Titanium Rocket

Thanks everybody for your contributions, much appreciated. Seems like a proper bike fit is in order to eliminate all the subjectivity; not so easy from where I live.

I did over 60 000 km on my old MTB, and was never really conscious of sore quads other than normal race/ride fatigue. Recently got a new 29er, and have been suffering badly from sore quads. After Hill2Hill, it was really uncomfortable for a few days, and even after long Saturday rides with big climbing. I never had this on the old bike; not looking good for Wine2Whales…. I know this is a really generic question, but any suggestions on these sore quads? 1. The geometry on new 29er is obviously very different to the old 1986 hardtail 26”, but I made sure all the basic dimensions were transferred onto my new rig. Obviously wider bars/shorter stem on 29er, but I made sure of same steerer-to-seat distance to seat distance, and precisely the same seat height. 2. One local boffin has suggested perhaps seat not far enough back, or perhaps the seat is too low? I have a straight seatpost, maybe I need a layback? 3. Any other suggestions? Appreciate absolutely any ideas....

Partner has dropped me...have a 3-day Berg & Bush entry available. Race dates are 11-13 October. Please PM me quickly.

How about a category called TITANIUM - just to cover those various brands. Someone already mentioned Lynskey above.

Appreciate if someone can help please: Is it correct that there is no 6-bolt XTR version of the Ice-Tech rotor; only centre lock? But there is a 6-bolt Ice-Tech rotor in XT (the RT86)? So will the XT 6-bolt work fine with XTR M985 callipers? Or just use any old brand of 6-bolt calliper....? ?

Blitzer - which model Mavic rims are you referring to? Or at 68kg, should I just stick with ZTR Crest?

Thanks guys, appreciated. As said, I'm more into marathon than hard core cross country. Rather support local if there's not much in it. Any ideas on who to approach for a wheel build?

Much has been written here about Hope Pro2 Evo hubs + ZTR Crest rims. On Evans Cycles, front and rear sell for R4607 (01/12/12), with Sapim Race spokes. See: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/hope/pro2-evo-no-tubes-ztr-crest-29er-rear-wheel-ec027443 Can anyone comment: Is this a good hub/rim combo? (I'm 68 kg, ride marathon rather than cross country) Is this a good price? Is Evans a reputable outfit, or is it better to have them built here? Any better ideas? Much appreciated, thanks.

Thanks everyone. This was my first attempt at DIY fork service. Followed procedure off the Internet, seemed straight forward enough. Must have cocked something up...will repeat tonight...never give up!

Help please: what causes a fork (Fox 100 RLC, 2008) lose all it's air, overnight. Rode yesterday morning it was fine. This morning it flopped right down, zero pressure. It was serviced 4 weeks ago, and hasn't done excessively hard work since then. Appreciate any ideas.

Buy genuine Enduro grade 5 bearings direct off their website in the US: http://www.enduroforkseals.com/id17.html I bought a complete set for my Mavic Crossmax SL wheelset a month ago; took about 10 days to get here. Prices great at current R/$. Avoid the temptation to go for ceramic bearings as advertised. IMHO, they may roll fractionally better but they don't last any longer.

With these stands that suspend the bike along the top tube (as in the 2 examples above), don't the gear cables get interfered with if they run under the top tube? Surely this makes shifter adjustments a problem?

Don't even bother taking your bike to ride around Ponto itself, HOWEVER... If you are going over a spring low tide, you can ride from Ponto along the beach all the way to Santa Maria. We actually did it in reverse, my son dropped us off at the top, and we rode back to Ponto, nearly 100 km. Took under 6 hours, including stops. Some soft sand here and there, but you can crack >20 km/h average in most places. Check the weather beforehand on WindGuru and make sure you aren't riding into a headwind... Make sure you time the low tide very carefully; remember spring high comes with spring low! Make sure you are totally self-sufficient; this is really remote and you need to be confident of sorting yourself out if there's trouble. Cell phone comms in some places, take a GPS if the wilderness scares you.

Thanks Flowspeed, travel to the Cape on business often, so would appreciate your contact...

Does anyone have a cheap solution to a Fox steerer tube that is too short for my new frame. The standard LBS answer is buy a whole new crown with the steerer tube and stanchions, but does anyone have a cheaper alternative?.

Muddy - how long did it take to get here from the US?

Mavic wheels are >30% cheaper on Chainreaction. However, the website will not allow transactions from SA. I guess Mavic are protecting their local distributors - fair enough. I'm in the market for a new set of SL's, or the new equivalent. Anyone know who are the best suppliers in SA?

I used a USE suspension post for a couple of years, including 2 Epics. They definitely work in my view; take the kick out of rough bumps. But they are expensive and definitely don't last, and weigh 400 g if that matters to you. Last Epic I changed to Maxxis Lust 2.1" tyres, rode them at about 2 bars, and never looked back. Agree with some comments above, that benefits to a 48 kg person are questionable; rather fiddle with low pressure UST tyres.

Thanks Moegoe. XTR are very well priced on CRC right now. But stock is a problem; probably preparing for the launch of the new XTR which is imminent I believe.

Are XTR rims genuine UST / tubeless, or do you have to use a conversion kit?

Edman, this is a believable reference, without any confusion between units of cal, kcal, kJ, etc. It is simply not possible to burn 8000 kcal in a +/- 5 hours bike race as was reported on the TV last night, never mind 12000 kcal. Ties in totally with my own figures on a typical Epic day.

There have been numerous mentions of calorie consumption in the order of 8000 kcal per day by Tour riders; even 12000 kcal was mentioned last night. Is this correct? I have done Baviaans and Sani2c Nonstop, and my maximum calorie consumption has never exceeded 6500 kcal. And that's for a 12-hour plus ride. And I have a very high heart rate. Any comments? Are these guys exaggerating for the benefit of TV, or are they correct? What are you guys measuring for long rides?

I ordered a set of ceramic bearings for my Mavic SL wheels and a fork seal kit for a Fox RLC direct from Enduro in the US. It did take +/- 3 weeks to get here.....but the saving vs. CRC was worth the wait. Not sure of price vs. Rush Sports though. http://www.enduroforkseals.com/index.html

Not 100% sure, I'm not a Spec freak, but the 2010 model like Stander uses does not have the Brain shock, does it?

IdeJongh - you may hit a brick wall trying to get Mavic wheels via CRC, if you are ordering from SA. It specifically says they will not ship Mavic products to customers outside of the EU...at least it did when I tried to get some CrossMark SL's last year. Be interested to hear if you experience otherwise...maybe this has changed?