Captain Fastbastard Mayhem

horses for courses mate - I think the most important thing to remember is that you were riding on HARDPACK, which is crossmark territory. The Weirwolfs are a soft tire, designed to dig in and bit in anything from loose on hard to wet loamy stuff, but they will never be fantastic on the hardpacked clay that you guys get up there in JHB. Consider this though - road bike (motorcycle) tyres cornering ability (the crossmarks, in this case) versus the knobblies on a scrambler (the Weirwolf) whilst cornering on the road, on a long fast corner. The road bike will be able to handle that much more speed than the scrambler, owing to the size of the tread as well as the rubber compund that it uses. However, reverse the situation and have the scrambler off road, and the positions will be very different. You're kind of riding on the MTB's version of a road - hard packed, not a lot of loose stuff, and very very... well, hard. Nothing really for the tire to get down in and grip on, other than that flat, hard surface - which is why you'd need a tire with a harder compound, with closer spaced knobs in order to grip properly. As soon as you introduce some loose stuff though, that hard compound is going to be your enemy and the tire is going to be out of its depth, because it can't adapt to the conditions and form the tread around whatever it needs to grip on... It's really elementary physics though. So if you ever come down to the cape, or even the KZN area, these tyres are for you. If you're consigned to stay near the hard, packed down track up there, then stay with Crossmarks... Even though I hate them with a passion. Saying that though, you might find the Wolverines to your liking!

Next thing is someone will come off at speed and clip one of their cables on the way down. Look ma, no gears!

bwahahahaha!!!!

back down to 98 after the honeymoon high of 101.

Yeah - I'm running a 2.2 Wolverine at the back and a 2.3 Weirwolf at the front. they are pretty much exactly the same width, but the Weirwolf is just THAT much more aggressive. I found the Wolverine wasn't working lekker up front, and washed out under extreme cornering. It also wasn't as "planted" as the Wierwolf feels. It's a helluva tire though... Also depends on where you're riding... hardpack mostly, then there's nothing wrong with the Wolverine up front. I just find that the Weirwolf is the frontrunner (nyuk nyuk nyuk!!!) when it comes to grip when things get gnarly.

Stick with the Weirwolf up front, mate. Far more aggressive, and better grip in the tricky stuff. I've got the Weirwolf at the front and the Wolverine at the back, and it's far better than the Wolverine was on both ends!

It seems as if there is a "replacement" tire that is coming through, but only insofar as the local distributors are replacing the Weirwolf with the Bronson. It's not a replacement at manufacturer level, but rather local distributor level. Only thing is - the Bronson is only coming to our shores in a couple of months... and the distributors haven't had stock of the Weirwolf for the past 4 or 5, possibly longer. Not exactly any sort of phase-out strategy, is there?

The Wolverine is still brought in - just the Weirwolf that isn't. I know Epic still stocks the Wolverine, as do a number of other places.

True dat, DR... although, if you ride "properly" you can throw the back around and still have it railing when you need it. After all, when throwing the back out, your rear is still gripping, albeit at a slightly shallower depth than normal. When the right time comes though, you want it to dig and dig HARD, otherwise you'll carry on going around and then just end up looking like a tit.

Yeah - bought them off CRC as the local distributors aren't bringing them in anymore. Otherwise I would've bought from my LBS Surely then you didn't search properly? The tire is heavy, but not excessively so. After all, it's got a LOT of rubber, and it is a big tire! No weight-saving techniques here, but it rides so well, just floating over everything. I also think that, given that it is classed as an AM tire, it shouldn't be classed in the same area as those tires that shed massive grammage just so that the weight weenies can fit them to their rims... In this case, weight is not a disadvantage. Plus, the Kendas and Mtn Kings aren't exactly "light" themselves, now are they?

oh - and if the_wes wants to, he's more than welcome to. Always have wanted to dabble in the written word... And if I help more people shirk from the madness that is Crossmarks, then my deed is done.

Great looking bike, BB. Downhill only at the moment, eh? :-)

Cap! When the name-change? And thanks, by the way - it truly is a fantastic tire. Never once did I feel it giving out underneath me, even under (criminally slow) attempts of DH1

Well, my previous tire suffered an irrepairable blowout a few months back, and I needed to find a capable replacement, that wouldn't wash out under pressure, would hold the trail very well on both hardpack and loose, as well as loose loamy stuff (I'm talking Tokai here) and would give me a reasonable life-span for the price. The options were as follows (all UST, all similar pricing including VAT for CRC orders) Conti Mtn King 2.4 (most expensive) Kenda Nevegal 2.3 WTB Wolverine 2.3 (replacement for blown tire; cheapest) WTB Weirwolf 2.3 The Conti, though being a front-runner in the beginning, was a little too narrow in profile for the riding I like to do, as well as the pressures I like to run up front. Even though this is by all means a VERY capable performer in all conditions, the profile size was a major contributor to me deciding not to go for it. That, and the fact that nowhere, and I mean NOWHERE, stocked the tire in anything but 26" 2.2 or 29" 2.4. Both of which were useless to me. CRC did, of course, stock the tire. But I wasn't willing to go there just yet. The Kenda was the next logical choice. Big, reasonably spaced knobs would have guaranteed great grip in the twisty stuff, and the stick-e rubber was a big drawcard. However, I thought that the knobs were slightly too prominent, and had no discernible profile to them other than being straight up & down. In other words, they would grip. And grip hard. But they would be monstered on the road - not a good thing, seeing as I ride the 10km from my place to Tokai on the local rural passageways, only 50% of which can be bypassed on grass/gravel. In addition, the tread pattern was just too.... bland.... for my taste. Plus, they were touted to have been less than desirable on the hard stuff, owing to the blocky nature of the tread. That, and the tread ends very abruptly on the radii, owing to a potentially lower max lean angle. The Wolverine was next on the list, seeing as this was the tire that I had on originally. However, the spacing of the tread is very close for a trail-oriented thrashing tire, and I have on occasion pushed it past (what I believe) were its limits while it was on the front. A very capable tire, do not get me wrong, but one I think would be more suitable at the back or on hard-pack only - sort of like a hyped-up Race King would be. The volume was perfect for me, but I had been confronted with the not so attractive washout on occasion. Something that, rather strangely, lended me to place more trust in my previously attached 1.95 IRC Mythos XC when it came to the tricky (and quick) stuff. This tire was still a front-runner, but was still behind the Conti, due to the less than inspiring performance up front. The last option was the Weirwolf 2.3. This was, at first glance, the most attractive looking tire of the lot. Styled a lot like the old & very capable Velociraptor, the tread is extremely aggressive, albeit more current in its technology with the chamfered tread on the outside, instead of the single triangular knob on the outside that lent the Velociraptor its "take no prisoners" tread pattern. This inspired confidence, as I had previously ridden the Velociraptors on my old Giant ATX 830 that I had in high school. And they were sublime. The only problem with these tires (Weirwolf) is that they are no longer brought in by the agents, and they were only available online via CRC. ***, since I still wanted to support my LBS (EPIC cycles - a TRULY great team) So it was now down to 2 tires - the MK 2.4 and the Weirwolf 2.3... Off to the current interweb deity I went. Google them I said. While the 2 both had VERY good reviews, I happened upon the WTB website and had a look at the development video for the new Weirwolf. Watched the whole thing, and was enraptured. The write-ups were amazing - from the UK, AUS, USA and even the continent, there were rave reviews. Add to that the fact that I KNEW that the WTB's categorization of profile / tire width was more generous than CONTI's, I decided to go the route of the Weirwolf 2.3 UST 2011 version. Plus, it looks pretty. Fast forward 10 weeks, and after a wedding (my own) 6 additional kilo's (all thanks to an all inclusive hotel deal) and the preventative ban from all things potentially bone-breaking (I have a bad history of weddings and broken bones) I took the WTB for its first test drive. And what a test-drive it was. This tire, while looking (and feeling) very meaty - rolled over everything as if it were air. Made the front seem as if it were riding on a carpet of pine needles, whilst translating my every input into either a change of direction or the grip that I need so badly. Come to the tricky bits, the pairing of the Wolverine at the back and the Weirwolf at the front seemed to come alive like the fuzzy woodland pairing that they are. The Weirwolf searched for its prey - the soft, loamy flesh of the trail - whilst remaining true to the human side of the pairing, going exactly where I wanted to go whilst retaining that wild, inane knowledge that it is the king of the trail and as such it knows that which I, a mere mortal, can not fathom. A living, breathing, super-sensory being that can see all and overcome it. Rocks, roots, sand & clay, nothing is its master. The Wolverine is the strength bringing up the rear. Like its namesake of the Sci-fi world, it is the strength, the never-say-die and the endless determination that you know will never let you down in a tight spot. Bringing up the rear, this tire is just what you need to lay down the smack-down. Too closely-knit to be good up front, the knobs - while at the back - group together and FORCE the trail into submission, keeping the back tracking straight while the front searches, searches, SEARCHES. Then BITES the trail when the smallest amount of traction presents itself, always looking for the next prey while the rear gobbles up the newest offering from the Weirwolf up front. To sum up - this new tire is all its cracked up to be. A trail warrior. A tire that inspired so much confidence that I, a mere 100kg 28 year old with a gammy knee and more broken bones than I know what to do with, could smash the trail in the fastest, most visceral way I have ever done. And after a 3 month break, I hasten to add. Would I buy this tire again? I think the question should, rather be... Why should I buy another?

Yep - you should have heard his personal description! Quite colourful indeed! I did fall on my ass with laughter though.

last time I was in there they held a small selection of SERIOUSLY bottom-end bikes. But that was a number of years back, so they might since have stopped carrying them. Truth is, that was the only way you could have gotten them anywhere. By carrying them.

lekker bike there Christie! Many happy km!

Hell, I am. Johan is wrong. Totally wrong. His assumption was based upon no market experience, and the fact that his saddle is yellow. The bike in question is not crap. It is undoubtedly the deepest brand of bottom-dwelling pond-scum. It is the **** on my shovel. It is that cholesterol that clogs my veins. It is death.

Another bit of advice - steer clear of anything, and I mean ANYTHING - that gets sold in any one of the below-mentioned stores... Game Makro Hyperama PnP Hyper Trade Centre Midas Those bikes will break after one session offroad. A mate of mine won a Dunlop "Full Suspension" ride, and rode it in his first MTB race as a sh1ts and giggles exercise. His nick here is Donkey, and some might know him personally. He's a pretty alright cyclist, by any stretch of the imagination. Won a couple of Hillclimbs, raced in the Giro as well as starts in $ in all road races. He finished last, with a bike that ended up with no rear derailleur, a shattered Bottom Bracket and brakes that didnt work. Rather spend your money on an old Giant, Trek, Kona or similar MTB (hardtail) It'll last a helluva lot longer than anything bought in Makro, and will give you endless smiles...

Agreed! Just madness, I say. MADNESS!!

my shattered nerves!

And extendable to 120mm... Which I shall be doing soon...

COSATU should really check their press releases... "COSATU will be filling corruption charges against the DA for spending public funds on their friends in wealthy areas when there is such a desperate need for services in poor communities"

Just returned from my honeymoon, on an all inclusive basis. That means 2 courses for breakfast, 3 for lunch and 3 for dinner. All the weight I lost has gone back on, and some has come back off again. Came back from Mauritius at 100kg, now back down to 97 or so. Changing jobs in 2 weeks, and that will give me the opportunity to train more than I am able to at the moment. Will also be 2km from Tokai, so if I'm having a bad day....

my guess would be... Ibis & first Nicolai.