MoreTrails

29er....pfft! That Shova will drill ANY 29er into the ground! Bike is looking sweet, can't wait to chase it down a hill....

Yeah should fit just fine. I will try get to Tokia on sunday, we can kick some trails and kick Steyns ass...

Those rotors are cheeeeep! Just check the size vs the brakes you using (i think I mentioned before...?? ) and check their thickness. Sometimes that is something that is quite critical, I have formula brakes and fitting new pads is a fakking chore cause all just doesn't quite fit....then there is lots of swearing and sanding down of new pads and grumpy person on the other end. YES, I know that changing the pads the night before a ride is dum...but what can I say!

STEYN, jou mooi ding! Hoe gaan dit? Long time boet, need to catch some trails some time soon. You still having issues with your fork? I am about to self service my one, if you want I can take a looked at it at the same time....?

Sure I can give you some tips - teach you to fall over too! Yeah 750's are wide, but smash that first rock garden in them and you feel the stability. But I rate you could still cut down till about 710 or so. Its all about choice and what suits YOU as a rider. Best advice is to buy slightly wider and buy lock-on grips like ODI's or such like. You can then tighten them in varied positions on the bars till you find out what fits best. Oh and when go ride, put some plastic end caps in the ends of the bar, you don't want to "apple core" a piece out your body! As for knee pads, if you comfortable with all mountain riding already you should be ok, otherwise get a pair if it will make you feel more comfortable. They are so well made now-a-days that they are actually comfortable. 750's and the tight stuff - well thats part praying, part manual cross-up-ing, and moer of alot of dodging. SO when we riding?

These guys are insane! Bike skills like nothing on earth!!! Enjoy and post your comments after... http://www.vitalmtb.com/videos/member/World-Cup-Poland-Walbrzych,8667/k-shiz,14

Oh PS. Chuck the semi integrated headset if you can and look at a Cane Creak item, like the 40 model. Worth every cent

Chubba, I got 750 bars on my Shova and they are sweet. Boarder line on wideness though. As for your headset, thicker generally on the bottom. Just try jam some new thick grease on the bearing under the seals if you can. Get them running nice and smooth. The sleeve you refer to slides down the steerer and wedges the top bearing in place before the top cap of the headset gets fitted over. Slide the sleeve down and rocker steerer back and forth so the sleeve works its way down nice and snug. As for rotors 180 up front minimum. 160 or 180 out back, either or. I have 180 all round and the back end does break free more often than when I had 160 rear rotor. Just bear in mind some Avids take 185 rotors and Hope sometimes 183. Oh front derailer is bottom mount top pull. Seems to be the only one that fits my Shova anyway. Keep the pictures coming, if you need help just PM to bounce ideas

The cheaper bags don't breath (on your back) properly. Also the internal organising layout is poor. Spend the money on good bag once, you won't be sorry. It will also out live a couple bladders. As for mouth pieces, camelbak mouth pieces and valves are available from sportsmans if you going to do transplant surgery. However if you buy a good bladder it should come with a decent mouth piece. Happy buying

Maxxis High Roller up front OF (dare I say it) Specialised Eskar Control up front Ardent out back. All 2.25 - 2.35, nothing smaller. Pinch flats just are not cool

Ouch, ICU not cool. I haven't been to Tokia in a while - is this forestry that have put ditches right across the road? P or S, a bit more description on where that ladder bridge is missing please. Can't seem to remember the area...

Nope, same cranks can be used. But why not sell that crankset and buy a 2 blade SLX with an integrated bash guard? Otherwise if you remove the outer ring you will need to get shorter chainring bolts or spacers to take up the difference from where the out ring is removed. Any bike shop worth their salt should be able to sort that out for you

Scratch that comment, the green and the dark blue look awesome as well

Candy Apple red or Cobalt blue - both are really striking! Otherwise polished aluminium! I have a white one, the colour really pops, but the dirt shows up as well as any scratches etc

Probably not - brand name will offer better results. I use Rocket longs, seem to do the trick quite nicely.

yip 9am start. I know its early but gives you a good ride and time for lunch. See you there, i'll be on a white Shova ST.

Sunday morning, I rate Jonkershoek....tokia will have 1 giga-billion dudes there. And heaven forbit we ride past david16v, I'll stop and give him a beech-klap! Ok Sunday morning i would say starting to ride at 9am from the usual parking lot in Stellies...

Super keen for jonkershoek actually

Yo dudes, come ride sunday morning. You can do set up, bomb down and enjoy the day... Trying to get some ou's on the All Mountain thread to come play - Jonkershoek, Tokia, Delvera. Any takers?

Cap I am super keen for a ride on sunday morning - trails all the way! Jonkershoek, Tokia, Delvera...? PM me if you keen, and anyone else who wants to trash around on the trails on your ALL MOUNTAIN BIKE - wooohoooo

Captain - human nature, panic at the 11th hour about how you plan to fix the problem...similar scenarios: Global warming Human population Cape Towns sewerage system... Ok, reality - the trees help with stabilizing the soil. Fynbos likes sandy soil. MTB is the biggest growing sport in SA (fact). All Cape Town mtb'ers feel a sense of ownership and passion for Tokia (if you don't, you wierd). Forestry is big bucks... SO, instead of me telling everyone what should've been done....how about throwing out the possibilities and ideas of what can be done? I see the forestry as an awesome time to plan for the future. Tree's won't be felled again for lets say a minimum of 20 years? Which gives us the opportunity to negotiate and make some new amazing trails. It gives us the chance of sorting out the flow for safety sake of the riders - going both up and down It offers us a damn good reason to get involved and make some new special features or extending existing runs to make long flowing trails that makes the world want come ride in our back garden - hell we are going to benefit from it personally over the next 20 years We have been lent this great piece of land, something that allows us to ride in relative safety and to ride our hearts out at whatever level we can. Yes the system of getting permission is flawed, but so is the way that the trails are made and maintained. And we all rely on a small nucleus of people that are operating within this difficult system to make it happen - to get permission, get volunteers, get it built.... So, how about some ideas for the people involved who are watching this thread? I'll give you an example: I am going to make a mission to find as much dis-used timber from the construction sites that I am involved in to donate for features, propping, stabilising - hell for braai after a long day digging at the trail side. Who's next?

Case in point - look at the Orange 5.... keeps developing to keep with the times, keeps getting top marks in mags and is an all round favorite. I agree, future proofing is necessary and is part of progression as well. But the Shova was 5 years ahead of its time, keep building that platform as the public still want it... it can only go from strength to strength. Yes, there is also a life span - but I am getting all mushy and nostalgic here, please pass a tissue. There is something very very special about SA designed and SA made with SA aluminium in SA!

Bring back the Shova!!!! Give it a taper head tube, chainguide mounts, a 1degree slacker head angle and 150mm of travel! And a DHX 5 Air with bottom out threshold - cause we all know how much the bike loves to fly! Well my one does... And keep the box section, cnc mill'ed look - its an icon!

Ok, last of all the q's... If a sponsor was found for the timber, how long would it take to get approvals to make use of the timber? Are there plans in place showing potential builds for ladders, boardwalk trails that are waiting for funding / resources? Or would one have to start the process with the powers that be saying: "Right, we have all this timber and we want to use it here, here and there. Do we have consent?"....I would imagine this process would take a loooonnnnggg time. I work in the construction industry, and the amount of (timber as an example) stuff that gets chucked to landfill/dump is sometimes just gross! I have seen companies chuck out entire decks of balau (that wonderful handwood that you see all silver and weathered yet unscathed in the waterfront) without batting an eyelid. This stuff would be ideal, just needs a treated gumpole structure etc... Otherwise timber like saligna (blue gum basically) is sustainable and readily available, or the cheapest of them all - black-wattle that can be cut from the mountain and nailed together, has natural tannens in it to stop rotting and is very hardy.

I would imagine trying to harvest some of the gum out of the plantation in Tokia would just be to costly...? I agree, treated pine is not the right timber, but its cheap and can be easily replaced. Ideally it would be great to have both financial input from a TMNP SANP budget as well as sponsorship or a benefactor keen on spreading the wealth. Questions is, say the latter were to match or make a large contribution to bulk up that budget amount, would the funding get pulled the following year? Also, I suppose one would need to CLOSE portions or the trails to construct larger obstacles or new built trails...? Or does one just build a new trail and then close the old one?