LazyTrailRider

Nah, likely legit, it's an ancient piece of metal. That fork is more than 10 years old.

Put up an ad in the classifieds for R11k and see what response you get, then take it from there. You'll soon get a feel...

Not true. Some are light, some are heavy. If you're building a bike using a basket of components where each lighter option saves you 100-150g (the Superlogic on my bike ended up something like 100g lighter than the Syncros it replaced), you can end up with bike that's 1.5kg lighter in the end. Regardless of whether you believe in the Weight Weenie gods, you can feel this when you take it for a spin. Granted, if you don't care and the rest of your bike is loaded with mid-range, mid-weight stuff, this wouldn't really matter to you. Some clamping mechanisms suck. I've used terrible creaking and constantly loosening posts in past. It can get @#$ing annoying. Some posts are machined/cast to tighter tolerances than others. Assuming that your frame is in fact perfectly sized, a post that's iffy ends up creaking. Just as annoying as the previous point. I've found that Thomson posts as an example score pretty highly in relation to the last two points, they're worth the extra bucks.

Keep a patient eye on the classifieds. I bought a brand new Ritchey Superlogic carbon post (at 180g pretty much as light as it gets without being stupd) for R700 a while ago. I do pretty serious XC/trail and even Enduro riding with it, and it's been perfect.

I third that. Took my girlfriend there for her 2nd singletrack ride on Saturday (the first one was in Greyton on pretty much completely flat terrain), she loved it. There's just enough gradient to keep things interesting, and a good mix of jeep and singletrack. If she's worried about too much climbing, you can do the Stairway while she takes a shortcut, worked out well for us!

I'd venture around R10-R12k...

I've just booked a couple of days here (a place called Tuscany) on the way to the Leogang World Cup in June. Life is going to be tough...

Does one really pay R60K for a bike with SLX shifters that gets used to ride around on dirt roads these days? Damn, I'm either really smart or live on a different planet based on what I've built up for half that. Nuts.

It's from Lala Bank.

I had a guy come up to me at Meerendal over the weekend as I was unloading my bike, incredulous that I didn't have some XYZ massive sprocket conversion on my cassette. It was as if he'd couldn't believe that what his buddies told him wasn't really true. My answer was simple: It's expensive and unnecessary, 32x11-36t is more than enough.

Perfectly stated.

Capricorn, you're spot on about expectations. When I see someone use the word "racing" and then complain about durability, I do an imaginary eye-roll. Being fast enough to actually "race" should automatically disqualify you from complaining about stuff not lasting, because professionals don't complain, they win.

Yep, most likely the problem here. SinglespeedGuy, Rons aren't entry-level in comparison to Ralphs. They're slightly more aggresively treaded, that's all. Just like with Ralphs, you'll find different (from entry-level TLR to higher-end Snakeskin) variants. The OP is running a super lightweight, less robust TLR version. Another factor here is the quality of the rim. I've been running Rons on Havens for quite a while without any hint of leaking or burping, something I attribute to the fact that Haven rims are proper certified UST. My riding is not what one would describe as "mild" (I hack a hardtail over enduro trails). The photo hints at a 3K chinese carbon hoop, which I reserve judgement on...

Interesting... I've always rated Matt as one of the smoothest riders on the circuit, the kid's got serious style and BMT to go with it.

I have a brand new (still in packaging) 36t XX1 for you if you're interested, R900.

As everyone has said, it works perfectly. I run XX1 cranks with a short-cage X9 type 2 derailleur and normal 10spd chain. I haven't dropped the chain once in 2 months worth of riding, and I'm no light XC rider (a good test having been an Enduro race on a hardtail, where zero suspension means merciless chain bouncing). Do it, you won't regret it.

What width is it currently? If you're used to 600 (crazy narrow), definitely don't cut it. Give it a few weeks getting used to a wider bar, then come back and thank us for nudging you in the right direction. Seriously, don't cut it.

I'm sure he has, there are many many stories I remember Mike King asking right off the bat when registering where the best place to pick up girls was. Haha.

In the process of cleaning out my spare room, I dug this up: I raced the "Citizen's Challenge" at the 1997 World Cup in Stellies and was super excited to chat to my heroes and get them to sign my number board. I was parked at the Manitou tent (friends were mechanics) right next to the Sunn pits, and got Anne-Caro to sign, when amusingly this young whipper-snapper I'd never heard of grabbed my board and scribbled on it without being asked to. Some dude named Cedric Gracia...

Hmmm, tough call. Personally, I wouldn't trust that. The danger to others - however unlikely - of a bike or two dropping onto the road would be the overriding factor for me.

Dayyuum!

It's light. It's expensive. Much like a supermodel.

Well put.

Oh, I see the COFBAs have taken over. OK, cheers. (I still think the V10 would be waaaay sexier with a proper customised paint job instead of stickers).

Yep, and they're superb. I have this one: http://dialdbikes.co.za/dakine-mens-session-mtb-pack-8l.html