Captain Fastbastard Mayhem

2pm? Done! Is this confirmed...

sies, man...

DT Swiss on the Giant vs Bontrager on the Trek XT Giant vs X9/X7 on the Trek Fox on Giant vs Fox on the Trek (Both Tapered F29 100mm jobbies) RP23 rear shock Giant vs RP2 Trek Seems pretty close, until you see that the Giant has full XT vs some X7 parts on the Trek, but I'd rate the Trek's wheels above the Giant's Shock and fork on the Giant is slightly better than the Trek, but then it is more expensive. My recommendation remains the same. If you're set on getting the better specced bike, get the Giant. BUT - Only if you prefer the way it rides to the way the Trek rides.

And now for your next blind date... Meet her at the bar. If she gives you bat, take it on the chin and just carry on going forward...

Big thumbs up! This is more of what we need. Good people.

Jees, JW, really bottoming out on that last one - Won't be surprized if his tires have rim-marks inside!

Jon0, I need to ask you a couple of questions here... Better geometry for who, and for what purpose? IE: is the Giant more race oriented, and therefore more aggressive in its geometry as opposed to a more relacxed geo on the Trek? HOW is the Giant better on the Singletrack and hills etc? Surely if the Giant has "better" geometry, suited more to racing, then the Trek would have a geometry more suited to descending, thereby inspiring confidence on the downhills? Also - Do you know which wheelset the Giant & Trek come with? There's no more info other than that the rear shock is of (supposedly) higher quality, and the groupsets differ between the bikes. Once again - smoother ride. How? As far as I know, the way a bike rides is due to the way it is set up, as well as the size of the wheels (flame coat on) and if they are both set up similarly, then they should be just as smooth as each other UNLESS you're talking about the way the frame adapts to different conditions? Finally - when recommending a bike to someone else, determine the type of riding the OPer does, and give a bit more detail in your posts. EXPLAIN why the goemetry is "better" on the giant, or WHY it handles the ST differently. Or HOW the "limited edition" fox fork on the giant is just simply a marketing ploy, aimed to get giant customers to believe that their Fox is better than somebody else's... Gwaba - ride both of them, and if you feel that one suits you more than the other, then go buy that one. If they're too close to call in terms of the way they ride & feel, have a look at the componentry (wheels - tubeless ready or not, for example) or brakesets etc, and then make the decision based on that. Alternatively - ask yourself this - if you buy the Giant, will you always be looking at the Trek and thinking "damn, that's sexy" and have a longing look at the thing? Insofar as warranty issues go, I cannot call on that section of the question. All you have to worry about though, is the frame of each bike. If another component fails, it's not the bike manufacturer's fault, but the part provider's.

Tubed has nothing on tubeless. The difference is well worth the extra cash, in my opinion. So much better in terms of grip (you can run lower pressures without having to worry, thereby giving you extra grip)

Haha! That'll teach ya to shop around...

CRC or CWC. If you're in CT, then there are a couple of guys that carry them.

Also looked as if it was the older XT, in which case it's much the same as current SLX...

Only because I couldn't help but chuckle... It was spectacular in its infanticity (I claim the word)

Yeah, I was pissing myself while I was writing the story! You really, really should have seen the whole event!

Yep - there was. But it was on the "old" Hub... can't find the pic at the moment, will have to look for it! wooden Faerie Garden bridge, back when it was a bit more rocky than it is now. Mate of mine hit it first time, then I said he needed to do it again for confidence. He bottles the next 6 or so attempts, then gets it right, only to focus on the edge of the bridge and his arms lock. As he hits the edge of the bridge, he pulls his front brake. Basically cases it then and there like an upside-down pendulum. it was glorious to watch! His head connected with an exposed root, and that gave him a nice 2" gash on his brow. I took a picture before taking him to the Medi Clinic to have it stitched up... Come now, it was worth it!

Ah, yes... the one where my mate had 15 stitches forced upon his brow...

True. But then, the rains should have kept at least a few trolls away, and will harden up the trails after they're hit with a bit of sun...

No. It's him saying "keep back! I have ostrich-foot! It's contagious!"

In his later years... it's how me managed to continue doing his rapid twirls and jumps without seeming to expend too much energy. Where did you think the saying "the force is strong in this one" came from? It wasn't just referring to Lukie boy...

That is sooooo uncool. We have so much potential here. The trails will fit. They are almost ready for an event now. Just 1 week of dedicated work will turn them into world class DH trails. If only there were a sponsor. We're already a more premier destination than DBN or JHB will ever be (and I'm a Durbanite by birth - I "ptoooey" on the Stormers and Wee Pee) but it will not come here unless there is a sponsor. Much like the Epic had down here. We've already hosted the prologue in Tokai. Why not a DH nat'l event? It's a winner. So much accessibility. So much spectatorship. So much fun, it shall be. Go and rest my yoda-like ass, I shall.

Damn. This really has descended ito a flame contest. Personally, I think my flames are prettiest. They are red & shiny, and occasionally come out of my ass when I see a particularly gnarly section of ST, heavily populated by rocks and random wrong-way-riders. But that's just me. Chill out guys. It really has descended into a "might is right" situation, when that was never the point. Respect the trail. That also means respecting the TYPE of trail it is. If it's a DH trail, don't be surprized when you're flattened by a gentle giant on a 20kg sled after you're coming off a berm on your way UP the DH section. Don't vloek your fellow man when you're both on the trail, going opposite ways. Ask yourself "what would I like to do in THAT person's position?" Carry on on a massive downward trail, trying to hone your skills at high speed? Or carry on slogging on the uphill, trying to turn the cranks 1 rpm faster in your ultimate pursuit of efficiency? Or - ask yourself first. Which would you rather STOP doing? I guarantee that EVERY person here would rather string together an epic section on the way down than try to do the same uphill. The rush is incomparable. And for those that say they like to hone their tech skills on the uphills... how else could you hone your skills faster than remounting on an up, than 30cm before a tech section? Riddle me that... Peace - from an XCDHAMFRer...

That wass kinda the point... :-)

Agreed, Pain or shine... Can't we all just get along (with the rules AND each other)

lol @ DJR... And I'm on a hardtail... Not a DJer, nor DHer, not even an AMer or FRer. But I don't class myself as an XCer.

And I say that even though he might have been able to ride up it, he shouldn't have. Ignorance is no excuse for circumventing the rules. A DH track is a DOWN HILL track. One way. No other way.

Headshot - it's for that very reason that I check before going down into Vasbyt, and the other DH tracks. I've been met with too many people thinking that they are the only ones on the trail, and are mortified when I come around a corner at a rate of knots only to pull up 1m short of them in a flurry of dust and dirt. Let's not even begin mentioning the other ST section where everyone is god and can do no wrong. I'm a bit believer in the notion that starting again on an up section is easier than starting again going down - mainly because you need to be clipped in so much more quickly when going down - have you ever tried to do a technical section out the saddle with only one foot clipped in? I have. Unwillingly. And it bit. Hard. Whilst everyone is in essence right in at least one tiny section of their posts, a lot of common sense is being lost here when the uppers claim dominion over the downers. It's just common sense that you SHOULD get out of the way for somoene doing 80 kph on a 20kg machine. Like it's just plain common sense to look left and right when crossing the road, or NOT playing chicken. Who can get out of the way faster? The guy going up at 10kph, or the guy going down at 50kph? For one of them, it's 2 wheels off the side of the trail, and a puncture or an interrupted uphill slog at the worst. For the other, it's 50m of slowing down, and those same 2 wheels off the track mean coming off the bike where the BEST case scenario is a scratched hand or arm. Worst case, you ask? Just ask the guy who went away in an ambulance this past weekend for losing control at speed. What, you may ask, is the solution? Certainly not speed limits. Education education education. And at least a smidgen of common sense NOT to ride up the DownHill tracks, or at least to constantly be on the lookout for the guys coming down. The correct signage will form part of the solution. But then so will keeping your head up, your ipod off and your eyes open for any fellow trail rider. Because as we have seen, tensions run high on these fora. I thought we were supposed to be better than the roadies? More... at peace. Seeing as we're in constant touch with someof the most glorious tracks in the country, it makes sense, no? At the end of the day - be courteous. Otherwise you WILL be hurt by someone who takes exception to your potty-mouthed proclamation over how "up has the right of the way" and "you should have seen me". In closing though - what is more fun - down or up? Which would you rather be doing? Now which would you like to be interrupted least of all for some tjop who "did not see you" or claims the trail is just as much his as yours, and therefore REFUSES to move off the trail for someone else, purely becasue he considers himself more equal than others?