SteveS

Hi Kiwi Will the Stainless 32 t chainring be comaptible with Shimano 4 hole cranks? How much will they cost. What is the latest arrival date of the Green 29" Scandal frames?

Thanks. Even though the price of the Contis are great and l like to support kiwi I must say I am a bit sceptical about the Contis. One of my friends has a UST Moutain King on the back of his hardtail. He has done about 200km with it and the tyre has had a tear on the sidewall and a puncture on the tread that required a plug. Tyre looks like it has done 2000km already Has anyone used Crossmark 29" tyres. I have heard that they are beaded / non foldable and cannot be converted to tubeless. I got more than 2000 km out of the UST 26" Crossmark with not one flat. SteveS2009-10-07 03:03:35

Does anybody have any experience with the Bontrager Jones XR tyres? They are 29" tubeless ready tyres and weigh 620g. I heard their sidewalls are soft but I also heard that of Continental Mountain kings.

Hi The Thug. Where did you buy the Pythons and what do they cost?

No No Mr Baker you cannot fix your landings. Who is going to entertain us on our rides down the Spruit. You are supposed to improve on your record of 4 wipeouts in one session .

Hi Mr Baker According to what I can see the travel on the Recon that you have can be adjusted between 85 - 130mm without modifying the shock (i.e. cutting the fork as the techi told you). R 500.00 sounds steep maybe get another quote. On the other hand CRC are running some awsome deals on forks at the moment (especially with rand being strong against the pound). I.e 100mm 2010 Rock Shox Recon for R 2154 incl VAT or a Reba Race, same as mine for R3202 incl VAT. And while you ordering from them you can get a new XT 32t middle chainring for R250 compared to the quote of R800 from your LBS SteveS2009-09-09 03:19:15

We are in the Midlands around Nottingham Road on holiday and passed loads of school kids with brand new bright yellow bikes. So the programme seems to be a national thing.

The fork was R1900 ex Vat from CRC. I bought some other stuff and got the free shipping. Longer rides are fun. You will be suprised that the time difference between a geared bike and SS is small. I do a 50Km loop of the Spruit and I think my SS time is only about 3-5m slower. I would love to get a cadence sensor to see what my cadence gets up to on some of the flat/downhill sections .

Hi Gtracing. I am running a 32/16 at the moment which I find perfect. I can just make it up the Hurlingham hill by Republic and the Deltapark hill under the trees. Thanks BBi.

Thanks Louis I mainly use the single speed for training on the Spruit which does not really require suspension. I had a Rockshox Tora 302 fork on the front which one cannot call lightweight and it made the bike feel to heavy in front especially with the back being light (sans cluster etc). The front was always lower when jumping stuff. I haven't tried the rigid fork yet. I only got the bike with the fork now installed back today but I am sure a 1.5Kg difference is going to be noticeable. SteveS2009-07-23 07:29:42

Here are a few pics of my single speed project which has been finished at last. The completed bike weighs 9.88kgs excluding pedals but including 125ml slime per tyre (thanks to the 0.7kg rigid fork). Thanks to all the guys giving me advice re the rigid fork, cranks etc. There has been a few guys complimenting there LBS on some of the forums. I would like to mention Jacque from Eagle Canyon Cycles. He has helped transfer parts from other bikes and install new parts not bought from him (i.e. shock from CRC) onto this bike. He managed to play around with the chain / sprocket set up that enabled me to chuck out the Chain tensioner and he took an old chainring and cut it up to make custom spacers to convert the LX crankset to a single crankset.

Thanks Steel Niner. I think that the XT option is starting to make the most sense, because I will be upgrading two bikes for the price of one. Have you built up your Reynolds steel frame yet? (Post some pics in the SS thread) Nice chatting to you on the spruit the other day.

Thanks Rock Looked at the the Raceface Ride. There is only R 200 difference between that and the SLX or Raceface Evolve.

I need to replace the old truvativ crank that I have been using on my single speed and I need some advice. My first option is to take the Shimono LX (2008) off my MTB and put it on my SS and upgrade my MTB with an XT crank (amazing special ar CRC - R1359 ex VAT). Is the XT better and lighter than the LX to warrant the effort? Second option is to buy the Shimano SLX double with bashguard and then remove the small chainring making it a handy SS crankset for. The only issue is i am currently using a 32/16 ratio and changing to a 36t front means a new chain and different back sprocket Third option is to buy a dedicated SS crankset. I am looking at the Raceface Deus XC or Evolve XC Some feedback and advice from the SS guys (Steel Niner, Rock, Holy Roller, The Thug or anybody) will be appreciated.

Thanks Thug for your input. That settles it rigid fork here I come

Thanks for the input. This is the fork that I am looking at getting http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=29729 Free: What pressure do you run the 2.35 at?

Hi I have a rockshox tora 302 (2.4kgs) on my single speed GT. I find the front quite a bit heavy compared to the back sans Derailleur and cassette. I am playing with the idea of going for a carbon rigid fork (0.75kg) with a larger front tyre i.e. 2.3. This would give me a weight saving of 1.5 kgs off the front of the bike. I use the single speed when I train on my own, mostly on the Spruit. How forgiving is a carbon rigid or can I kiss my wrists goodbye. Anyone have experience with carbon rigids. Should I maybe just look out for a good deal on a Rockshox Sid or similar. Thanks Steve

Hi Hans I have just replaced my 2008 Tora 302 with a 2009 Reba Race and saved 0.8 kgs. Apart from the weight saving the bike will handle much better and you do not have to rebuild the whole bike. I saved a futher 0.15Kgs by replacing the handlebar and stem which was done at the same time.

Thanks Jules

Thanks Thug. It is seldom that the cheapest option is the best option. So do you guys think I can use the 8 speed chain?

Hi Steel Niner. Thanks. Thats sounds like the best idea. Will the 8 speed chain that is on there currently work with the 18 tooth cog that comes with the DMR tensisioner?

Hi I am busy converting an old Diamond Back MTB into a single speed. I already have a DMR chain tensioner with 18 tooth cog. I now need to convert the Truvativ triple chainring MTB crank into a 32 tooth single speed. I hear it can be done with some sort of adapter and a SS chainring. If so where in JHB can I buy this or am I looking at a new SS crank? Thanks Steve

Hi. Welcome to the hub form another rookie. Unless you are flying down I think it is time that you get a roof rack and one of those Thule Proride racks. Just got one for the Honda and it takes like seconds to put the bike on the roof. I once went to Cape Town and rented a bike for a week. The bike cost the same to rent as our hired car