BergForce

Tar eats away the knobbies and mtb tyres are expensive. I have researched 29er slicks and found the best option is Schwalbe Marathon Racer tyres. Dont go too narrow width on 29er rims, >35-38mm.

29er and tubeless do not work well together because of weight, so be glad that its not tubeless. The Ikon Exo is not tubeless but do they work well in tubeless set up? Yes they do work very well.

Dude you don`t have fat on you, so I suggest try eat something before you start. Food is after all your fuel. Can`t be good for your health riding on empty your blood sugar levels will be too low. I eat a lot before the ride and then I eat something during and I always feel like braaiing a large sheep at the end.

Ikon or Ikon Exo? Been using an Ikon Exo for a year now and has been rock solid in the Cape Mountains.

The ultimate dry 29er rear tyre is the Stans Raven 2.2 but seems impossible to get hold of in SA unless you are willing to pay shipping fees 2x the cost of the tyre.

For me there are only 3 choices: - Maxxis Ikon Exo: Lasts long, good consistent grip, 30g lighter than Ralph Snakeskin - Racing Ralph: Good grip, rolls very slightly faster than an Ikon, but wears out 3x quicker, Snakeskin 30g heavier that Ikon Exo - Ritchey WCS Shield: Good grip but less volume, rolls as fast as a Ralph and wears out just as quick but 60g lighter For a dually I like the Ikon front and Shield rear. The Shield (same with the Ralph) wears out quickly especially on the rear, but it helps that the Ikon on the front lasts so long, so only have to replace the rear regularly. For my hardtail/race wheels I have Shields front and rear, but I`m thinking of going Ralph Snakeskin front and rear. For my training wheels I`m going with Ikon front and rear cause these just last so long and is bullet proof. If I only had 1 wheelset I would probebly go with Ikon front and rear or stick to Ikon front and Shield rear. I would not consider any other options. The Contis are heavy, the X-Mark has bad grip and super-heavy in UST, the Nobbly Nic rolls slow and is heavy.

Ok let me put things back into context: 3 Reasons why we run wider bars for more leverage on a 29er: - Reduce centrifugal force on the wheel - Reduce sluggishness of bigger contact patch when turning - Reduce sluggishness of lower pressured tyres when turning Wider bars gives more fine grained control overall which is more necessary on a 29er because of above factors.

I have found this to help explain:

Besides the gyroscopic effect, its also the larger contact patch of a 29er tire. This contact patch is bigger because of the larger wheel, but also added to this is the fact that the 29er tire is suited to running less psi. All this points to more leverage required in turning = wider bars.

If you "might be willing to compromise on the "comfort"", then the 29er hardtail is the best choice. Yes 29ers are quick because of less rolling resistance over the rough, and hardtails are quick because of direct power transfer. So 29er hardtail is quick X2. Some days I want to hammer the climbs and go as fast as I can, then I use my 29er carbon hardtail, and other days I want to cruise and play, then I use my alu 29er dually - not that the 29er dually is slow, its just that if you like to stand up and hammer, then nothing beats a 29er hardtail.

Try moving your saddles forward but only small steps at a time. This will move the centre of gravity forward and should help with climbing. Or just get a 29er.

Stans and American Classic hubs have thru-axle converters available. With Stans you can get a hub cap for the conversion and with AM you can get a hub axle conversion. (PS. I have a Stans Crest with thru-axle wheelset available for R4500 brand new).

I think 650b hardtails are silly when you have 29er hardtails. Unless its a XS sized frame.

Don`t like it. Too long chainstays, crappy rear shock, and too much travel for my liking.

Every time a Merc AMG pulls away, it cancels all the effects of all 29er combined on the rotation of the earth, so dont worry as long as there are still AMG Mercs on earth, ride your 29er with no worries.

Is that really the point of this thread? Do you have proof? If it is ok to post David Cramer rooiveld skoene then surely its also ok to state that while the OP was gaining evidence of inconsiderate cyclists, he was actually inconsiderate, endangered the lives of others, and broke the law. Why do we need to start a new thread to state that? Is it against forum rules? If so please complain to the moderators.

I would go for the lighter Crests I find them to be great wheels on my Anthem. (I`ve got a set of Stans Crest 29er wheels for sale @R4500, brand new, standard QR or 15mm thru-axle)

Ok to recap: We have 3 wrongs: 1. Roadies not riding single file 2. Op using cellphone while driving 3. Hubbers playing on the hub while they should work But number 2 is actually a very serious offence and against the law and endangered the lives of others. Take out the log in your own eye before you point out the splinter in anothers eye....or something.

I think the op is in the wrong here, taking photos while driving is a serious offense.

What exactly makes the Giant the better bike? The1kg of extra weight on the Giant? The Avid brakes? The heavy Giant wheels? Or is it that steep head angle? Or is it the text on the label? I ride both brands and if you put a XTC Composite 2 and a Storm 1 (+- same price) next to each other the Silverback blows the Giant of the water. It will be more than 1kg lighter and I prefer the German designed Storm frame. Remember, putting a Tata badge on a BMW does not make it a worse car, it might make it cheaper, but that`s a good thing for me.

What about dirt roads?

- Lower tyre pressures does not = less speed offroad - If done with the right tyres tubeless = less weight - Tubeless = much less time wasted on fixing punctures

Didn`t you know that since Silverback went German a year ago that their bikes quality improved. I also love my Giant, and it used to be the best value, but since Silverback went German the Giant seems like very bad value. I compared the XTC to my Storm and there just was no comparison specs wise, and I prefer the Silverback frame too, those Germans sometimes know their engineering.

Avid brakes are crappy Yes "reportedly". Let me report that these bikes have very much the same geo except that the Silverback has got a 71` headangle instead of 71.5` which is .5` better in favour of the Silverback. There is no comparison, Silverback Vida/Storm is much better value than Giant XTC, just look at those gastly Gaint wheels vs the Stans Crests on the Silverback, and also those crap Avid brakes vs XT/SLX brakes on the Silverback.

Silverback Storm makes the Giants look like a ripp-off.