Captain Fastbastard Mayhem

AWWWWWWWW!!!! Damn. Was looking forward to that.

no. that's a large...

Correct! The Large is bigger than the medium, so by virtue of the bigger size the braces need to be bigger

Damn, Geecee, have you been living in a cave lately? This thread is dead - offer was for LAST year's EPIC. Epic FAIL? I think so...

I think that coffee tastes good. And you're about right, I think. Although the ratio varies wildly according to your own weight. Some of us are 100kg and ride 10kg bikes, and some of us are 100kg and ride 25kg bikes...

okay... my FS is in the region of 25kg. 2002 GT DHI (5.5kg frame & shock only) RS Pro Deluxe shock (needs an upgrade) 2002 RS BOXXER (I think it's a RACE) LX Hollowtech cranks Blackspire CHAIN GOD bash guard Blackspire 36t chainring XT RD & Shifter XT Casette Goodridge cables (for RD) AVID Elixir 5's 203mm front, 180mm rear Truvativ Boo-Bar (780mm) Funn RIPPA stem (40mm) ALEX DX 32 front rim Mavic EX372 rear (or something) Maxxis Minion 2.5 dual ply super tacky on the front Maxxis High Roller 2.5 dual ply super tacky on the rear DH tubes Standard seat-post & Selle Italia saddle So yeah. That's reasonable (for the moment) I have pedalled it up to level 4 at Tokai, but I was stuffed after that. My hardtail is a somewhat more respectable 12 or so.

ROFL!!! FTW!

Boobies what?

nope. Not yet, anyway. We're still happy with big travel and little wheels. No need to look like a clown AND go flying through the air...

I have 2 torches, 1 on the bars and one on the lid. The one on the bars is the brighter (and heavier) of the 2, and it lights up the road very nicely. The one on my kop is used to give additional light (if necessary) as well as to look sideways and in another direction if I want to scan my surroundings, or alert a car to my presence. It also gives a better perspective on the trail, as the bar-only option gives off strange shadows, making you think there's an obstacle when there isn't.

My wife's doing the half. Not running it, as it's going to be more of a waddle. She's 6 months preggers at the moment, and wants to walk/jog/walk it. Avg speed needs to be 8.5kph, which she can do (and is doing) comfortably... But she has asked that I keep my phone on just in case she needs to be "rescued" en route...

Well said Nige... and yes, that Mont St. Anne rock garden is a KILLER! There were loads and loads of casualties on that little area there, especially when it rained!

Hmmm... difficult one. If it's just a simple cold, then it should be okay. But - But - But - if it's not, and you do it, you're asking for trouble. I'd go to your doc and just get it cleared by him / her before you do that. My advice (not that it's worth much) don't do it. I know it's a helluva lot of money, but then your health is worth more.

Brilliant (yawn) My vote - 29" 130-140mm trail bike.

yummy!

Exactly right, Clint. We go to watch the cream of the crop do their stuff. They should have the skills to do whatever obstacles are in their way on the circuit. They are, as you say, the top guys. This is their bread & butter, what they get paid to do. They are on the trails day in & day out training and getting better & better. Also, something that Cap & I have talked about before - the advent of the 29er has necessitated the increased technical difficulty of the tracks, due to the way they roll better over the obstacles. I'm not saying that the skill level of the riders has increased with the advent of the big wheel, just that the big wheel allows one to mount obstacles which may have previously been too challenging for the riders. As an analogy, think of off-roading (4x4) competitions. A jeep cherokee may well be reasonable ito its off road ability, but put the same driver in a fully-kitted 4x4 competition ready vehicle, and he'll be able to do so much more due to the better capabilities of the vehicle itself. As far as technical aspects of the sport go, as long as the 9er (or 650b) is around, courses will continue to get more technically challenging in order to keep them "relevant" to the technology available. (flame suit on)

99er in 2009. Bonked at 80km with 3 broken spokes on the back and a couple of punctures during the race. Walked until the sweep vehicle came to collect me...

I've taken to training in the evenings now. It's become too much of a hassle to commute in and out with my schedule... EG: this mornign I had a 7am in Somerset west. My office is in Century City, and I live in wynberg. I'm also seeing clients after hours, which means that I finish off any time between 5 and 8. Not ideal for commuting, so I have to get my fix elsewhere... But thank goodness I have my lights!

What do you mean occasionally?

Use what you're used to, bro. If you've been training with the 2x, that'd be the one to use.

Dude, use your bonus to up the wheelset, and nothing else. The bike you have at the moment is perfect - 105 is the workhorse of the SHIM groupsets, and will last many a mile, while retaining precision and the toightness that you need from a gruppo. 105<ULTEGRA in only the weight. I'd rather take 105 (personally) as it is more "sturdy" than ultegra... I'd personally upgrade the wheelset and keep the bike. It's a looker of note, and the bath you'd take when selling the Silverback and buying the Giant would be, quite frankly, LARGE!!! Keep the silverback, and u/g the wheels. Do not sell the bike and buy a new one. In 2 years time, yeah - fine. But 2 months after buying the SB? You craxy man...

Yeah. The same thing runs to my dream of wanting to build a caterham or cobra. Home-made (in my home) to my specs. It's something I could do easily, if I had teh TIME and MONEY needed to buy a kit and build it... I'd also like to build up an original Mini Estate (panel van) to a good spec over time. My first car was a 1275E, bored out and cammed away to 1310 & 265, with forged pistons... In the future. In the future...

I won't even need to scrape. Easy. GT fury and a force niner. No questions.

wishing the legend himself a very good future...

Lol. Didn't say a niner doesn't rip there, bro. Just that a niner would suit the epic more than a sixer would. I'm one of the guys that appreciates the tech advantage the bigger wheels provide, as long as you have the geo sorted and adapt your riding style to suit. Just as long as you don't claim that the bigger wheels make you a better rider. Pfft. That's the only problem I have with sone adopters of the other standard. Wheel size has buggerall to do with how good you are.