saddle I've ever owned - EVERYONE I know who had one then, no longer has one. But if you guys like them then great. Go and get your sit bones measured and then try out some test saddles. The one good thing about the Specialized concept stores is that you can get test saddles from them. I've owned both the Spez. Henge and Phenom. Both very comfortable and the cutouts prevents the numbness I experienced on my Gobi and other saddles like it. I've never tried the Tundra but just looking at it's shape and design, it reminds of another Fizik saddle which I owned, which I also found very uncomfortable, despite riding it till it wore out.

Cheapest way is to buy a Scott Scale RC

At your weight you're going to need to pump that shock up to its maximum recommended pressure (this should be on the frame somewhere else in the bike manual). YOu should check your pressure at least once a month (I assume you have a shock pump?). Also if your rebound is setup too slow (the red knurled knob at the front of the shock is turned to far on the - not the + side) then after hitting the first bump and compressing the shock, it takes too long to return to its original uncompressed position. If you then hit another bump very soon afterwards then you may only have half the shock travel available to absorb the bump, which will give you the sensation of the shock bottoming out. But set the rebound too fast and it will feel like it wants to buck you off the bike. Find a short bumpy stretch you know well and experiment by adjusting the rebound until it feels comfortable for you. Your LBS may be able to help you out here. Both or either can give rise to the symptoms you describe.

What pressure are you running in the shock? Also how have you set the rebound up?

A R4+k shock on a R12k bike?

What are you expecting from another shock? Put differently was is it about the Dt Swiss shock that you expect another shock to do better?

I have one. Great bike with great components - rear shock is average but not nearly as bad as everyone might want you to believe. If you didn't know there was some negativity from a few people about it, I would challenge 80% of riders to notice the difference between the DT Swiss shock and say a Fox RP2. Put on a tubeless kit, some Racing Ralph tyres and you have a very competitive bike at a great price. Once you have some money saved I would upgrade the wheelset but the rest is fine as is.

I use Muc-Off dry wax lube for my road bike and MTB when I know it's going to be a dry ride. But more than 3 river crossings and it comes off and I need to relube with... Finish Line Wet. I always carry a small bottle of this. I'll start a ride/race on this if I know the conditions will be wet.

You're probably right about that.

Thanks To be fair Spez have got better at their component mix. I remember the first Spez Epics. XTR rear der. XT cranks, crappy shifters and Deore FD! But ignorant buyers look at the RD and buy based on that!

True to an extent but what I'm referring to in the context of the rear shock was that I felt a lot of energy being lost in the plush suspension of the Anthems on long climbs (even in Pro Pedal) which I feel I don't get on the Spark. I see the same when I watch 29er Anthem's climbing - too much bob.

Well said that man. I also have a Scott Spark Elite 29er and I also read the one review saying the DT Swiss rear shock wasn't up to scratch and that Scott should go the Fox route. I agree everyone jumped on the bandwagon and now after someone noticed Evans and George racing Epic with Fox shocks on their Sparks, suddenly you mustn't touch a Spark because of the rear shock? Rubbish! I owned two Giant Anthem's before the Scott and I agree that both (Fox RP2 and RP23 at the back) gave a more plush ride than the Spark. But the Spark climbs a LOT better and has a far more aggressive and responsive setup and feel. As a race bike I far pefer it to my Giant. I ride the Spark like a hardtail 80% of the time (i.e. locked out) but on rough downhills or bumpy tracks opening the shocks makes it more than forgiving and compliant enough. The wheelset is absolutley fine although the Schwalbe Rocket Ron tyres and VERY thin tubes are only good for training rides. I did upgrade my wheelset (ZTR Arch on Hope hubs which I use for races only) but apart from that everything else is standard. This bike was good enough to take me to a top 25 overall position in the recent 3 day Garden Route 300 as a 85+kg veteran who trained 30 hours a month in the two months prior to the race. My point being that this bike is more than good enough for 90% of riders out there and at the price point I don't think there is anything to come close to it (even with the extra cost of the upgraded wheelset). Total bike weight is 12.5 kg all in for a large frame. Spez make great bikes but IMO you certainly pay a premium for the brand that I can't justify. I don't know enough about the Niner to comment. Merida and Giant also offer great bang for buck new. Edited to add: Second hand MTB's are a minefield. You can buy a lot cheaper than new but a few weeks later suddenly you need to replace the complete drive train and that's R4k, the fork needs servicing and that's R1k etc etc and before you know it that bargain costs as much as a new bike.

Game on! I think we were with you in that middle sector chasing the wheel of the big guy on the Tallboy - we were in the white and yellow 24/7 kit? I think we got away from you guys up the climb then promptly threw that all away when I missed a turn plus some bike admin after that. We just about caught the Tallboy at the finish.

I'm 86kg and chose to go the ZTR Arch route on Hope Pro II Evo hubs. In 10 years of MTB racing I've never had to worry about wheels buckling and I wasn't about to take the chance on the Crest rims that I am right on the weight limit for, just for the sake of saving 200g or so. You buckle a wheel and 9 times out of 10 your race is over. You can't risk that on a race like Epic where you have invested substantial time and money. Ask yourself how much time you stand to gain in a race running Crest rims vs how much you stand to lose if they break because they're not designed to carry your weight plus 8 day of abuse on the Epic? The Hope hubs are superb, well built, almost bullet proof - You can get lighter hubs and you can get cheaper hubs but to my mind they are one of the best bang for buck hubs on the market.

The Skyline would've been squashed up to the back seat. Only car that if you jacked up the car change a flat tyre, the back windscreen used to pop out - that's how soft and flexible the bodywork was (on the coupe version anyway).

Seeing as though everyone's giving away their identities - I see I'm KOM on that segment

Yes - your point being? Check again.

Would prefer to keep that to myself but any decent LBS should offer their good customers a discount on the retail price and the frame prices I mention above are correct.

I said around R8k - I actually paid R8.5k after my loyal customer discount. Check with your LBS and their recommended retail price should be R9.5k

LBS

Lifetime of the original owner. The point being the product is of such good quality that the manufacturer is willing to offer this type of warranty. You'll get nothing from any blank manufacturer. I cracked a Gian Anthem frame after 2.5 years of racing - they replaced it a week later. I have a friend who crashed a Volcan 29er HT recently - he was able to ride the rest of the race but let's just say that riding a bike with the downtube broken in half was "interesting".