TomvdP

Same unusual banjo position, same writing style. I agree with you, good eyes!

Yup, the official lines not long ago were either: a) Not achieving full extension was how it was supposed to be. It's indicative of how plush it is (nevermind that it never went to full extension even when lifted off the ground, with the weight of the wheel). b) Your equalisation dimple must be clogged with grease - maybe you serviced it wrong. Try again and get back to us. Pretty unimpressed that they've corrected this problem under the guise of "it rides higher in its travel". My Lyrik 150 only had between 143-145mm showing on a given day. Add to that that it rode deep into its travel and no amount of pressure allowed for less than 25% sag (80kg rider, testing the max pressure in the fork). The solution for me was to go to 160mm (possible with all modern Pikes by the way, despite what RS says) to get a dynamic ride height I was happy with. I will grudgingly buy this fix.

The Slade is very much in stock! Don't expect the shops to know about it though as it's not a marathon bike

AXS aint cheap. Maybe one day we'll all have paddles but for now I'm still happy with my mechanical levers. Pedals were taken off becuase they are my old SPDs that I have hit against most of the rocks on table mountain and are now just a black/silver mush. Would not have done a fresh bike justice with those dangling

XL Silverback Slider 2020 - Busy testing the prototype! Adjustable rear travel 140-160 with different shock strokes (same i2i), currently 140mm 150-170mm fork travel, currently 150mm

My XL Silverback Slade with 29x2.6" tyres and 140mm travel.

Rear wheel travel is measured vertically. So to convert 160mm fork travel to vertical: 160sin(66deg) = 138.6mm. Pretty close.

I have always had weird times with THE single track - seems to have some dodgy start/finish points since it got fixed up, you can't hang around near either... Mad Max's Bastard - https://www.strava.com/segments/3434517

I have or have had all these tires. The non-snakeskin Schwalbes I had, both had 'pin-holes' in the sidewall and for the 1st 2 weeks or so I had to constantly top them up until they'd all sealed. Even then it would occasionally leak air out the sidewall until I tilted it so the stans sealed it. Great tires though, and not as much of a nuisance as it sounds - but then I have a floor pump and check tire pressure most times before I go riding anyway. (edit. This was about 3 years ago - this problem may be fixed) For the past couple of months I have been riding Spaz tires, largly because of the cost. I have an s-works Ground Control 29x2.3 (R570 I think) that I ran at the front for about 3 months. Can't fault it, it worked great, plenty of grip, none of the problems I was expecting from putting a lightweight tire up front. Once I wore out my back tire I moved the GC to the back and got a Purgatory 29x2.3 (control casing, R470!!!) for the front. Now I thought the GC had grip... The purgatory has noticeably more and is very stable and confidence inspiring, I haven't noticed the extra weight - and I'm a bit of a weight weenie. Loving this configuration - sealed with a floor pump on Arch Exs and haven't given me one hassle.

Nice review! Been looking into these posts, I have one question that I can't find the answer to: Is there any side to side play like many dropper posts have? Or how long does it take to develop play?

+2 to the 50km finishers... Rode with a friend with temp no's, it's such a silly system that even the true number of finishers aren't shown if they were temps. I don't know if I'll be back next year - if it had been a perfect day it would have been a boring ride. What made today quite cool was the flooded rivers, mud, obies at the water table, bitter cold etc... And while I enjoyed it as a more of a survival/masochism race (I had 3 gears left by the end), I don't know if I would knowingly do it again.

Speedo. All three. (red is fastest) Edit: Seriously though, you are pretty much correct. I've only done one, but that was how I did it. Tri shorts under wetsuit and same stuff for running and cycling (except shoes obviously)

I have this exact problem. I am 1.87 but with long legs and I currently ride a L trance 26 that has been made quite light (<12kg) for xc etc. It is a little small for me so I'm considering my options but aggressive xc seems to be a dwindling class these days, esp now that the trance has gone 140mm. What do you guys think of using the new trance as a race bike?

I am a capcha king! (and I don't know what that is asking for!) That said... my understanding of capcha is that the 2nd word is a word it has found but doesn't know what it means. The first word it knows, and if you type the first word correctly it will assume the 2nd is correct and match your input to the picture...... and then give it to someone else. so basically it doesn't matter what you type for the 2nd word

Going up from Cape Town to Knysna this weekend for the races and looking to share fuel if anyone is keen. I can take 2 more people and 3 more bikes. Leaving Friday at about midday, and coming back Monday (leaving early). Would expect petrol to come out at about R800 both ways - split evenly.

I'll be honest, I didn't watch the whole thing. But I didn't see the dog on a bike once...

A real pic of a real bike XTC 29er 2011

187cm Large XTC 29 Had to get the longer seatpost, fits like a glove ever since!

sooooooo, no go on the nail polish then... (or only on the outside )

Does anyone else get the feeling that this is just one big Hub joke on them.. As I sit here saying, 'hmmm, nail polish, really? Never would have guessed it' I feel like everyone else is sitting at their computers hoping their suppressed giggles don't give it away. So before I land up at the make up section in Edgars buying a trolley load of blue nail polish, I ask, REALLY????

I have a good friend that recently bought a medium hardtail - he is 1.83m. Seems pretty happy but says his old bike was more comfortable, but that had pretty relaxed geometry compared to the new one. I'm still convinced he should have waited a bit longer (2nd hand bike) but I haven't heard any regrets from him. He reckons it doesn't climb as well because of the size and hasn't noticed any benefit on the downhills. He is running it stock too, only change is a longer seatpost as the stock 250mm one was too short.

full-sus, knobblies, shocks open jokes (would love to try it, but riding with someone on a roadbike who wants to swap if the hills get too steep), so full-sus, slicks, shocks open (no lockout!!)

As a very Giant biased person (they were by far the best deal when I was buying) I would recommend the TFS 300, any day... The components on the TFS500 wont be noticably better. The main difference is the forks, and to be honest... I waould have the Suntour over the Dart. I had one and within 2 months it was basically not functioning anymore, at all (really not exagerating here). 2 of my friends had identical experiences - another friend still has a perfectly functional, plush Suntour fork. All 4 of these bikes are now ~2 years old, I upgraded to an air Tora - great fork but I definately don't get near the advertised 100mm travel edit: Prices I found TFS300 - R6050 TFS500 - R7400 Talon 3 - R5300 Talon 2 - R7200 I would still recommend the TFS300. Wont make the mistake of paying extra for a bottom end name brand fork again

I have been using monorails front and rear for more than a year now without replacing them. They wear pretty well but I would agree with the part about dodgy grip - definately not the worst I have used but they are quite skittish. They are however, very fast rolling tyres, a dealmaker for me - I just try to make up for the unpredictable grip by being a bit more careful around the corners

eh, you guys have me worried now... I have had a KCNC Fly Ride Stem on my MTB for a while that has been creaking, the bolts also loosen themselves, not to mention the gap where between the stem tightnening section where it tightens around the steerer seems to be smaller than ever (implying that the aluminium has maybe deformed slightly). I have long suspected it might fail but assumed that there must be huge safety factors on these things.