Eugene

That guy on the right will put some if the world's best body builders to shame which makes me wonder about the authenticity

It looks as if SA brands are leading the way with 650b. First it was Momsen, now Titan. Just one question to the O.P. Those wheels look pretty big in the picture. Are they 650b or 29er?

Sorry.......they are not Swiss. Designed by Emotion Cycles, the importers of Eddie Mercx and Cervelo in SA. Their prototypes were riden and tested by Yolande Devilliers a few years back when she was ruling the MTB roost in SA. The "Swiss" made connection was for marketing purposes. They are highly repsected bikes as they used quality components. Andrew Mclean also rode one for a period of time. Good bikes, but not Swiss. Silverback has moved to Germany, but the bikes that they designed here in SA, also have "Designed in Germany" printed on them. It is all marketing tools as the frames come from China anyway.

I know that this is not quite a R50 000 bike. I was stupid enough to have left my front wheel propped up against my car on the pavement in front of my house. I drove off to a race without even thinking about it. When I got back, somebody had taken it. Santam replaced the whole wheelset without even blinking. Based on what this thread is about, Santam could have refused the claim as the wheel lay on my pavement because of my own negligence. It may have been different on a R50 000 bike, but I have never had an inch of trouble with Santam and they are by far the cheapest,

They are an SA brand who claim to be Swiss. Their quality is on par with other brands such as Silverback, Momsen etc. The MTN pro team rode them at one point, so if they could withstand the hell Kevin Evans put them through, then they can be considered a good brand. Not sure if they are still made though.

Sell it.....add the R10 000 to your receipts and buy a Reacto or wait a few months and buy a 2013 907. The 2013 models are completely new and apparantly much lighter.

Campag moved away from 8 speed years ago. It may not work. If you search on the Campag website, there is a section that shows all the compatibility between their various parts over the years. www.campagnolo.com

The Moab was Schwinn's racier MTB. Up until 2 years ago, these were very nice, good competition bikes. The DCM MTB pro team rode them. However, in the last 2 years, Schwinn have moved these bikes down market and are supplying them with very entry level parts (and are obviously cheaper). Not sure why, but Schwinn have moved down market with their entire range of bikes. Maybe they are trying to appeal to a different market segment. Even with entry level parts, they are perfect for casual mtbing.

Both the Prisma and CR1 are "comfort" frames, designed to give you a more comfortable, upright riding position as opposed to a forward leaning racy riding position. This is a good thing for 98% of us who ride road. I would choose the BH for no reason other than it's uniqueness. There are plenty of Scotts on the road, but not many BH's, although the Elite wheels are so much better. Also consider that Solomons are selling the Bianchi 928 with Campag Centaur for R17 000.

Buy an Avalanche Max. It is less than half of what you are going to pay on the other 2 and he will outgrow it in 2 year's time. He is too young to enjoy or appreciate that benefits of an expensive bike.

I think Patches and Hairy need to swop Hub names or Avatars

I was so looking forward to the Rally as well. I watch it every year and the racing is only getting better.

Saw this article on www.cyclingnews.co.za. This is brilliant. It was confirmed on Tuesday that South African professional road cycling outfit, Team Bonitas, has been added to the list of teams competing at the prestigious 2012 Tour of Portugal. This is significant for the team, which only became an International Cycling Union Continental team this year. The 10-stage Tour of Portugal, which takes place from 15-26 August, is graded 2.1 by the International Cycling Union (UCI). This is a high profile race category and one in which South African teams have seldom competed in the past. “As a first-year Continental outfit, being invited to the Tour of Portugal is a really big step for Team Bonitas,” said team manager, Barry Austin. “It also shows that our results in our first European leg of 2012, where the team raced with some distinction in Portugal and Spain, were noticed and that the conduct of the team was recognised of being of a high level.” The news comes just two days after Team Bonitas dominated the Le Coq Sportif Tour in the North West Province and a month after the squad won the Tour de Free State. The team’s star allrounder, Johann Rabie, claimed the overall individual title at both events. “We are very grateful to have been able to race two tours at home in the winter. Previously, this time of the year was very quiet in terms of local races. Those two tours certainly helped us prepare for the rigours of not only stage racing, but also hard racing – not just popular flat 100km dashes like most South African races, but some real tough stages over longer distances,” explained Austin. The Tour of Portugal includes a prologue time trial, an individual time trial, a mountain stage as well as other undulating stages. “It will be a very close tour I believe. The mountain stage and individual time trial come near the end on stages 8 and 9 respectively, so it should be exciting throughout. It will definitely suit a good allrounder for the overall win, but we also plan to be in the mix for stage wins,” added Austin. “This is exactly what our goal has been this year. We registered as a Continental team to take the standard Team Bonitas to a new level from an international perspective and being invited to the Tour of Portugal shows we have gained the recognition we have been seeking,” said Malcolm Lange, of Lange Sports, the company that owns Team Bonitas. “It’s all been part of the plan. I think the team surprised many in Europe earlier this year and now the riders will get a chance to show what they can do on an even higher level.” Team Bonitas departs for Europe on 22 July and will begin their racing with two 1.1 graded one-day races in Spain, the Prueba Villafranca-Ordiziako Klasika on 25 July and the Circuito de Getxo on 31 July. A five-day 2.2-graded stage race in Spain, the Vuelta Ciclista a León, follows from 7-11 August before the team heads for their finale at the Tour of Portugal.

Attack is designed to work with Shimano, so yes it will work, assuming that you are running 9speed. I very much doubt that it will make any difference to your shifting and it wouldn't really be much of an upgrade. Attack is probably on par with Alivio in terms of quality anyway. If you want new shifters, just for the sake of it, then at R99 at CWCycles, it is a cheap option.

That is nice..............is that your own paint scheme or did you buy it like that?

The 2013 Trek Madone 7.9. No back brakes? Dura Ace 9000 11sp. Awesome

Assuming the size is right, choose the one she likes the look of..............both are similar quality bikes

Was the most painfull experience in my life. I literally stood 2 days in the ques at 2 different Post Offices in PE. My car should hopefully be paid up by december and I am dreading the experience

My daughter's 20Inch bike does exactly the same thing. I just took it to be a cheap bike. Besides, after 3 years, no issues.

There is a rule that you can settle for a one size smaller, but never one size bigger. So, if you are supposed to be on a large frame, but are riding a medium. It should be fine. many pro riders choose a frame size smaller than they are supposed to have. They say it makes for a more nimble, responsive ride. If you are comfortable, stick with it. I've never checked the geometry myself, but I've been told that Scott frames are generally on the big side anyway.

Tell your mate to look into the "Bike to work" program. If you are employed, you are able, through various VAT and PAYE and government incentives, to get a 55% discount on a new bike. You have to be employed by a company who is part of the scheme (most are) and have to buy from a shop that is registered with the scheme. I can't really comment on the choices above as I don't know much about them, except Specialized is regarded as one of the best brands in the world for a reason.

The old 105 9 speed deraileurs worked perfectly with the 10 speed set up. There is no reason why the same shouldn't apply to Tiagra. What is wrong with the derailleur that you say its on it's last legs?

The photo's don't do it justice. In the flesh, there are lots of matt black/shiny black details which the photo doesn't show. But I agree, the normal SL4 in plain black doesn't look too good.

If it's a road bike, the tyre often does not seat properly where the valve is. You need to push the valve into the tyre to make sure that the wide part of the valve, where it is moulded to the tube, is pushed past the beading.

Solomons have nice specials on their clothing at the moment... check www.solomons.co.za