MORNE

Remember the uproar when Apple launched a $1000 smartphone? Haha.

What is ‘the rest’ of upper bloem? (Serious question) There is nothing else up there worth the effort?😅. Everything between bloemendal trail head and the climb to the tower is just ‘on the way to somewhere’😊

‘Daaler is in PR shape at the moment. Just moist enough to make it loamy and super grippy with the right rubber. 0 mud. Lots of us have been doing laps down there the past few weekends. Park at 360. Trees have been doing a great job protecting it. All the higher trails are mint, rhino 1 too

As mentioned by the others already…the enduro bike will just delete rough sections at speed. I use this feature to make up for my lack of skill haha. I own a Forbidden Dreadnaught 170/160 (yes the name alone took my money), but in hindsight i should have gotten the Druid instead (150/140mm). But i still love my Dreadsled. Life’s too short not to ride too much travel on a blue trail😅

@HeadshotSo you’re shopping right?😉

Enduro wont be as playfull as a stumpy. Stumpy will climb better, turn better on tight trails too. The enduro is also old and due to be replaced by a new model…like the stump jumper evo has already. But if that doesnt bother you, good deals to be had on both. look, many of us ride 170mm enduro bikes around the western cape. Do the trails call for them. No. Is it nice taking a heavy, tedious shotgun to a knife fight? For sure!

DH bike is a one trick pony. If you are committing yourself to never having to ride up any hill ever…then yes. If not, get a 160-180mm travel bike because you COULD then peddle the thing around if you had too.

Simple, your own bank balance Vs whatever the limit is on a credit card…. You’re a brave man if you use a card linked to your personal funds imo. A credit card will bounce once it hits a your preset credit limit..and you debit card wil go until theres nothing left too lol. Better not have an overdraft facility on that thing either.

Hey, if you want to enter the details to a debit card/account that contains YOUR money on the internet, you do you lol. Low limit credit card is perfect for my personal online shopping needs. I’ve been doing it since 2001. When stuff went wrong during that time, the bank was always quick to get back THEIR money because credit cards offer fraud liability protections that debit cards don't, so less risk. Many offshore online retailers also wont take anything else, it gives them a way to authenticate the origin of the funds along with your identity. You wont be buying a fox38 in the US from Cuba or Iraq any time soon😅

Well you’ve been there, you know hike a bike up those trails then. i wont lie, i wasnt ready for that amount of climbing. That mountain looks a lot flatter from the bottom. The others were me stopping out of pure awe. Pretty.

He did that at 2. I take him up to home run now. Rhino next👀

Jou moer! I dont count ‘Daler as bloemendal. I don't ride lower bloemendal!😅 (only with my 3y old) but yes, changes your perspective for sure.

Witfontein

Lol mine’s unbranded, but for a R200 jersey it has been holding up fine. Id buy it again. The one i got is relatively thick (cloth) too.

Sad to say my experience with Leatt kit has also not been stellar. I have Fox stuff, Troy Lee stuff, First Accent, Watts, Indola and even a Temu one lol, and out of all of that my Leatt stuff looks the worst. Fully agree with the rubber stuff literally pealing off, ive pealed all mine so it at least doesn't look as bad. But also, my baggies and some DH pants all look pretty worn through on the pad/saddle area. It’s almost like the kit is designed to last max 1 year. I now use them mostly on wet days as i don't care for them that much. What made me decide to stop buying them though was a jersey. R1k+ with one ride and wash and it was falling appart at the seams. I know they have a good warranty program, all the shops say so….but agree it’s just a faf. I have 1 good 1.0 trail shirt that seems to be holding up fine though and i use that often. I dont know if they changed sweatshops recently perhaps. But the quality seems inconsistent. I’ll use the stuff i have left until i bin them. Just vote with your wallet imo.

Nice if you’re 1,7m tall or…5y old?😅 170 is my limit. The side effect of having shorter cranks is your saddle height increases…and in my case, mine is already too high haha.

DMR also make nice ones. DMR axe. Silver or black. But another dumb proprietary BB unfortunately. If you really struggle THAT much with pedal strikes…im not sure 5mm will make a huge difference from 170. A bigger tyre in front, slightly less sag, more support/LSC are all things that can mitigate that 5mm real easy imo. Hell, Even thinner pedals. You get flat pedald that are 13-14mm thick, vs others that are 17-19mm. Theres 5mm+(/2) right there. 10mm (165 vs 175) becomes more difficult. Is you new bike running the recommended front travel? Under forking by 10mm can easily drop BB by a few mm depending on the bike/geometry. It might just have a lower BB anyway…an unfortunate side effect of all this long low slack BS.

I have a set of xx1 dubs on my bike. And i use them purely because i have them, their dumb 29.9999mm BB…and they go round. They are paired with my ‘peasant level’ shimano XT link glide groupset (which i love btw). Every now and then i have to take the cranks off as one does….and on that day I tend to swear more than on other days…. BUT…ive not run them torqued down to 50N or whatever it is for quite some time now. I just give it 5 white knuckles and call it a day. Never had an issue and it comes off easier. then theres also the putting it on the floor and using the EARTH to brace against….Yes you do have to put the chainring on the floor. Put a towl or something under it. Works too. These days i have a little step ladder that I wedge under the big-ass flat pedal to similar effect, its just high enough…means i don't have to take the wheels off or put the ring on the floor. Still hate them.

Unicorn cranks those last ones…best of both worlds - Sram direct mount chainrings so all the options in the world with shimano 24mm and preload/pinch bolt mounting method. Superior BB’s and none of that Sram 50986 KN crank bold BS that can F@kkof and die😅

Hy Jy! Crawl back under that rock! you are only allowed to comment if you ride bicycles more than twice a year😅

They are just quiet(er) because the they are new and the pawls are still packed with grease😅… trail bees are cool🤘

As mentioned, you want to lube the interface between the rim and tyre so it slips on way way easier, but it also ensures that the tyre seats properly all the way around the bead. Just a soapy sunlight liquid cloth/sponge. No need to go overboard, just soapy enough that you can feel it on your hands when wiping. As mentioned by @117, wipe the rim, wipe the bead all the way around and go about your business as usual. Once i get it on the rim (before inflating/seating) i usually wipe the rim/bead another time depending on how hard I fought the tyre while installing. added bonus: the soap shows where you might be leaking still. It makes bubbles.

Ghetto tubeless! If all else fails. Google it. Basically using cut 20” inner tubes as rim strips. Solves the Schrader valve issue too.

Shimano makes 138 link chains too. Handy for high pivot bikes that usually need 1 chain plus then some😅