Mr lee

180 front and rear for me....114kg's, full sus.

I think this has more to do with the fact that 75% of the time new bikes come with tubed tyres and in order to go tubeless you need to get a decent tubeless tyre anyway! It is however great that Titan are selling most or all of their bikes with TR tyres even though they may not be the best tread for everyone's application. It at least helps anyone new into the sport/(hobby ) to go tubeless without the added expense!

....or you could do one better and get the 2017 96 800 which has FOX32 and Fox float as well as the full SLX M7000 groupset (which includes, if memory serves me correct, Ice-Tech brake rotors). You should find one of these for less than 30K too! All you need to convert this to 1x11 is to purchase the appropriate sized chainring and then remove the front derailleur and shifter....sell those as well if you need to EDIT: It comes with the ICE-TECH RT70 160mm/180mm rotors

You could probably find a 2017 Merida 96 600 (black/blue) for around 20-22K if you looked around enough and then still have some Moohla left over to upgrade the drive train and buy some better tyres.... If the specials are still on at CWC you could go SLX M7000 1x11 as well as SLX M7000 brakes. Then sell the components that you removed to recover some funds Note that the tyres that come with the bikes you have listed do not come with tubeless ready tyres! They can be converted but do not have sidewall protection and as such have thin sidewalls. Do the tubeless conversion yourself as it is easy and very cheap if you get your tyres on special

Just get the Rapide 25mm rims and rebuild them onto your current hubs...you might even be able to use your original spokes if they are the right length! Really not worth buying a complete wheelset. Rather put that money towards a full sus! https://www.rapide.co.za/product/rapide-tr29-25-29er-rim/ Don't go wider than a 2.2 on the rear....especially the EXO casing as it stretches more than the LUST casing (thinner)!

Get a road for road and use the MTB for everything else That Cannondale 105 disc is nice. Not so keen on the silver though, but each to his own

Ok so on the topic of scrotum....a saddle bag is cool as long as it is not overly huge and flapping around like a bull's happy ball sack on his way to mount a fair cow . Like everything else there are a few do's and don'ts! Select the appropriate size for your bike and needs and mount it securely so it does not sway around and make hideous noises as it bangs everything around it... the mounting straps will also start to rub the paint and/or carbon if not tight! Make sure that the contents are tightly packed too so your tool and tyre levers don't rattle and potentially cut into your spare tube.

You a big oak or just have broad shoulders? What is your height?

Whether you look cool or not in whatever gear, as long as you are riding, you are cool

Now there is something I would never rock on any of my bikes!!! It's not crap if it helps me out of a pickle

I like to be prepared, well as much as possible, so I don't have to walk a million miles back home or to the car! So I an one of the uncool I always ride with a camelbak...road or mountain. It's just easier for me to keep my over-sized phone, keys, additional bomb, tubeless repair kit, money, cards, glass cleaner and cloth (I have prescription sunglasses that sweat always seems to obscure my vision from time to time) and whatever else I feel I need to take with me! I cannot stand to have all that weight in my jersey pockets, pulling and bouncing around! I only ever keep bars and gels in there as they are easier to get to while on the move. The bladder is only used on long and hot rides so it also provides for extra storage space if I need to take arm warmers or a jacket off on those cooler rides. A camelbak actually looks like a little saddle bag on my back cause being such a big oak I tend to obscure the proportions a little My mountain has a medium sized saddle bag with tube, levers, bomb, C02 adapter, multi-tool, quick links, tube patches, and a few other tiny bits and bobs that may help with trail side repairs. I have a micro saddle bag on the road as the tube is obviously alot smaller than a 29r with pretty much the same contents as the mountain....at least it looks more road specific and slightly streamlined in comparison

Which year models are you looking at? The mongoose has pretty entry level components with older model XT derailleur (at least has the clutch which is great) while the Sola1 will more than likely be latest gen XT with a few SLX bits so you should never feel the need to want to upgrade. The Sola1 would easily be upgradeable to 1x11 if you should feel the need whereas the mongoose would require quite a few changes. The front shock on the Sola1 is awesome while the Mongoose has a decent entry level air shock. The rear shock on the goose is entry level. Give us some more information about your weight, age and possible back or neck issues you may have or have had.

@brucem76 - from what we now know you have the following options: Change to an 11-36 cassette (cheapest!) or... Change to the new Deore M6000 medium cage rear derailleur and drop the largest chain ring to a 34T! When I bought my bike just over a year ago it was 10 speed 11-36 / 36-22 and had a long cage RD....this before I went 1x11 . At the time I was around 126kg's and hardly ever used the 22/36 cause it was like pedaling in mid-air. As time went by, and the more I rode, I got fitter and lost weight. Now down to around 115Kg's. With the 1x11 I do not have the bail out gears I used to have but I am still able to make most climbs and I am still getting better....and less tired at the top of the climb! What I am trying to say is that you should not harp on an easy setup for now because you are more than likely going to grow out of it in the near future

They have the new Deore M6000 components on there with a medium cage derailleur which has a largest sprocket limit of 42. The overall capacity of the medium cage is 41 so they are on the limit! The M6000 long cage derailleur still has a large sprocket limit of 36 and is meant for applications where a larger chain ring difference is required or for 3x10. The newage derailleurs are being designed to accept the now popular 42T cassettes so the older medium cage derailleurs will not work as they have a 36T sprocket limit....irrespective of overall capacity. And I am refering to 10 speed here, just in case the above is confused with the new 11 speed setups

see my reply above