RDL101

Does anyone have experience with the Pirelli Scorpion mixed terrain or hard terrain mountainbike tyres? My current Maxxis front tyre will be up for replacement soon and wanted to try something new. I have once had a Vittoria Barzo up front for a brief while but was unimpressed with the durability - many punctures and sidewall cuts that I have had nothing off with the Maxxis Ardent and Ardent Race. I have read favourable reviews on the Pirellis online but it always helps to get first hand information from actual users of the product.

Does anyone else have Shimano 12sp drivetrains on their bikes - specifically SLX? I recently upgraded to that drivetrain and am not happy with the inconsistent shifting. One ride all is fine and the next it is sluggish to shift and sometimes does not shift up or down without me clicking the shifter twice. The chain, derailleur, shifter, cassette, chainwheel, shifter cable and housing are all brand new and it was fitted by my LBS. The derailleur hanger was also found to be true. The previous two 10 and 11 sp SRAM drivtrains were much more consistent and I am starting to regret my outlay. Any advice?

Maybe I did not use vintage in the correct way-it is an early 90's double butted kona mountainbike frame. No reason for someone to have nightmares of me hacking up an old roadbike frame. And yes, I have been cycling for more than 30 years, so I know all about the joys of rim brakes on wet/damp rims 😉

Does any one know of someone in Gauteng that can weld disc brake mounts onto my vintage steel frame? My nostalgia abrubtly stops when it comes to rim brakes.

I don't do events often, but get the notion sometimes and was looking at the Wildevy MTB and Lindani top of the waterberg in July a week or so apart. Anyone who maybe has done either or both events - wich one would would you feel is the nicer event to do.

Hi. Has anyone been riding at Groenkloof nature reserve recently? I was wondering how safe it is to ride there as I haven’t been in two years. Am referring to Groenkloof and not Klapperkop across the road

Hi. We bought this bike for a family member and can confirm that it will be too small for your quoted length. The bike actually comes with a very cheap 7sp rear derailleur and not the 8sp quoted on the international site. The quality of the frame, motor and battery assembly cannot really be faulted but the tires are cheap cst ones and there are no real upgrades for 24" tyres. Rather get a normal 29" bike that will fit you properly.

Never had problems with Maxxis tyres - many sold kms on all the ones I ran. I wanted to try something new when my previous Ardent Race needed replacing and got a Vittoria Barzo for the front. Did not work for me as it kept on loosing air on the front and I found the riding experience on the front not to my liking. Finally had enough and chucked the Barzo away. Back to Maxxis now and happy again. I don't think the tann sidewall is as durable as the normal ones anyway

I am interested in entering the 40km mtb event. Could find no info on the difficulty rating of said event-technicality etc

Has anyone been toe Groenkloof nature reserve in Pretoria recently? Wanted to know how safe it is and if there has been any incidents there recently.

Sorry I am a bit late to the party. i have 2.35 Ardent Race in the back of my STF and there is just less than 1cm gap on either side between the tyre and chainstay. This is a 25mm ID rapide rim.

This was a Trek xcaliber hardtail with shimano brakes. Was an interesting surprise when I ventured offroad with it.

Good afternoon and happy heritage day! i recently rode a lender bike when on holiday and found out to my surprise that the brake levers are reversed from what I am used to-the rear brake was on the left hand side. I have been riding mountainbikes for 20 years and have never had this before. is this a thing now?

Hi. I have the STF and had to install a 180mm rotor on the back when I built up the frame. The 160mm rotor I wanted to fit did not reach up high enough for the pads to grab.

I was on the receiving end of bike snobbism from some random on a specialized recently and was surprised by the level of ignornance on my poor steel hardtail. Made me upset and sad at the same time as people should be able to enjoy themselves within their means. By all means ride your specialized but don’t complain about the prices being inflated as you choose to buy into the clique.

Good afternoon. Wanted to know if one can use a 12speed sram shifter in a 11 speed sram derailleur and cassette. 11 speed shifters seems difficult to source at the moment and I already have the 11 speed derailleur. Thank you in advance

I had the Ardent Race front and back on my hartail for three years and was extremely happy with the fast rolling nature and the cut resistance. When my front tyre was worse for wear I wanted to try something new and put a Barzo on the front wheel. The sidewall on the Barzo is softer and more supple than the Maxxis one but I have to run them much harder as the sidewall folds over onto itself on hardpack. Although the knobs are bigger than on the Ardent Race, I do not feel as confident on the Barzo. Overall not very impressed with the Barzo, just my 2c

Thank you for all the replies. I will play around with the pressure a bit and see how it goes. I tend to ride to the trails from my house so don’t want to run too low pressure on the tar.

Just over 2 bar

It is the cape cobra one. Maybe it will still run in a bit as you say- I did notice the bouncy feeling. Will put some serious km’s on it over the holiday period and hopefully I will adjust or the tyre will run in.

Hi. My much loved Ardent race tyres were worn out so I decided to try something new and got a Vittoria Barzo front tyre for my bike. On the first ride the front of the bike felt skittish and felt less than confidence inspiring through loose soil. Does anyone have long term experience with the Barzos over various terrain types? My riding varies between local rocky tracks, sandy bits and also tar to the start of the nice bits. Tyre is 2.35 set up tubeless.

Thank you for the replies. Maybe I will just hang on until I can afford something better. My current setup still works, the gaps between gears are just a bit brutal at times - 11-42 with 32tooth blade up front.

Hi hubbers. Does anyone use the Sunrace 12mtb groupset? I am looking to upgrade my current 1x10 setup to something with more range but budget is a bit tight. The Sunrace cassette I have seems to be very durable but I am unsure as to the quality of their deraileurs and shifters. Thank you in advance

Thank you for all the replies. I guess I just expected more coming from a super stiff aluminium hardtail. I will say one thing for the momsen, it is built like a tank and will surely last long. I am also glad to hear that they actually get used and not just n+1 showpieces