Captain Fastbastard Mayhem

So that was the smell!

Rofl. Reign Man indeed! He is the ultimate Giant Jedi! In most cases, when people catch up to him on the singletrack, he gives a surprized "hahah! I'd better pedal faster then!" And vamooses. A la roadrunner.. Meep meep!

It would have been a redeeming attribute. Something else to hold your attention away from the facial expression of a mollusc.

Absolutely. Especially if it's something they're passionate about. Ask a cabinet maker to show you his trade, they will jump at the opportunity - but only if you're there, and not on your friggin iPhone all day while they're trying to show you something.

Absolutely. And the reason I'm keeping my Hardtail.

Lol... Yeah, seeing him tomoz. But can delay for thursday if necessary.

He's getting it back tomorrow. Sniff!

It is indeed that one. Hopefully collecting it at the end of the week...

Its also stronger and more comfy to ride. Very capable bike, and a true do it all. Just doesn't come in niner format due to the travel restrictions of the wheel format. That's the bike I'd go for in the pursuit of a fun bike that can do it all, and hack it on the multi day events without rendering you a quivering fool on the tech stuff.

Its a 2010 frame if that helps. But will bear that in mind! Won't that restrict travel movement though?

Of course, the other option is a brand new reign. Comes standard with dropper, 720mm bar and chain guide, slx parts kit and their own wheelset. Cost? 25k. Bargain of the century. And a very, very capable bike. I know okes on reigns that do the multi day events and absolutely love their bikes.

Rofl. He was asking about anthem 29 vs Trance 29. Me, I'm just building up a Reign X! That's definitely a sixxer!

He's still around here, eating pies and trying it on with the thyroid clan.

The ONLY place an anthem would beat it is in climbing ability on non-technical trails, aka Jeep Track. The TRANCE 29er's wheelbase is shorter than that of the anthem, and along with the extra travel, that makes climbing technical terrain that much easier. Trust me, it is true that more travel = better traction over rocks, roots etc. The Trance will whip it's sorry ass in all other areas. Descending, technical terrain, stability, comfort, you name it.

Exactly. Bergie seems to be forcing his his view of "recreational riding" on everyone. Recreational riding is not best done on a 100mm xc machine. That is a fact. They are too twitchy, too light and too nervous to be used as a recreational bike, despite what the South African market thinks. Recreational bikes (bikes used for fun and play) should be looked at in the Trail / All Mountain category. They're built stronger, can take bigger hits and are... guess what... more comfortable! In fact, the terrain in RSA is ideally suited to a machine with 130-170mm travel. Why? Because it varies so much, and it's that ability to go up a little slower, and down a helluva lot more comfortably, that should eb concentrated on. Not the endless pursuit of raciness and weighlessness, when you're not even using the bike to win races. If you're looking for fun, rather go for the Trance. It WILL give you endless amounts / hours of fun, and still be hugely impressive up the hills.

At the expense of being less capable on other, more technical and demanding trails, bigger hits and so on. That, or just riding along. The Anthem is a very race oriented bike. Not really suited to Joe Average, despite what Joe Average thinks or what the LBS would have Joe Average think.

That, is an AWESOME shot.

Good point, Berg Bok, But - and it's a big BUT - the Trance is a far more versatile bike than the Anthem. It can do marathons, dabble in XC and is a truly great trail machine. Plus, it can take more punishment.

Yeah. But that was in the days when I was doing the JT all the way down. Stoopid.

NOUGHT! For an oke just looking to mess around, and get into trail riding, a Trance x1 29 is superb. There's a reason there are hardly any unhappy trance owners, and they can take punishment, do an all day Marathon event and still love the downs. Merida Big Nine is more oriented to a XC specific ride, or someone who is a racing snake. Rather go Trance. It's a popular bike for a reason. And it can do anything.

LOL. Yeah, I think my fastest is about 70 on the JT. That was on my hardtail. According to my Sigma at the time.

It should, really. Gearing on a niner is slightly more "difficult" than a 6er given the same chaunring sizing and cassette sizing, so a 38 would be like a 40. Should be perfect for most conditions.

Yeah, surprizingly not that much speed in the grand scheme of things, eh? I reckon 35kph or something.

Told ya!

Yeah, they're apparently very close. I imagine Schumi could give him a lot of pointers, despite his "comeback" amounting to nothing. Albeit the car that he was in was hardly top echelon.