Sniffie

In my post I was referring to pedalstrikes and not bb hits. 5 mm makes a difference on a technical rocky climb believe me. Also on switchbacks going uphill can make the difference between an inside pedal strike or not.

Jaco this is not a stupid question as many may think. It depends a lot on the type of terrain and riding you are most likely to do. My 29'ers bb sits 10 mm closer to the ground than my 26". I find it quite annoying hitting my pedals on rocks, roots and the sides of some deep cattle track with the standard 175 mm cranks on the 29'er. Will be changing to 165 mm in the near future. Do your own measurements and consider the type of riding you are likely to do and then make your decision.

Quite a lot of us might have considered it at some stage, but few have actually summed up the courage to tackle something really big. Isak Coetzer is currently living his dream by cycling from Bothaville to Stellenbosch via Bloem, Queenstown, East Londen, PE and route 62. At the same time making awareness for MOvember and raising funds for Cansa. Check out his progress on his facebook page and support a worthy cause. http://www.facebook....128556100627834

Hi Hubbers. I was wondering if any one has experimented with shorter cranks on their Mtb? I am riding a Giant Anthem 29" dual suspension. Nice bike, somewhat on the heavy side, but what bugs me the most is that my pedals gets caught on rocks, roots and other stuff way more often than with my previous bike (Raleigh MR 9.0 26" dualie). The reason for this is that the Giant's BB sits about 10 mm lower than that of the Raleigh. Both bikes have the same crank length of 175 mm. I understand that going shorter will mean less torque, but then you could down shift to an easier gear if your power fails you on a steep technical section right? Or am I missing something here. When dropping to an easier gear to still apply the same force on the pedals you will have to up your cadence to maintain the same speed or power up a climb, am I right? My question is how will this effect endurance or is it just a question of conditioning at higher cadences? How will it affect my technical ability, as I find it easier keeping my balance up a gnarly section pushing a slightly heavier gear? For the record: I am 1.87m tall and most of my riding is marathon events, but I do enjoy the technical single track type of event more than just riding on district roads. I would appreciate any advice on this matter.

Let's pull some threads together: Enticement is trying to pull the 'fracking' 'woolies' over our eyes so if he does not come to 'what's the point' let's 'boycot'.

Ksyrium SL stronger and more reliable. Don't even consider American Classic if you are a heavy sprinter type. You may go for the AC if you are a mountain goat weight weenie.

Hi I am currently recovering after discectomy done on 7/8/2012. I have done a lot of research on the topic over the past weeks. From the symptoms you are describing it does not sound to me if your problem is in your lower back. You might have had a pinched nerve in your lower back, but that causes pain in the glutes hamstring and calve of one leg. The origin of the pain you are describing is much higher in the upper back or even neck. My advice: make an appointment with a neurosurgeon ASAP. One of the best is Dr Nel jnr in Pta, can also recommend Dr Alldrich in Pta, but I am quit sure there is good ones in Jozi to. These Dr's all have long waiting lists, so better to phone a few to try and get an appointment. While waiting for an appointment it might be worth your while to visit a good Physio or biokineticist or some one specialising in sport injuries. There is a very good practice in Potch that combines both disciplines. But you must have it checked out by a neurosurgeon. The longer one of these peripheral nerves are trapped the higher the chance of permanent damage. You can PM me and I will gladly contact you by mail or phone if you want more info.

Has the cassette been removed from the free hub recently? If so check that the cassette has been tightened. You need a cassette wrench for this. I don't know SRAM so well but on some shimano cassettes and free hubs a spacer is sometimes added over the free hub before the cassette is put on to the free hub. You can check for either of the above mentioned problems by removing the wheel from the bike and trying to wiggle the gears around with your fingers. If you feel any free play you have your problem. Have you still got your old chain? It might be worthwhile putting it back and see if this solves your problem. I don't agree with TNT1. I have seen chains ruined in much less than 500 km let alone 1600 km. It all depends on the type of riding you do, as said before one extremely muddy ride plays havoc with your drivetrain. It might be worthwhile investing in some form of chain measuring device for future use. They are not expensive and will help you to replace your chain before it "stretches" so much that it starts eating your gears until the look like sharks tooth. Just one last thing. Are you sure it is the correct chain for your sprocket, for instance 10 spd chain on 10 sprocket? Good luck with solving your problem!

You did not say mtb or road?? 1. Are you sure it is the correct hanger? If it is thicker or thinner by a mere half mm it will mess up the indexing of your gears. Is the bolt(s) that attaches it to the frame tight and also the bolt attaching it to the derailleur? 2. If you only bent your hanger it could be easily straightened with the right tool. Park tools have a derailleur hanger alignment gauge that works a breeze. If your LBS does not have one let them order it, or if like me you do your maintenance self order it for yourself. If you do serious mtbiking it is amazing how often that hanger gets bend by stones and sticks. 3. If this does not solve the problem clean out the derailleur cable's housing. Remove them from the bike and spray some alcohol or better still carburetor cleaner in and blow out with compressed air. Dust and mud that builds up in these housings can play havoc with the gear indexing. Replace the cable while you are at it. (About R15) 4. If you ride a soft tail, check for wear on the pivot points of the bike as this can be a major cause of ghost shifting. 5. If all this fails it is unfortunately the cassette. One or two muddy rides of 50 kays or more can ruin a cassette. If the problem is mainly while you are on the smaller gears of the cassette then the cassette is toast as the small rings wear quicker. Hope this will of help.

My advice for getting a MTB saddle? Try a Gobi before trying anything else. Have done a Transbaviaans as well as last years Langsbaviaans plus all the long training hours leading up to the event without a hint of a problem, no numbness and no saddle sores. More important than a good saddle is a good mtb setup done by a professional, as numbness of the hands and butt region is more often than not setup related. Just as important is good hygiene and a good chamois cream applied as a thick layer on your butt or chamois. (the longer the ride the thicker). Get out of that stinking and wet bib shorts asap after every ride and wash your nether regions with good antibacterial soap. If, like me you can not afford the expensive chamois creams sold by your lbs get yourself a 500 ml or 1l tub of milking cream at your local agricultural Co-op and mix in a tube of antibacterial ointment like germolene. Don't know what a saddle sore is since started using this mix seven years ago.

Some sweet singletrack on this one. They even have a rocky koppie! on the 60 km with some short technical bits as well as lekker (shortish) downhills. Well worth a try if you have not done it before. This is really a little gem in the Freestate.