Borriz

Is it just me, or was the Magalies Monster very disappointing? I'm referring to the track. Mountain biking is suppose to have a level of toughness. But holy crap, I'm sure all the organisers did was to put up the banting on last year's race. There was no maintenance or preparation for that route. Was this the case when Carl Shubbert ran this race? Then the other point. Who sets a water table after 11km but not one before a massive 7km climb that will take the average rider more than 45minutes? I'm not mentioning that the 2nd table after the massive climb ran dry. Are my questions or expectations just or aim I spoilt with other races? Previous finishers please comment, cause the Monster will never see me again.

What MTB are you looking at? From what I gather Gary Fisher and Marin makes relatively large bike frames with associated small claimed size - ie they will say M where other manufacturers will claim L.

Friends of mine are planning a trip the weekend prior to this. So if anyone would like to go but can't do it the weekend of the 13th then this is another option. As for facilities - its great. Nice big lawn with enough camping space, 2 pools, and tented accommodation

higher cadence can be trained. Takes about 3 weeks. Initially it burns and you struggle, but I promise that after 3 weeks you ride at higher cadence with much more comfort. My recommendation is to either stick to HR or to Cadence. Difficult to do both. I did 8x4min intervals with 90sec rest for 6 weeks. The first 3 weeks I focused on cadence and keeping it above 110. The second 3 week period I focused on power and tried to turn bigger gears. Obviously I lost the high cadence due to the power work, but will return to another 3 week stint of just high cadence. Hope it helps!

Roadies that greets mounties are actually closet mounties - wishing they had mountain bikes. Mounties that don't greet are actually closet roadies - still think riding your bike is about racing Runners should be on the other side of the road - therefore shouldn't be hit by cyclist - but I've never encounter non-greeting runners. So I still like them. My 10cents - fit bar ends and flick a finger as gesture. If the other guys greets or not then you only moved a finger! :-)

If you are quick you can get Trek Fuel EX7 for R15k (normally sells for R22k) from Westrand Cycles. They're opening their new shop and his got 4 left!

Haven't had best of luck with conversion kit. NOt that it doesn't work, but when you puncture that little freaken strip you place over the nipples attach to tyre. Freaken mission to seperate the 2, especially on the trail. Then 10 out of 11 times you sealed glues the tyre walls together - only happened when I used that grey liquid in yellow bottle. Long and short of it. Use conversion, just make sure your sealant is topped up!Borriz2009-05-15 03:46:06

Anthem2 medium =13kg predominantly XT parts with Maxxis tyres on XTR hubs and Mavic 819 - so not lightest wheels AnthemX large = 12.5kg with hope hubs on 819 mavic rims, all components XT except Hope Tech brakes and Chris King BB Both bikes with 2 bottle cages and bar ends. As I said wheels might make difference - but then both bikes are bomb proof!

get liquid nitrogen and make suckers of a banana!! :-)

I'll post picture with my bar ends on riser bars tomorrow! Fitted it especially for you hubbers out there!

Gremlin's write up is spot on. The campsite is very well maintained and is very big - you won't have problem with privacy. But no trees around, except on boundary. Closes other town is Sabie at about 45km - not as great as Nelspruit. No electricity points though, so make sure you can run on gas and batteries! Only did the 20km route - served up bigger smile than Forest2Falls the next day!

Car or bakkie? I made one for my single cab in less than 2 hours, no damage to trunk, got it painted with Rhino lining and works like a charm

Buy what fits and is comfortable and stick with it. I had Addidas and Shimano and both worked just fine whenever I had to carry my bike and walk long distance. Addidas has a narrower nose box with Shimano having a very nice large one. My partner rode with Specialized, also no problem. So all comes down to shoe fitting you and having been walked/ridden in. My understanding is Mark's issue (similar to Breytons) was new shoes 2 weeks before the race - not his training. Seriously doubt a guy that has done Cape Oddessy will pitch up under trained!!!!!!!!!!

Go check them out at FPC in Brooklyn! They stock one

Don't be surprised when you go to Westrand Cycles. They're not closed, just around the corner. They are rebuilding their shop. So turn right out of Ontdekkers don't turn immediately right at the cafe just carry on down the road for 50m. They're on your right.

Mountain biking is not road biking. Therefore you fit what you want, and ride with what you like. But, and this is big but! Remember what you will be using the bars and bike for. Riser bars are very wide and all bars are over sized in the middel. So if you plan to cut your riser bar shorter then you won't be able to fit things like Polar clamp, remote lock out, gear and brake levers - let alone lights for the odd night ride. I fit all of this and just got everything fitted on a 58mm flat bar - riser bar won't allow you this. As for reasons for riser bar - it is for all mountain and trail riding. Great for handling as it gives you more leverage and control. Fitting bar ends to them, from a practical perspective (!), might cause a bit of a problem by hooking stuff especially if the trail becomes narrow. But yes - fit if it works for you. Stop listening to the Cardasians on the forum :-)

This is the small stuff, but what I like about MiWay is that they use a mountain bike icon in their advert and not a road bike like ABSA does on Epic adverts :-)

Go ride the bikes and feel the difference! Other than the angle and and travel, the head tube is longer therefore adds to a more relaxed - or maybe upright - riding position. The change in head angle makes the AnthemX less twitchy - apparently. The guys of Mountain Bike Mag raved about the AnthemX but wanted a raiser bar fitted - which will aid even further to steering My take is that Anthem is XC and Anthem X is more endurance bike - will tell you next week if this is so

Been very happy with my Juicy 7s, fitted the Ultimate levers last year because the oil eroded the seals. Very happy with the Juicys after probably 20,000km. No issue with fade. I'm made to believe the Elixer's are upgrade to Juicy technology. So will be worth looking into them maybe if you're planning to upgrade. Will fit them Hope Tech X2 brakes on my new bike though :-) But that is just because I'm spoiling myself

Don't ever under value the small things like: number of bottle cages and easy access to them cable routing - you want cables to be removed from unnecessary dirt collection - like front down tube tyre clearance in back triangle - only really applies if you often do muddy rides

Conti if you want performance and grip. Crossmark if you want durability. According to me Conti is great in as jack of all terrain and doesn't mind the occasional wet patches. On my first set of Crossmarks now, so can't comment but they should be beter than TTs - if you spit they slip I found these small "cuts" on my Conti after a year and I'm of the opinion that it caused a bit of problems with the tubeless effect - as most of the slime you put in tries to seal them - so not much left to do proper job. But just my opinion!

I'm so glad I took the Blur LT out for a ride. I wanted to know what the ranting and raving is about. Before I go futher, I'm also very sad that I won't buy it. As you mentioned this if for fun riding and hitting trails. It can climb. Oh yes it can, but I would need to change to much of my technique for this beast. But this bike is not made for technical climbs and racing. Its made for nailing trails and utilizing all of that travel. If you're a XC rider this bike will not suite you. If you like technical rocky steep long climbs the long travel on front wheel will throuw you off as it feels to light. But that is the only thing this bike doesn't do. It accelerates out of the blocks thaks to the wide raiser bars. It love downhills and sings halleluja the rougher the descends! I wished I could afford the Blur XC, but will settle with customizing a AnthemXBorriz2009-04-15 06:06:50

You get great value for money on old Giant Anthems at this moment. Even the AnthemX2 sells for R16k and is bang for buck. It gives you a nice riding position and ample travel. After being in the bike analysis phase for months, at the end it comes down to looks, budget and how you want to define yourself (or bike). :-) Welcome and enjoy.

Go to comobikes. They sell entire XT groupset for R6k, which includes shifters, brakes, casette, chain, crank and BB www.comobike.com

I think you've done your 7000km then!