crasher

I have been riding the 2009 Recon SL for past 9 months cant fault it . I like upgrading stuff on my bike but this is one item I just cant justify changing because it has performed so well I am really impressed with it

Spent the evening fitting all my bits seem to have come right except the new XT Brakes hose lengths are wrong. Back is a 1250 and original off bike is a 1350 but looks like I will just get away with that but the front is a 1000 and original was already long at 800 so I need to chop about 250 off the front They came with the blocks to clamp pipe and the olive and insert just read shimano tech document and it looks straigt forward is there anything I need to know before cutting the hose. I really didnt want this hassle as now I also need to go buy fluid etc to bleed them as well If I cut the hose at the lever side and keep everything upright would I get away with using a syringe and pushing fluid up through the caliper as I really dont want to end up with air in the system and I have never bled bike brakes (done 100's of cars but they are easy) Cut the outer gear cables with a dremmel worked really well brilliant clean edges thanks Schwynn I surprised myself with the front and rear derailures as all the gears seem to work as well

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Wo8yCZ1eTVw/Syc5IEBfiFI/AAAAAAAAUMY/F1vFmNU4guE/IMG_4886B_thumb.jpgimgmax=800One tiny word of warning?the little holes on the back of the device are critical to accurate elevation data. If those get clogged, covered or otherwise having airflow blocked, elevation data will be skewed. I learned this lesson when I tried to reduce the volume level of the alerts on the Edge 705 this past fall via electrical tape, and the elevation data came out all whacky got this off the rainmaker review of the 500 worth checking those holes are not blocked

Come on !! even a roadie can appreciate that rear derailure (its got carbon)

XTR cable sets grey and black (can see which looks better) XT chain XTR shadow rear derailure (looks so nice feel bad to know that if i keep up past performances it will be bent and twisted soon but it is quite a work of art its my favourite bit after fondling them all) XT casette XT front and rear brakes (front brake r/s lever) XT front derailure (just couldnt warrant the diff for the XTR) SLX shifters (for my sons bike) My old casette ,rear derailure, front derailure and brakes are all going onto his bike so he will get a 9speed upgrade and his cable discs will be upgraded plus got some SLX discs for him so he is scoring a nice upgrade as well will also fit whichever colour cable set I dont use for him as well. Quite a nice little project looking forward to it

After reading some recent posts I was pleased to see my box of goodies arrive without any customs hassles order was just under 6K arrived in 8 days only paid the vat Fighting the urge to start stripping and replacing things as I want to ride tom and Sunday so suppose wise thing is to leave it till monday then I will have a few evenings to do it I just love new bits

Can I just cut XTR shift cable outers with a good set of sidecutters Also any tips would be appreciated as its first time I am cutting cables I have a small file etc to clean them up looks pretty straightforward but better for me to check now before I bugger them up.

I am busy putting an order together to upgrade my sons bike Main thing is to change it from 24 speed to 27 and replace cable discs with Hydraulic brakes I have SLX rotors which I took off my bike when I fitted XTR discs so no cost there I was going to get SLX brakes for him mainly based on how well they are performing on my bike Now they go for about 1500 rand or I could buy a new set of XT's for my bike and give him my SLX set this would only cost 500 rand more Are the XT's worth it as I see they have stroke adj which SLX dont have I like the idea of getting new stuff for my bike when cash wise it will only make 500 diff how do the Xt's perform overall compared to SLX. Shifters will be SLX less than 500 rand for a set on sale I will get a new XT cluster for my bike and fit my old one to his bike its still good I am getting a new XT front derailer so the SLX off my bike will go on his that leaves rear derailer I can get a XT shadow for 600 rand or is it worh getting XTR rear for my bike and fit the XT shadow I am running at the moment to his bike as its like getting the XTR for 600 bucks more again I like the idea of getting new stuff for my bike is the XTR worth the extra 600 rand? In other words for about 1100 rand more on this order I could do his upgrade and get XT brakes and XTr rear derailer into the deal Does this make sense as I am not using this as an excuse to upgrade my bike but if the oportunity is there I might as well do it now

My son has mechanical disc brakes on his bike they were not too bad when new but as time wears on they need more maintenace and adjusting and cleaning and fiddling with that they are about to get replaced as I am fed up with them and agree with Mud Dee that after 3 hours of riding in mud and rain and water they were at their worst and hardly worked at all.

http://www.cyclelab.co.za/calendar.asp?cat=mtb Vit-T-Go is babbas sunday the 14th

Hi Tyerone I would say budget on 3500-4000 to upgrade properly then you will have a very nice fork I saw a new Reba race at solomans in woodmead today for 3999 and a reba team for 4999 i dont know if thats negotiable i just picked them up to compare the weight to some other shocks they had there heres a nice CRC deal on a reba team but you would have to check what length its steerer is cut to http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=38158 postage would be free

JB a Pin came unstuck

Yes I was cranking it when it snapped so it was under heavy load I without fail clean and lube entire drivetrain after just about every ride Only been through 3 or 4 muddy rides and not excessive mud and not excessive distance Ok so maybe might be a bit premature based on above will see how this one goes Thanks for the replies and info

I snapped my chain recently which I take as a warning that its knackered. I am running a shimano HG73 (MTB) My new chains arrived today from CRC and I was quite surprised when comparing the old chain to the new that the OAL had incresed by about 8mm I didnt think there would be such a difference. Now after checking my records I see I have done about 1600 kms on the chain which is also scary as I thought prior to checking that I had only done about 1000 Good thing is these chains work out at 180 rand with vat and shipping so pretty cheap to change based on the above I am going to keep a closer eye on my km's and look to change the chain every 1500 km's Does 1500kms sound reasonablecrasher2010-01-28 13:06:12

Today was really good fun and you are right was great weather Plenty of mud wet roots on the single track huge deep puddles and mud mud mud There were only 4 of us but we had a great ride just over 3hours so was nice time in the saddle I think my bike and camelbak weigh about 20kg's with all the mud Pity I have to clean all my gear and bike now but the ride was well worth it Next week we are riding the fast one but maybe the following week we can do the farm again crasher2010-01-24 06:02:54

Look for long wheelbase Silver VW bus with scrape down left side

Cant make Saturday so I planning to ride Sunday Morning My son will ride and so will Fabian also Reuben will prob join us Anyone else want to join us for a ride ride just look for the big silver bus with the cattle grid on the back Will aim to be ready to ride at 7-00

I think I can prob make Saturday but can confirm later in the week

There were only 3 of us But we had a great ride rode for just under 3 hours was enjoyable and not as muddy and wet as last week had a quick hmm ok 2 quick bacon and egg rolls with 2 draught's after the ride was a good morning Maybe next weekcrasher2010-01-17 07:37:19

Thats very special I really like that bike Please post another finished pic when the seatpost has changed

Yes I wondered that maybe its just because of the price of the XTR chainrings that he used it to make his point hit home Good read and nice to get a reply like that from a manufacturer

I think I will be to make it this Sunday Another hubber Fabian not sure of his hub name who I spoke to said he is also keen to join with another friend so thats 3 possibles Hope to see you all sunday Crasher

looked similar to this but held 2 bottles http://www.duesouth.co.za/products/30856388.jpg

When I was looking around at christmas I saw what I think holy is talking about it wouold be perfect like a waist belt with 2 bottle holders bottles and a pouch I think it was in due south or capestorm shop not sure which but was in hiking section

It was so nice to meet and ride with you all I really enjoyed the morning we certainly must do it again I will see some of you tom at Babba's Cheers Crasher