TopFuel

If you're willing to drive a bit: Elroy Kensey is a top, top mechanic. I have had no issues with him, he is in Kuilsriver though. A great guy with a real passion for bikes.

Agree with Cippo on this one. You much more likely to feel the difference in the Mavic R-Sys wheels, simply due to the ultra-light weight aspect. 300g is a lot on wheels and as above, the aero advantage does not outweigh the drop in weigh IMHO.

No they dont. They can hydrate you just as well as other drinks.

Soft tail = chainstay flex Full sus = actual shock and linkages

This one?

Everytime: buildings blowing up, and Edward Norton: "You met me at a very strange time in my life". Great song that.

Couple of great albums that have come out recently. Really enjoying: Mechanical Bull - Kings of Leon Nothing Was The Same - Drake Fortress - Alterbridge AM - Arctic Monkeys And waiting with bated breath for the new Pearl Jam album.

Also just kidding. I'm a student, so dreams of fancy bikes will have to wait for graduation in two years time (and it is dragging on). I agree with captain, although I'm more partial to a road bike frame. If I had the money: 29er frame: R10-15k Road aero frame: have to buy either a Pinarello, Cannondale or Bianchi (yup, brand slut), so whatever they cost.

As little as possible...

Campagnolo is never a waste. But yeah, wheels are the best upgrade to do on a factory bike. Good advice above.

My mate and I like to do events that are >150km. Suckers for punishment I guess. I didn't realise there was a catergory of Ultra Marathon. I though marathons were +- 60km. And I don't like to ride those. Cool, my point still stands. Thanks for the advice guys, and gal.

I have never done an XCM/XCO race (and don't think I will), I prefer to challenge myself with the much longer XC races (which require a bit more comfort anyway). Hmm, perhaps a change is in order then.

To put that into perspective, my 100mm XC bike (dual) weighs in at 12.1kg. And fully locked out, I think its a beast to climb with, but suffers a bit (understandably) on the descent. So I can only imagine what Crow's Mojo must have been like, up and down. A mate and I recently did TransKaroo (a 240km XC event) with him on a long travel Merida (160mm), so yeah it can be done. Mayhem, I have been asking myself that question for awhile now. Will a 150mm trail bike really be the do it all bike I'm looking for. Mostly XC orientated, I'll admit, but I like a to ride trails, and really think an AM bike will suit my needs much better than my current bike, which is very very racy indeed.

Free shipping guys, its a bargain

No problem. I am all for supplementation, but I feel that what these types of companies do is nothing short of criminal. They (knowingly) sell the public and glorified sugar pill and make outrageous claims, then charge a fortune for it. It disgusts me. One of the best things that University has taught me, is to critically appraise a paper and evidence presented to you. Really opens up a whole new world and allows you to see through the marketing. There is a book: Bad Science by Ben Goldacre (I think it was mentioned above), that is brilliant and explains all these concepts in a factual and entertaining way, without the need for an epidemiological qualification.

Interestingly enough, I saw a guy in theatre today having a piece of his skull removed, to help deal with the injury due to a bike crash without a helmet. I refuse to ever be that person, hence I'll wear a helmet. At very least it'll improve my chances when the talent runs out. But I agree with above sentiments, it is entirely your prerogative whether you want to wear a helmet or not. No one has the right to force you (unless park rules stipulate it - sorry bro). It's your noggin, if you don't wanna wear a helmet, that's fine by me. I just think its such a bad idea. Despite all the I'm riding at slow speed arguments, I still think a helmet is a requirement when riding a bike. Cause you just dunno when the talent/luck is going to run out.

They paste articles on their webpage (I'll believe them more if I see it in a peer reviewed journal), and additionally, if you read the entire article (and not just the abstract), it becomes clear that there are methodological errors in some of the studies reported, and additionally that unrelated outcomes were reported. So what if your EPO went up slightly? Did it make any physiological difference? Did they control for confounding factors? How is supplementing a persons iron levels going to help you, unless you're anaemic?

I went and read their articles. There is one study I have come across that shows a benefit for EPO levels, but no difference in Hb, Hct or VO2max. And a systematic review (much better than anecdotal evidence @ivr32) of the topic concluded that there is little to no benefit in taking high doses of echinacea to improve performance in athletes. The problem I have with this company is that they plaster their webpage with all this pseudosicence bullsh*t, have a couple of people claim it helped them and start raking in the cash.

Studying anaesthetics and listening to the Who. Good evening all in all. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr6aQDxj7D8

Had a very similar experience myself. Both on the ascent and descent, dogs just go for you in a mixture of aggression/excitement. Really unfair I think, especially on the ascent. Is it so hard to keep your dog on a lead?

This is the biggest crock of s**t I have ever seen in my life. Natural EPO supplement, but certified drug-free? With the usual absolutely no scientific backup at all approach to taking people's hard-earned money from them? You want a higher haematocrit? Go train in the mountains. Simple as that. Or take real EPO. You know, like Lance was.

True, and a good view to have, but some frames are genuinely better than others. A Cannondale/Pinarello is better than a Trek, for example. But one must consider the age of the product that you buy. 2009 XT is not better than 2012 SLX, if you know what I mean.

Also I'm glad to see that the log section is not a typical obstacle. I have it a go but came off second best. Luckily the mud is still quite prominent, so that softened the landing