Daxiet

'tis a very odd issue you have. My rotor (185mm Avid) has ~ 2mm clearance from the bracket, the rear 160mm disc has about 3mm clearance, all be it the caliper is a nats chest hair from touching.

Slowbee, read my post top of page 2. The rotor should not touch the bracket, the only way this is possible is if the entire rotor as true as it may appear is perfectly bent outwards, or your axle is bent, your hub is loose, the axle is not seated correctly, the fork is bent (twisted inwards) - very unlikely. Can you take a picture of the offending rubbing area and post it. As mentioned before calibrating will not help the bracket rub as the bracket is not adjustable. Something has to be greatly a miss to have the rotor come in contact with the bracket. Another question did you strip down the hub or remove any bolts from it?

I have to agree, the little spring in between the pads if far to weak to force the pistons back. The Avid's have the same spring idea as the Shimano's incidently. Potato idea - Eskom would appreciate this move, can't waste any energy these days.

I have Juicy 3.5's (Because they're on a Scott, the Juicy 3 becomes a 3.5). They are buggers to calibrate and are on my list to replace as soon as possible for this reason. Riding in a long race hearing them rub away really ticks me off (why bother having bearings on your wheels when your Juicy's provide 24/7 friction). Enough complaining. No the rotor should not rub against the bracket attachted to the fork holding the caliper in place. Mine comes very close to the bracket, but not close enough to rub. There are many ways you can try fiddling about to get the rubbing gone, but they depend on what happened during your cleaning phase. Did you remove the rotor in the "bathing" process? If rubbing against the bracket, not the caliper and not the pads, then the Juicy calibration technique will be fruitless as this process only sets the angle/spacing of the caliper/pads around the rotor, no effect on the bracket. If you can't move the bracket any further away from the rotor, you do not have a lose hub and your axle is seated correctly in the fork, then your rotor must be slightly bent outwards.

According to the avg. Cateye manual that tyre should be 2068mm. If you measure you need to mark a start point on the floor then complete 1 rotation and measure the distance travelled. The rolling circumference differs from the actual circumference due to the buldge at the bottom of the tyre under weight. This method is normally easier said than done and there is almost always room for error.

Yup, I would look for a new favourite LBS. They either installed a really cheap and nasty set, an incorrect set, or they over tightened the assembly (not likely, you would normally destroy the top washer that the center bolt goes through, before being able to stress the bearings). If I may ask how much did the new bearings set you back, based on cost a quick assessment can be made on the percieved quality. Was it a genuine sealed bearing, or are the bearings exposed?

Called a ratio, and thus having inside leg length, arm length, upper body length and so forth completes the ratio which ultimatley differs from person to person. The reason I use inside leg length is to get a quick ballpark sizing. You need to clear the height of the top tube when standing over the bike, unless you like your bits resting on the bar. With a road bike you want 2-5cm clearance, with an MTB you want as much as possible without having the toptube too short (5-10cm and will have to be less on a dual suspension in most cases). Furtermore having a 400mm seat post won't help you when your rear is sky high and your bars are around your knee caps. The ratio of all these things determine your profile and comfort on the bike. But don't get me wrong, once your stand over height is fine, your need to consider the top tub length to get the riding style you want.

After reading this post I decided to give Whasp a try. Went to Dischem and out of the 2 possible options I got Cyan Crazy Berry (other one on offer was Woman Only Crazy Berry). I also got GU Vanilla Bean, I got the mixture to test and see if any of these guys made any difference when on a long ride. While probably not the most scientific test I concluded the following: Using in order my usual USN Vooma Peach, then GU and finally Whasp I concluded no remarkable difference in my state of being. While I love the Vooma Peach which tastes like Peach tropica on steriods, the GU Vanila was nice, small and easy to work with. The Whasp initially for the 1st second or two tasetd interesting, but then that thought was soon gone as the after taste kicked in. Wow, berry with a bit of "windowleen". The package is too big, the taste is nasty and seemingly offers nothing more than GU or Vooma. Hence I would stick to either the exceedingly pricey GU's or plenty Vooma's which come readily available in boxes of 10. As for the amount of liquid required per Gel, with the Whasp I needed more liquid to wash the taste down. As mentioned earlier by someone else, Whasp needs to come out with a more neutral flavour like Vanilla, something a bit more light and smaller packaging.

I would also recommend a 2nd hand bike, you'll be able to squeeze a bit more spec out with your limited budget. Keep in mind 09 prices have jumped by a huge margin, bikes won't get cheaper next year. Hunting now you may still get new 08 models at good prices, but they will be running low in stock. When you say you don't know what to look for shopping 2nd hand, that is relatively simple. You can pose questions on the Hub, or search the Hub for "things to check when buying 2nd hand". I am positive I've seen such threads running around here. Quick advice on 2nd hand shopping: Ideally get an idea of what size bike you will fit on, then hunt for 2nd hand versions in that size. Keep in mind frame sizes differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. Silverback 08 models I know are smaller than most. Raleigh 08's much the same. Min 5cm clearance over top bar is a good start for hard tails. Generally look for anything that looks odd, or shows poor maintenance, eg. rusted cables, loose hubs, play on the crankset, play on the headset. But don't bust your budget on your 1st bike, try get something that will last you 6 months while you get into it, then when you know your hocked and to what degree you trade up and bust the piggie bank.

Glad to be of assistance, keep an eye out for decent bikes with disc brake setups. A friend just bought a medium 08 Dakota for 4k off the Hub and another just sold his large 08 Dakota for 4k. So they're out there. The 09 Dakota's retail around 8.5K new so they will trade higher second hand. But whatever you get Dart 2 should be the minimum spec fork your go for.

May be too late to throw my 2 cents in, but the Reno is not a bike I would invest upgrades on. The frame does not have mounts for Rear disc brakes. So you'll never be in a position to upgrade to a disc setup. Furtermore you will spend a couple K on shocks, which is like digging yourself deeper into a hole. I would recommend looking for a 2nd hand bike eg. Silverback Dakota, Raleigh Namib, or similar which have ok forks, disc brakes, a weight reduction on the Reno. They also have 9 speed Deore or better setup (Dakota LX rear derailleur). The Reno is the entry level of Silverback and is just not worth upgrading. Another thought because the Reno is V-brake, you'll need to hunt down a new fork that supports V-brake, which is limiting.

I have more thoughts about this, it really boils down to do you feel comfortable on the bike, are you sitting too upright, etc. I have had my bike fitting done on my MTB and once done I customised the settings because they were uncomfortable and I felt the new setup caused me to lack power. That said, the fitting is more a guideline, everyone is different thus it boils down to how you feel on the bike. Ride some more, if you find you have twitches that just don't go away or you saddle is too high in relation to the handle bars, then perhaps you're too big for the bike.

I'm riding a 51cm 2006 Compact RC3000, my height is 1.72, inside leg ~79cm. The bike fits me well. I would feel that @ 1.8m it probably is too small for you. You need to take into account your specific geometry (arm length, inside leg...) When it comes to MTB's you can go on a slightly smaller frame, ideal for control. This isn't the case for road bikes. If your're too big for the bike your riding profile will be uncomfortable, you will be cramped for space, basically on long rides you're going to feel pain. If your saddle requires a rediculously high setting to accomodate your legs, then you may exceed the max safe extension resulting in possible frame damage. Daxiet2008-12-09 13:11:23

I've got the feeling no one knows!

I have downloaded the tech manual on the brakes in question, they have bleed screws so I may as well bleed anyway to ensure a happy cycle. But it would be fun to let him go wizzing down a hill to find he has no brakes. Would be good technical training . I agree I will be very lucky if I do the swap without getting air in the system. I couldn't get hold of mineral oil today, so the activity is on hold, probably until next week. Thanks all for the feedback. No noddy badge for me, far too many of them going around today, they've become like the Zim dollar.

Excellent, thanks will "break" them tonight.

Mud Dee, do you mean remove the lever put it on the other side...? The LX levers unlike the Haynes, Avids are side specific. The reservoir faces up on the LX. Hence simply moving them from one side to the other is not an option (aesthetics wise). Thanks

I am an MTB rider and at first when occasionally hitting the tar in Muldersdrift on my MTB I took excepetion to the evil roadies who just never greeted. The stats mentioned right in the first post are pretty accurate. However as time went by I realised that if you have to greet everyone you pass on a busy day in Muldersdrift your legs wouldn't be the tired component on your body after a long ride, but rather your poor right arm. I will always greet the stray MTB rider or if on an isolated road the stray roadie. But it does get a bit much greating a hundered riders on a day. If however greeted I will always try return the greeting. I think in general the brotherhood feeling comes in the MTB community only.Daxiet2008-12-04 02:31:48

How difficult is the process of switching the hydraulic lines from the left brake lever to the right brake lever and visa versa on Shimano LX '08 brakes? A friend neglected to get this done before buying the bike and we have to do it now. Standard issue, left brake is the Front brake. Due to motorbike influence, we ride with Left being the rear brake. From what I can ascertain it is simply bleeding the system to avoid spilage and then removing the pipe from the lever, attaching to the other lever, filling and bleeding. Am I missing something, eg. seals that might need replacing, o-rings, anything like that? Thanks

Any idea on the reason behind the cancelling of these events, was it low participation? They do fall very close to Sabie which may reduce possible numbers.

Got me wrong there, not talking clothing (hard to shop remotely for such items), that I will always get locally, I am talking equipment when saying kit. Eg. Groupset, wheels, etc. I will not go shopping for an entire new bike for myself either.

I also have to say I can't see how bikes can cost up to R120K, unless it pedals itself, weighs -X kgs it just makes no sense. You can get a nice little car for that price. Derailleurs, cranks, BB,shocks just can't cost this much to manufacture as with frames. Further to this pricing on CRC has not gone up nearly in line with the price increases on whole bikes in SA. On Silverback, the new Dakota goes for ~8K, the new Nabraska R9.5K, it seems to be ~20% increase across these bikes. The '09 Nabraska is better spec'd than the '09 RM5.0 anyway yet is much cheaper. Anyway I am glad I acquired my MC40 when I did, what concerns me is soon I will need to buy a Dual Sus for my wife and it's going to cost me a rediculous figure. Merida's prices by the way on their 09 models are very reasonable when compared to Raleigh and others for that matter.

When I go shopping for more kit I can assure you I am going to get it via CRC. I already have my basket packed, I am just waiting for certain stock to be replenished. You definetly get a lot more variety on CRC, plus the comfort of planning your purchase in more detail. In many cases you look for a particular item and find that you just can't get your paws on it in SA, or at any shop close by/at a respectable price. However for small items that are needed periodically like, tubes, tyres, etc LBS is better. But yes they generally make this sport overly expensive. As for labour pricing, how much a LBS charges for labour does not determine the quality of the work. Unfortunetly you'll need to experiment to find a LBS that delivers good Quality, thus far I believe in DIY and when I do "outsource" it, I experiment, thus far no worthy LBS found, just disapointment

When I go shopping for more kit I can assure you I am going to get it via CRC. I already have my basket packed, I am just waiting for certain stock to be replenished. You definetly get a lot more variety on CRC, plus the comfort of planning your purchase in more detail. In many cases you look for a particular item and find that you just can't get your paws on it in SA, or at any shop close by/at a respectable price. However for small items that are needed periodically like, tubes, tyres, etc LBS is better. But yes they generally make this sport overly expensive. As for labour pricing, how much a LBS charges for labour does not determine the quality of the work. Unfortunetly you'll need to experiment to find a LBS that delivers good Quality, thus far I believe in DIY and when I do "outsource" it, I experiment, thus far no worthy LBS found, just disapointment

Wow, Probikes pricing was very competative in the 2008 range, but this is rediculous. I wish them luck, for their sake I hope there are people out there with plenty cash and no idea what they're buying. I haven't seen the new Merida/Scott/Giant pricing but I doubt Raleigh will be cheaper in 2009. Thus I would encourage people to rather go for one of the more established brands. In the MTB range, Raleighs are quite heavy, for example, the MR5 weighs in at 13.9kgs, which is a heavy beast to drag around at R20K+. Bad news is Scott is now also with Probike, so I will have to find a new brand of choice. On the positive side if you're looking to shop late 2009, Probike should be having a huge clearance sale