SiriS

Txs guys, will check them out. Strange, none of those shops make mention of SC on their websites at all - licensing/dealer conditions or something?

Hi Hubbers Can you point me in the right direction - Santa Cruz dealers in the larger Cape Town area. Looking for a shop with proper stock, difficult to judge from websites. Interested in a Tallboy. Txs!

It is unfair that I (probably) pay more tax than you, I should get more of the trails... I'm battling to shake the "tit for tat" big brand sensitivities under-current through all of this. Shitty ethics involved, sure, but the issue is being diverted from what it should be - how to protect/improve/fund the Jonkershoek MTB trails. (Which, BTW, I've never ridden, but heard plenty good about. Will definitely make an effort to go out there to my old Uni town...although I ride a Scott so may be pelted with eggs or something... ) Very well put.

Thanks guys, swinging around to the idea of keeping the HT for W2W. So on upgrade list then - 1) Wheels - definite (something wider, possibly lighter). I've read the Syncros XR2.0's are particularly narrow specimens. 2) Grips. Will check out the Esi grips, thanks. 3) Seatpost - suspension or just change from what I believe to be fairly rigid larger than average diameter alu currently to smaller diameter carbon? Thanks, I really appreciate the advice/comments!

OK, so I'm vacillating between different options - sell and upgrading to dual suspension, keep and upgrade to dual suspension or do some upgrades on my hardtail. Very briefly, the idea of upgrading to DS came went I entered the W2W for later in the year, pretty sure it will be a more comfortable ride. Whilst I'm happily reveling in the chaos that is the interwebs, reading every thread/article/piece of info I can get my hands on, participating in other threads about the subject here on The Hub, changing opinion every 5 minutes and sweating over the options...all in anticipation of another purchase (yeah, I'm every marketer's dream)... ...maybe a good option is to spend money on my existing bike to soften it up somewhat? SCOTT SCALE 910 hardtail, some specs: Fork Fox 32 Float 29 Factory CTD Air, CTD Damper with 3 Modes, 15mm Quick Release Axle, Tapered Steer Fork Travel 100mm Head Tube Diameter 1.5" to 1-1/8" Tapered Headset Ritchey Pro Tapered Semi Integrated, OD 50/61mm, ID 44/55mm Handlebar Syncros FL1.5 T-Bar, Alloy 7050 D.B., T Shape Flat, 9°, 700mm Stem Syncros FL1.5, 7050 Alloy, Oversize 31.8mm, 1-1/8", 6° Angle Grips Syncros Pro Lock On Brakes Shimano XT BR-M785 Disc, 180mm Front and 160mm Rear SM-RT64 CL Rotors Brake Levers Shimano XT BL-M785 Disc Shifters Shimano XT SL-M780, Rapidfire Plus, 2-Way Release, I-Spec Clamp Front Derailleur Shimano XT FD-M786, 34.9mm Rear Derailleur Shimano XT RD-M786 SGS, Shadow PlusType, 20-Speed Cranks Shimano XT FC-M785 Hollowtech 2 Chainrings 38Ax24A Tooth Bottom Bracket Shimano SM-BB71-41A, Shell 41x89.5mm Chain Shimano CN-HG74 Cassette Shimano XT CS-M771-10, 11-36 Tooth Rims Syncros, DT Swiss XR 2.0 29, 28 Hole, Tubeless Ready Hubs Syncros XR 2.0 29 CL Made by DT Swiss Front, Syncros XR 2.0 29 CL RWS Made by DT Swiss Rear Spokes DT Swiss Super Comp Black Tires Schwalbe Rocket Ron EVO, 29"x 2.1", 127EPI Kevlar Bead, Tubeless Ready, Pace Star Compound Saddle Syncros XR1.5, Titanium Rails Seatpost Syncros FL1.5 Seat Post Diameter 34.9mm What would be obvious upgrades for comfort and general improvement of ride/bike? Wheels I assume. Read somewhere about upgrading seatpost to standard diameter carbon? As always, advice for a noob appreciated!

Love my Garmin 500.

+1 OP must be new to internet forums. Completely misjudged reaction.

Considering a Specialized dually - typical riding consists of mostly 1-2 hour single track and climbing sessions around Cape Town, perhaps a one day stage race once a month and the occasional multi-day race like the W2W and Sani2C. So from my limited understanding that entails both the "XC" and "Trail" categories of riding with travel being a differentiator in bike choice vs type of riding. Epic - 100mm travel - Race/XC Stumpjumper - 130mm travel - Trail Camber - 110mm - in between these two Advice on factors to consider appreciated! Thoughts on

I've long ago come to the conclusion that most people are stupid. This obviously applies to cyclists as well. More seriously, I see cyclists riding like idiots every day. Motorists too...but you'd think if you ride a puny 12kg little transport device that you would be more aware of your surroundings and those evil 2 tonne metal predators roaming about.

OK great thanks, so dual suspension is the better choice (bearing in mind price/specs ratio). Comfort outweighs possible drawbacks, if there are any?

Hi Hubbers So I started cycling beginning of the year and progressively upping my km's and technical riding. I've done a few one-day 40km-ish races also. Fitness and technical skills improving rapidly. Age: almost 40. So, I ride a Scott Scale 910 Carbon 29er HT, which I'm really enjoying. BUT...as I'm doing more trails and and faster speed the bumpiness of many of the rougher single-tracks is starting to become noticeable. Bearable, but noticeable. My question is this, I'm doing the Wine2Whales in November - as a noob, how much will it hurt doing three days on a HT? Will dual suspension make a noticeable difference? If that is the way to go eventually in any case...rather make the switch now? Advice appreciated.

Where do you buy them...AdultWorld?

As jy dom is moet jy k..

Loved it, great ride!

Cool. Pretty excited to ride tomorrow.

Oh cool, thanks. Makes sense now.

Thanks, I've already entered. The info still doesn't show starting times for the different races though. Also, does the cut-off seem right? It's my first 40km race and 3 hours (assuming 8:30 start) for 40kms feels rather little...especially with rain forecasted.

Difficulty finding starting times. Cut-off seems wrong? Wrong hyperlinks.

Terrible information...

Hoogekraal (my 2nd time) followed by Contermanskloof (my 1st time) this morning. Almost died of exhaustion...

I haven't been cycling and MTB'ing for long...so certainly don't yet understand the different nuances of racing and competitions...but when I saw it on tv I immediately thought "that doesn't look right". /shrugs, what do I know

Surprised that no one has mentioned Dorstberg at Meerendal...challenging climb with loose, rocky surface - http://veloviewer.com/segment/688175/Dorstberg 2.2km, 8.9%, Cat 3

Nice read, txs.

Not surprised, I hate that you have to plug your Edge 500 into your PC every time to upload activity - it gets a small charge or charging from 95% to 100% every time. Can't be good for the battery. Wish there was an option to connect to non-charging USB port.

Watch or bicycle unit? They can be fairly expensive. Garmin Edge 500 (fairly basic unit) and HRM strap/unit was R2200 + R800 = R3000. I'm sure there will be cheaper non-GPS HRM units. I wouldn't want to use a watch for MTB'ing though.