Captain Fastbastard Mayhem

No. None. And no problem sticking them upside down either. It's a myth, and a silly one at that. In fact, sometimes it's better stored upside down as the oil in the forks will leech to the top of the fork lowers, re-lubing the fork wipers, which often dry out or don't get enough oil. As for the brakes - sealed system. Only a problem if there's air in the system, and then it's an air leakage problem, not an upside down bike problem.

Joh, Did they ever!!! I came around the bottom corner just as they were about to take it. I can only imagine what would have happened had someone come careening around that corner without looking, as some okes usually do when exiting the carpark... They were all over the place.

I like this kid. Full of guts, never say die. He's my pick when Rossi (eventually) bows out.

@ Dangle - Vivo barefoot?

Yep. The tjop...

bastard. Lol

Patches - Where! ? Link please!

I see it in my 2 year old as well... forefoot all the time.

Kind of what I expected tbh. I'm not a runner (last time I ran competitively was in st6) and I NEED to work on my form. The thing is with the degradation of my knees, I was thinking that a style more reliant on muscle strength would be better for both long term recovery and joint protection. So yeah, I'll give it a shot. Was that repeated intervals of 500m at a time, or a total of 500m in one session?

DETAILS, MAN, DETAILS!!!!!

LOL. I'm having visions of Wil-e-coyote and the Road Runner... Meep Meep!

As someone who, when running "traditionally" impacts his knees to such a degree that the damage that is already done intensifies (numerous torn meniscus injuries, sprained ligaments and so on) this intrigues me. From your experience - how long does it take one to adapt to the newer style? Given that I need to build from the ground up anyway, it makes sense that I may as well try a new style to see if it makes a difference in the long run (excuse the pun) and, to my (uneducated) mind, a shorter stride, forefoot strike would do less damage to the knee than a longer stride with heel strike. Less direct, and less force - more reliance on muscular support than the "traditional" style... Thoughts? Wyatt? Brian?

LOL!

2014 model of the one he's looking at has the Nude 2. YUK! I'll agree that the Scott looks better, but the Giant is the better bike.

EISH. No, boss. Not anything DT Swiss for shocks, thanks. Me no likey. They've had countless problems with the original Nude shocks, so like the FOX CTD forks, I'd give it a clear birth until they've ironed out the issues and released the next gen option. Fox shocks (rear) are just so much better. As for the CTD forks - 2014 is better than 2013 for sure. And Fox are offering upgrade packs for all those with 2013 / 14 internals, to take them up to the 2015 versions. As for muck and damage on the shock - not really, eh. They're both protected by the seat tube. But - the major thing is that the Maestro suspension design is "better" than the scott's design. It really is. Plus the Giant is infinitely more capable, and an all round better machine.

On TECHNICAL climbs. The bit of movement or squash actually gives the rear more traction. On jeep track or fire road climbs, yeah - you need as little bob as possible. But when you're negotiating rocks, roots, ruts and so on, even a little bit of squish (in addition to a relatively low pressure in the tires) is a good thing as it helps the bike "bite" into the terrain instead of bouncing off it. I agree that we have different requirements and / or likes, but the above rings true for all of us. Whether we like it or not is our preference.

Plus - on technical climbs you actually WANT a bit of movement on the rear to give you more traction...

That's more a function of the shock itself though rather than the suspension design.

I'd recommend the Trance 275 over the 29er every day of the week and twice on Sundays

Giant. Their stock wheels are much stronger than the Syncros wheels on the Scott. It also has a better suspension design than the Scott.

pics or it doesn't exist

I don't know for absolute sure, but I have had times where I've hamfistedly over tightened bearings and they go pop. Plus, it all depends how tight you can get them with your fingers. I've tightened things "finger tight" where others have to use an allen key to get them undone again, so it's all relative...

FreeHub refers to a hub that spins freely in one direction - one that allows you to FREEwheel. So as Wyatt says, it's all hubs apart from Fixed Gear / Fixie specific hubs.

Nope. If they're not broken, or you're not building a new wheelset, then stay with what you have and just remember to service them regularly. Service them means take them apart, regrease and retension the cones to the proper pressure (finger tight)

If new pads, add another 400 to that. You may as well buy brand new.