Tieffels

I have to confess the whole topic has been about luring MBP, the Oracle of all thing MTB related, into making a statement about the 29er, and so settle the matter once and for all.. And now I bask in his infinite wisdom.. PS I'm out of here, all you 26ers, enjoy the weekends riding and resist even thinking about the shortcomings of your wheels. PSS. The only fact about 29ers that I will believe is that the bigger wheels make your weekend warrior ass look smaller..

Luddite some say, maybe yes, maybe no.. What ultimatly grinds my gear is the 2 semi-related underlying core issue: People will always look at external factors for personal improvement, rather than taking a hard look at themselves. Be it powerbalance or a new wheelsize craze. If you want to improve your technical riding it is not done by getting a 29er FS. Harden the F up and go practice. Sommer on your current bike. Put in the hard yards. If you want a bike that will get you there (i.e. improving wise) faster, get a ridgid HT 26er. That will keep you honest. If you want to improve your climbing, find a washed out rocky climb, and hit that bad boy. Repeatedly (Not even sure if JHB has the hills that qualify, but have not been here long enough to really know..) Like what was said on another thread, go look at what cyclocross riders get done. Which incidentally is on 29ers, but that is besides the point… The second issue that bugs me is the deep seated fear of getting left behind in the arms race that has become MTBing (Male egotism perhaps?). This is where the doctors/lawyers/bankers come in with the X5’s. "I got one because my riding buddies have it." Maybe I’m just naïve, but I would never have though someone would spend 20-30k on a bike that they would have laughed at 12 months ago because the tide of acceptability has changed. I don’t understand it, but then I’m not in marketing. When the riding buddies then ask about how the new bike goes, you get all the standard fart in a tumble drier answers and you can just see he himself is not even close to 100% convinced. But now you have the bike and it better work, right? If the oke looked me in the eye and said “Man, it is so much fun” with that glint in the old peeper eye that only MTBing brings, I’d believe him. Hell, I think in many cases it is so. But don't try and convince me with what you read online. That just reeks to me of insecurity. But I agree with a lot of what has been said here, and I have NOTHING against 29ers, just not a people person in general I guess. Had I still been in Skelmbosh I'd already have had a GT SSR 29er.. SB - Afte my FC I'll let you know if my very dated 2008 26-er with so so parts made it. Or whether I broke and the bike was still fine..

Ja, that Neil... He sure knows how to turn on the hurt..

Guess there is no better time to get my rant of my chest.. First up I really REALLY feel sorry for the early adopters on the 29-er, back in the day when they were still cool and novel and stuffs, which was like 12 months ago.. There is nothing that killed the 29er novelty vibe like countless yuppies in X5’s with a carbon 29er S-works on the back.. Maybe it is a JHB thing, but at basically every MTB training ride I’ve been on lately, there’s been a guy with a brand spanking new 29er. With red hubs (do black hubs not work on 29ers?). And a medium frame. I was keen on trying one out, I really was since I thought at 6'2 it made sence in a way. But I must have heard 5 okes telling their buddy how at the last race all the cool peeps had 29ers, now he’s also planning on getting one. And Burry rides one these days, he will also tell his buddy with a liberal dose of “insider info” tone of voice. And that it is better all round will be thrown in with a bit of “gospel” tone of voice. When “contact patch” gets mentioned I normally fake a puncture by biting a hole in my back tyre.. It makes me want to convert to a 24”. But that is just me, the oke who balances out the world with early adopters on the one side, me on the other side (cynical about every new hype), and countless mindless sheep in the middle. The okes from Powerbalance took a page out of the 29er marketing book. {Grabs flame proof jacket and eyes the clock}

Also like the fast up and down thing, I'm only 90kg's and have also noticed that I'm "hard" on my equipment. Cracked one frame already, and had to go from old Stumpjumper (2005, 100mm back in those days) to Epic 2008. Much prefer the solidness of the Stumpjumper. Having said this, and this is purely my personal opinion, I'd steer clear of the Scott and Merida, my perseption is that they are too racey for nice XC/light trail riding abuse.. Cannot speak for the 'Dale. This is why there are so many 120-140mm options out there these days. I'd be shopping in this region given the choice, but it is completely up to your riding style and conditions available to you. PS it is not so much about the travel, but the geometry that makes me say this. My old 100mm SJ had very lekker chilled geometry

So I imagine this is where the EPO comes in.. Admit it TW, that’s what you were thinking..

What are the conditions at Leadville like? Climbing, how technical etc? With the old Knysna-Somerset West format I'd recon they'd be in with a chance, since the roadies were not at such a disadvantage, in fact they dominated the flat open district roads. These days, HAHA, no chance, they destroy you in 2km of technical rocky, washed out, singletrack climbs. If you are a proper MTBer you make up tons of time in these sections and then just draft the flats..

My initial comment was going to be along the lines of "I really like the reserved styling.." but thought the irony could be lost on some hubbers that are a couple of balls short of a bearing, so went for the more direct option.. Lets try another option: I had to get earplugs looking at the bike after having BLACK SPADE RACING shouted at me @ 120db. Have to say I'd be so intimidated having to line up next to that thing in a race I'd call it a day. I'll take the S-works : Understated and classy.

Sorry, I missed that last bit about the name, the bike is called Black what??

Agree 100% The doctors told my dear old mum she can't run anymore, 13 Comrades' later so its been, well, a good run for her. So cycling is the only option to keep her sane. Got her a very nice (WS nogals) FS of the hub for a good price, she's ridden it once at NF. It interferes too much with her 2011 comrades training... Nuff said

Just a suggestion but what about BMG, i.e. the old bearing man? They stock all sorts of engineering supplies.

This company stole your avatar, I'd be pretty pissed if I were you... Guess thats the Chinese for you...

Somebody recently told me about a book they read re. the natural dynamics of running, and what crucial role the arc of your foot (acts as a elastic curved beam) plays in the whole process. Apparently, according to the book, running shoes, which supports your arc instead of allowing it to flex "as per design", negates the effect and actually screws up the whole dynamic.. Or something like that. Don’t quote me on this, but it seems vaguely plausible, so who knows, maybe these are on to something..

I went through the same after the Epic (which went very well and I was very strong), took almost 3 months off and then entered some shortish races, was amazed at how utterly useless I was. And I was not even riding hard, just out for some fun. It was like starting all over again. Also went the 32GI route (useless for me), then after a while switched back to Malto, seemed to have made a huge difference.. But now only after a fair bit of training am I feeling strong again. Basically what I learnt is that after peaking in my fitness I wont ever take such a long break again, man it goes out the window quickly..

save up and buy complete better bike

Say no more, say no more.. But riddle me this: How many Magic Shines could you have bought for the price? One for every lap? PS: I'm in NO way a supporter of the MJs (CCC*), busy building my own light and have to say they are dirt cheap, but zero class.. * cheap chinese cr@p

Agree, those are some big ticket items, the likes of which I said should start giving hassles 25km after the maintainance plan expired.. If a manufactured has known problems with these parts under 100 000km I wont touch them with a 18ft barge pole (maybe turbo's excluding..). For now I'll stick to driving a VW and getting parts from Goldwagen, because my draw drops everytime a go there, stupid cheap..

Did the same last week, dumped a ride of Garmin Connect and bob's your uncle.. Now way I'd have found the route had it not been for that. Otherwise map routes in Google Earth, did it for Transkei a couple years back.. As JacoStrydom said, once you get to a certain point, mainly in MTBing, you realise there is little option but a Garmin. Before then stick to the kitchen clock. And interestingly enough, I had to get a HRM for Epic training with downloading capabilities to analyse time spent in certain HR zones, the Garmin 305 worked out way cheaper than equivalent Polar, with GPS functionality.

I rest my case and well played!!

Rant on, people who are sensitive about having coughed up for a maintenance plan do not read... You guys must be taking the pi$$ with a maintenance plan? How much does that work you out over your 100000km? Have you ever asked what you get for that plan? Piece of mind my hairy bum. They replace your air/fuel filters, maybe a sparkplug or 2 and your oil every now and again. Oh yes, and your wipers. This takes them at most half a day to do.. The expensive stuff that hurts all happens after the motor plan expires.. A german/japanese engineered car needs very little expensive maintenance for the first 100 000km, just replacing fluids/filters. Basically it comes down to financial planning/responsibility, take that money and manage it yourself and find a good mechanic that is not a dealer. Again, a fool and his money is soon parted.. or something like that.. Rant off..

So to be objective, how much did the whole setup cost? Seems to me that Frans at Tour the Frans made a huge sale..

shotgun 2 f-series fox forks.. emailing now..

Sorry for making stuff up, my humbles apologies, I guess I completely missed the just of what he was saying below. I thought he was saying there are teams loaded with pro's not normally associated with that team, and they do so because they can afford it. And in doing so it does not prove anything about the actual team, except for who has the deepest pockets and who can draft the best. Which is not cool since the race has traditionally been about normal amateur riders cobbling together a team including even non-roadies and what not.. And by getting pro’s involved it rains on their underdog bragging rights type parade, since they improved their previous winning time but took 2 steps down the podium, thus being miffed, which I understand and can relate to 100%... Oh wait, that is exactly what he said.. "Secondly we are not pissed for being third . We rode a great race and slashed our 2009 winning time by more than a minute . The real problem starts with the number of full time pros riding for local teams . Daiken /Medscheme /Sky did great job on the day , but with that Pro firing power they should have done a sub 5 hour ! Our team consisted of MOUNTAINBIKERS and 2 retired ex Pros who met for the first time the day prior to the race ........ The annual race to win the DC is currently a show for power for those with the deepest pockets . Maybe next year i can get 11 European pros and i will sit their wheel and take victory ? What will i prove ? Nothing ...get my drift with the pros ."

Jip, wheeler and dealer of note but good prices/service. Wanted to guy a cheapie road bike off him, but he told me another bike I had an option on was a better deal and I must go for it. Super nice oke.

Sorry, only saw your question now.. I ended up getting T4A for now, I think they have more way-out places mapped, but have not really compared it to the garmin maps..