MintSauce

This is going to be such a f_en hot bike

Still a lot left to do if I'm going to be riding tomorrow. Looking good, eh...? (Haven't done a single stitch of work today....oh well)

Shot Gav....waiting to hear from Shane re the bearings so will ask him Thanks Para! BTW....the pic doesn't do it justice(as usual)

Do I have the coolest brother or what...? Stripped my bike two weeks ago to repaint it. Just didn't have time with work being a bit hectic. My brother was at work over the weekend working on some stuff for himself. I was away in CT and was thinking I'd have to rebuild the bike for Dirtopia and then strip it again after the event to paint it. My boet went and sprayed it for me! What do you guys think...? I was never really a fan of white bikes but after seeing a few around and then seeing some pics of some '05 MotoLites(when they were available in white) I decided to do it. Looking forward to having it built up! I'm still trying to find replacement bearings for the main pivot. Hopefully get them today so I can rebuild tonight. Hoping Bowmans will have decals otherwise I'll just have some made up.

Some of the best performing and best looking bikes out there. Better than Morwood and Santa Cruz in my opinion(those two are just biased) A friend had a ASR-SL for a couple years and sold it recently to get a 29er. He had no problems and really loved the bike. Have a look at Santa Cruz, Intense, Titus, Turner, Ventana....all in the same league. If you're getting a bike in the 4-5 inch travel range then I have to urge you to seriously(and I do mean SERIOUSLY!!!) consider a 29er bike ie 29inch diameter wheels as opposed to normal 26. They are THE sh*t!!!!

It's still a Cannondale

Go SRAM!

(ps....when something is so obviously cool you don't have to say a thing)

It's a Taiwanese mass-produced frame. The Airborne name was licensed to the company selling them. They are now selling the exact same frames under the Van Nicolas name. Not sure about the spelling....try google. Pretty decent frames but nothing like the handbuilt ti beauties built by the likes of Titus or Merlin et al. But then it does cost less than half the price!

Cois....perhaps the wheels were over tensioned or something. DT has a solid reputation for good reason. As for the original question....make like P Diddy and go BLING! Chris King hubs.....any spokes and rim of your choosing Have a nice day now!

New Schweppes ad....absolutely brilliant IMHO

Will be in Stellies Sat and Sunday....suppose to ride JHK with a friend in the afternoon but might join you guys in the morning as well. If I come I'll have to save myself for the afternoon though so will ride very slow!

That REALLY sucks....get well soon!

I know we have the terrain. What I meant is we don't have the trails. I did both the Jonkershoek and old Tokai DH courses in the last month or two. I know I'm probably beginning to sound like a ****, but seriously....they're both pretty boring. I don't mean to sound like I'm some pro downhiller. Far from it....I just love steep, technical rides. There's just no real challenge to them. If you take them at serious speed they are scary....but that doesn't make them technical and interesting. I can't quite explain it. I suppose the warnings I got before going to Canada were true.....they said "You will be ruined for life, nothing at home will ever compare etc etc etc...." As I've said before, the trails are just so incredibly technical and fun. Sometimes you're cruising in your granny and barely using any leg strength to turn the crank....you just cruise from one technical feature to the next....huge rocks, skinnies, drops, logrides.....it just never ends. Added to that is the sheer quantity of trails as well. There's just so much! I have only ridden one trail in SA that could come close to doing for me what the trails in Vancouver and Whistler did. That trail is illegal. I have spoken to Meurant about the possibility of getting this particular trail opened but he says it would be a mammoth undertaking with possibly years of canvassing and then it will still be a 'maybe'....hence they rather focus their energies elsewhere. I find it highly annoying to think that there's some badly maintained hiking trail that is neglected cos noone ever hikes it and yet it's the best flippen trail in the Cape(not just my opinion) except we can't ride it because the powers that be aren't open to the idea of MTBers sharing the trail. I have thought of putting forward a proposal to get this particular area opened, but it's such a huge undertaking. Problem is that everyone will say that they support it fully and want it done but when it comes to getting them involved where it matters ie attending meetings, writing letters, voting, trail maintenance etc then noone pitches....I do believe this is a rather typical S.African trait. _Daemon_ is damn right....being organised is probably the one major thing that got MTBing where it is in Canada. The bikers became united, started making their voices heard in numbers and the community and municipality had no choice but to see them as a force that deserves recognition and acceptance. The municipality even has figures on the economic impact the bikers have i.t.o. job creation and expenditure and that along with a country that actively promotes a healthy lifestyle has all helped pave the way. They are now involved in city planning etc and are consulted on possible new trail systems or rerouting of existing trails in the event of new developments. And they have the community's respect. Of course....this is all some 15 years in the making....EISH!

It's all about work vs reward. It depends on what you want to do with it and what you're prepared to sacrifice for your reward. The Nomad and the Knolly are bikes built to take serious abuse but they can still be ridden all day. Yes, it will climb slightly slower than a Spez Enduro, but for their intended purpose they can't be beat. If we had trails that were super technical and steep for long stretches at a time it would be worth lugging the extra weight and travel to the top. Believe me, in areas where the trails are generally more aggresive these bikes come into their own. When I rode in Canada on my 5 inch travel 12.5kg bike I was getting my ass whipped by guys riding bikes similar to the Nomad simply because they were used to a slow, steady grind in the saddle for 6hrs at a time....hence one of their famous phrases being "Earn your vert" Sometimes at night I still cry myself to sleep thinking of the day I got outridden up a sustained steep, technical climb by a guy riding a 9inch travel Elsworth Dare with a 8inch Marz 888 fork and a 38tooth single chainring! On the super-technical descents the haze fades away before your eyes and everything becomes crisp and clear and carrying all that extra heft around begins to make the most perfect sense. That's why I say we simply don't have the terrain locally to truly justify these bikes....allthough once I have the cash I'm sure I'll find a way

Should also have mentioned what a nice ride it is. I was amazed by how many of those things there were overseas since I'd never actually seen one in SA. They are incredibly popular, which obviously speaks volumes. I am lank keen to get something in that performance range. Besides my current financial state not allowing it, the only other issue I have is that there are so few trails in the Cape where it is really necessary to have a bike of those capabilities. And all the best technical trails I've ridden turned out to be illegal! I have my eyes set on one of these puppies....Knolly Delirium T

Funny thing that bikeshops and distributors don't seem to be getting rich...? And when you consider that there are single big shops in the US that move more stock of some items than a SA distributor then it's understandable that we don't get great prices. No....I don't work in the industry. I'm all for sharing your opinion, but perhaps people will consider yours when it's shared in a respectable manner. As it stands you come across as a bit of a arse actually. Use it....don't use it.

This one has a sense of humour He'll do well here

Worst bike in the world

T-shirt seen overseas...."Friends don't let friends go to Starbucks"

Disclaimer: I have huge respect for Lance Armstrong and his achievements....always have! BUT There are better ways to promote the cycling culture. It starts in small, privately owned bikeshops run with passion and pride....IMO He can't say that it's not an "us vs them" scenario because there's no way that this capitalist investment won't take business away from smaller shops. I bet in a couple of years there'll be Mellow Johnnys all over the place. And I bet they earmarked a 50yr old building cos it's 'cool'....but it'll never be as cool as the old bikeshop that's in a 50yr old building cos they've been around for 50yrs....smacks of marketing BS The REAL "cycling culture" better watch out.....the LA money machine is coming to town! Coolest bikeshop in the world MY ASS!

you're such a pansie.....maybe those are pansies as well.....

Love it....I'll have that on my steed with pleasure....even more so with matching pink Chris King hubs and headset