Pipsqueak

Ya, I'm with you. There's this weird obsession with detail in this country. Just take the bike and ride the bloody thing. Its the best way to go faster.

Again, why don't you want to succumb to 29'er mania? Why succumb to 650b mania before it's implemented properly? For the most part, if you want the benefit of bigger wheels, then buy the right 29'er and you'll be hard pressed to outride the bike. This nonsense that 29'ers are slow in single track and sloppy climbers is total bull, especially if you consider the new, snappier geometry that some of these bikes now sport. If you want a technical rig then buy a 26 dually, if you want a cross country rig then get a 29, why do you think you're going to get a marked improvement by bastardising a tested design solution? Do fat mags and whitewalls make your Ford Escort go faster?

I don't understand how you can take a bike designed to have 26 in wheels and just slap something substantially bigger on it. Look at how different the geometry requirements are between 26 and 29. Why should 650b be any different? So what I'm saying is why take a good 26er and put bigger wheels on it? This isn't like a stem or saddle upgrade... Or am I missing something?

Don't worry, I'm just as bad as the rest of them...

If they didn't come up with something new, you guys would stop buying stuff.

The mount is good. I've had one for almost a year, ridden hundreds of Kay's with it, mean rocky descents etc. mines never come off. I'm not convinced about wether the Bryton is anything close to as good as a Garmin. The navigation really sucks and in my opinion is not worth using. The data is good, and I think it's best use is with a HR and cadence monitor.

29er = flat, wide and swept.

The tokoloshi didn't major in science. My small ring is the only one I've never had suck on.

Jeez. Nothing to with blade size. A worn blade will suck a chain, especially when the lube runs thin. Of course the derailleur hanger has something to do with it because its designed to break first. So don't let your blade teeth wear, and don't let your chain wear. And keep everything lubed. The chain will suck first on the blade that you use the most, so just change it every year. It's really simple, nothing to do with the Tokolosh.

Until you damage your frame. Been there done that.

Sorry, another tip. Next time buy a metal bike.

Buy a chain check tool. Never let the chain wear too much. Shorten the chain. If its shorter it doesn't have the slack to suck right up the front ring. I shot earn my chain until I can't use all gears. It won't change across rings, but who needs that anyway? Surely your hanger should break before your chain stay? That's just crazy. Probably a crack there already.

Are the new XT shifters notably better than SLX? R200 in it. Then, I was gonna buy a new crank, but I took my old Deore one off and weighed it. It weighs 845 ex BB. The new 2x XT crank is 734 ex BB. So I'm asking why I should fork out 2 grand to save 111 grams. Especially since the Deore crank is about the only part of my kit that never gives trouble, despite literally getting the k@k kicked out of it.

I've been wanting to buy a new XT crankset, just to trim a bit of weight and flash up the bike. But then I weighed my old Deore crank which has ground it's way thru thousands of sandy kms (and still works 100%). The Deore crank (x3) weighs 845 ex BB. The XT crank weighs 734, and that's a double blade. R1800, I think not. Let me tell you what, the plain old Deore crank is the best, most under-rated piece of kit you'll find.

Pity no BB90. I guess I just strip the crank, grease everything and retorque it all. The BB is new, I've ridden maybe 150 kays on it.

Shimano's version of press fit comes in a whole unit, not unlike the Hollowtech screw in one. So the bearing cups and tube are plastic. The whole thing cost me about R200, so I need to find out if here are better options to this piece of plastic cr#p.

What BBs is everyone using. I put in a cheap Shimano plastic one and its creaking already. Gonna regrease the axle & splines but I wondered if there was a better option. Are all press fit BBs plastic?

Went thru the rotor thing, even tried them with shimano rotors. They're quiet for a bit, then the squealing and shuddering sets back in. Never looked back since I got rid of them. Worth every cent.

Thanks for the replies guys, did a few searches in Tech Shack - no joy. So why can't I use my old derailleur? Derailleurs aren't indexed are they? I'd probably buy a double xt crank and new shifters (obviously with the 10 sp cassette and chain), but what would be the difference between a new long cage derailleur and the one I have? Sorry to sound so dogged, but it's a fair bit of cash.

Throw them into the bush and buy a set of SLX or XT brakes, the ones with the heat fins on the pads. They are flippin amazing. I also had Avids, and yes, they did stop the bike, but I couldn't deal with the noise. It drove me crazy. Even used the wife's nail-polish to clean the rotors, but it only worked for a few kays. I gave my Avids to the gardener.

I cooked my fox fork on Sani. Wore grooves in the stanchions. That when I found out a whole lot of things... You need to keep the stanchions really clean. Then you need to service your dust wipers every 30 hours. This means popping the seals up and soaking the foam rings with Fox float fluid. Then every year you should do the dust wipers with a new kit. I had to buy new stanchions, which I'll install myself when this wiper kits begins to leak. If you look at Mojo Suspension's site you'll get a whole lot of tips on how to do all this stuff. http://www.mojo.co.uk/techtips.html This will tell you a load of stuff. You'll find that it's very difficult to get hold of float fluid in this country, I had to buy some in the US. You can use any viscous oil (wet chain lube works) to resoak your foam rings.

You're right, the Giant Wheels are K#k. But it's a better bike.

Can someone please educate me. I have a shimano XT 9 speed system on by MTB. If want to go 10 speed do I have to purchase everything - shifters, derailleur, cassette and crank? Can I get away with just the cassette and the shifters? Sorry for the doff question. It's lot of money going XT all over again.

The XTC and the Silverback can't be compared in terms of performance. I have a XTC 29 frame lying in my garage, it's a great bike. The Silverback just has bad manners.

Wow that seat post looks very nice. Is that grey or silver? Where dyou get the loaded stuff?