MORNE

Also….you can have an audi Q7(?)which will basically drive itself and operate all its its bells and whistles too. …and then you can have a decidedly agricultural Toyota land cruiser for similar money that doesn't even come with electric windows. …they both will work up to 100k km, but the one will make it to 1mil km without even flinching. Shimano is not going anywhere. And even of they stopped making mtb parts….the amount Shimano gear attached to fishing rods worldwide probably dwarfs mtbing ones..they have enough going on all over to stay rich and happy. Also..arent they pretty prolific in the ebike side of things with batteries and motors?

Deffo not between GX axs and xt… hell, someone send me a new XT 12 speed rear mech and shifter and i’ll send my axs 🤣. Alot of confirmation bias around here. Ive mentioned it already somewhere. GX AXS on my one bike, SLX 12spd on the other…and I 100% prefer the slx…and it even has the peasant slx shifter…not even all the niceties of the xt shifter. I just prefer the no hassles clear, crisp mechanical shift on it. It just works mechanically, ergonomically, tactility etc.

Thats part of the problem of all this crap getting more electronic. Avarage joe cant fix it anymore. When the time comes, my gx axs is also getting replaced with a mechanical setup. Recently built a another bike up for myself with slx 12 speed and i can hand on hart say that i prefer it over the axs.

Unrelated, or sort-of related…but both my mtb frames (from different makes) one steel and the other alloy, have fine print in the manual that states tailgate straddling voids the warranty😅 just thought id put that out there.

The 90’s were 30+ years ago….get with the program 😅

You know what all those things mean, unless you have 0 imagination or you are just being agist 😅 And anyway…We all call the things we love different pet names… your liefie is someone elses babes, is someone elses skattebol😊

Im enjoying my banshee hardtail so much that im considering selling the steel shred-sled too. The big squish is fun over the really rough stuff, but the hardtail literally beats it everywhere else.

Look, its not 32/10-52 lol….but i ride plenty of hills with 1x1 no issue. Its easy enough that its not hard and i never really think about it. Unless you really want to spin up a hill at 5kph….you’ll only really need to get out of the saddle and make some effort when it gets proper steep for long. I did Around the Pot in the mud with 42/11-42 if that means anything to you. Im 2m tall and around 90kg.

I have 42/11-42 on mine. I dont think about the 1x1 really. It is plenty enough. What i will say though is that i hardly ever use the 11T where I ride that bike, so for that reason i think 40 or 38 would be better so i’ll have more usable range.

Was at bloemendal yesterday to ride around with my 2y old after ridink Conties the past few weekends. Could barely make it up past homerun’s start. That place is destroyed proper. Some will say i’m being nasty, but yea…crying wolf about a few ‘scandies’ and ‘cutties’…now you have some real work to do i guess. But….hopefully the tygercult overlords uses this as a lesson to design/plan the trails smarter. They are having to rebuild everything anyway in some cases….so use some common knowledge about how geography/hydrology works and figure out the best places to build…. and put in some proper drainage. At least now you know where the water wants to go… Conters basically took ‘no’ damage in comparison…because Rob knows where to build what, knows the land…and puts drainage in where it matters. Half the trails that are closed at conties are not because of the rain, but because they are actually busy building chocolate cake again. same for places like Banhoek. Trails are fine. Even jonkers..everything is open from 5 down basically. The saddest part will be, bloemendal being the ‘headquarters’, thats where all the work will be prioritised over the next 6 months. I hope im wrong though… anyway…good luck.

happy with the set of mk4 flow on my hardtail too.

This is what makes us quintessentially South African… …Laws are guidelines and rules are suggestions. Don’t hate the player, hate the game?😅 love it.

I know @BaGearA has posted something similar re the bleed ports on a fox fork….but it still boggles my mind how they basically charge you all the extra money for a label and a knob when all the valving etc is already there. Do they really think anyone with the slightest bit inquisitiveness wont notice lol

I havent had a flat or needed to plug anything on a road bike, a gravel bike or 2 x mountain bikes during the past 2 years using enduro seal. Ill buy it again.

It also helps to live in a town with exactly 2.5 cars and one traffic light in it… 😅

Ill say this again…. you can be right or alive. Choose one and proceed with caution. i personally find that it’s usually people who started cycling after school that are the most vocal/entitled/road ragey when it comes riding a bicycle on the road. Also, same reasons for the most vocal drivers…they never rode or ride bicycles ….so don't know, don't care. You probably need to start off with that fear of death (or your parents) in you to understand your fragility and possible consequences. I don't know. I still rather choose the shoulder, a sidewalk if there is space, use the pedestrian crossing at a big intersection, like @Hairy mentioned, make triple sure everything that is supposed to stop, has. And I NEVER ride next to another cyclist because i feel too exposed. Contrary to what you might feel, you will lose every single time if it’s you vs a car. Rather swallow your pride, preconceived ideas and be alive for your flat white tomorrow. And then theres the herd mentality which makes it even worse. Just like how those housewives in that post up there find community in bitching about cyclists, cyclist fuel each others road rage towards anything not on a bicycle. There is no safety in numbers on a bicycle. It is in your head. A car will plow trough your group ride just as easily, only difference vs a single rider will be you can hopefully just get matching specialised pink casts in the hospital. Self preservation should be top of mind, not being right or chasing strava KOMs i hate on cyclists for the above reasons all the time. And as a cyclist I guess i’m entitled to because I know full well they can do/be better in many situations. There are obviously exceptions. But we are our own worst enemy too. That piece of road along the seaboard being the worst of the worst re all of the above…

“Please send me pics of you on your bike in cycling gear, as well as a portrait and full length shot.” context is everything😅

Disclaimer: im not a tax proffesional, ive just been doing my own tax since my early 20s and have also done my own tax for business purposes. So i dont know all the tricks, but i know enough to be compliant and even get something back every now and then using only efiling and the grey stuff between my ears…and maybe some grade 9 accounting. On your question: Only if you paid medical fees out of pocket that your medical aid didn't cover basically. it’s pretty simple when doing e-filing, theres a section on it. contrary to popular belief, personal income tax is not voodoo or ‘rocket surgery’ 😅 south africans in general just make it out to be because the avarage SA’n is not compliant or just ignorant to the process…nevermind not even paying tax. You dont need to pay anyone anything to do your tax and maybe get something back. The amount of people who only started doing their own tax in their mid 30s or even 40s…or never is shocking. IRP5/ ITA12 is grade 2 math…there really is nothing to it. provisional tax (IRP6) is a different monster and most people dont even know they have to register for it. If you have investments, rental income, a registered or even unregistered side hussle, a savings account that draws more than the ‘allowable’ interest in a year, hell…even bitcoin - you technically have to be registered for provisional income tax. you can still do it on your own though…it just becomes a bit more involved….and obviously - theres the whole “slapende honde” argument.😅 but in general, if you have a job, and receive an IRP5 every year…and you break even/dont have to pay in or SARS doesnt owe you a cent…all it basically means is, on a base level, your employer did a good job at not making you pay too much or too little tax during the year lol. also, use TAXTIM, they are awesome and very helpful. Pose the question to themor even just use them as a knowledge base (the Help section), you’ll get a ‘qualified’ answer. I have learned many 'tricks' of the trade from them over the years. https://www.taxtim.com/za/

Also…is it just me or are the stanchion on the wrong way around? I might be wrong but as far as my memory goes….the travel indicator leg has always been on the left? (Edit: nevermind, i am wrong, the older ones had them that side)

For circa Fox money ill not even think about it…Bikeyoke Revive all day long. The best droppers money can buy imo. I have a 160mm revive and a 210mm OneUp, ive also had 2 x Lyne ones. The Lyne and One Up are on par….the one up probably slightly nicer. But barely. Neither of them even come close to the revive though. One up doesn't come with a lever either..which is lame. i see evo bikes have the bikeyoke Devine (budget version) and Revives on special at the mo. I dont know how they compare to the revive though…and 160mm…so yea. cheapest place (as far as i know) to get a oneUp, and you might get more drop in with one of them due to their short stack ( can also limit travel with included parts) https://shredshed.co.za/products/one-up-dropper-post-v2-30-9excludes-lever

If you get that milage on a x11, id just get a X01 chain at R1200 ish and ride it for 5years+ haha. You’ll probably wear out the cassette befor the chain then. You easily get that milage on a dirty mtb with those chains. No brainer

Why concerned? You’ve been cleaning it and lubing, it works? No wear… Kmc obviously a better chain than the pc1110 which basically cost as much as 2 kmc Quicklinks lol.

What makes it even worse is, since I cant ride, i spanner on my bikes. When I spanner, I want to spend money haha. Bled all my brakes this weekend, topped up tubeless, serviced droppers..slipped and bought a new saddle for the hardtail. The rain and plague better let up soon…

Ugh this thread is making me feel so sorry for myself these last two weeks. Been fighting the plague nonstop and only starting to clear up now. On top of that it feels like we are getting so much rain in CT at the moment, so gaps to go ride some trails (without destroying them) seem few and far in between at the moment. I just want to ride my fn bicycles outside man😩