MrJacques

Welcome 1. Probably a large (if you choose a 26er, otherwise maybe even a medium if you go for a 29er) 2. You will probably find a nicer 2nd hand bike for that price than a new one at the same price. Tubeless is very nice to have, much less issues with punctures.

I Had a pair of them on my old bike, they roll really fast and lasted very long, but cornering grip is not that good. I'm on Rocket Rons now, much better, but they are expensive and wear out fast. I want to try Maxxis Ardent or ADVantage next.

A friend of mine also wanted a Scott 29er but ended up getting something else (Trek Cobia) because of Scott's unavailability. BikeRadar gave the Carve Expert a good review: review Go and see how the bike fits and feels to you as well.

Thought about it a bit, you probably have a fs bike if you have a dropper, and probably no space for a second bottle cage. Get a moonbag to carry the spares

Do you have space for 2 bottle cages? Then you can use the 2nd one as storage.

Recommended Retail, R899

10 years? You will get the itch to upgrade long before that I second the Scott option, their 2012 range is very good value for money. And seeing that you come from a Silverback, have a look at their 2012 bikes too.

Only pictures, not much technical info: https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/104901-275-inches/ and it seems like the pictures have expired, but it had 650B tires on. (post made by patches on 29 June 2011)

I think it can, it's just a spacer inside the fork that needs to be removed. Take it to Johan Bornmann from Yellow Saddle (I think he's in jhb area)

I think the reach / contact point of the levers can be adjusted to suit your preferences. It's explained here: http://www.sram.com/avid/setup-guides/hydraulic-brake-setup Edit: sorry, doesn't seem like Elixir 3 has contact point adjustment.

I've heard of a Shova turned into a 650b, how's the back wheel clearance on the Zula? Should be a very interesting project!

Haha, nice stirring there! It's probably a factor though, people buying a new bike and selling their old one. I see that Mr Morewoods' new venture (Pyga Industries) is starting with a 29er duallie. Wait till 650b get's popular, we will see a flood of 29er sales

I see that there are quite a few Zula's for sale at the moment (about six of them). Not sure what's up with that seeing that it's said to be such a great bike. I know Chubba is selling his because the Shova is getting all the attention now. Guess there will always be the itch to upgrade as well.

Probably made in Taiwan, as are a lot of other bike frames, shouldn't be a problem. Here is the warranty info from their website: Momsen Warranty. btw, had one of the Serfas xcr3 bikes (also sold by Momsen) and had no issues with it.

These guys also seem to like it: BikeRadar Review

It's available on CRC. Might get expensive for importing. Looks like a good dvd.

What wheelset was that?

btw, what do you use before and during a ride? I'm sure that will influence your post ride recovery as well. If you are 'refuelling' while riding I'd think that you would be less tired afterwards.

Like others have said, it will get better as you get fitter. I used to be kaput after a Saturday morning ride and would have to take a nap afterwards (maybe not a bad idea, you would be surprised how much a 30 minute nap will help!), but as I got fitter the need for that decreased. Obviously if you are still getting over the yuppie flu it's going to be a bit more difficult. Getting some protein and carbs after the ride should also help.

From what I've heard a lack of stock isn't that uncommon for Scott... Probike are the distributors, you could contact them and find out who has stock.

I like the crash replacement warranty on the Bell. Not sure if Giro has the same.

Someone else may still be able to use the old fork / uppers and you might be able to sell it (if it wasn't cut ridiculously short)

Sounds like a lot more work than I anticipated... getting a new one or just leaving it as is seems like the more clever option. Thanks for the advice!

The dremel sounds like a good idea I'll see if I can borrow my friend's one, otherwise it will be the hacksaw and lots of filing.

Cool, thanks. It does sound like a lot of work, but if I decide to go ahead and remove them what would be the best way to do it? I'm not sure how hard the metal is, would a hacksaw blade do the trick and then some metal files to smooth it out?