mongoose_dude

Thanks guys... A number of people have mentioned 29ers... My problem is that I wanted to plant my stuff over onto a new frame, so with a 29er I'd have to buy new wheelset and fork But perhaps that is the way to go... Would you guys mind posting some pics of your bikes? Any other input with regards to my first post? (i.e. 26er fullys for big okes)?

Hi all.... I have been thinking about getting a cross-country race fully... Problem is, I'm a rather large / beefy guy, with 1.95m @ 90kg. My question is, are there any light frames around that would survive my (reasonably rough) riding without disintegrating? Some of the bikes I thought about include: 1) Giant Anthem X: Nice and light, but I hear that they like snapping 2) Merida 96: seem nice and sturdy, but not the lightest thing around 3) GT Marathon IDrive: also a nice, beefy frame, but heavy and high-maintenance pivot system 4) Cannondale Scalpel: awesome, but out of my price range 5) New Morewood XC bike: looks like the ideal mix for me, but also not exactly cheap... I'd really appreciate some input from you guys. Tell me your experiences and things. Don't hesitate to say if a bike has been crappy for you etc. Thanks! >> peace on earth and pancakes to all!!

I am using Continental Vertical Pro UST @ the front, Hutchinson Cobra UST @ the back. Conti: great grip in corners, doesn't like sand much. Hutchinson: Great tyre for dry conditions, very low rolling resistance. But SUCKS in mud. As in SHOCKING. Have also used Maxxis Crossmarks previously... Nice, but wear quickly

one truly does learn something new every day I bow down to the master's infinite knowledge! Thanks for the info. Very interesting!

Johan - what about how quickly they go out of balance when they take a knock...? Surely that has something to do with the build quality / strength of the rim??!?

I have a set of Mavic X819s, the ones that Splat mentioned... They haven't given me any hassles, and I bought them 2nd hand. Would definitely recommend them. I'm heavy (90 kg) and I ride these poor things pretty hard. A very decent rim, and if you keep your tyres pumped at a decent pressure (so that you don't bottom them out) then they keep their true and balancing very well (assuming that they were set up properly). I have also used a set of Mavic CrossTrails, and was VERY impressed. (Quite pricey though)

agreed. I also got annoyed by the littering, especially since the guys asked very nicely in the flyers that people should please keep empty packets on them. I always stick the things in my pocket when they are empty. The two milliseconds you lose by doing this are surely not too terrible, right?

Fair enough... My apologies. Did not mean for it to be a dick comment at all... I was just very frustrated by many many many people who insisted on riding right and who did not move left when the left track was open. Perhaps the event organisers should say a few things about that at the race starts...

I agree: organisation was AMAZING... The guys did a great job. If you can do the 50, then I'm sure you'd be fine on the 85. It's great fun Regarding the beer: I had one after I finished, and almost passed out. heheh. Slept very nicely on Saturday evening.

What I meant by the "structure" question was: did you like the mix of jeep track and single track / forest and open riding etc. I thought that the route could have done with more single track. I did the thing on my mongoose meteore (hardtail) and near the end my ass and back were so sore - it wasn't funny! I agree that they should keep the 50 and 85 tracks separate until the end. I know many 50km riders who were very upset about 85 km riders who wanted to pass them. To me it was also irritating that many of the 50km riders did not want to get out of the way, and that basically NOBODY was following the "keep left, pass right" rule. Conditions were awesome for the race. Really enjoyed it. Beautiful area too... I measured 3h37 for my time...

Just wanted to hear some opinions from other people who did this race... What'd you think of it? Why did they shorten the route down to 75km? What times did you guys ride? Did you like the structure (jeep track vs single track vs forest)? Easy or difficult? Did you do it on hardtail or softtail? Let the comments flow!

Thanks for the replies, guys. I have bought a set of Fibrax pads for XT / XTR, and they work fine... So clearly it's not the rotor / caliper system. From what I have heard, quite a few people are happy with Alligator rotors, but not with their pads... TITUS: Will gladly discuss that with you at some stage... I'll get back to you after the Knysna race (assuming my Mongoose and I make it through the 85km hehehe )

no, both sets of pads were metal scinted.... odd.

Thanks - will give that a try... Somehow I just can't justify spending R300+ on a set of original shimano XT pads. A set of pads for my car costs less than that!!

I recently bought a new set of alligator brake pads (for Shimano XT disk brakes). Braking now feels horribly rough and the brakes shudder at times. I cleaned everything (no, not with an oily solvent), and sanded the pads. The rotor is not bent, and my previous pads did not feel this rough on the same rotor. Why the heck does this happen? Any ideas? Could it be that the pads are simply crap? Would like to sort this out before the Knysna race - so your advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Indeed that is the case - I did not purchase the shock locally, so I can't do a warranty claim on it. This post is, however, not a discussion about whether that is "the right thing to do" or not. That would open a whole new debate, which is, in this context not relevant. I would kindly ask that such a discussion should not take place here. This is, afterall, Tech Q&A... I agree with Johan: I enjoy trying to fix these kinds of things myself. It is really a simple mechanism, and many bike shops cloud "the art of working on a shock" in so much mystery, that many people think it's rocket science. Clearly it isn't. If one CAN do something yourself, why not? Johan - thanks for all your technical advice. I don't know whether the spring is the issue or not... I will put the whole thing together again and see whether things have changed. (Probably not). Apparently this particular poploc mechanism does open up, though. You just screw the top bit CLOCKWISE, and it comes off (apparently). I am a bit hesitant to do that, because I don't know whether it is easy to put the spring back if one takes it out. Probably not... Somehow that would seem the most logical solution: take the spring out and re-seat it properly, so that it doesn't twist sideways. Probably easier said than done. On that note, I have a question for you: at the bottom end of the spring is a long straight bit that goes through a hole in a plastic "plate" mounted to the metal shaft. Should this straight part of the spring be ENTIRELY through the hole (i.e. should the "base" of the spring sit flush with the plastic plate), or should it be only partially in the hole? Mine only has about 2mm of the straight bit THROUGH the hole, the rest is above the plastic plate. It doesn't look very healthy.... Blur: thanks for pointing out Recycles and JP to me. I phoned him this morning and he said that he could take a look at the thing. Perhaps that is the best idea. If I try to do this myself, I will probably end up messing the thing up entirely. Again, thanks to all who have contributed to the post. I am busy learning a lot and am grateful for any new knowledge / advice.

Sorry - I meant, I don't know whether it is sitting in the right place (2nd sentence)

Hi Johan I took out the poploc mechanism, and it looks to me as though the spring on the shaft is not too looking too great. I don't know it is sitting in the right place, from what I see in your pictures. The different coils of the spring do not sit nicely next to each other, but are twisted sideways and the spring is not evenly thick at all places. It also looks like the spring itself is sitting too far towards the top of the metal shaft, and as if it is stretched across a greater part of the shaft than it should be. I dunno whether that description makes sense... If you want, I can upload some pictures. What would your advice be? Incidentally, I checked that the gate-valve at the bottom is not jammed. Furthermore, everything does snap back very nicely if i do twist the shaft. There is no sluggishness at all. It just seems that the spring is not as strong as it should be (when I compare it to my previous shock).

Thanks Turbobok... exactly the type of technical advice expected from an engineer : Johan: seems I can't get hold of a 24mm socket, and neither a shifting spanner... So off to a hardwares store tomorrow.

That would be a Canondale Scalpel, I believe...? And not the cheap version either... That's a 40 thousand bucks plus bike! (might even be over 50k) Would be a shame to have it planted into the back of some truck. Ai.

Wow. Thanks for your efforts, Johan! That helps a lot. Will get a spanner set this afternoon and check the thing out tonight. If one of these mechanisms should need to be replaced, what would that cost? I doubt that if I find something wrong with the thing that I would be able to fix it...

Ok great... I will take out the poploc mechanism and take a look at the things you mentioned. Thanks again for the advice - I will let you know what I find.

Thanks Johan. It sounds like you know what you're talking about. I really appreciate the advice.... Must admit - I am very interested to see what the inside of the fork looks like, so I'd like to try what you advised. However, of course I have a level of stress / hesitance because I have never done something like this. If you say that there is nothing that can explode if I open the damping side of the fork, then I'll take your word for it. I do have one question, however. How is the rebound adjust bolt connected to the whole internal assembly? That bolt sits at the bottom of the shock-tube, so if I can pull out the poploc mechanism through the top of the shock, where do the poploc and the rebound adjust connect? Thanks again.

Hi guys... So I've checked things again carefully, and it seems that the issue is not related to cable friction / kinks. I took of the cable entirely, then locked the shock by turning the mechanism with my hand, then put weight on the fork and let go of the mechanism. What happened is that the mechanism did not release as long as I kept weight on the fork. When I took all the weight off, the mechanism moved back to the "unlocked" position. So - it seems as though the issue is with the internal lockout mechanism. Ideas?