vanniri

Check out the following link: http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/training/article/power-output-road-bike-vs-mountain-bike-19691

I bought a Lupine whatever in Europe when I was living in the Balkans - it was in excess of GBP 280. I used it at least for 4 nights a week during the summertime. Excellent light - would recommend it to all. Like all else, if you use it often the price becomes reasonable (eventually).

Brazilians do it the best - sometime ago I saw a guy on a commuter bike hooking his left foot at the right back-end of a city bus. This was in rush hour traffic with the bus doing at least 40km/h plus. Obviously now helmet was in sight.

As jou hart of carbon is en jy hoef nie die geld te leen nie koop dit. Merida bring ?n nuwe sub 900g raam uit (2010) wat vir 5 jaar gewaarborg is en ?n gewig limit het van 120kg. Die waarborg sluit XC racing in. Kyk op BikeRadar.com Bostaande is veronderstel om die ligste produksie raam te wees - dit wys ook wat carbon kan doen.

Merida with X0

I?ve been using a roller since I arrived in Brazil (9 months ago), a combination or work, crime, rain, traffic and distance (oops - nearly forgot the wife) result in me only being able to mtb once a week on the dirt and once a week on tar. I only use a HR monitor. My advice will be: a) Use a slick tyre b) Buy a seperate wheelset for the rear. Not only do you not have to change the tyre, but your expensive hub will be saved the abuse as a result of too much pre-load on bearings - the clamp mech results in more binding than suitable, i.e. more wear and tear. c) Get hold of interval programs to do on the trainer. You will only need entertainment (TV, etc.) when warming-up or cooling down, the rest of the time you should be too tired. I?ve done base training on a gym bicycle in winter in Kosovo for 3 hours or more with either no electricity or when the electricity was working having to listen to Albanian folk songs. I am still in therapy as a result. d) Use good weather days or week-ends to do get some real time in the saddle. Other considerations: I have had no adverse effect on the frame (carbon bling nogal), maybe I will regret it later. Sure to post something on the hub if anything happens. Using a power meter should be beneficial - but expensive and keeping track of your speed and difficulty setting (see explanation in a post above) on the trainer should result in constant power. If you?re HR decrease over time while keeping the other two constant you?re on the right track.

Been using metal cheap one?s for ages - I bend them till the bottle sticks. The resulting scuff marks on the bottle complements the bike?s. Got a Merida carbon one with the bike sometime ago - agree with the guy above: it works very well (some rubber thingy attached to top bolt).

You need a needle, dental floss, super glue and tyre patch and rubber solution. Stitch the side wall using the dental floss, then put some superglue on outside wall. Patch the inside wall using a large patch (easily covering the area - including stitches). Remember to clean inside of tyre wall very well and rough it with sufficiently for the rubber solution to work. Note: If you?re using tyre sealant you might get away with not patching the inside.

Best value for money can only go to Giant or Merida. 2 points: If you gonna spent money (all carbon is expensive), buy something you really want (it might be a Giant or Merida). Rather look at after sale service on carbon frames than bang for buck when buying. Carbon has been known to sometimes fail

DT swiss, my latest bike does not have any Shimano (sometimes the odd XT chain). It is kinda fun to have a bike without the big S - nothing against them though.

Most likely culprit - BB or Cranks. Remove crank and BB, clean everything properly. Put grease on all threads (including bolts) and axle. Refit. Check all chainring bolts are thight. Second most likely - QR. Do the same, remove - clean - grease - refit. Third most likely - stem contact points: handlebar or steerer tube. Do the same, remove - clean - grease - refit, Except the steerer tube - do not grease. Also note - fancy carbon might have issues with grease. Note: Putting a thin layer of grease on axles serves no other purpose but to check next time (when you remove) if grease is still original color or contaminated. If the grease in the axles are contaminated in could indicate the need to service your hubs/etc. Creaking noises when seated usually comes from seatpost (grud in the slit/sleeve) or grud in the rails of the saddle. Again: remove - clean - grease - refit.

Since you mentioned these top-notch products I assumed you will do serious XC. For your porposes (and considering were you live) I would consider something like Shimano hubs (XT or XTR) build with Mavics X819 using DT double butted spokes. All these components are easy to get or find suitable temporary replacements. But if you mind is set on one of the three - all should be good for your intended use. I used to live and ride in Macedonia/Kosovo/Albania/Slovenia/Bulgaria which is close to Turkey. Some real awesome riding in these places, only problem being not much company and spares are hard to come by. Enjoy the food in Turkey - the Balkans (including Greece) can only attempt to prepare food like the Turkish. Turkish airlines are also great.

After cleaning the bike I will smear some oil around the stanchions and pump the shock a few times. The result is a thin line of grud pushed from the sealer lips. Then just wipe clean this line and your good to go. I?ve done this will all my shocks (2 x manitou, 3 x fox, 1 x R/S & 1 x Marz) - currently I have a R7 and fox. The line of grud seems to be the most notible on the Manitou/R7. The Marz (bomber) very rarely made a noticeable line. The Marz was by far the most problem free shock. The first Monitou had the most problems - no problems so far with the R7 (6 months old - very wet riding)

I do not greet any roadies since I do not see any roadies since I do not hang-out at coffee shops

Mavic - good looks, expensive to service (broken spokes, etc.), bearings not serviceable, hub life good Shimano - good name, spokes relatively easy to get, bearings easily serviceable, hub life excellent DT - swiss precision, easy to find spokes, bearings not serviceable, hub life excellent Personally I will choose Shimano or DT, had more bad experiences with Mavic than either Shimano or DT If you weight below 70kg all three wheels are sufficiently stiff for XC. Beware of FR, if you intend to do any rather choose DT (easiest to service when something goes).

Apart from the parallel thing JB is referring to (and I agree with) - I have also notice a marked improvement with different lever combinations and by swapping to ceramic rims (and brake blocks). I had the best experiences with XTR and Avid single digits (9.0 I think). Latter one has less maintenance issues. Regarding the pads - Koolstop used to make, well, really cool one?s. XTR ain?t bad either. In dry weather a proper set-up V-Brake with ceramics is as good as a 160mm hydraulic Disc on a XC bike.

Before going out to buy, in my experience the grade is not the only variable to take into account. I used to service my Manitou in the dark ages using the correct grade etc. Sometime later (+6months), the lockout was only a memory. When I finally sent it to the pro?s they told me I used a wrong type of oil - mineral/blah/blah. Apparently it contaminated the seals/washers/whatever.

For all interested. An article on frame materials worthwhile reading http://www.63xc.com/scotn/metal.htm

I checked the data again, The riders used were Manni Fumic and Karl Platt The bikes tested (2009 team issue Carbon HT) were; Rotwild Cannondale Storck Scott Rocky mountain Ghost Merida Specialised The data included: Heart rate: Max/Average Pedal frequency (Average) Power output: Max/Average Speed: Max/Average Length of XC course (depends on the lines chosen) The speed is also broken into section of the XC course. vanniri2009-05-13 08:27:25

I read a article some time ago on the german BIKE magazine were they tested high-end race carbon bikes against one another on a XC course. They took two racers (Stephan Sahm (spelling?) and one of the Fumic brothers), gave them two rounds each on a carbon HT (8 different manufacturers if I remember correctly. The rounds were done seperately and bikes were chosen randomly. They tested, Spes, Cannondale, Merida, Ghost, etc. All current team issue bikes. Then they measured things like speed and time in different sections of the XC course, cadence, heart rates, etc. and compare all the data. From the results Sahm is a better racer than Fumic, yet the correlation between them (on the same HT) was amazing. If you PM me your e-mail address I can mail you the comparison tables. Descriptions are in German.

My suggestion to Jan will be a little PR in SA, not with the aim of making us believe Raleigh bikes are the best (they sponsor pro teams for that), but to illustrate the history and origins of the frames/components. In general it is time for cycling to get off its high horse of "made in the east = bad", "made in the west" = good. Having real life statistics, for e.g. number of carbon frames manufactures vs. number of brands, etc. will go a far way to address peoples questions/ignorance. Concerning the cracking 2006/07 frames, maybe it was a manufacturer problem. If so rebates could have resulted in cheap 2008 frames, thus resulting in 2008 prices not being comparable to 2009?

Friend of mine in the Free State got this exact frame as a replacement for a previous Spes Carbon HT which developed a hairline crack. I did a training ride with him - had a hard time keeping my eyes of his bike (it?s even better looking in real life) He had it two or three weeks - fell awkwardly in an XC race and cracked one of the seatstays! Luckily had insurance. He told me he is waiting for a Taurine coming this week.

If the 96 is USD 7500 - my bet will be USD 6200 complete bike I bought the FLX team last year, did not think much of Merida before that. It changed my opinion completely. Btw I paid USD 3800 complete bike. Have to agree with the paint job - looks better in real life, but flames approaching the crown jewels?

For a trail bike at this price have a look at the Santa Cruz Chameleon - the guy wants ZAR15k. Of your two options you mentioned the Merida gets my vote. The Silverback ain?t bad either and the OnOne is very well price for a bike that will turn heads (Santa Cruz the same)