MoreTrails

All mountain bike - In my opinion is only really and truely coming into its own within the last 2 years or so. Bikes have always had the travel but with a weight penalty. But now with nifty carbon or more refined aluframes it is a reality that you can pedal a 6" bike up and down the hill - Mojo HD and Nomad-c come to mind, as well as Morewoods new Sukuma, Giant Reign, Titus El Guapo...the list goes one. I mean, a DH bike in the 90's had 5-6" of travel, now this is becoming a bike guys want to hurtle around on on the weekend. Progression and technology is awesome....along with, and don't forget this, suspension platforms and tuning over the years have made these bikes even better. The one gets the long travel hardtail, ready for abuse in all the right ways and bomb proof. I have seen guys kill it on a long travel hardtail and make the chaps on the fancy full sus sleds look silly.... So this boils down to rider ability too. You either have that ability, or not....or are cazy enough to try and attain it. I am of the crazy catagory and its quite fun, come and join sometime. Just don;t bring BOS cause he makes me fall over! All mountain is the way of the future - lighter bikes, longer suspension and go anywhere on the hill...up or down. But as we know it is more about the going down! And a bright retort to that last statement would be..... "Thats What she said...."

Disk brake calipers should be standard in how they look and mount - no? They all mount the same way....this being said then, it doesn't matter if the fork is post mount as the caliper then mounts directly to the fork leg without a IS adapter. You may need a couple spacers to make it work, but if it is an XC fork (as you have mentioned you are looking for) and you are using a 160mm rotor it should just bolt straight on. I would suggest you steer clear of the Codes, rather use Elixirs or Juicy range as they offer better braking power and far better feel. If you own the Codes then se le vie. Forks, can only win with Reba's, Fox F series. parts are easy to get and they are a doddle to service. Hope all this helps.

Well if you do and (heaven forbid, strike me down with lightening and all and all) something goes wrong you know getting hold of the agent or better yet manufacturer should be somewhat more simple. Must admit, my shova and I have the odd argument, maybe someone has to do some grovelling...but there ain't been no visit to the ER yet for either of us (he says touching every timber piece of furniture in an open plan office). SO crack out the plastic, loose the tupperware bike and go local....dis mos lekker neh!

I don't know the trail, but if you worried then just ditch the 38T and put on a 32T. Combined with your 18t at the back that should be just fine to get you around, bar the steepest or nastiest climbs...

M.O.R.E.W.O.O.D. ...

Yip, top assembly is going to set you back any round 3k - may as well buy a new fork for that... Bushes will be another 750 or so I am told.... Factor in a new fork and tell seller to reduce the price - I promise you, one or two hefty rides and that fork will start to bleed oil

Spokes - Stainless steel straight gauge Sapin spokes are normally cheapest, double butted anodised black DT Swiss spokes are normally most expensive. There are various trains of thought at to which is better, stronger. The DT's generally are lighter and have bragging rights. Use brass nipples (yes I said the N word) as opposed to alloy. They may only come in shiny silver but are stronger in general. Rims - DT Swiss, Mavic, Nuke Proof all make great rims. Personally I have Mavic 819 (tooooobless ready) and DT Ex500 (Thats the new number for the old 5.1D) rims and both are great. The DT is a little softer though. Stans are also awesome rims. If you are on a budget then Alex rims have been known to take a pounding and still keep going. Just bear in mind your rolling mass to keep the wheels light and responsive. I think Whyte industries do a flip flop hub. If I am correct then they are awesome hubs, last forever. I did bump into a dude with a Rohloff internal gear hub the other day...the thing only needs servicing every 20000km's!!!!! Thats awesome!!! Hubs - where does one start. Well at the top - Chris King or Industry 9. But if that breaks the bank then Hope Hubs all the way! Check out CRC for wheel build specials. I am using Novatec at the moment and I must say I am seriously impressed. Nuke Proof, DT Swiss, DMR all make decent hubs. They are loads to choose from so a bit of homework on your part I am afraid Happy building

Wouldn't Cape Storm or First Accent give you a good rate if you purchasing a whole span of them? Or are you looking for custom colour / materials / club details...

Yip thats correct, also allows for an effectively wider hub (flange to flange) again making the overall wheel somewhat stronger

Its an old Race Face Air Allow riser bar, 25mm rise and about 710mm wide. Is nice and comfy. Could have done with my 750 Funn Bar at the 24hr this weekend though for those late night loops up the long fire road climb

I find it becomes more uncomfortable on the ass after a while. With you legs whizzing round, the bum starts to bounce up and down on the saddle which in turn becomes highly uncomfortable. This with a 32x18 ratio. Besides RodTi, what doing riding a single speed on the road for, its suppose to be for tooling around the forest getting dirty...

I bought a WTB Lazerdisk Single Duty hub a while back, granted it was on sale for R600... but I have never looked back. Came with 16t cog but that has been replaced with an 18t. I am really impressed with the hub, haven't had to service it since I have had it (Around 2 years) and it is still smooth and running well. In fact, I think it has now bedded in quite nicely. Call Oluf at Crosstown Cycles in Kenilworth, Cape Town 021 761 0112 and ask his 5c...dude knows his kit.

Ah yes, Norm and the speech about natural selection of brain cells - a wave of brilliance that!

Do we get to buy shots in the bar?

Just sex drugs and rock n roll! And maybe some bicycles....

Ian, ditch the XT and do Hope. Check out there straight pull hubs, I think there might be a 24 spoke version. See you Saturday at 24hrs of O.V. Savage

Good frames - great ride. Barry White frame is limited to 100mm travel fork though. PM KIWI to find out the details to place your order - you know you want one already...

Not a pure cyclo-x bike, but it'll give them a run for their money I suppose. Argus on this thing is going to be entertaining - 1x9 with a 42t up front...

Generally height diff from stem to high point of the rise...something like that I think. Been a while since I measured. 15mm rise is about average, 30mm is quite noticeable and anything below 15mm is suppose is considered XC or marathon related.... Give me the 15mm riser and make it nice and wide I say!!!

Yes, have mates that link them up quite often. Just need to pay at each trail

Hillcrest = stupid steep climb for short single track back down. You need to do laps to get any joy. Contermanns = long climb up, but not stupid, with longer and more tech single track down. One feels far more rewarded for the effort exerted. AND there is now a second trail called Kliprug. Ask when you ride past The Bike Shed (bike shop on the property with signage - can't miss it) for directions. If you want a really big ride you can link Majik Forest, Hillcrest, Contermanns and Meurendal all togther. Don't forget to pay at each trail (except Majik) in the honesty boxes.

32x18 - it hurts and you get to the top of the hill 32x16 - it hurts, you *** off, pop a knee and you get to the top of the hill 32x18 for Cape Town terrain is actually perfect I find, you pedal to the top of 99% of trails here (without exploding) and you can keep up with all but the super fast on the DH coming down.

BOS, I hope that isn't your S-works in that picture. To give up on a Zula to ride a Spaz..... shame on you!!!!

RodTi, the BCD means - Bolt Center Diameter (i think thats what it means.... ) and it is the distance between the chainring bolts. There is a specific way of calculating them. Now the larney ou's that have XTR will have to deal with non standard BCD like 102mm, or something like that. As for the rest of us normal (poor) folk we use the standard - 104mm. Chainrings are really easy to find to fit the 104mm BCD spacings, for instance go have a look at all the Blackspire offerings at CRC.... the only thing is that you cannot use a chainring smaller than 32t on a 104mmBCD, well that is what I can make out - if someone has figures how then please let me know. So if you want to run say, a 28/42t setup on a standard crack with 104 BCD, you need to fit the 42 in the space reserved for your standard middle chainring and you need to find a 28 that has a BCD of 64mm - the 64 being the BCD of the granny chainring. All very complex I tell you. The more beer you consume while discussing this, the easier it is generally to understand. You do hawever start to go backwards with the understanding part after a while, normally happens after beer unit #9 or so.

Dude, I bought that fork for 1500 bucks and it goes like a MOFO, so no need to spend like 5k on a fork....but it is always nice to as you will have a sweet bit of kit! As for your all mountain machine, turf the 29er wheels, go 5" travel or more and if the budget aint there, build the hardcore hardtail you have been talking about. I recon, when the funds are there, get a frame and fork and just move all the components over onto the new bike. Upgrade as you go.... then you purchase pieces as you can afford, you still have a bike and you can choose top kit for the upgrades.... Offer still stands if you want to take the BEAST for a spin...