parabola

I'm keen, will make a note of it and check maybe bring some more people along, sounds like fun.

Where were you planning on riding? What dates you speak of? You should give it more than 16 minutes!

Ride them both and see. I ride an 18" Merida hardtail and I am 1.83m tall, and it fits me nicely. Its your in-seam that matters more than your height. I'm pretty sure it will be possible to fit discs, just check the hubs and frames have the correct mounts.

I bought a Recon Race off the hub a few months ago and am very happy with it. It is extremely light at around 1.8kilos odd as it is a pure air shock. They can be set up pretty plush and although they lack all the bells and whistles of the Rebas, most riders dont need the extra features anyway. There is a good review here : http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/components/forks-suspension/product/recon-race-31344 What are you upgrading from? You also might want to make sure it comes with the remote lockout, especially if you are a heavier rider, but I took mine off because I never used it and it cluttered up my handlebars. R2.5k is a good price, as they are almost R5k for the 2009 models now. edit: I also forgot to mention that according to my lbs, Rock Shox provide good after sales service and parts are easy to get, so maintenance shouldn't be a problem. Their head office is here in Cape Town. parabola2009-03-03 03:16:33

Try not holding on the grips so tightly? Also maybe try different grips, either fatter or thinner whatever feels better. You should check that you are not putting too much pressure on your grips, which comes from incorrect bike setup.

slime works well for small holes, but makes patching the bigger ones even harder as you end up with green goo all over the place. In which case its easier just to slap in a new tube.

Theres a mountain called Constantiaberg behind my house, and theres a tar road leading to the top up to the radio mast. Its about a 600m vertical descent with loads of corners coming down into Tokai arboretum. First time I rode down I thought to myself, hey this is pretty fast, only to see I was clocking 65km/h. Almost shat myself as I wasn't sure if my bike could even handle those speeds. More recently I went down there with another heavier rider who was hitting almost 80km/h. Its quite a thrill when you get to the corners and try to brake without skidding.

Even for unicycling, Thats pretty mental. You obviously have mush less control over your foward balance. I think I've seen you at Tokai a couple of times on the singletrack, I was quite taken aback to know that such a sport as MTB unicycling exists!

That is really just so sad! My sincerest condolences to his family, that is such a tragic and heartbreaking and definitely a shock for myself, only more of a reason for me to steer clear of the roads when riding to Tokai. parabola2009-02-05 09:09:53

I saw a father son duo going up the singletrack at Jonkershoek, son was probably about 8 years old, and no helmets for either of them. Great way to teach your son good habits by showing him whats right parabola2009-01-29 03:15:18

personal preference I guess. Havent had too much experience with the tight shorts, but baggies are rad for recreational riding, for longer rides bib shorts would be ideal as they dont shift around so much. Go to a decent bike shop and have your sit-bones measured on the Specialised machine and you can kinda get an idea of the right saddle width, they usually come in 130-150mm widths, especially if you feel like your sit bones are 'bruised' after riding. If you think about it the saddle is the main point of contact between you and your bike so dont skimp on the the seat especially if you planning on doing longer rides. parabola2009-01-28 09:34:20

say no to gel seat covers, they usually only feel good for about 5 minutes. Cycling shorts with padding help tremendously, but having the right saddle is extremely important. Sometimes less padding feels better so stay away from those thick cushioned seats. I think at the end of the day you just need to find what works for you, but a small amount of pain is pretty usual when you are just starting out.

Thanks shebeen, very informative!

I wouldnt worry too much about that, A torque wrench will set you back several hundred bucks. Just DONT over-tighten them. Use an allen-key and grip it halfway down the shaft to make sure you dont get too much leverage. To help you imagine 5.5Nm, its about the same as 5kg force applied with a lever of 10cm. parabola2009-01-12 10:49:48

The cleats on mtb shoes are recessed so that you can walk properly on trails, and they also have more grip for walking uphill. Road shoes have much stiffer soles for maximum effciency when pedaling. Some mtb shoes have better toe protection incase you knock your foot on a rock or tree stump. I think if in doubt go for mtb shoes as they are generally more comfortable for doing stuff other than riding in.

3-6 mm is ideal. You can achieve this through various combinations of spacers. Also make sure you tighten the side bolts evenly otherwise you can overstress the stem. parabola2009-01-12 07:00:56

I'm not sure why you chose an LX dual control rear brake paired with a normal Deore front brake? Have you considered Avid Juicy 5's? R1800 for the pair and they will stop you in your tracks. http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=22186

Thats a great way of seeing it They been working on the singletrack since I've last ridden so pretty keen to check it out tomorrow. Also heard they have been adding more singletrack at Jonkershoek so its going to be a great year for us MTBers!

Yeah I stay about 5km's from Tokai so a great ride is pretty much in my back garden

Mines not as cool as yours, but shes still my baby

if it was a coiled up hair-spring, I cannot tell you how many times those things have left me in tears in my life. Most recently it was on a Shimano Deore shifter which took me about 3 hours to reassemble after cleaning out.

I checked out those specialized inserts, but they go for about R599. parabola2008-11-12 03:48:25