camelman

Yep, gotta ride what the boss tells you to ride. If it puts the food on the table, you don't exactly have a choice.

I have 3 Evoc bike bags and there is absolutely nothing better. They are the best compromise between bag weight and bike safety. The one has a small tear in it, but I know my bikes will be safe. If you are a regular traveler it is a great investment. I know it is expensive, but you pay for what you get. And the plus is it fits 29r wheels in the wheel pockets too. We flew to Spain on Easyjet last year and got my Stumjumper 29r and all my riding kit in the bag and it came to around 25kg. Clothing and so on also helps to protect the bike from knocks. Just remember to remove the discs from the wheels are they are prone to bend when being bashed around a bit. Remember the following: SAA gives you a free bike allowance of 23kg-just confirm that as on some routes they don't Other Star Alliance airlines charge you $150 for a bike that can weigh up to 32kg As for the other airlines just check the websites Enjoy the travel

Ah Sorry. My fault. Apologies. Have no experience with the new ones. Was looking for a set myself too at some stage and then just went the Stans way when they were not available. Anyway, good luck

If it was me, I would just suck it up and get 2 new Arch EX rims and get that rebuilt on your existing hubs. Try negotiating and see if they will cover some of the rebuild cost. Those Giant hoops suck big time and are heavy as hell. Had them and could not be happier upgrading to a set of Arch EX's. Always used to struggle with them and tubeless tires. Now I can seat a tire even, without sealant.

I know this sounds stupid. But take the money and get a professional bike fit. You have an XC bike, it will never be a downhill beast, no matter what amount of money you spend on it. Get a proper fit done where they will check seat height, cleat position and all kinds of different angles. This was the best upgrade I have ever done. It got me riding without pains and problems, and that translates to happier riding.

Have the Arione on all my bikes and thought it was the best. However my Epic came with a Spez Phenom saddle and that has changed my mind. Spez Phenom for me now.

Had the spindle of a look pedal break once. What caused it was the bearings that broke and the broken bearings then started to cut through the chrome coating and then the metal of the spindle. Metal fatigue on a shaft of that size should not be the problem at all, unless it is hollow. Look to see if there is any oxidation on parts of the face where it broke off. It might have been cracked for a long time. You will see the colour difference between the recently broken part and the part that has been exposed to the air for a while. Post a pic if you can.

Went for a test in Switzerland, and did the Lactate Threshold Test. It was very interesting, as the HR goes up with your power output. Both have a very linear curve. Thus, you will be able to train on HR if you lack a power meter to better certain areas of your riding. This is all very dependent on how tired you are or if you are sick, but it beats spending a few thousand rands on a power meter. What it tells you is where your body starts producing more lactate than it can get rid of. This point was at 4.5 mmol/L. So essentially what you want to do is move that point up. For me that point was at 220W and by and at approximately 140bpm. Knowing that I would need to train in certain heart rate zones to move that point to say 250-270W. A sports scientist will be able to help work out a program for you to increase that. If you want to know what a typical result looks like, send me a PM and I will send you a copy of the data that you can have a look at.

After de-glazing or pad replacement, remember to bed them in properly. Find a steep hill. Go down like the clappers and brake like crazy with only one brake at a time. Do this 2-3 times with each brake. It does wonders for performance. And no, locking the rear wheel and going OTB is not considered bedding in.

Just want to say a huge thank you to the organizers. The race was amazing although our team sucked a bit and suffered like hell. For me the singletrack on day 1 and 2 were the highlights. It was technical, but not too difficult to manage. A lot of people walked and fell the technical bits which caused huge pie ups if you were not in the front of the field(yes our fault I know). To the organizers, pleas don't cut out the technical bits if there are any complaints, people should just learn to ride their bikes properly and safely. I know I am going to get hammered for saying this: If you struggled with the single tracks on the route, book into a skills course. This is for your own safety and to enjoy the routes more. The general feeling I get is that routes will get more technical and the gravel crunching will hopefully get less.

As far as I know the straight pull Hope Hubs only come on the wheels you buy from Hope, factory built. I mailed and asked Hope in England about that. I have two sets of Arch Ex's laced to Hope hubs, spoked 3 cross. Had them built in Singapore when I was working there. Both have Wheelsmith DB14 spokes. Mine has brass nipples as I am a fat ou, 95kg. The wife's has Alloy nipples that saves about 50g per wheel, I think. Never had a problem with them yet and I ride my hardtail everywhere and quite hard. They were a huge improvement on my Giant PXC2 rims the XTC came out with. The wider rim also makes a 2.2-2.3 tire sit the way it is supposed to, No more folding of the tire around corners.

My lady has tried various ones and unfortunately the Assos FI1:13 came out tops. Price wise the white ones can still be bought at CWC or some Cycle Labs for a cheaper price. Issues she had: Bibs make going to the loo harder, but my wife has finally come around and realised that it is a small price to pay for comfort and safety. Shorts tend to get stuck on the nose of your saddle or behind it when things get technical and rough and that throws your balance off. Also ladies, bare in mind that if you do get a bib, a full zip on the front of your jersey makes the stripping process easier, especially in those go-cart toilets, or so I have been told Nalini ones are good but the shoulder straps chokes you Chamois stitching on the cheaper Assos ones bothered her on longer rides, 3+ hours. The more expensive ones have what appears to be a "double chamois" with the top layer having less stitching. All in all I cannot fault the Assos clothing. Yes it is extremely expensive, but I still have some Assos shorts that gets used regularly and are 6 years old. They have done an Epic and it's training and are only starting to show their age now. You get what you pay for, unfortunately

Agree with Armpies. These days they wanna write down the serial number of your bike if you take it out and declare it at customs. So good luck with flying in with a bike with a different serial number. Best bet is to fly back via OR Tambo and look like a tourist. They very seldom stop you at customs there, just too many people to check. Now CT is a different kettle of fish. Customs take their work seriously, so be warned if you try and bypass the process of paying VAT and duties. My understanding is also that if you had the bike for longer than 6 months and you can prove it, you have to pay no VAT or duties?

SAA gives you an allowance of one free bike on their flights. Free, mahala. Except some European flights. Make sure it is boxed and under 23kg. Call them or check their site. And cos it's free, call before and make sure there is room on the flight

I would also vote for the trance in 650b. Great deal and for a change Giant consulted with people with style(probably Italians) and given the bike a decent looking paint job. I will stay away from Scott and Spez in that price range range as you will be getting a pretty heavy bike. As for the Commencal I cannot comment. Just read reviews on their 2014 lineup and it was pretty good.

It's not a smile it's a grimace

A combination of the red and black route is the best bet IMO. If you are a confident biker, stick to black all the way to the waterfall, then run the red from there on. It cuts out a bit of a boring bit on the farms. Perfect for shaving 30-60min off your time. The black at the start is my favourite. Be careful, a new black section has been added before getting to the gravel Camphill road, before the waterfall. All trails have been fixed after the heavy rains. Yesterday the concrete dam overflow was also fixed so you can ride it. Big up to everyone involved. People working in the trails almost daily. Pay your permit, its the right thing to do.

If the bike has Shimano or SRAM you are definitely allowed MTB shoes on a road bike. If it has Campy, you will be castrated on the spot.

Madlight, it is good you are not a reporter at the winter olympics. Putin will have you shot in public with all your talking about bottoms, rigid and flexy bananas

Next year Specialized will come out with a system to hold your bananas. Watch the 2015 range of bikes with a special banana cage. It will be called SWAB -Storage, Water, Air and Banana And you are allowed to laugh at other people, just not another guy's banana

Just saw the pic and you are getting an expert with an X9 RD(pictured) with X7 shifters I assume, Aluminium wheels and a brain fork. No SWAT included. If that bike is available it will sell like sweetcakes. Nice colour scheme and a very good parts package. And you can upgrade the wheels when you want, although they wont be heavy, somewhere in the 1650g-1800g range. Brakes look like Formula, and you get the nice X0 carbon crank that comes on the expert and marathon. Get it before it is gone.

Probably comes with a brain fork, but no carbon rims and has a mix of X7 and X9. That's where I would cut it in the middle of the expert and comp. So basically a comp with brain fork and slightly better parts.??

On second thoughts yes. I was hoping for a big bunch of wise cracks (pardon the pun) on the subject

If your rims are not too wide you could even throw on your 700c road/touring tires. I myself am thinking of putting a set of 700cx35 touring bike tires on my P-XC2 wagon wheels for some speed on the road. And with a set of 700mm wide bars you will have a lot of breathing room in that bunch. And put a 10sp road casette on as well. Gives you better ratios, although as mentioned above you might still spin out.

Put it on an old derailleur, wash it and use it to puncture the dough when you bake pies or tarts. Will make. Bike porn in the kitchen.