Toxic

Well, with Tons I actually meant 20-25 hour weeks for long periods of time. Doing +- 10 hour weeks (including a 4 hour hard club ride) from now till SEP/OCT, and then the hours will be pushed up to max week of 16-18 per hours. I know the EPIC is not walk in the park, but I have read a couple of the Epic training Topics on the forum and if you train effectively with a 16-18 hour peak week, I reckon the training should be sufficient to be mid pack I have read all the replies, and from that I guess it is the simple pimpel and weak mind that is the major cause of EPIC failure. The last thing you don;t want is to fight for cut-off times. That places more stress on the hole experience. That is why my concern about the drop out rate, So that we can make sure we are properly prepared for 2013.

I haven't done any Cape Epic's but was wondering why there is such a high drop out rate. Anyone an Idea? You don't need tons of training to be effective, so I was just wondering...

From 8900 to 3300. Isn't there something in between? 8900 for a giant doesn't feel right...

Thanks for the Advice Splat!

Cool. OK the fact the you are the LBS makes a HUGE difference.

Yeah that is the thing... I've had a very good relationship with a guy in Pretoria, and will always support him. The problem now is I live 8500 km from Pretoria. So I need to build a new relationship with someone around here...

The other situation is, that I do go out with the local bike shop on rides, So that would be awkward to pitch up with a bike I bought somewhere else..

Cool thanks. That convinced me...

Will you buy a bike from local bike shop just because it is conveniently close to home, or will you support a bike shop that is 1:20 hours drive from your house (if they do give you good support and better price on a bike?) The local bike shop does not what to make changes (upgrades) to a bike before taking it off the showroom.. But the shop that is so far away are prepared to make a few upgrades on the bike before taking it from the showroom?

50k is about all the money I had saved up for a bike. Will not be able to get 2 or a specific bike for epic alone. Wish I could, but this bike will be my next baby for a long time, so it will do XC, Marathon and stage races.

I'am not sure if I like a wheelset with a weight limit of only 85 kg. Would you do an Epic on a wheelset like this? I've got a DT swiss wheelset with 240S hubs, and in 7 years never had to tru a wheel, and those hubs IMO is awesome. A friend told me that the Chris King hubs are the best. I don't no anyone with Hope Pro II Evo hubs, but I will consider them, as the 240S hubs is also damn expensive.

Hi Wendell, Did you change the cranks / casette / brakes and shifters all to XTR? Regarding the upgrade, did you're LBS do the upgrade before you take the bike out of the shop, of did you do the upgrades afterwards, and trying to sell the other parts separately? Are you happy with the wheelset?

Isn't XX an expensive groupset to maintain, for the little weight gain you get over XTR? I've got XTR on my Scott and must say it goes a long way, and very happy with it.

I had a look at the Spez Epic Expert Carbon, but did not like the fact that it is all SRAM, But after relooking at it, I will go and arrange a test ride. I will change the the brakes to XTR (as AVID brakes is crap IMO) THe rest I'am ok with on SRAM. How is the roval wheelset on this bike, meaning (bombproof or is it a little on the soft side)

Hi All, After a lot of research I've decided that this is my final 2 options. This will be my bike for a very long time (5+ years, at least) So I want to make the right choice. Will do the 2013 Epic on this bike as well. I'am 1.76 and weigh 72 kg and are an aggressive rider, so I do like a bike with a racing Geonometry. I have seen guys winning XC races on SC's before, which says that SC can also be raced, even though it does not have an aggressive Geo. Now I know R50k is a lot of money, but I will not buy another bike for a long time. Scalpel 2 29er (All is awesome, but I will change the AVID brakes to XTR trail) and also not very keen on the Rockshock Monach at the back. Will maybe change that to Fox RP23. Life time warranty on Cannondale Frame. R46500. 11kg. Scalpel has a mix of AVID / XT / XTR on. Santa cruz: Can custom build the bike the way you like, but will be more in the region of 60k+. 2 year warranty on frame. I will build it up with FOX kashima coated front and rear, XTR, with ZTR ARCH wheelset with chrisking Hubs. This is what I would love to have, but that will work out close to R73500k way to much... around 10.8kg SC with a XT build up, with cheaper wheelset, will still be R55600 around 11.7kg Is Santa Cruz really that awesome, even though it only has a 2 year warranty? Had a test drive with Scott spark 29'er and didn't like it. also had a test drive with trek superfly 100, awesome ride, but it is overrated in my opinion. Any opinions from people who have / had any experiences with these bikes, and any pointers that will make my decision a little easier?