TomvdP

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

Courses are getting tougher, and rider conditioning is on a whole different level. Strength, core, and skill are all being actively trained to allow them to race the downhills as well, rather than just use it as recovery. It's been interesting to watch the evolution of XC bikes - the current Epic has the same head angle as the "game changing" Spez Enduro 29 from not long ago (numbers don't tell the whole story of how a bike rides but it is an interesting metric of progression). Another metric: Nino is now racing on a 35mm stanchion fork & 2.4" tyres. Every season is more exciting than the last.

Unless the Titan site is wrong, the Drone has a 69° head angle (vs 67.5° on Stride), and slightly longer seattubes. Chainstays are shorter on the Drone. Both are internal dropper compatible.

Fairly recently I convinced a friend who was getting into riding that a Slade would be a better overall ride than most of the racey hardtails he was looking at, and a general no-fuss bike to own. He loving it and joins for trail rides, longer rides etc. And I got these messages recently where he'd taken it on a long multi-day gravel tour. I think he put gravel tyres on the standard wheels, but that was the only change. I guess if you're racing to win, the specialist bike is king. But I reckon you can get 90% of the performance, and be more comfortable. (Neither of us have any experience with road bikes)

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

The Surface rims on the Stratos bikes are 545g per rim. I don't know wheelset weight, but there are definite weight savings to be had on the rims.

Dan has also said on another thread that he can rent out 2 pods and watches to run "events" like this.

I can't - that was personally measured from a stripped rim. As for the AC rims, I can't make the decision for you, but weight on the rims counts for more, as it also has rotational inertia (so you will feel 200g off the rims a lot more than 200g off the frame). Just remember that bike is boost, so the AC hubs would need to be as well.

Those rims are 545g. A narrower handlebar will "speed up" the steering and make it a bit more twitchy, if you're going to cut your bars I would recommend cutting 5mm from each side at a time, and then testing. Definitely do not just cut to the width you were riding previously (especially if it is very narrow), people are riding wider bars these days for a reason (that's not to say 780mm+ is for everyone), and modern bikes are designed with this in mind.

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.

+1 for the Marvel set (in boost) please! What is the warranty though?

Not saying it is a scam, but this is exactly how I was scammed. Too far away to drive He'll call back (you can't call to whatever number he's calling from) Be careful, I have already reported as a possible scam https://www.gumtree.co.za/a-bicycles-cycling/knysna/rockshox-pike/1002173396990911304702109 Edit, Google reverse image search shows the image has been taken off an eBay post https://www.google.com/search?tbs=sbi:AMhZZiu6yM91RdgONIoFupZ2VrYfhPaICyWZhbhYkWtX1mayhVETCvT2tCClZESDtfPx1zzTRAoQNgVu9IBWgSXoPBTpyNj1BshxbwDTXW2z_1rYUL9Od2vnn7WHsJp5VfgW1GWkkliKm3s5nfiUne_1OClKsa1bZ51UALRQ5u5Lie4u71JLkF7ujzZCpHshR4dKlJCy0EehGT9K0IMwDWao7Jj762rrKbU42Z8KpAL_1B4oZloauHxpyTKKDLiWCDgXacNE0JIS3uf7k2OXm01SQd_1QhdDqldS0v_1MT1MDRNG6IiDQ_166CWcivuTOO1pdMLuQTytfEh2X9aHUUzSQXLw4HmD_176L9IVA

I was caught about a month ago with someone using this exact method - except on Gumtree. Also advertising a pike, claimed to be in Robertson. His name was Hannes Hatting and he too sounded Afrikaans on the phone, asked me which bank I'd use and when I said Standard Bank he said he'd give his Standard Bank details. Luckily didn't get hit for too much because I said I'd pay the balance in cash when I got the fork. Number disconnected after payment etc etc, same story. Hannes Hatting - 0638966941 Standard Bank acc: 10065510397 Could be a different guy - I have marked the number on Truecaller as a scammer, although it will probably never be used again. First time with a bad experience - I will sure be much more careful buying and selling now.

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

Previous generation xt and SLX levers were mechanically identical, the only difference was the plastic cover. The SLX even had the free stroke adjust of the xt, they just used a proprietary screw instead of a Phillips - but if you modified a screwdriver to fit the screw it worked exactly as it would on xt (not doing much, which is normal for Shimano free stroke adjust). Unless you are doing long DH runs(where the marginally better cooling offered by finned pads and ceramic pistons MIGHT be noticable) most people won't be able to tell the difference between well bled deore/SLX/xt brakes which is what makes the 'low end' models such great value. I don't know if this is the case with M7000 & M8000 brakes but it wouldn't surprise me. Early M8000 xt brakes apparently (mentioned in just about every review of them) had a problem with a wandering bite point - although this has 'apparently' been fixed. That said, I have early M8000 brakes that have worked perfectly.

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.

Cool, thanks for the fast reply! Really looking forward to it

Hi Zappa, busy trying to enter. The solo entry is R1000, is that correct because then it is the same to enter a team?

Weight on the bar/stem is very important - not only does it hold the front wheel down when you're climbing (with obvious benefits) but the extra weight PULLS the bike on downhills, creating a more stable feeling ride (as opposed to a heavy saddle which PUSHES downhills and is inherently unstable)

What mine looked like. I had pushed the sponge ring and dust wipe back down because it blew in a ride and I wanted to keep dirt out - but both had popped out like yours. http://i.imgur.com/MasHRZ7.jpg

Mine was still under warranty so I just dropped it off at my nearest bike shop who sent it off to SRAM. Mine looked exactly the same. If you're happy to do it yourself then start by taking the air spring assembly out and looking for faulty o-rings. There is probably no need for a whole new air spring.