JXV

A lot of modern tyres have dual or multiple compounds in them. When the tyre is laid up before moulding the the different compounds may not bond together as well a uniform formulation. Now you get a small puncture. The hole seals from the outside back in thru the hole. For a short period of time the tyre's full internal pressure is applied to the bond berween layers of rubber that are OUTSIDE the pressure envelope formed by the fabric plies. If that bond is not strong enough a blister will form and delaminate the tyre. I think it could happen in any tyre where the sealant cures on exposure to air or where pressure can escape thru a porous inner to be stopped by a rubber layer outside the ply.

Dopers steal prize money, endorsements, sponshorships, team memberships and seeding positions from clean riders. So its both money and opportunity that is lost by the ethical people who would be better ambassadors for our sport. Dunno why I'm even moved to comment. Don't much care for racing.....I just like being out there on my bike with a bunch of mates

The cable outers have an inner plastic lining that eventually wears and also gets full of grime.....causing stiff shifting. Replacing cable inner will only partially solve the problem....for a while. And that cable broke/frayed most likely as a result of over tightening. The cable outer caps are normally push-on plastic jobs...no crimping required

+1 for Techniblock

When I want to take a SLR I use a small adventure racing pack instead of a Camelbak. Cam gets wrapped in a thin fleece top. If shooting trail action shots a wide angle lens and flash goes too. SLR is overkill for simple snapshots with your buddies though. Lots of nice compact cameras for this and most of them way better than camera phones

If you stay out of the Maluti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Park (MDTP) which is a world heritage site and other conservation areas (unless you have permission) there are still vast high wild areas of Lesotho that are on public/tribal land. You can explore and camp almost anywhere but ask permission and be prepared to pay a camping fee (even if no facilities are provided). Even remote villages are linked by footpaths and sometimes sled tracks which provide awesome riding and you still get to spend most of the day on your own in very remote surroundings. Be prepared to portage a lot and carry essential clothing, food, maps/gps and bike spares 'cos there is no rescue service at all. Be especially careful not to ride though wetlands. Foot prints are less damaging than tyre tracks which cause furrows that can drain a wetland and damage it (I wish the motorbikers would learn this!) Enjoy

Dan What you did is totally illegal and irresponsible. Sorry...no way to be nice about this. You run the risk of being prosecuted and your equipmemt confiscated. There are only small number of trails in the Drakensberg that can legally be ridden so please dont spoil it for the rest of us. Initiatives that may be under way to open more trails to mtb in these areas will be damaged by selfish illegal cycling and we all lose out..... Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife takes their conservation mandate very seriously. With the exception of the old forestry jeep tracks between Mikes Pass and the top of Philips Folly no other part of the contour path is permitted for mtb use. If you want to go and adventure in mountains try the rural areas of Lesotho. They are more rideable (goat and sheep tracks) and as long as you are respectful of the people and avoid ploughed lands and crops, generally quite friendly. You can have huge days out in the highlands of Lesotho.

It seems, from your description, that your wheel is out of balance. This could be due to sealant accumulating in one part of the wheel or a poorly moulded tyre/tube or the valve or any combination of these. Sealant dries out over time and then cannot flow and distribute itself around the inside of the tyre. This is the most likely problem if you are running tubeless or with slime tubes. Apparently, the CO2 in gas bombs will react with some types of sealant and harden it.....maybe you used a bomb recently to inflate a tyre? If the axle is bent this is more likely to make your wheel rotate out-of-true than out-of-balance.....but maybe I'm wrong. Many aftermarket hubs today come with adapters so that they can be changed from old style QR skewer to the newer style 12mm QR and 135mm or 142mm widths. You may also have a choice of centre-lock or bolt-on disc mountng with some brands. Your bike shop will be able to assist. Before committing to a new hub, remove the tyre and spin the tyreless rim up your bike (i.e. without a tyre). If it still jumps or wobbles then the hub or wheel truing job is suspect. If smooth then the problem is in the tyre/tube/sealant combo.

I rode Renes Rumble 10 days back for the first time in a while....awesome. the trails are all in good condition if a bit dusty. There are so many choices that really no prob if one or two sections are closed.

Pic below

They give out a nice topo map of the trails if you ask for one....nice 'cos it allows you to mix and match

Great fun. The trails are well maintained....perhaps excessively marked in places. Great riding and nice places to stay nearby. The cost of a day's riding is a bit eye-watering but still worth more than 1 visit

Went riding there this am to help search. Met a runner who said he was found. I dont know any details

if the disc itself is bent then this does not help. As soon as the disc run-out exceeds the spacing available between the retracted pads it will rub somewhere no matter how you align the caliper.

Easy to overdo things with shifting spanners....fingers less likely to overdo it....is why I use fingers. Both methods work. Be careful either way. Good luck

have you checked alignment of pads to disc...both in the direction of rotor movement and vertically. If not aligned you lose some braking power in warping the rotor to fit between the misaligned pads. The Shimano mounting system cannot compensate for mounting posts that are not exactly parallel to the disc plane. The cone washers on some Avid brakes do allow proper alignment but they also move and require more regular adjustment in my experience. Have not tried the cone washers on Shimano brakes yet. Park Tools makes an alignment tool that can be used to grind the posts parallel.....dunno if any lbs uses this. Also it is made for alu. Would not want to try grinding a carbon frame. Rear brakes also more difficult to bleed due to high/low points in the hose route and longer hose. Try taking caliper and hose off the bike and hang vertically to bleed. Give us more detail: 1 is the brake lever spongy? 2 does it gradually collapse to the bar when holding at constant effort? 3 Is the lever stiff but the rotor still slides thru easily? 4 is the lever travel and free-stroke correctly adjusted? 5 have u checked disc thickness the same at inner and outer edge of the active braking area?

He he he.......that would be for when you factor in the effect of spoke stress and tyre deformation.....and gradual accumulation of heat in the pads....way beyond me.

Droo. I am an engineer. Robrider has it correct whether he is an engineer or not....sound reasoning and more succintly put than I can do it. Ground friction and some of the other arguments are side issues. Force applied by brake pads is converted to a perpendicular frictional force that decelerates the bike and rider. Work done in slowing down = friction force x distance that the rotor moves through the pads. The bigger wheel turns slower at same speed so it needs a bigger rotor in order to move the same distance through the pads and absorb the same kinetic energy in the same overall distance travelled over the ground.

Yes you are quite correct. Clean grease is better than dirty grease if the bearing is still good. But the real point that some of us have been arguing - till blue in the face - is that it is not worthwhile. Think about it: 1) regreased good bearing still won't last as long as a new one 2) time required to remove, strip, clean, regrease, re-assemble and refit is more than just replacing with a fresh bearing 3) more waste to be disposed of - waste solvents, old grease and rags/paper towel 4) more regular removal and refitting of bearings will increase wear and tear on the interference fit of the bearing sockets in your expensive hub / frame components. Neither camp is right or wrong, you can choose either path and adjust yourself to the consequences. I'm happy for all those who want to regrease their bearings regularly but they still have not been able to convince me to change from the fit-n-forget policy that I prefer to follow. B)

Running 203 front and 180 rears on latest XT calipers on my SC LTc 29er. The brakes are savagely good. Better than older XT 180F / 160R on my old 26er. I liked the post about the poor quality brake hose.. The hoses are a component we don't often consider. Any hose expansion under presure could dramatically reduce braking force at the caliper. Had this on a 4x4 once.....

Simple physics...to get same braking force with same finger effort on same brake lever/caliper on a 29er wheel compared to 26 you need proportionally bigger rotors. A 180 will give a fraction more braking on 29er than 160 on 26....in theory. If you upsized rotors for your 29er and braking is worse then something else is wrong. Align disc to calipers, deglaze and bleed PROPERLY....the whole system.

Bactroban is brilliant.

Tks for the heads up on the SC torque spec. 18Nm is a bit much for M8, especially if not steel. It still helps to have a "feel" for the different sizes. Have sheared a few bolts in my time

Awesome trip to do with a bunch of mates. If you can organise before hand with ferries for the crossings it helps. After you cross the Bashee and get to the bar in The Haven you will see all the pics of the giant Zambezis that were caught there

Sitting back and enjoying my popcorn.....B)B)B) I could understand the fuss if we were all replacing bearings on our bikes weekly and looking for a better way...but we're not. Those who want to drown their bearing in grease.....cool, go for it. 1 bb, 1 front axle, 2 rear axles, several pivot bearings, a few eggbeater bearings and no headset replacements in 11 years of cycling with no repacking of bearings except the Shimano cones. My fit-and-forget philosophy works for me. I go riding with all the free time it gives me.