swoosh1973

So it seams contarary to some reports in the cycling media that the recesion has effected demand. Or is this only the importers sales going constant as they have same demand but for lower value bikes? It would be ineteresting to know why. Decreased demand or costs that are to high for the avaerage cyclist so they cant afford it anymore. The whole upper end bike thing seams weird.

Hey Leet22, nice to see a Pink Floyed listnener on the Hub!! Are you going to Oak valey Sunday? Hey Brunson my MTB forks are a bit stuffed if i get them fixed in time will CU there . Still havent been to Oak valey. Got sick 2 weeks after Kleinmond and was flat for a week. Thanks for the PM on the multisport event in kleinmond. I started training again 2 weeks ago(stationary bike) not the same. So i lost some fitness

Thanks for this excellent and insightfull post. Heck i cant understand why more people have not commented. Do you have experience with deraileurs XTR versus SRAM X0 ans shifters?

Guys how can you vote one above the other if you have not rode the different versions? I have only had experience with XT and LX versions, thus my vote goes here as i have had excellent service and not much to complain about. However this is all i have been riding the last 4 years and know nothing else. I seriously want to know if the grass is greener on the other side. If theres anybody with experience on both SRAM and SHIMANO then please let us know? Is there nobody here that has experience with both Shimano and SRAM? I would realy be interested inhearing some unbiased comparisons.

What kind of idiot steals a wheelset if hes not in to cycling? Im sick of crime fu*&%g had it!!!!

Hey Yang Thanks for the spell check! Howz mozambik, Mozambique, I mean from a cycle point of view? Recovered any more stolen bikes lately?

Do you have a special frame for this or are you building a frame to have the 29ers work?

Hey i am interested to know what bad experience you had with Produx? A local manufacturer of carbon frames? i did not even know there were such companies. I had a look at his websit--seems more into moto bikes and cars though.

If you think those slip over socks look stupid then wait til you see the first average Joe with compresion socks....... man i dont care what benfits those give. If it aint ganna help u win the race then rather just enjoy the sensation of soreness knowing that you had a good work out.

Ok great I am also considering 29er as my next bike but i think i need to wait for the next "ride before you buy"show to realy be convinced. I love endurance riding. Im no trixter on the bike so i gues perhaps an easier rolling wheel will be ok. I noticed one of the bike mags had a Gary Fischer with 29ers. But its a bit pricey.

TWENTY NINERS APPARENTLY OFFER FAR SMOOTHER RIDES WITH MORE TRACTION, CONTROL AND LONGER ROLLING. 26INCH WHEELS ARE APPARENTLY MORE NIMBLE AND WEIGH LESS. ALSO COST LESS. APPARENTLY THE NEXT "BIG" THING IN MTB WILL BE 29 INCHES WITH 26ERS POTTENTIALY BEING PHASED OUT BY BIKE MANUFACTURERS

OK - plenty response here to my post. <?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> 1) My apologies for offending somebody with my post referring to <?: prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Chinaon> man. I should have put down Chinese national. 2) I did not actually buy that Chinese bike. The Chinese shop in Edenvale ( van Riebeeck Avenue) sold me a bike 5 years back with front suspension for R500 at the time. I now live in Somerset and have a decent bike with LX and XT components purchased 4 years back(R7000). The only problem I had is the alu frame cracked but silverback replaced it no questions! That?s service. The R650 bike in Somerset west has no suspension. So clearly inflation is not known in mainland Chinaon>. Now the cheap bike at the time was 18kg had endless derailleur hassles, horrible grips brakes that barely worked. To change gears you actually had to take your hands of the grip. It really was a piece of junk and so is the new one. 3) I will never buy a bike like that again. I ride to often to frustrate myself. However I was taking a dig at the bike riders (me included) and the LBS and manufacturers. Someone pointed out we love this sport and our brains go mushy like a teenage boy about to get lucky for the first time when it comes to bikes. We get brainwashed every second month from the bike mags, instead of using common sense. Bikes are sold on the name of the brand instead of common sense SHIMANO XTR or SRAM X0 etc. 4) Fact is everyone is entitled to make a profit and should. You want service -pay for it. However bike prices are to be blunt ridiculous. Even overseas. There?s definitely not that much engineering in it to justify those prices. Now I think there are far too many middlemen in the chain for top end brands. To build your own bike is a waste of time if you can?t sort the components out. There is one local bike manufacturer and you will not see another one as without the right brand you will be reduced to selling your bike for R649. You will make a loss because the SA consumer is not bright enough to insist on guarantees and specs of the no name brand. Derailleur gear shifters and brakes seem to be dominated by a handful of manufacturer?s world wide. In fact I would not be surprised if the no name brands are made by Shimano anyway. Is there some kind of patent on the designs of derailleurs and other components? Why dont we have local manufacturers somethin more than just a frame? They would get squashed i think.

Who cares its some or other chinese brand and looks cr%py and the rims will buckle on the first pothole it whacks never mind a mtb trail. The point is a R4000-R6000 mtb with Deore/LX components will still do the job for someone riding 3-5 hours a week. Why pay R30 000?

<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> There?s a <?: prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Chinaon> man selling brand new mountain bikes for R650 around the corner in Somerset west. I know there?s one in Edenvale as well. For the price of a bottom of the range Raleigh/; Silverback; Specialized etc u can get a new bike every month Now I know the bike is ugly but how is it possible they can sell bikes that cheap and his not even a dedicated bike shop? The serious bike shop around the corner has mountain bike tires for between R250 and R400 for just a tire. Can someone explain that to me? Somehow something does not ad up. sure I expect people o tell me about quality and engineering blablabla. However the entry level best known brands are R4000-R6000. Why buy a R30 000 bike if you can?t come close to the leading pack with it in a race? It seems lots of people complain about the recession and high prices but still p$ss their money away Anybody paying more than R7000 a bike clearly has loads of money and should stop complaining. You can ride a brand new Chinese bike every month for the next 4 years for R30 000! No one is forcing you to fork out your hard earned cash. U still have freedom of choice. The bike prices are high because you the consumer are prepared to take one up the naught If Raleigh and any other bike brand can sell you a R30 000 rand bike GOOD FOR THEM! SORRY 4 U. Your R30 000 bike won?t make you win the race at best it will move you a few a couple of positions up the field.

Sorry to see your frame like that. Trash Storck ---NOT CARBON! Next time someone trashes carbon i expect those same people will never get on an jumbo jet, airplane or a helicopter(the rotor blades are carbon fiber-you morons). Fact is, every material has limitations, if someone uses pure alu tubes instead of treated alu alloy with only 2 mm thick to make a road bike frame it will end up bent and buckled in no time. You wont se a " GIANT ALU SUX" topic will you? Storck are to blame not the person posting the Storck Sux topic. They should refund him or replace the frame.