LOCO4360

100% Vittoria tyres, absolutely the best wearing with great grip

Hi there, I'm interested in the trainer. Where are you located?

I would definitely run an Aggressor 2.9 x 2.3 with EXO (still fast rolling) - or the DD as opposed to a Crossmark for the rear and maybe an Ardent 2.9 x 2.25 (high volume tyre) on the front in the same. Going to these slightly more aggressive tyres in not going to make you climb much more difficulty and you'll have better cornering grip too. At almost around 100kg at one stage I ran Aggressor (27.5 x 2.3) at just over 2bar (30psi) no hassles and now I run that same tyre at 2.5bar when at the jump parks and I was 96kg running fine like this. Go tubeless too - way better

I fully agree with STOKE and HAIRY - I had a hardtail where the braking was poor even with Shimano Deores and bedding in the pads properly did the world of good... Sand them down with some 800grit paper just so the glaze is gone and then do a bed in like GMBN suggests (find a hill like Stoke said) and when you think you are done - do it again lol As for a bleed I would say this may or may not be required but in order to improve the bite you should advance you pads a little. with the wheel out pull the lever a little to push to pads out a little more, wheel back and test to see if they bite sooner when pulling the lever. This could make a huge difference even when bedding the pads. Failing all this, if you have not done a bleed before and you are just going to give it a try, don't - take it to your LBS and let them bleed it - if the mess it up they have to sort it out. BTW - changed to 180 front and rear and with a bleed and pads advanced worked awesome (same brakes on my full sus now) and I ride hard and even when I was 96kg I had even power.

I'd have to admit that I am a tad heavy ha ha ha, at 89 kg and run Foamo front and rear at 1.5 Front and 1.6 rear for riding Conties (incl. DH), Hoogies etc. and then around 1.60 Front and 1.7 rear (maybe a tad higher) when hitting the Skillspark or the jumps. Running DHF 2.3 Front and Aggressor 2.3 Rear on 19mm rims with Foamo inserts (would love to upgrade to at least a 24mm internal width but alas, it shall not be soon.

Got myself this sweet Lyne 30mm Riser bar and 50mm stem as a birthday gift.. Super stoked seeing as I was the first dude to buy the new riser.

Where you level out the lever and make sure it is higher than the caliper (the more vertical you can get the bike the better -for rear brake). Open the bleed port on the lever, screw in the cup and fill it around a third with mineral fluid and then kind of pump the lever a bit and then flick the lever. Tap the brake hose from the caliper up to release air bubbles and this will generally assist with getting rid of spongy feeling. You may need to take the pads our and advance the pistons slightly.

Had a terrible Giant branded shock on my Trance 4 (now a Trance 1 ????) and got a great deal on this Monarch RT3 and man it's amaze-balls compared to old shock

Like I said in my previous post I cringe when I see an item new or used for more or the same as it is at the LBS or online. If you bought it, it is still 2nd hand even if unused.

As everyone mentioned here it is economic crunch time in SA and things to take longer to sell. I had recently sold some goodies that came off a Trance that I bought 2nd hand for really good price and I sold the stuff at reasonable pricing and was negotiable to a reasonable degree. I rebuild the Trance with my better components and then rebuilt and sold my hardtail with good components compared to what was stock. Hydraulic brakes, 3x10 with XT RD, SLX shifters and a Epicon 130mm air fork, tubeless etc. All this being said the bike was worth more in my mind but if you searched for bike to buy most people would look at the bike's price as stock in the shop and forget about all the upgraded parts. I Citi Golf is still a Citi Golf even if it has a TSI engine in but, I reckon as buyers and sellers we need to be reasonable. I got my price and even though I felt it was worth more the market did determine was I would reasonably get. I cringe when I see an item new or used for more or the same as it is at the LBS or online. If you bought it, it is still 2nd hand even if unused.

I ride 140mm Trance and love it but having looked an Chainreaction for something else saw these Vitus bikes.... not bad.. eventhough you would pay duties but still not bad. https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/za/en/vitus-escarpe-mountain-bike-nx-1x11-2019/rp-prod179077 https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/za/en/vitus-sommet-mountain-bike-nx-1x11-2019/rp-prod179057

Running a 30T upfront and want to do this setup, currently running XT Shadow+ RD786 I think. Did you need to use goatlink or something

I've Stans and some other local one but Ryder is tops and if you go to Sportmans Warehouse their sealant is Ryder but rebranded in with their logo/stickers.. I've not had one issue with Ryder and many with Stans (spit)

Yeah.. After riding the climbs at Hoogekraal a few times on my new-ish Trance I can say there is a tiny bit of Bob depending on technique but not enough to notice. I've climbed better last week than ever on my HT. Maestro does what it says.. It's a great suspension platform.

Update!!! Went on my first few rides on the Trance and oh boy, what a difference to the hardtail and so much faster through the rough. New PB on the Cobra at Hoogekraal... With the suspension set right it feels awesome, even with the Giant Avr rear shock... Can't wait to feel a Monarch or a Fox