mtb_Josh

So I finally decided that I'm doing enough riding to buy a decent 2nd hand bike. Found quite a good deal and jumped on it. This is what I ended up with : Oh, and I made that stand myself Its still a little heavier than I think it should be - its at a little over 11kg at the moment. So a question for the weight weenies - what is so frikin heavy on this bike??? Here are the specs : Orbea team frame Rock Shox Reba team fork (no remote lockout) american classic wheels geax mezcal tyres (I know these are a little heavy) avid juicy carbon brakes sram x0 RD and grip shifters sram x9 FD sram PC1090 chain (hollow pins) sram PG990 cassette truvative stylo cranks (small blade removed) guizzo carbon bar ravx herculite stem (carbon wrap) carbon seatpost (not sure what exactly) velo pronto saddle carbon bottle cages I know the pedals are heavy - working on that any ideas?

Personally I like Merida, I have the 2009 matts 40 v - it actually surprised me. I wasn't expecting it to last too long but it has put up with a lot of punishment and nothing has broken yet. BUT I hate the fork with a passion - i think its a suntour XTC or something. I have now upgraded to a nicer bike That said, the specs on the silverback are quite a bit better... SLX is miles ahead of alivio...

While we're talking about customer service - I took my mtb wheel that was slightly oval to a well known lbs that I have been using for quite a while. I was told "sure, no problem, we can fix that easily for R40" I came back the next day as instructed, surprise surprise, not done. So, the next day I got a phone call from them telling me I needed sealant, I said "ok, I'll take a whole bottle so I can top up my other wheel". The guy on the phone told me it would be R150. So I went later to fetch my wheel - total cost R245 - He got the price for the sealant wrong and had replaced my valve core - only just had enough cash. Oh, and the wheel was exactly as I had given it to them (except for the bit of the tubeless rim strip that was now sticking out) I asked them why they hadn't fixed it and was given a story about the nipples being stuck and it being unfixable blah blah blah. So I went to hot spot cycles, R60 and my wheel is perfect. Thanks guys

and the rest of your body? cant look too great after coming off at that speed...

loving the look of that pink bianchi! (not for me of course )

eina! Thats a nice hole above the eyebrow there.

Speaking of tyres - I was complaining about the price a few months ago when I had to replace 2 tyres on my car...then I saw the price of replacing my UST mtb tyres...

NOT including the wife's car/bikemtb_Josh2009-10-20 02:05:05

today I learnt that, no matter how good you think you are with clipping out of your pedals, they WILL refuse to unclip one day when you are on the main road.

FOX recon?? Does that exist? not a rock shox?

IF i was a roadie, and IF i could afford it, this would be my bike!

Thanks but I won't have the Fox by then, so I think I'll rather wait until I have a decent fork to service.

Ok thanks, will try my best but I doubt he will open it... How much do you charge for a service? And have you got any of your servicing courses scheduled for the near future?

Hi all I have found a 2nd hand fox f100 RL at quite a good price. My only hesitation is - how do I know what kind of condition it is in (without riding it) before I buy it? What signs can I look for? The stachions look fine, but the adjustment knobs feel a little 'gritty', is this a bad thing or does it just need a clean?

Is there any way to still get an entry?

Ok thanks for the advice guys! I'm going to go see if I can go spend some money now I know that I need all those other parts, but I have a few already, and the rest are either going to be el-cheapo, or hub bargains!

I just checked CRC again...most of the SLX stuff has good discount on it at the moment, but no groupsets for sale. So if I buy all the components and the Red metal 5s from CRC, it comes to R7k, and thats without a fork... Where did you get most of your parts from? I have seen a couple of places where I can get better components for the money, but they are (for example) the old XT and are used. I think I would rather go new SLX and unused. Another question - should I take the unused 2005 reba, or a used Fox F100 RL for R500 more?

Yes, but for R7000 you are going to get deore and a rock shox dart if you are lucky, even for R10000 I haven't seen anything great. And while I know its mostly about the rider, the bike does make a difference, I promise you. In yesterday's Bekker Bundu bash, I felt my fork bottom out a couple of times and towards the end my gears were giving me endless hassles... it also wouldn't hurt to be hauling 5kg less bike up the hills...

I am in need of some advice! I have decided to get myself a new mtb for around R10 000. So far I have bought the frame (Bianchi Doss) and 1 or 2 other small pieces. I have the option of buying the following items (all new) for a total of R8000 : Full SLX groupo Fulcrum Red metal 5 wheels Rock shox Reba SL - it is a 2005 model but is unused. I would then buy a very cheap bar, stem etc. In the end I will have paid just over R10 000. So my question is - Good deal? or should I sell what I have and buy a whole bike for R10 000? Thanks for your help!

Looks awesome! But it needs the rear rim painted like the front one.

Its cheap and does the job

Get 1 of these - cost me R170 at solomons