crasher

I use a mule its very comfortable and ballance is not an issue The amount of lost dropped full bottles you ride past in races esp fast rocky descents seem a prime spot for these bottles to fall out is the reason I like my mule through winter I would just fill 1 litre but now as it gets hotter you can up this to suite the temp and distance. plus I am wearing it anyway because of all my spares and supplies I also like it that you keep your hands on the bars when drinking

What is your budget to buy/build your bike as this is going to have the most influence on what its going to weigh Agree with Mampara that 4" will be plenty

Burry said that dual susser he's riding weighs 8.9kg in his interview last week

Yes just finished cleaning all that orange mud off!!!!

http://www.spectrumsport.co.za/Silverstar_MTB_Results_20090912.pdf

Despite the tar it was still a nice way to spend Saturday morning I stay just down the road so was nice to not have to drive far to ride. There were some nice sections in between the tar I enjoyed it BUT we needed a beer tent in the carpark!!crasher2009-09-12 08:46:45

It was nice though to belt it down the hill at 70kmph on a mountain bike

Ok that put's mine to shame Out of interest what do they cost?crasher2009-09-10 13:23:18

I have a topeak mini18 I use it alot its very nice the chainbreaker is really strong I had a seized pin and could not believe how much abuse the breaker took It is very good quality quite compact and comes in a nice pouch I think it also won some award in one of the local mags when they tested a bunch of multi tools http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Images/Models/120/11318.jpg

Ok so maybe it was for my daughter who just turned 8 a while back Took her to Northern farms and she cycled 30kms on a single speed pink barbie raleigh she got from pick and pay 2 years back at which point she cried that she was tired!! Now with gears and a front shock she should be good for at least 50

If you take it in the contex of a car engine then you crank lentgh would be the same as the stroke of your crankshaft. If you want more torque (turning power) you have a longer stoke If you want more speed/RPM you would have a shorter stroke So I would hazard a guess that the longer yor crank arm the greater torque you will generate Go shorter and you would have less torque but more rpm/pedal speed. thats my guess

I come from motorcycle background I could not get to grips with the front brake being on the left (I tried for 2 months) and got my hoses swopped so the front brake is on the right side lever. You have to be comfortable with your set up so stick with the set up you find natural and convert the other to match. I have SLX hydraulic brakes its a simple case of unscrewing the 2 hoses swopping them over and a quick bleed. "well Jade at coolheat did mine and it was so quickmight of took me a bit longer" I dont know whats involved on the road bike so cant offer much advice there

http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/4186/007uq.th.jpg aint she a beaut

I think the angle of the photo makes it look worse on the distant teeth(right side of photo) But comparing the teeth on the left side of the photo to my almost new SLX outer ring then I dont see a huge difference between the 2 and would say that ring although slightly worn would still be ok look on this new one below how flat some of the teeth are Johan Do you really think that one is totally knackered as if so that means I am prob only going to get 1200 or so km's out of mine which is a lot less than I was expecting I dont have the knowledge or expertise in assessing these items but when doing the comparison I really cant see why it is so bad when compared to a new one? http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Images/Models/Original/38186.jpg

Glad you are sorted enjoy your new bike (spark 30 very nice)

I got a recon Sl and my adjuster is the same as the pic with the allen key on the other leg http://www.sram.com/en/rockshox/crosscountry/reba/ see what you can see on their site but to me all 3 reba models show the red adjuster on the right leg?

You can see it here not the best pic though http://www.sram.com/_media/images/rockshox/crosscountry/reba/rebasl_large.jpg

Wow thats an interesting read When I got my new bike with tubeless it was set at 2.2 front 2.4 rear and it felt horrible! I was running 4 bar in my hardtail with tubes which is prob why it felt so horrible to what I was used to With the tube less I have been running 3 on the front and 3.4 on the rear and have been happy with this but I will definately drop the pressures down and give it a try but dont know if I will get to 2.2 but even half a bar per wheel drop would be a nice advantage as per the article thanks good thread and read

Thanks for the link Thats first puncture I have had since going tubeless not much you can do about all the glass around our roads and tracks I suppose it was just a matter of time. I have never had a puncture in a race yet and have been so happy with the tubeless set up and the confidence it gives over rock etc. I had bad luck with tubes esp pinching on the rim over rock I will prob still end up changing the tyre if I can find one at a reasonable price

I read somewhere on the forum that pressure drops after using a bomb dont know if its true but was quick and easy to do and I wanted to inflate it higher to see if it would leak. Its sitting on 3.7 bar now and I normally run the rear 3 to 3.4 The plug I used is identical to the car one just a bit thinner its out of the kit below only thing I didnt do was use much glue but I dont want to remove it now as it seems to be holding fine. http://www.weldtite.co.uk/fixedthumbnailer.aspxImg=http://weldtite.strawberryadmin.co.uk/swat/images/upload/85___Selected.jpg&ampimageWidth=250&ampoverlay=n

Got a nice fountain of stans from the rear tyre today when a big piece of glass went through the tyre Managed to patch it with a string plug out of weldtite puncture kit blasted it with a co2 bomb and held pressure fine to get home. I then deflated tyre and re in flated with my compressor it has held pressure fine how reliable are these plugs as I dont want it to let me down during a race but on the other side I have only done about 350 km on this tyre its still like new so dont know if I should buy a new trye or carry on with this one? Anyone got a rough idea what a replacement tyre would cost It is a WTB Weirwolf UST

What a good looking and performing crankset and a third of the price of XTR

My brakes often squeak after washing just ride the bike and use the brakes to generate a bit of heat all the noises dissappear within a minute or 2. I work at a motor dealership and most of the cars are the same after washing.

I think you will struggle to find better value for money than those olys esp if they are lasting you 3 years

Took my bike to coolheat and they swopped around my hoses and bled my brakes (SLX) I watched them do it they make it look so easy but whilst we were chatting they said how easy SLX was to bleed and what a B*tch XTR could be. They bled the brakes to start with like a car with a couple gentle lever strokes and finished off with a back bleed with syringe via calipers. they would bleed a tiny bit with syringe then a gentle squeeze or 2 of lever and you see bubbles rise in reservoir then a bit more with syringe repeat untill no more bubbles and lever is stiff it looked easy but they know what they are doing. One thing no one here has metioned is that they fit a plastic wedge/ spacer to hold the caliper pistons in position before they bleed did you do this XTX oke? as I assume it would be a similar set up?