madmarc

So i got bored today and dredged up the oldest post on Bikehub oldest date i could find was 23 Feb 2006 Acutally found another from 1970 but says it no longer exists when i open it Anyone bored enough to find one older ?

I dont buy that they are made for TREK - If that be the case you would only be able to get them from a TREK store - You can get them through any bike shop that stocks Enduro bearings

You got to be careful with the 3801 2RS bearing dimensions I found a few suppliers that were much cheaper than 299 - But on closer inspection they were 7.0mm width The only manufacturer i could find that were 8.0mm were Enduro and i think this is where the MAX wording comes in. I also asked a mate who works at bearing Man to try find them - Also came back and said only place is Enduro bearings. I didnt read your article, but i also dont buy the whole quality thing - Bearings are desigend for much higher performance than they experience on a MTB suspension enviroment - Even the cheapest bearings will last as long as the most expensive ones - Bearing failure on MTBing is from moisture and dirt which will kill any bearing irrespective of the quality.

The strugle is real i tell you - I just did my 26er wheels - Front would just not hold air - removed the tire about 4 times cleaned the rim and the tire bead, rim tape was still fine, pumped it to 4 bar, water and soaped the entire rim and bead, no bubbles, came back 30 min later and its flat - WTF!! I lost my Sh%t and dunked the pumped wheel in the pool only to find a hole in the sidewall. Note to self - Next time soap the rim and tire

Male 62 1.85 m Road - 57 MTB - XL

My view on cost of maintenance for cycling, especially with MTBing and more so MTBing with FS bike - You need to learn some basic service skills - there are lots of resources online like University of U Tjoob and even on some OEM websites. Invest in some time and try them out yourself you will realise it isnt rocket science and will save you 1000's of ronds So what should you be able to do yourself Wheels - Fix a puncture; Change a tire; replace rim tape and gorilla snot; do a complete tjoobless conversion; True a bent wheel; Depending on which hubs you have you should be able to to service and replace hub bearings Brakes - Replace brake shoes; re-cable brakes - A bit more advanced, but brake bleeding is not that hard. Drive Train - Remove the cranks; remove and reisntall a BB; Measure wear on a chain; be able to break a chain to correct length; replace a chainring; replace a cassette; RD setting and tweaking; replace RD jocky wheels. Re-cable gears. Suspension - Oil Service -I learnt this online and done it many times - Now i just send it off to RBC and pay them to do it, but i can do it myself if i have the time. Bearing replacement - This is doable yourself, at most you will save on labor, but you will need to have the bearing puller tools for removal and reinstalling. I made my own from threaded rod and some different size washers, which work great. When i change bearings, i dont skimp i replace them all even the ones that still look okay. As far as tools go - there are not that many that you would need to add to your toolbox Bike service stand (this is a must) - Spoke wrench - Allen Key set - Torx set - tire levers - cable cutter - 15mm pedal spanner - Chain whip - chain break tool - chain wear gauge - Cassette tool - BB tool depending on your BB type - Valve core removal tool - shock pump (you should have gotten one with the bike) - big bottle of Stans - some syringes - proper grease, I'm sure some can add to these baisc tools needed Over the years i've gotten more and more adventureous and made a lot of bearing tools - Park wheel building stand with all the bells and whistles (which i never use) Built my own bike service stand - Air compressor (Makes tire maintenance a pleasure) air gun and digital tire inflators. I even have the L/R thread taps and inserts for crank repairs. So over time you learn basic service skills and eventually you will be stripping and rebuilding the entire bike saving you lots of money at the LBS The best part is if something isnt done right you only have to argue with yourself and not some A/hole wannabe bike mechanic

So once again you will only get the 1.0% if you hand over your soul to them - Another add on to their Scam

All my kids bikes were MAKRO specials Before they even rode them for the first itme i would completely strip them down and rebuild them They lasted for years. Its not the quality thats the issue, its the Makro staff assembling them thats the problem - Sportsmans has the same problem, but they have improved over the years

3801 2 RS - 8 off (21X12X8) - Last paid R 299 each (this was the killer same price overseas) 6800 2RS - 8 off (19X10X5)- Last paid R 80 each 17286 2RS MAX - 4 off - Last paid R 80 each I also had a Superfly - bearings were fairly cheap to replace - Different story with the Fuels

Unless you own a TREK Top Fuel - replacing all the suspension bearings will make your eyes water.

I see on their FB page they ran the Sappi Mankele MTB event again - This is great news, hopefully 3 Towers will return

Been threatening to do that - But i fear i'll need a triplset first

I hunted high and low for SR 11 speed at the time of the build, could never find one, so i opted for the Chorus deal which is virtually brand new. But i get what you saying. ZIPP's was the same story - There was no decent Campy wheelset going at the time other than Bora which was another 20K investment had the ZIPP's hanging in the garage, they actully lekka light wheels with Ti spokes, bike rides very naaice with them. Seat post is original Would be sacralidge to change over the CT1 Gruppo, as that build is all original from AVH other than the seat post which broke at the seat clamp and i could only find the Ritchie one. Never the less, if they dont sell i'll sit and hope for the day we get cycle lanes her ein SA - then we can all hangup our MTB & Gravel bikes and ride road again 😁

That was a schweet deal for someone wanting to add a C40 to their stable

Constructive input - Thanx So what woudl you change on the WC from the components on the other bikes ?

You mean BikeInn - I ordered lots from them - they legit

Was more concerned about if they would geo block firmware updates

Was always my biggest fear with all those Garmins and ASX upgrade kits i brought back - Would they work in Sefrica - But they all did and still do

Been like this for years now - I always buy my stuff online when i travel to Europe and have it delivered to my hotel. On average its been 50% cheaper.

When i had a wheel on trianer i used the TACX blue tyre for 4 years - worked really well and was still in good condition when i sold it with the trainer

After reading this and some more research on the interwebs - I give this a miss. Def not gonna invest in something where there is no local support or spares for that matter. I did this once on a KS Lev dropper post which has been laying in my cupboard looking for an oil cartridge these last 3 years (I see now that RBC has recently been appointed as the local agent, so hoepfull i can revive it) Maybe why they have such a massive discount on this model.

I'm more on about the fact its a pure XC bike and for my type of riding which is bike park trails and long gravel events like Race to the Sun. With 64mm travel in the rear its almost a hardtail with a bit of rear suspension. Current ride is a Top Fuel 9.8 so wondering how different it would feel. I'm thinking its a hard fast ride. Also - the FAZUA drive train seems very different from the standard e-motors on e-bikes. It looks a lot smaller and proabbly used to keep the weight down. Also reading some of the 1 star reviews on the bike all seem to revolve around the drive system. Please Please someone convince me NOT to buy this bike !!!

The E-Caliber, is very tempting as a first e-bike at their discounted price. Wonder how it will ride after riding a Top Fuel for the last 4 or 5 years

I'm lost here ! Why would anyone even think of putting suspension fork on a gravel bike ?

Good question - Even scarier is bottled water - literraly millions are sold every year and i bet no one ever checks to see how safe they are. I mainly use Camelbak bottles - All these bottles handed out as freebies are cheap junk and i turf them with the goodiebag.