Captain Fastbastard Mayhem

But seeing as you're feeling particularly lazy today: Bergie: R 14,500 Ghost: R 14,999

see those links he posted? Click on them and ye shall see...

Although the Ghost has a 69 degree head angle vs the ghost's 71, so there is a distinct difference there. Bergamont will be the more racey of the 2, but the Ghost's head angle will inspire confidence on the way down. On pure SPEC, I'd go Bergamont. If you're going to be racing, same. Bergamont. But if it's just a recreational thing, then the Ghost would take it (for me) thanks to the slacker head angle...

Yeah, definitely the Bergamont, dude. No doubt about it, especially given the difference in brakes and wheels.

Bergamont http://www.bergamont-sa.co.za/image/cache/data/bikes/revox_83-800x600.jpg Ghost http://www.ghost-bikes.com/typo3temp/pics/3eb1de8e03.png Although the Ghost site lists the brake spec as Deore, so I reckon the local okes are down-speccing it here.

Ah. Bergamont and Ghost. The Bergamont is the better bike. No doubt.

Bike 1 without a doubt. Far better brakeset (elixir 5 vs Elixir 1) and a better wheelset. Otherwise it's pretty much equal. SRAM x9 = Shimano XT in terms of "quality" What are the 2 bikes, and what type of riding are you going to be doing? I knwo the bottom one is a Ghost, but bike 1?

26 July to 9 August, according to OM on page 48...

If that's the case, will there be a reigning monarch on the back as well?

Yeah, I don;t understand that either. And the tech 3 team is doing far, far better ito performance & reliability than the Duc. I mean, when last did a Duc finish in the top 4? Hayden seems to be out of it completely lately. He's DEFINITELY lost his spark, for me... But Crutchlow is looking after himself. Maybe the offer from Duc was too good to miss out on, and let's face it. If he can make that pig work, then why not?

ROFL. Dude, it gives people who ride in the mornings time to do their thing, and seeing as most of us have kids / wives / girlfriends it gives us time to do the family time thing before heading off on to the mountain, or watch the kids soccer / rugby / netball / hockey games in the morning as well.

Amongst the ruins of the old one. Crossing in places, but not on the exact same line. I do have a pic here somewhere....... but this isn't the complete picture of the route it will take. New trail will be 50m longer (or so) than the old one and will use the slope as well.

Yes. For you, Deon - it's an early start. 12h30. I will call you repeatedly in the morning...

Yeah. Exactly. And we all know what happens when we try to hard... Our faces end up in the tarmac.

Yeah, and RB are towing the line 'cos everyone knows they don't want TWO dominant cars on the grid. I mean, hell. The constructors championship is worth, what? R 2.50? Pfft. Chump change. Get with it (not you, sk - the theorists) - RB want to be as competitive as possible. They're the same team, same budget etc just a different race management team between MW & SV. That's all it comes down to, really. RB would not put a duff car into the mix. There's just too much to lose. Okay, yeah - SV would probably get the majority of "new" equipment if there was only one of them in production, which is logical - give the stuff to your top driver, but spread your bets just in case something goes wrong with it. A race later, when it's been tested under race conditions, then MW gets it and so on. But that's just normal race tactics.

Tuinslang? LOL. In 2 years there will be trees again. Arguably the trees that the Boomslange prefer as well!

I cannot wait for that, and a 10sp version of the mammoth cluster. Or - is the actuation ratio on the XX1 the same as X9 10sp? May have to fiddle a bit to get it to work... cheapo X09...

The time has come, to say fair’s fair To pay the Rent, to pay our share! Yes, Boomslang is the lucky trail this weekend. Some peoples favourite, and arguably one of the most fun and flowy trails on the mountain before it got logged. This is your opportunity to ensure your own bit of input into the NEW Boomslang. Features, features features. We’re going for something with FLOW. Something that will have you whooping and crying from the top of your lungs as you hurtle down the trail, through technical areas and tight flowy singletrack nirvana. Come one, come all. Swing a spade / rake / ho / axe and build the trail you want to ride. As an aside – I’d like a show of hands for this one please. The local PnP has offered to sponsor food for the day, in the form of boerie rolls for us normal people, and lettuce for the strange ones. Pull in! You’re sure to have a blast!

Dude... that sucks! Not cool at all!

A red white and green one...

Maybe she was referring to this... http://pigfarmerbikemagazines.co.uk/albums/album14/DSC_6738_adjust_front.jpg

Indeed. Indeed he did. He should have stayed with Yamma after perfecting it. That's also something people forget - his input into the Yamma development.

Hmmm. How much is luck, and how much is just bad driving? Hear me out here - the drivers select their own settings in the car. So - how much is it the fault of the car (random faults) and how much of it is him selecting the inappropriate map / wrong setting etc or driving outside the tyre's capabilities (we all know how they need to be managed this year)

yoiu mean this one? http://www.sicklines.com/gallery/data/1069/hope-tech3-front.jpg http://p.vitalmtb.com/photos/users/109/photos/62745/s780_Hope_Tech_3.jpg?1377729212 DROOOOOOOL!

I'm in 2 minds. I think the supersic incedent really, really took a toll on him both emotionally and from a focus perspective, and given that that was, what, 3 years ago now? It's still semi-fresh in his mind. Something like that is bloody hard to get over. Then again, he's been battling with the balance of the bike in some races. There's no doubt about it - that Lorenzo / Marques battle is epic, and he's going to have to lift his game more next season to reliably compete with them, if he is to be up there. He's not been top rung this year, for sure - but in some of the races you can still see he has that killer instinct, but seems to be holding back a bit. Almost as if there's that niggle in the back of his head... I REALLY want to see him compete properly with Marques and Lorenzo again next year. After that, who knows - but I reckon he'll stay on as a developer, or even maybe start his own team. Would be awesome to have Marques and another rider under his development and tutelage. Plus - he's one of the only racers to openly congratulate ANYONE who wins / comes ahead of him. A real sport.