brussel

Fair enough I do agree that bearings are inferior: but they are cheaper to produce so the manufacturers use them. But at ten rand a bearing it is not a train smash to replace them every 3000km. Is there a great variety in quality of sealed bearings? Normally you can get some chinese thing for 10 bucks and then a NMB or SKF for 80 bucks...I cannot see in a low speed application how getting a more expensive bearing would make a difference? It is not so much mission to replace them. I popped mine out in 20 minutes last night (add another 15 for machining some bits and bobs for the purpose) Goodbadugly: another bike - hec it is expensive enough having one Johan: wonder if one could retrofit bushings??? brussel2009-02-05 22:55:18

fair enough but 3000km no mud or anything sounds heck of a short time to kill them. they RS spec so the rubber seals should keep (most of) the rubbish out??? brussel2009-02-05 13:03:59

So I was doing some TLC to my Anthem x1. Relubing the fork, cleaning and relubing the shock. Then I felt the lower pivot....eeugh! Where the axle goes through the shock there are two sets of small bearings (6802) back to back and then there is the larger 6902 on the rear triangle. The two large bearings where a little under the weather, but not bad, I will replace them anyhow. The outer two small bearings where toast, could almost not turn them by hand. just under 3000km of riding, no water or mud. Sounds a little soon for my liking. What do you guys think?? Brent

Cassie for sure...I was looking yesterday at a R3000 helmet and it looks for all intents and purposes identical to my R500 one... OK much more sexy styling and there may be some things that make it marginally more safe...but really like most other cycling stuff its all about how cool you look

Cassie I have had more crashes than I can remember. Two of which where major crashes on the finishline. One after winning a race a competitor swerved into me sticking his pedal in my front wheel. I landed up in the gutter at 60km/h helmet was toast - I was fine. Other crash into the back of a bakkie at 60mk/h. Helmet shell was OK the styrene inner was in 20 different pieces...I walked away from both crashes. Helmets work. But they can only do so much. Getting hit by some guy not concentrating in his car...that is a lot of steel to stop with your head. as for cost I dont think the expensive ones are really much different other than styling - unless someone think different?

I had the Gobi - did not work for me and then (fortuitously) it broke. Fizik replaced it and I asked for the Aliante instead... a bazillion times better for my butt! SDG's are great too

so we're in jonkershoek on saturday training for the epic. And we head onto the schweet single track of the new XC course and I am couple of meters ahead of my mates when one starts swearing like a trooper screaming at the other to ride faster. Of course I stop to see what the deal is, and there next to the path disturbed by me is the biggest mo-fo puffadder I have seen in years. He was thicker than a bike waterbottle! Much to my snake-phobic mate's disgust! Anyhow certainly made him climb a little faster with all the adrenaline

Hey give fizik a call. I found them very helpful when my Gobi broke. I sent it up and had a new one two days later. Obvisouly not having a saddle for two days is not the best but they were as fast as one could hope for. here are the contact details for Anthony - will pm them to you < edit> brussel2009-01-19 01:00:54

The X1 has sealed cartridge bearings. I also have that bike. I have not replaced them, but if you take the shock off you will be able to move the suspension system and quickly see if there is some stiffness or damaged bearings. Even better is to completely dissasemble the rear assembly - should not be too much work and you can then turn each one by hand and see how it feels. They should be easy to find at bearing man

I had the same issue and dirtbreath is on the button it is a seating issue. No need to remove, deflate, lubricate, inflate bobs-your-auntie it should be sorted...it was with mine

IMHO stick with 6 bolt design...there are much more rotors available, that being said if yo udo get centerlock you can get an adapter to use 6 bolt rotors. there is no advantage other than the rotors on centerlock are easy to take on and off using a cassette removal tool. B

Dave check out http://www.foxracingshox.com/fox_tech_center/owners_manuals/08/eng/Content/605-00-071.pdf it is really easy did it myself sometime back. I just cleaned and relubed... you just need some fox shock oil and the rest is done by hand. I suspect that if you do a clean and relube regularly you'll have to replace the seals less often too... brussel2009-01-12 07:00:34

Regard, interesting as I prefer them the other way round. The larssen has a bit more climbing traction the crossmark has better cornering(for me anyhow) DeltaOscar. I would say it worls like this: each tyre adds rolling resistance and I would think as a general rule rolling resistance increases with the traction of the tyre. So if you use a smoother faster rolling tyre at the back you would lower your rolloing resistance at the rear by some percentage and you'd ride and accelerate faster, but lose some traction on the back, where it is less important anyhow. Add to that the weight distribution means there is more weight on the rear wheel too would would mean the improvement of the traction would be increased. That's my edumacated guess

Wow this another fun forum post!!! my 2 cents: as a top end road rider some years back I was privileged to ride top end steel, alu, and titanium bikes. The elastic modulus of aluminium is the lowest and this means the least amount of energy is stored in flexed tubes on the frame when under load. Steel and titanium store more elsastic energy, springing back harder when the force comes off...this is is what creates that lively feel that steel and titanium have. think of oscar pistorius's carbon spring legs. same idea. Add to that the small diameter tubes used in titanium bikes and the elastic modulus and the flex that one gets in the frame tends to eat up road vibration pretty well. On my Merlin I could get lots of front derailleur rub in an all out sprint, but still won a good number of them on the bike. As for all day comfort nothing could beat it. So my 2 cents worth is Ti is the shizz....but it is very expensive and when it cracks it's really exciting. Merlin had a bad batch of argon gas and mine broke at the boss mounts for the shifters on the down tube things got very floppy very quickly!! They replaced under lifetime guarantee tho.

OK so here is the question. I need to do some mileage training for the epic, but I cannot always find time to do a five hour ride in one shot. If I could do three hours in teh morning and again 2 hours in the evening would it be the equivalent training as a single five hour ride?? I am guessing not but it would be interesting to here someone explain why.... B

The problem is the ammonia in most sealants that affects the rubber in the tyres. On my maxxis packaging there is a sticker on the back that says if it is used with a latex/ammonia sealant the tyre is then no longer guaranteed. FYI regarding sealants I recently spoke to the guys from OKO that some have recommended on this site. Their products do not contain ammonia for that very reason. I know that sludge also does one in an orage box called all-terrain that is ammonia free. brussel2009-01-05 07:14:02

that sux...I ride there regularly as I live less than 3 minutes ride from the bottom, and the speed I come down there some days I might just take my head off!!

I can add my compliments too...ordered a couple of weeks back 8 days from online order to delivery. well done ICEid!

UPDATE I spoke to the very helpful Anthony at n2 distribution, the Fizik importers. I sent the saddle up on Thursday and they replaced it under warranty. Got the new one this morning. great service!

I weigh 74kg so that is not the problem!!! I agree...will see what they say tomorrow, hope they do a quick swop out so that I can keep riding

OK so my anthem X1 came with the fizik Gobi which everyone raves about. I cant say I am wild about it, I get a little numb from it. Then today riding a XC race in Durbanville I hit a bump (not particularly hard) on the single track and hear a crack sound from my nether regions. The plastic shell in the middle of the saddle has broken almost half way through, starting at one of the cuts where the flex is produced on the wing. a couple of months old and about 1000km baah not impressed will see what LBS says tomorrow.

Slave2love: these days road chains and MTB chains are the same thing (9speed 105 is the 9speed LX chain - same chain in the same box)same with powerlinks too. Obviously you need a 10speed powerlink with 10speed chains. but MTB and Road are the same thing these days( oh wait I think I said that already!)

OK so how long should one take to get used to a saddle? On my previous bike I had an SDG bel air and it was fine - no problems but did not do lots of riding (twice a week). On my new bike I have a Gobi XM and am doing a fair amount of riding and I just never really seem to be comfy, not very uncomfortable. But also just not quite. Biggest issue is ones in a while my best pal seems to get a bit numb. perhaps I need something with a channel.. Any ideas? I have had it for about 6 weeks. brussel2008-12-10 04:56:29

I must say the one thing about RSA suppliers is their slow and unwilling response to these issues. I had an issue with a constantly loosening spoke on a mavic wheelset it took ages for them to respond (which they did, but it took forever) I had some shimano spuds whose bearings where totally loose on one, and over tight on the other after 2 months of use! - the shimano rep told the LBS to service them and that was it. I reckon we get a bit shafted and I would have hoped that there would be a faster/better response. To have to sit without a frame (or is that a garden gate at 61cm?? ) is just unacceptable...I reckon you should speak to specialized international too.

OK so what I am doing is using three chains, swapping them every hundred kilometers (mtb), that way the cassette should last longer. I tend to find by the time I see that the chain is worn the cassette is stuffed. Heard of a guy that did it with 6 chains!