jayz

scott for sure. I had the Rc and still regret selling it. It is an awesome racing machine. There is no way that alu giant will be quicker. If it were a Spez s works 29er THEN THAT IS ANOTHER STORY.

Ya those 29erss roll over evrything(not) just look how burry rolled over his handlebars on the rocky section in pmb last weekend.

You are soo rite. I have seen 26ers dominate xc races and seen 29ers do the same on others. horses for courses. lets just enjoy our wonderful sport guys. Enjoy your weekend rides guys.

Scott or merida. merida are more common but are very good. scott is slightly more exclusive. test ride the 2 and see which you feel better on.

As just mentioned the mavics are gr8 but boy at a price. have a look at crc and see how much u can build a set up for. I did with xr 4.2 rims 240 hubs and competition spokes and cost me about 5k. They weighed 1600 g so were not the lightest but as lots of guys will tell u 240 hubs are so good and do last a long time. cheers

Hi Buy this months bicycle mag. It has a comparison with a whole bunch of 29ers including the 2 you mention. if you going to do x country racing as in lap racing on tight cources such as the one at cascades this weekend then think carefully about a 29er. i know they have alot of advantages over a 26er but on tight xc tracks not. From what I have seen and heard the 26ers have much quicker accelaration on short sharp routes. ask you local bike store if some people can lend you the two and test them on a course. cheers

Yep and I have a Merida 96 and would not swop it for 10 giants. Only from experience. If you doing xc then three bikes tick the boxes on full sussers. Specialized epic, Scott Spark and Merida 96. All have a typical race geometry.

i just read an article in the bicycle mag and the experts say early is best as your body has rested and your metab starts at its best. also said u should eat before to get the metab going and also because your blood sugar drops when you have slept so you need the energy. My 2 pennies.

Hi i have a merida 96 now alu. my last bike was the scott spark but carbon. Both are great bikes. the merida has a pretty aggresive design for xc but they are nice. The scott is also very good. The three settings are a plus which i think ius 80mm,110mm and lock out. If you use these it really works well but you will need to use them to justify having it. So go with scott. It is nice having the didfferent suspension travel options.

Back to entry fees. I will not go as it is wayyy to much. The event in question has a major sponsor in Mr Price. The largest clothing retailer in the country. So I agree the organiser Stu Berry should make money BUT!! the current fees for this are way out of hand. We were paying 100 t0 120 for the average race of 40 to 45km. This I think personally is reasonable. When you start going to R150 und up it becomes to much!!!!! Iused to ride almost every event but alas now i will have to pick and choose. Such a pitty as it is becoming more and more elitest. Watch guys in two to three years time all you will see at the races are Range rovers, Land cruisers with s works and canondales.

:D Yep Happened to me also with my rockets 2 weeks ago. valve leeked. fixed and put another sealant in and came back to my bakkie later with sealant everywhere. roof,seat,windows. A real mess. also failed at the beading. Todays pay day and getting Captain control 2 bliss.

Yes i seem to remember a certan KE doing well in Sa's two years back. Lets see now Daryl trains to time trial. Burry maybe a little. Secondly lets just see where Burry ended up in the SA Champs. All the other roadies should have creamed him. Thirdly how well would Daryl have done against Burry in the Africa mtb champs,Xc SA champs and the Sa Marathon champs????? The roadies are tough Just ask Lances team mate at the top of the first climb at the Epic

Just take a deep breath sit back and listen to yourself. you might need to be in the loo. Step 1. Take a peace of paper. Step 2. Google. Lets see doping in cycling or something like that. Step 3. List all the road cyclists tainted by drugs. Step 4. List all the mountain bikers tainted by drugs Step 5. count and get a comparison. Do you believe the top Xc world cup or the Marathon events are not tested? Lastly I Agree doping is in every sport. JUST that it is RIFE!!!!! in ROAD CYCLING. Let the retorts begin.

Jeese guy you really have mastered Talking out your POEPHOL. YOUR road racing is infested with druggies mate. Every week you hear of another top roadie eating PRIME SPANISH BEEF. Of course these guys were tainted when they got on the road bike. When last did you hear of a top And I mean top mtb rider testing positive for DRUGS. ............................. STILL WAITING.

Just a lot harder hey. No peletons to suck you along at 30% capacity. Ask any roadie who has done a proper Mtb stage event if its the same and see what he sais. NOT EVEN CLOSE MATE.

Yep bigger rotor works especially up front and I have also stopped and cooled them with my water bottel but this is unlikely to happen in a race of this kind. These guys go as small as 140mm up front. possibly a rece of that stage before would have shown him to put bigger rotors on for that stage.

No not anymore. I have a 96 now. Merida has a good aggresive geometry but to be honest if I had the dosh I would sell and buy another spez. Oh yes inbetween I had a Scott Spark Rc and boy that puppy could fly too. so far in my little career as a mountain bike rider I put spez epic 1. scott rc 2 and my 96 3. But as I said turn every corner for the rest of your life and you will find a differnt opinion. As long as we all love our wonderful sport. I cant think of anything better to do. Maybe one but it does not last 3 to 4 hours like my mtb rides do.

You excacly rite. The whole system works well. This debate about better designed suspensions will go on for ever just like shimano vs sram. etc. But good to give 2 cents worth every now and then.

Read the comments going around with Burry and co winning on there SPez f/s. Yes they are the best but the only top two riders riding f/s. This must say something about how good Spezes f/suspensions are with the brain. For x/c racing/riding I personally dont think there is a better set up. Trail riding though may be different. I've ridden the Giant and it is plush. Dont change if it aint broke.

A lot of you guys have not ridden Kzn I see. Karklook classic is one of the best. Hills forests, views over Albert falls dam and midlands. You forget the concrete jungle when u ride these trails. Not to forget those large trucks blowing their carbon up your nostrils and into your lungs. Argus has good scenery etc but really cant compare to the likes of Sani to c etc.

Good luck to them both. My money is still on a little kzn south coast booitjie and CS. Definately will pay to see the movie though. One question though It seems I got it wrong.They riding the Scott 29er hard tail and not the f/s spark. I know they are super fit and tough as nails but a full sus 29er with an extra 3kg is surely better for the body over such a heavy race? what u guys think?

WOW!!! guys. KZN riders took top place in 5 catagories at the SA XC CHAMPS recently and now KZN also takes the mens SA MARATHON TITLE. Our province is breeding so much good talent at the moment. One of the reasons is the amazing riding we have here. From the Cane routes on the North and South coasts to the The Drakenberg areas and then of course the MIDLANDS. jUST so many amazing trails in the Karkloof,Hilton,Balgowan,Howick,Greytown areas. LOTS!!! of hills and a few mountains too breed such good riders. WELL DONE YOU make us guys proud. The Sharks and now the KZN mountain bike riders. Cheers :clap:

2 years back the Nissan Mtb race in Hilton. We went into the valley with no wind and it reached 40 deg hot and humid. To top it off the organisers ran out of water at the water point. STUPID. So alot baled. I dehygrated and blew and walked out the valley. The marathon was called off from 110 kms and the did the 75k route. MADNESS.

ACROSS THE BOARD I think Xt has proven to be groupset of choice for quality and durability. The BENCHMARK in mtb. If I were you I would stick with xt. Yah Yah all the Sram guys will bleet and Blah but Xt really is the SHIZZZZZ.

26 F/S if i were you. You get so much more enjoyment not getting punished by a hardtail. If you plan on doing long marathon type rides then f/s is the way.