Rigardt@Scott

Best laid plans. Let's see if the legs hold for that afternoon ride haha Flipen keen for this event!

Yes

I am 105kg, trail bike, ride pretty rocky stuff. 1.6 bar at the back, 1.5 front, carbon rims. I do put a cushcore in the back though. Standard grid or exo casings, nothing reinforced. No issues yet...

Can't comment on the Barzo, but looks fine for a rear tyre. Definitely won't stick it on the front of aything but an XC bike. The aggressor is designed as a rear but it works beautifully as a front in SA conditions. Very predictable and consistent grip. Rolls fast too.

Lekker news! I would have been suspicious because of the date if this wasn't announced yesterday haha. Thanks for the hard work to all involved - been missing Jonkershoek sorely these last few weeks!

Haha these days I am finding the okes on the e-bikes chirping us more than the other way around. Maybe the are just being proactive

Some things are just not worth getting upset over. A snarky comment about riding an ebike is one of those things.

Swapped on today's ride - much better.

I beg to differ. I think the 2nd hand market is the best it's ever been. I am selling my stuff within hours at my asking price, no haggling. Given my prices aren't stupid high, but I don't think they are lower than the item's worth.

Until 2023?

Almost looks forged, not stamped. If it weren't for the branding I don't think most people would be able to tell the difference between GX, XO1, and XX1 just from handling it.

I didn't do the whole cage swop out - I just did the pulley wheels because that's what I had. Personally a steel cage is a plus for me, more robust. It's on a trail bike anyway, and I weigh more than 100kg - I don't care about 60gr. So this really is awesome for me since I have been itching for AXS for more than a year now. I gotta be honest though, I was just saying two weeks ago I don't know how people can defile a Yeti with GX, now I've gone and done it. I am gonna get so much crap from my friends for that one! (Not coz they are snobs - because if my comment two weeks ago hahaha)

I bought from the Hanger Bike Co - they had one so you won't have luck there. As I understand there were only 250 in SA yesterday, so most shops got 1 unit. But they are taking pre orders for delivery end April. I was also sceptical going GX. I have had mechanical GX Eagle before - it was absolute shyte when I compared it to XO1 11spd as well as XO1 Eagle. This is however so far very impressive. Watch this vid to see comparison between AXS GX, XO, and XX: https://youtu.be/XgH0VF9Ihr4 Time will tell how it holds up though. I am sure I will be able to be a bit more objective in a few weeks when the excitement (and need to justify to myself that I spent my money well) wears off.

I didn't take pics, but it looks like the ones in the article so you don't really need to see that. I swopped out the pulley wheels with cSixx ones. My previous deraillieur's was tired so I replaced them a few weeks back. Seemed like a waste to let the nice blingy cSixx ones go to waste. Performance on the GX AXS is insanely good. The shifting is 100% spot on every time and is instantaneous. I am going to go as far as to say it is in a different league compared to the mechanical XO1 Eagle (which is way better than mechanical GX). So in short this cannot be compared to mechanical GX at all. I think the only thing it can be compared to is XO1 and XX1 AXS, and I can't do that because I haven't owned either of those. But the fact that the only difference between them and GX AXS is the cage material, I think it's gonna be similair in performance. As for setup, making micro asjustments while riding is very simple and using the app is also intuitive. The only thing I am still getting used to is the shifting - I find myself going the wrong way (ie to a harder gear when I want to go easier), but the buttons can be switched around which I will try before I go out for another ride. The actual feel is very different to a mechanical shifter - it feels like a button - but that is a good thing. The only downside if this whole system is that the deraillieur is very chunky compared to a mechanical one - so it looks a bit odd. But the neater cockpit makes up for that... Anyway, long story short, I am very happy with the purchase. I think it's worth then money, although I have to say if I paid the 22k odd for XO1 or XX1 I don't think that would be worth the cash. For reference, the cassette and chain are XO1, which in my experience shifts much better than the GX equivalents - so overall this is still not a cheap groupset...

Hahaha well for a fee you are welcome to

Oops, I got home with GX AXS on my bike. Will post first impressions and pics tomorrow. Will be interesting to see how it stacks up to the mechanical XO1 Eagle it is replacing.

Did a little quick maf this morning. I have a friend who lives in Hong Kong, if he buys it for me at current exchange rate and brings it along next time he flies to SA I am looking at 9k at most. Under normal circumstances that would be every two weeks, with Covid I don't know when though... hopefully soon.

I know what I feel when I see it... unfortunately I cannot find the throwing up emoji to express exactly what it is I feel.

Ooh, definitely on my list of parts to buy. I won't be one of the first 250, but when that second shipment arrives I'll be on it like white on rice.

That worked, thanks.

I think it has more to do with the fact that when top end pricing goes up the whole range goes up proportionately. My old man bought version 1 of the Levo for 60k in 2016 (The Comp). I can't tell you off the top of my head what the equivalent would cost today, but if I were to hazard a guess I'd say north of 120k. That's a 100% increase in 5 years - that is madness. But that's not unique to Specialized, and it's not unique to e-bikes. And yes, complaining about it is pretty useless and most of the time takes away from the discussion of the bike anyway. But if we get to the point where a 240k bicycle - ie: a toy, is dropped and no one bats an eyelid then we truly have lost the plot.

Something wrong with the pics... they all show up as links, not actual photos.

You are right about that. Spez make a 20k carbon balance bike and they sell out. There will be more buyers than there is stock in SA... As long as people pay these prices, they will keep getting more expensive. And people are not going to stop paying... It's just a pity these bikes cost what they do - because I have ridden one and they are super fun. I would love one, but there is no way I can justify that price for an N+1, hell I can't justify paying that for my primary bike.

Hahaha not aimed at you I don't clear that gap jump with nearly as much style as you anyway! But ja, I guess if you only ride there you are a better rider