nickelass

If they work for you,fine.I had bar ends,until I had a particularly nasty experience with a vine on single track,catching one. I removed them and have never missed them at all. Maybe they do give more power on the uphills,to me that would make me want to use them,however I am now comfortable without them, I have done a 4 day stage race and have not had a problem with my hand position thou.

main thing is to have the correct tools,then get the knowledge whichever way you can,after that just inspect and do preventive mantainence,and keep a record,then you know when to lube wheel bearing bb etc.Will save yoy money,and prevent costly breakdowns.

there is no entry signs on some tracks,but even then people often ignore them,and not because they are lost,just because they want to ride the track the other way.I think tracks should have names rather,and some track should be two way.Such as the waterfall trail already is. The problem is people say it should be this and that,but no one does anything,the people (read members)who have a interest should do something,(maybe a meeting,and have an action plan).Some of the new trails were made by members in there own time. When I first rode there we used to have "wakkey wednesdays" and the track were reversed for fun,some people have not forgotton that. Giba has excellent track,some sponsers are nameing track,first timers can spend 5 mins asking staff, members or looking at the map in front to plan their ride. I can not see a solution to please everybody,even on many races people miss marking and get "lost".

Impossible to really get lost at giba,as you are in a valley and any reasonable person just follows the track back down the valley to get back,also enought people ride there to point you the way out.Yes they are making more track,and less concerned with signs,please dont renew your membership if you are offended,makes no difference,you are the loser.

An interesting point of view,only to me after riding for a couple of years I have changed my setup as my body as also reacted to the forces imposed from riding.However a newbie has no knowledge and needs a starting point, I bike fit is just that.

Come accross many snakes at giba,and there are some days I can predict I cross paths with one or two. Usally if the weather has warmed up,after a spell of cold days,the snakes tend to bask on the open paths. If the trails are not busy be carefull. Both the mambas and cobras are very alert,and move off the track, as they react to the vibration,the puffadders seem to not always move,lifting your legs high seems to be the best answer if you are forced to run over them.

A heavy all mountain bike, skills on downhill have improved,plus much better for training on,mad me faster when I ride my other bike,an anthem.

a friend of mine had a simular problem,turned out he had a broken pawl which was occasionally jamming the works,we managed to open up the freebody fairly easy,much like a hope hub.

I use trail pedals,have the same outlook as you,nice to have cleats,but I ride mostly not clipped in.Only clip in on long tame uphills for the little extra power.When I first started riding 5 years ago I was told cleats are the "must have" and you cannot ride the rough stuff without them. I had not mastered the basic skills,and now I was trying to ride clipped in.The falls I had because of this were made worse,or in most cases could have been advoided. I do smaller jumps clipped out with trail shoes,and am now learning to "stay with" the bike also to position my weight in the correct place to achieve this,my riding has improved ,as well as my confidence,in my abilities as a result. Many newbies to this sport are so focused on being clipped in,and the extra power,and are told "ride clipped in,like most xc riders" they fall harder and more often,and hurt themselves ,as a direct result.

fractured and broke same collerbone in two separate crashes,as well as ribs and shoulder,lack of skill and stupidly.Have now learnt to take reasonable risks,I hope.Ride some minor downhill with jumps,I think to many people ride clipped in before they have the skills,and as a result are not balanced properly,and rely on the clips to stay on.When they do come off they are unable to protect,or "bale out" a minor fall then becomes much worse.I ride mainly clipped out most of the time,and I feel more confident,it has saved me on some occasions.

Iuse grease mixed with a little fork oil,it works for me as Ihave booties on,as I mentioned,it does not get dirt as the booties prevent this,my fox forks are old and already have stanstion damageiI bought them like this and made a plan,Iam using motorbike booties (the forks are 2008fox talas 36)and they seem to work fine.Supprisingly they do not get dirt in and they is no stictsion.My opinion is lubing and protecting the uppers is the answer,but you would need booties.On my rebas I use removable lizard skins,bought from CWC.

have the same with both fox and rockshox,the only answer is to do a basic clean of the seals,and a fork oil change.You have to take the lowers off though.Once damage is done its too late.I have put booties on my fox forks,because of this.I cannot understand why forks dont have booties, they work!I was told this is not done as booties trap dirt in,and if left is going to do the damage.The answer is to cable tie the booties at the top,and leave the bottom open,so you have access for cleaning,plus lube. In my case the damage was so bad I filled in the marks with nail varnish,and fine waterpaper to smooth,the performance of the forks is not affected,though I do lube the uppers regularly,the good thing with the booties is the lube on the stantions helps performance,and does not attract dirt as you have the booties.In most cases slight damage is only cosmetic,and wont affect performance,though it does allow more dirt to get throuh the seals.

last year the sani2c was forced to use an alternative route for day 2,as it was to dangerous,so they had a back up route and cut out the section which was so wet it was considered unsafe to even walk,dirt roads were used and even that could have been considered "unsafe",at the end of the day I dont think there were any complaints,Im sure there was extra work to use the alternative route,the answer is to make the decistion early,in this case the decision was made 12 hours before the start of day 2.

there is only one, morewood

dissconnect your cable at the derailer,pedal the bike,it must go to the small cog, if it does the fault is in the cable , very dirty maybe, or too much tension,if it still does not go down the low limit adajust screw on the derailer needs to be adjusted.To ajust the cable use the cable ajuster next to the shifter,if it is the cable,try lubeing the cable it can be as simple as that.

I was faced with the same problem but with a mtb wheel.I made a trueing stand,used the internet (Sheldon Brown I think) and struggled with my first wheel.Anyone can do it,you will be slow, but once done the next will be faster.I was also told how hard it was by people who had never done it a bike shops.

find this topic very interesting,I have recently bought a second hand morewood as a AM bike.I ride a lot and was riding my light XC bike more aggressively,jumps etc,and was leaning more into this style,more fun riding ,less orientation on time to km covered.I would not consider AM bike(more than 6inches of travel by my judgement) as a do it all bike.It is to heavy for 40km XC with friends,as I find the focus is pure speed and a test of current peak fitness. Many of my friends response was why would I want to evolve into ihis form of riding? My reasons were more that I ride many times on my own so why race?Plus factor the same trail gets way more exciting. A heavy bike is hard work uphill,(good for training fittness)speed on the downhill(good for skill training).Strong,for the rough stuff.Less breakages,hopefully. I will still do xc races,on an anthem,my speed may increase(or maybe decrease)but I am enjoying my riding more.

thanks for the info,have their address and no.will most likely get there on friday.

since this seems to be the topic for rear shocks service I have recently rquired a AM BIKE WITH A fox DHX 4,O shock.I know it needs a service,its leaking oil and has no rebound,also seems to be leaking air from the boost valve and I suspect for a rebuild as it may need,it will be expensive.considering as an alternative,may be better to switch to a coil shock of a reasonable performance,the shock does seem to have mixed reviews on its relability.Any first hand advice on this would be appreciated,also if I did send it to be serviced,in the durban area who could do it and any rough guide to the cost?

agree totally with maintaining your own bike,realised I learn this skill after two breakdowns,which need not have happened,invest money in tools, and even if you do have a breakdown,most likely you can make a plan,also save you a lot of your hard earned cash.

giant any day,they have an excellent track record and weight is less.

stopped smoking 4 years ago,totally agree you have to want to,also gave up alcohol 2 years 3months ago,found both habits were taking control of my life,it works for me.

mainly ride on my own,thou there is a couple of us sometimes,no set plan,we tend to trail ride more and can be very slow,depending on the mood,I use night riding more as a way to unwind from a working day.

giba,seem many animals,and once you know the track you can pick new lines that you dont see in the day.