Borriz

When I bought my bike there was a slight play on that bottom bolt. We tightend it but realised it was already tight enough. We ordered a new bolt and that seemed to have solved the problem. Then a new creeck started and true as bob - bearing seazed. Fortunately Giant acc manager was at the shop when they discovered this. They replaced it at no charge. replaced one bearing already and still after 2 hours of cycling it started again. It seems entire rear traingle will be disassembled and investigated tonight. Thanks for all the tips.

very interesting conversation this! I have problems with the pivots on my new AnthemX. I have constant creecks. Had bearings replaced after less than 300km, replaced bearings last week and again had creecks this weekend. Going to follow all your comments and check if I have any similar damage to sleeves or bearings.

My opinion might be slightly subjective, as I honestly think I had a bad batch of Mavic wheelsets. But one thing is for sure. I'm not the lightest and loves hitting downhills on a XC bike. Yet I do multi stage racing. so here goes! My understanding is that standard manufactured wheelsets do have a weight limit. Your best bet, if you're heavy and can unleash some pounding, is to build a proper wheelset. The objective is 36 spokes and tripple laced (just my opinion and if I understand wheel building). I'm big fan of the Mavic 819 rims but partnered it up with XT, XTR and Hope hubs and no issue at all for last 3 years. Had to rebuild my my previous Mavic wheelset 5 times in 9 months and swap the freebody 3 times. But friends of mine had the top end Mavic wheelsets, weighing the same and hitting rides just as hard and had no problems for 3 years. So my story might be subjective. So in short my summary - Mavic rims are bullet proof so don't worry about that. Investigate freehubs and number of spokes required to carry your weight and base your decision on that.

My Anthem is over 20,000km old and even thought the pivots come loose I can't recall if it is the same one. But it tend to be the rear ones and rear shock mounts. Never had any issues after tightening it. As with all manufactured goods - it might not be bent parts but maybe misalligned between the "swing arm" and frame bolt area i.e. if you think about all the parts that needs absolute precision at that specific point of contact, it might be that one of them is out by 1mm.

A nice addition is to ride from Van Gaalens back to the Spar (about 8km) then do the "koppie" across the road. Its lekker tough technical terrain due it being a 4x4 track. Then do the awesome downhill at the back. There is then a route that takes you back to Van Gaalens. We often carry on past Van Gaalens and eventually enter at the back - which is bit of a drag cause it is on dirt roads, but the finish is so worth it!!

Blame Tour de France - everybody thinks they are Lance, everybody thinks they can ride without helmets, everybody thinks they can toss their bottles like the pros. Agree with statement that mountain bikers litter just as much. Its a case of numbers. Only 1000 people at mtb race, 5k plus guys in road race. 5 times more litter to observe. We should get less obsessed about how good we think we are, and become realists that understand bragging rights only counts in our little inner circle!!

All I can say is if the race could've gone into the gorge and not down Hillsnacks then you guys would have complained a hell lot more. And it would've sounded something like "its a 40km mtb race! What were they thinking! We're not training for the epic!" Its a pitty that we never went down there as the hills gets steep and technical. I will be very happy to assist in planning next year route as there are tons more routes that they could include and even make this a 60km race. On a different note, despite all the pushing. The Kloofsicht challenge ended up being 720m of climbing on a mere 40km route. Impressive!

half marathons don't justify dual suspension!!!

Good question! I haven't had the best experience with my Manitou rear shock. Considered this quite a few times and got analysis paralysis when guys started mentioning eye to eye lengths, bush mounting etc etc. I think the last price I got quoted was R7,500-R8,000 for Fox RP shock. Keeping in mind new frame, including rear shock, sells for R10,500 about.

That KRRRRRRRRR sound is a nice weapon to put the guy in front of you on the single track under pressure to allow you to come past!

I think 2000km is good. My Conti Mountain Kings lasted less than 1000km. But on the other hand they are better all round tyre than Maxxis (better equip for wet conditions), just a pitty about their durability

Your gonna get abuse on those riser bars and bar ends. I have no problem with them :-) Nice bike. Are you selling or is this your new steed?

Agree with Predictor. Why worry about where the prologue or TT will be. There are 7 more days to worry about and you seem to be fine with that. The reason why they don't publish the route early is so protect land owners cause every capable cyclist will go and attempt the stage in December during summer holiday. Do your 20+ hours per week and make peace with the fact that you are going to suffer.

I'm big supporter of the Maxx Crossmarks but only for dry conditions! I hate them even if you just spit in front of them. If they are to big then the TT Larsons will also work - little narrower. The other thing about Maxxis is their durability. I get about 2000km on them.

And tyres? did you end up changing them?

Just imagine the comparison by the normal oke on the street having done the Epic "can you believe it LA did the Epic in 32 hours and I did it in 60. If I did double the training I could've been a pro!" :-)

All I'll say on this matter is that a saddle bag attachment mechanism should be capable to take all the up down motion (not a fan of those clipon goodies), zipps should sit at the top and shouldn't be that big that it interfers with you legs on the pull through. And lastly I have small container with lube, tube, Sram links, spoke spanner, small multi tool, chain braker, Leatherman Sckeletool and gator.

Check that you're not pushing your toes into the nose of your shoe - the opposite reaction will be to kick back into the heel of the shoe. Alternative way of explaining this. Try stand on your toes while cleated and then sit, drop you heels. You'll see the pressure moving off your toes.

Agrees with IdeJongh! What's her name?

I wear stupid bandanas or any piece of cloth you can find that is fairly thin and won't overheat your head. A buff is perfect if you don't fold it double. Only problem for me is the remaining half that sticks out your helmet. Thats why I use bandanas - took square "table cloth" like sheet of material and cut it in half across the diagonal. Never suffered from any sunburn. Not that I use these vests, but it makes sense. Use to do this when playing cricket. Guys thought I was over heating. Infact the opposite. Do you cycle with cycling jersey or t-shirt? As for your head aches and stuff. Seeing that your over heating I'm almost sure you sweat a lot. Take rehydrate with you. Drink one every 90-120minutes and after your ride. I never go anywhere without these babies - or some spare!

JacquesT! Yes I was referring to shock pressures. My tyre pressure is around 2.5-3 bar. I prefer my tyres to be at high-ish pressure as I tend to bunny hop a lot and with the rocks in the Westrand try to stay away from snake bytes or damaging rims. I also use my RP23 shock the other way round. I have it in propedal all the time and switch to softer setting when the terrain becomes corrigated or very bumpy. Check how this works for you.

Jacques! I recommend you increase your tyre pressure and test in dry conditions. Your setup will also need to be checked. How heavy are you? I've also got the AnthemX and running about 150 PSI on front and back (I think, might be 120 PSI on front - will check for you tonight) and I'm 87kg. Crossmark is not for wet, nor is Maxxis. My perfect wet tyre combination is Hutchinson Bulldog up front and lekker thin (think 1.8) Bontrager (looks like a trekker tyre) on back. People laughed at the start of Sani2C, I laughed passing them up slippery climbs :-)

The Westrand is going to be awesome during summer!!!!! Might have to cancel the night rides when the grass gets to long.....seems I'll be able to set them alight with these babies

for recreational purposes, budget, and because you're competitive I would say hard tail! For R7k you can scrape in with a new bike. The second hand one would be better speced but with bit of damage. Droo's post might be on the money if you're willing to wait for that second hand bike bargain to disassemble.

Oh bliksem! Brace yourself! Is this a joke? You're an Champion Hubber, surely you know what you've just done to yourself :-) What is your budget and what does an average mountain bike trip constitute in your mind? (i.e. wet or dry, long or short distance, high or low drop offs)?