Corvus

Just a thought, but wouldn't it be better to educate people on what to look for and what the differences in component models mean, as opposed to recommending a complete bike? This'll not only help guys bying new bikes, but will also assist the secondhand buyer. It's also in a sense more quantifiable than discussing the best bike, since picking a best bike is, as mentioned, very subjective while discussing the physical differences between Acera and XT, or hydraulic vs V-brakes isn't. Just my 2c.

I haven't seen this mentioned here so let me throw another tyre into the mix: Maxxis ADvantage. I'm running these front and back at the moment and they're pretty impressive, although I miss the speed of the Ardents. Pro's: Huge volume means your bike is almost a 650b. The cusioning is nice too if you're on a hardtail. Tons of cornering grip, although the lack of a row of transition knobs means you gotta commit and lean the bike hard. But when you do, they just keep gripping. They also have amazing uphill and braking traction. I'd say they're atleast the same as Nevegals but much faster rolling. I've tried them in mud, soft sand, loose over hardpack, rocks and leaf strewn hardpack and they work well on all of it. In fact I have yet to find a surface that they don't work on. Con's: Rolling resistance is much less than Ardents, but much better than Nevegals. Some say they're faster than High Rollers, though I'm not too sure. All the rubber makes them rather heavy. Here's a pic. Don't they look awesome, by the way? http://www.rushcycles.co.uk/smsimg/19/3729-9732-main-maxxis_advantage-19.jpg

Thanks for all the info, folks. I have quite a list of events that I'll mark on my calendar. It's a good motivator to work on my fitness through the winter.

Thanks for all the responses folks. I have a whole list of events I've been planning to go there in the next few weeks. I've heard that King's Kloof is very good so I'll definitely make a plan.

While you may be right about my lacking skill, the fact that you need 'skill' to use race kings would make them unsuitable for a beginner, which is precisely what the OP is asking about. Also, wouldn't you say that the fact that one needs special 'skills' to run Race Kings somewhat affirms my point about them having little grip? As for Ardents, they're an aggressive XC tyre, not a mud tyre. I found they don't shed mud well, but they're quite fast, and have decent grip in most conditions.

Wow, that's awesome!

Ja....and nurses...in nurse uniforms...to tend to the fallen.

I haven't been there, no. If you've got most of my list covered, then I'll certainly be there.

Speaking only for myself, I like variety. Plain and simple. Long gruelling ascents Short Steep rocky ascents Rock gardens River crossings Wet roots Mud Gravel Sand Technical descents Technical descents with twists in 'em Fast sweeping corners Fast corners with berms Fast off-camber corners Tight switchbacks Drop offs Roll offs with nasty grooves Logs to bunny hop A tabletop jump or two And some broken washing machines ..Huey gunships flying overhead to set the mood will be nice too. Seriously though, bar the last two items (I got carried away), gimme 30 kilometres of non-stop interesting challenges and I'll be in MTB heaven.

In my OP I mentioned angry alligator, but it's actually the crazy croc that I was thinking of.

Thanks, I'll check these out.

See, this is the impression that I didn't want to create. It's not that I think I'm too hard core for the other events or that I'm downplaying the challenge that a longer distance, flatter event poses. It's just that I don't like that sort of riding. Heck I don't even think I'm a good technical rider, but I do like trying. Given a choice between a marathon and going to the veld/illegal dumping site a few block from my house and wrestling my bike through ditches and over brick heaps, broken washing machines and disposed bodies, I simply prefer the latter even though the marathon may be more challenging physically.

'Looks like it. Pity that Gauteng events are generally so boring. It's not like we don't have any rocks, hills or mountains here, it just seems that most event organisers avoid 'em.

I'll definitely check out Karkloof next year or whenever there's an event there.

Thaba Toughy is 2 x 20km laps. It's really tough though because, as another poster pointed out, there are many steep ascents.

I normally don't enter races because I find them rather boring compared to just riding trails. One thing I do like about racing though is the whole vibe, and it's a good motivator to up your fitness levels etc. It seems most mountain biking events caters for XC style racing where it's relatively flat and fast and over longer distances. I'm looking to enter some more technical races. I suppose it's a matter of money talking. The easier the race, the more entries there will be and thus the more money can be made. But what is a trail biker like myself to do if I feel like racing? Now, watching Supercycling etc. there are shedloads of events going on almost every weekend, but it's really difficult getting any info about the races in terms of their technical challenge. I'm not going to pay R 150.00 bucks to schlep for 80 kms down district roads with the occasional groomed singletrack. I'd prefer a 20-30 kms race on a blue or even black diamond type trail. Do you guys know of any such events in the Gauteng area? Thus far all I know of is the Thaba Toughie, and perhaps Redstone Angry Alligator (judging by last year's complaints that it was too technical).

Conti Race Kings are total crap. They're fast, because they have no grip. You're better off with slicks, atleast then you won't kid yourself into thinking there might be some grip in the corners. I'd say a good all rounder is Maxxis Ardent. If you can find 'em.

Reading this thread it seems then that the main reasons for shaving one's legs are: 1. It looks better (Vast majority of posts) 2. Less painful when getting a massage 3. Easier to clean mud off your legs. By easier, I assume less painful since scraping/scrubbing caked mud off hairy legs doesn't really require that much more effort than scraping/scrubbing caked mud off smooth legs. I guess one can say then that if you have a tendency to be vain and/or you're a bit of a baby when it comes to mild pain, shave your legs. Otherwise keep 'em natural. Either way it will make no difference to your riding.

I have a globe like that in my study, but mine's 1:1 scale.

I've got a Rockshox Dart 1 fork lying around here and a bunch of other parts. No frames though. PM me your details, if it's close I'll drop it off otherwise we can arrange something.

I totally agree. I've been avoiding going to Cajees. It seems they're just there to make money off of the cycling industry. They don't know a thing about bikes, and it doesn't bother them in the least. I can't stand that. I'd rather pay more and go to Finishline or Tour De Frans, but often times these two bikes shops are cheaper than Cajees anyway.

I'd say the visor definitely makes a big difference in terms of not having a sunburnt nose. I always regret it when I forget to put my visor back on after taking my headlight off.

I read somewhere that the idea of long stems (90mm+) and narrow handlebars are a legacy brought across from road cycling. If this is true then it's not a matter of engineers and scientists determining that long stems and narrow handlebars are the best. It's actually based on the false assumption that what's good for road bikes must also be good for mountain bikes. But, why should one think this, given that wind resistance is less of a factor in MTB, and that MTB typically has far sharper direction changes and require more control especially on technical terrain? Either way, your friend has nothing to lose by atleast trying out the longer bars. I would however suggest pairing this with a shorter stem. This will also eliminate the change in seating position that covie mentioned. I made this change a while back, and even though my personal experience may not count for much, I can recommend going with wider bars-shorter stem for any style of mountain biking. The bike corners a lot better and it's easier to balance on technical terrain.

Maxxis or Marxist?

Yes, that is true. The new version however has been getting great reviews from the public as well as magazines etc.