[Pick a bike..]

You have to differenciate between the top-end and lower end here as well. Sure below 10k - buy the best spec for the price, above that, start to look at things like geometry of the bike as well as what type of guarantee you get on the frame and components. Not nice cracking a R20k bike and then you do not have proper support.

There is the emotional component as well to consider. Does the bike "talk" to you? If you like the look of a bike, chances are that you are going to want to ride it.

Unfortunately more expensive bikes come with bigger maintenance bills too.

[Tools and Accessories]

Saddle bag (only big enough to fit the following):

Tube with slime in it (I am assuming that you are mtb-ing)

Tire levers (spend a little extra and get the park tool ones. The cheapies bend and break too easily)
Sml multi tool with chain breaker on it
Chain links (your LBS will sell them for about R20 a set)
Tire gator (a type of patch to line your tire side wall if torn by sharp rocks, sticks etc)
Hanger (little aluminium bracket that connects your frame to the rear dereullier)
Fit a sml hand pump to your bike (normally fits on the down tube behind your water bottle cage)
 

Learn how to change a tube, change out your hanger and how to break and link a chain and you will be covered for 99% of on-the-go repairs.

[Pics & Vids that make you want to ride...]

[I hate MTB single track in races!!!]

no offence taken buddie. We all get frustrated sometimes on the ST, but pulling the brake stunt only works if you assume that the guy infront of you is going to act in a predictable manner.

[I hate MTB single track in races!!!]

My Avid Juicy`s squeal like a rabid pig when I brake so all I do on singletrack is fly up to the slower rider and jam on brakes' date=' now that is entertainment - all most as good as watching the bull gore the stormers tomorrow. [/quote']

Do that to me and I might just have to do a "brake test" on a fast bit of ST with you on my wheel...

Rather ask nicely to pass dude. You'll be surprised how easy it is.

[Bulls vs Stormers]

[I hate MTB single track in races!!!]

MJ - that is part of the sport and its the same for everyone. Change your attitude and maybe the "dikgat" will let you pass. The best shirt I ever saw was a lady rider's it simply said: "Don't swear at me because you can't climb"

Maybe we are spoilt in CT, because event orginisers go out of their way to make sure that traffic is not an issue.

 

MTB-ing is an inclusive sport, so next time show some consideration to the "Dikgat" that is on his bike and not on the couch eating mcdonalds.

[Chain reaction cycles shopping]

I've spent close to R20k since June last year at CRC.

Upgrades and tools was more than 1/2 of this, parts for replacement was about R7k and the rest was consumables.

The year before I spent about R36k at my bike shop on my bikes for repairs and consumables only, so yes - it is alot cheaper and I've learnt a thing or 2 about bikes since working on my bikes myself. Twice I had to collect parcels at Cape Mail, but I suspect that when the parcel gets bigger, they think up a reason to get you to go there yourself, rather than sending it to the PO.

[Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus]

Point here is gentleman there should always be someone or a small group that will be willing to stay with the slower riders' date=' no point in getting someone new that now has to cycle well beyond their ability to stay with the group. That is demoralising and does take away the fun aspect.

 

I am still working on my fitness i go cycling with with my brother and his mates that do races like the Cape Epic, and to be frank, I am unfit, and slow. Even these guys get that urge to power up the hill, etc, but I have to admit, they will power off into the distance checkinng testosterone levels, then they even turn around cycle back to where I am swearing uphill. Point being I am never alone, and I dont mind them racing off becuase i know they will be back soon (Road cycling obviously different) but i think the same concept applies.

 

And if its a club ride, there should always be two groups, one for the fit and one for the errrmm not so fit, where no man/women gets left behind.

[/quote']

Well said - This post points out the difference between training and riding. When you train, you have certain goals in mind and sometimes people train with you that is on a different level. I try to ride with my wife and / or friends and family about once a week and the focus here is on helping with technique and to keep the spirits up. Most club / group rides cater for everyone's ability and fitness levels.

[Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus]

Its simple:

Its not because you are a girl, its because we are boys. And boys will be boys as they say in the classics.

 

I am yet to go out on a leisurely ride that doesn't turn into a race... even if it is to the coolerbox in the back of the bakkie to crack open a cold one.

[Online stores killing RSA economy!]

Why do I buy online?

1. Choice and availablity: Its so nice to go to CRC / CWC and stick everything you need into a basket, check if there is stock and pay. It is so frustrating if you want something specific and you need to phone 10 bike shops to try and get the stuff you want. Click and collect 5 days later.

2. Price: Sure there is a discount, even when you add the import duties and VAT onto it.

 

Why do I support my LBS?

1. Expertise - I am busy buying a new bike. I want to make sure that I get exactly what I want, and my LBS will make sure that I get that.

2. Support - I want to know that if I have an aftermarket issue, my LBS is going to bat for me. I will not buy wheels, shocks or frames online for exactly that reason (perhaps through CWC, but not from overseas), but you have much less risk when buying seatposts, cranks, consumables and the like online.

3. Urgency - something breaks on Friday afternoon and I have a race on Saturday. I then have to pay the inflated prices to ensure that I am ready to compete the next day.

 

Interesting bit on the Mavic Wheels and Dragon sport - I suspect that they are concerned that if there are aftermarket issues, the guy on the bike is going to come running to them to sort out CRC stuff.

I like the idea of more than 1 agent / distributor to ensure that competition is healthy, as long as we don't have a vodacom / mtn type deal where they decide beforehand who gets what part of the marketshare and fix their prices. With the phenominal growth in cycling (and mtb-ing in particular) it will become attractive for more players to enter the distribution market.

 

Are we killing the local economy?

Definately not! We are simply exercising choice.

[Morewood Zula vs Merida 96]

OK so its decision time.

 

or I can get a Morewood Zula for R40K. Truvativ Stylo Crankset' date=' RS Reba Team 120mm, XO gripshift.

 

[/quote']

What's the rest of the spec of the bike? Seems a bit steep, if you buy a zula frame from rushsports, get a sram XX groupset from CWCycles and wheels and other bits and bobs from CRC, it's going to work out to about the same price but with much better components, than a Stylo crank..

Zula frame incl FOX shock

RS Reba Team 120mm
Mavic SLR wheelset / American Classic Wheelset (still have to decide, but Am Classic is cheaper and will reduce the price)
Crank +BB Truvativ Noir (sorry I said Stylo before)
Cassette - SRAM PG 990
Chain - SRAM PC 991
Shifters SRAM X0 Gripshift
Front Der - SRAM X9

Rear Der - SRAM X0
Brakes - Avid Elixir Cbn/Mag
Handlebar, stem, seat post Truvativ Stylo Team
Saddle - Fizik Gobi
Tyres - Crossmark UST
Grips - Contours
Frame protectors - BBB Tube skin
Tubeless valves and stans
Pedals - Shimano SPD M770
Head Set - Chris King

[Morewood Zula vs Merida 96]

Thanks guys. I have decided where to get the Zula as well. Not going to publish shop names on here, but I consider a few things when buying a bike:

1. Past experiences with the particular shop.

2. The shop's know-how and experience on the product

3. Convenience for me to get there to have my baby serviced

4. Riding mates' experiences with the shop

5. Price of the bike.

 

For the record: I asked a few shops about the Zula (not mentioning that I intended on buying one, but asking questions in general)

1 shop didn't bother replying to my mail (ironically I've supported this shop for years and was excited when they decided to stock the brand),

2 tried to sell me a bike without asking me any questions on the bike.

1 asked me about my needs as a rider and why I am attracted to the Zula. We only later came to costing the bike. Naturally this is the shop I am buying from

[Morewood Zula vs Merida 96]

Does this mean you're going to have a look around at reserving a new user name?

Baby steps Decado - baby steps! I first have to see if I like riding the Zula

[Morewood Zula vs Merida 96]

I was probably at 90% Zula, 10% 96 2 days ago. Just needed confirmation about this. So Zula it is then... I can't wait to put that order in!

[Morewood Zula vs Merida 96]

OK So far its Zula 2 - Merida 0 and rads seeing if he can do business. My heart say Zula and my head say Zula for the fun stuff ant Merida if I am going to race to win (which I am not). So Zula it is then. Now for that bonus that is coming my way end of June. Its going to be a looong month.

[Is Mountain Biking always so unorganised?]

Its been proven that a bad experience is much worse than no experience. My point? Bad race orginisers should be discouraged to arrange events without professional intervention. A bad experience at a race does so much damage for future events.

The way that it is currently done is whereby orginisers need to pay an orginisation (CSA, PPA, CGC or the likes) to host the event. This orgninisation is supposed to ensure that minimum safety and logistical standards are set. This still doesn't happen to the degree that we should expect, but every time I start b!tching about PPA I just think about how much worse the event could have been.

There certainly is room for professional events co-ordinators to get into the market. Help the local church to get advertising on the web, facilitate online bookings, go measure the route and do some GPS profiling, provide infrastructure for entries etc at races, get the food vendors to supply products at the event etc.

It will however cost the guy in the street an extra R20 to R30. So the real question is will we then start b!tching about the prices of the events.

[Morewood Zula vs Merida 96]

OK so its decision time.

 

I can get a Merida 96 Carbon 3000 for R35K. XT crank set, FOX 32 100RL, X0 gripshift

 

or I can get a Morewood Zula for R40K. Truvativ Stylo Crankset, RS Reba Team 120mm, XO gripshift.

 

I currently ride a merida FLX 3000 hard tail. Awesome bike, climbs like a rocket, but I need a bit of comfort for enduro and multi stage racing and enjoy technical riding. I am 1.8m and weigh about 90kg's. I am worried that the Merida carbon frame will not be able to support my weight and riding style.

 

I must admit that I am more than just a little in love with the Zula, but dropping R40K needs more than just an infactuation. It needs a bit of common sense.

 

Besides... I'll then have to change my username

 

Your thoughts please.

[Is Mountain Biking always so unorganised?]

Same story everywhere. Just like the amateur riders cannot compete with the pro's (some can, but lets leave it at a very select few), amateur event co-ordinators cannot compete with the pro event orginisers on planning and logistics. Even if they have the knowledge, they generally lack the rescources.

Think of the smaller races as church bazaars. You will not get the nutritional info on tannie santie's homemade rusks like you get it at woollies, but they sure as well taste damn nice!

[Dirtopia at Contermanskloof]

Hopefully Dirtopia will be fixing all the switchbacks that has been destroyed. Rode Contermanskloof 2 months ago on my trusty hard tail and loved it. Went back on Monday for a lap, and will not go back until it is fixed.

[No to Makro in Fourways]

I say build away, but if makro had any sense. They would put their Bulk infrastructure contribution levies into upgrading the roads etc around fourways. Giving it to the City fathers, it will simply dissapear into someones back pocket eventually

[Mountain Bike help for Roadie]

If you have the budget, buy a FS. A good frame should be your 1st priority, 2nd is a decent shock, 3rd look at the wheels. Strong, light and decent hubs. All the rest is Bling that you can replace when they wear out. As to the SRAM vs shim question. I recently switched my shifters and dereulleu from XT to a X0 Shifter X9 rear der combo. The SRAM stuff is way better and is more bang for your buck.

[Silversands Lottery Scam]

not to mention the 8 emails I got from "ABSA" this month to update my personal details. I don't even have an ABSA account.

 

Another one doing the rounds is what is called the domain name scam. They claim that some guy in the east is registering your company's domain name in other parts of the world and that if you act quickly, they can reserve the name for you. My boss actually almost fell for this one.

[LBS Bad Quality Work]

I spent R3000 on supplementing my tool kit with everything I need to work on my own bike. The only thing that I need the shop for is rebuilding and tru-ing wheels and servicing my fork.

So I ordered new shifters, cables and a new dereulleur online and did the work myself on Saturday. Total cost = R1900. My LBS quoted me R2800 3 months back for the same job. I learnt a few things about the shifters and dereulleur by doing it myself and actually reading through the instruction and care manual. So they will be lasting longer as well.

[Dual sus frame????]

We all have our preferances. Last year I would have given one of my kidneys for a Merida 96. This year I will give both my kidneys and my soul for a Morewood Zula...