TomvdP

I kinda like the sign - the only thing I would change would be to just have the first S being the girl. It is a bit hard to read otherwise - especially at a glance.

surely you will notice a decrease in rolling resistance much more than a 200g decrease - and I remember reading an article by Schwalbe that basically showed how their larger volume tires had less rolling resistance. tom8932010-05-27 16:49:52

Ok, while I agree with JB that no suspension can increase downforce on the wheel there are certain types that can resist compression under pedal induced acceleration. The diagram below shows Giant's Maestro suspension (and to a certain extent VPP - they are very similar) Green - Force by shock (actually down on the rear triangle due to swing arm) Blue - this is the important one, this is the force of the chain pulling the rear wheel forward, as well as the forward drive from the rear wheel. Solid red is the swing arms If the bottom swing arm was actually where the dotted red line is then all that forward force would be for nothing BUT By placing it at an angle when the forwards force is applied there is actually a downward force (on the rear triangle) from the lower swing arm which will prevent pedal bob. So lockout is actually not necessary on this system - unless your pedalling style is inefficient to the point where it overcomes this force.

I have also noticed a creaking in that area. Set about finding the source today and it turned out to be where the stem connects to the steerer tube. Dunno what to do about it though, sounds like the stem is fatigued - not sure what to do about it because it is quite a lightweight road/xc stem that I use for some pretty hardcore xc.

Most important for me is rolling resistance, grip comes second because for normal XC use you will rarely reach the end of your tire's grip. I had always used WTB Velociraptors until last year which have so much grip I believe that if you covered a wall in mud, you will be able to ride up it. But the draaaaag... I have settled on Monorails now, which I will recommend to anyone. Very fast rolling centre but when you lean it over it has much bigger 'C' shaped cups that bite into the ground.

Dont can the project, you say you are looking to make a bike for beginners... Now if you go stand in a bike shop for 10 minutes you will see someone come in, say that they are looking for a nice entry level first bike, and promptly be shown a R6000 bike. These are the sort of people that are looking to pay R5000 *max*. At the moment Silverback has this market taped with the Oakland, R2350 and you get a comfy bike with shocks and lockout. There are 2 reasons this isn't the first bike the shop shows you... 1) They don't make as much money so they may as well show you the R6000 and try sell it. 2) It is honestly, poo So If you can make a decent bike for about R3500-R4000, that's where the money will go. A cheap alu frame is important, but more important at this price is probably the paint job Must be comfy, keep it as racey as possible without compromising any comfort AT ALL Use a cheap, but real MTB groupset, you can easily go Acera/Alivio (or even no name on less important parts, maybe look at Microshift) all over - maybe a Deore RD for some bling (Deore is the cheapest "small" deraileur) If possible use disk brakes, even if they are mechanical, they work much better and will really make the bike stand out at this price point. I think this is possible, I remember Solomons running a special last year where they were selling Raleighs like this (Disks, Shimano) for about R4200. I really do believe this is a fantastic idea, don't can it. Edit: Silverback Saturn R4500 (hydraulic discs, Suntour shock), that is going to be quite hard to beat. tom8932010-05-21 05:11:59

No, for R15000 you can get mid/high end alu hardtail with Recon fork, Name brand finishings and high end components. Eg Giant XTC2 - R11600 from Cyclefactory (I use them since they put their prices online) http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-IN/bikes/model/xtc.2/5457/37988/ Edit: I like the idea though, but I would expect to pay about half of that for those components. Edit again: I have used a Dart 2 (not 3 though) and I can honestly say that it is a terrible fork - not plush at all or stiff. If you could get that spec up to a Tora, those are great. Otherwise you can get a high(ish) and RST for about the same price as a Dart 3 and those are much better - even most new suntours are plusher and stiffer than the Dart I had. tom8932010-05-21 03:23:39

Ok, so most races are actually marathons? Your definitions seem to only include longer/stage races, what would something like a 30km 'funride' fall under? And just to confuse the issue a bit more, what is an enduro? The enduro I have seen on TV was a bit like downhill MTB on a short downhill-ish course, but the enduros we have here are 70km+

Tru-Cape, took my cellphone in the end... Taken with a Samsung B2100, which I can highly recommend - every time I took it out of my pocket it looked like I had actually been dragging it behind be - covered in water, mud and sand! El-Gringo, where is that? Looks like Fisherhaven/Betty's Bay tom8932010-05-09 02:52:27

wow, I thought I was automatically subscribed when I started the thread - thought it had corked - this is the first time I've seen it since! That pic from Tokai mast by Tarmac is actually what gave me the idea, I was there that day and wished I had a camera with me, I don't go cycling without one now. I'm doing the Tru-Cape tomorrow and don't know what to do, I usually put the camera in the 2nd bottle holder... edit: to get up to the Block House really isn't hard, you can get up from any side and there are to many different routes that you can carry your bike up 45 degree inclines or have a relaxed ride up (or something inbetween). Once you are up there there is a fantastic track along the side going towards the cable car that then drops (very rapidly) down to Tafelberg Road. tom8932010-05-07 07:31:47

A thread for pictures of the view from the king's seat. Please try keep it to pictures you or a friend has taken as we can all google "view from top of mountain" I'll start View from the block house last sunday (2nd May) And a bonus... the ride down

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Where is this, I got to the top of Tokai this morning and wished I had a camera with me

Did a nice route with a friend yesterday, met at Silwood, rode up to Rhodes Memorial, then up to the contour path just below the Block House, then followed it round to the cable station, down some back roads to Kloofnek, cut through. Went back up to the cable station roads via all those paths below it, enjoyed some good single track back up. Followed the road to just below the block house and had a great descent back. ~35km. It was a great ride, I have never been on those tracks that side of the mountain - plenty of space for a good XC ride. Will post a map soon Pic up, 32km... This is the best quality I can do to fit the whole thing in As you can see, we started at google Forgot to add, we went through a friend's house to get from Higgo road onto the trails behind the houses, I don't if this is possible any other way - I'm not familiar with the area. tom8932009-11-11 11:08:42

depends on the tire, the rider and the terrain. Too hard and the tires wont grip, you will feel them skating, particularly over loose terrain; too soft and you run the risk of getting pinch flats, as well as (arguable) increased rolling resistance. I recently changed to thicker tires since the old ones had to be pumped too hard to stop pinch flats. I dont pump my tires to a specific pressure, mainly because I dont have a floor pump but also because if I get a flat while riding I need to get them to the right pressure again. A rule of thumb that I was taught was to squeeze it at the sidewalls and aim for about 1cm depression with maximum force - this also works (roughly) all rider weights as the heavier guys tend to be stronger

nope, look here http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-Install-a-Tubeless-Tire-67721306

I have just done this exact upgrade (Dart II 09 -> Tora 318 solo air, Motion control 07) and I can honestly say that it was worth it, the Tora feels much better to ride with. I had a Dart II with a "firm" spring and it simply didnt budge over small bumps, the front wheel also felt skittish since it was always bouncing over small bumps - the Tora keeps the front wheel firmly on the ground. My only complaint is that the Tora I have doesnt have lockout, however, I rarely used it on the Dart anyway.

I'm currently using the Ryder SPD pedals. So far they seem to be great, I was told that they are the only ones with a double sealed bearing at that price. I put them into a mud wall on one ride and caked it in mud, still no problem clipping/unclipping. Recently noticed that the bearing in one aren't sounding so healthy though so I'm going to take them back to my LBS, if the bearings have collapsed after 2 months however, then I revoke my praise.

in theory it should, because it is sealed, although I am not sure whether the difference would even be noticeable. The only way this could would affect you is if you set the suspension up at one altitude, and then moved to another without re-adjusting your shock. The only pressure that matters is the difference between the internal pressure and the outside pressure. Since pumps operate at the outside pressure regardless of where they are, they will always give you this pressure. Hope that made sense...

with my limited knowledge I am going to side with TNT1. I got a set of WTB Velociraptors on my old Schwinn Mesa and after 3 years of road commuting and regular offroad riding I never had a problem, excellent grip, never wore down either, just dont run them too hard. Since then I have used Kenda Nevegals which were OK but what I am currently using are Hutchinson Scorpions that came on my Yukon; they are great in terms of grip and mud sheddding but are trashed, the knobs are falling off and the tread is about 60% at the centre - after a month! I'm seriously considering going back to the Velociraptors