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Hi, I'm looking for YT Jeffsy owners, at the moment, I have one on loan for a test ride. I am in the market for a trail bike specifically, so this is kinda "the" bike for that style of riding it seems. However, sizing of these things is a pain in the ass. I've noticed (and maybe it's just in the western cape), that arranging demo bikes is not as easy as one would of hope, so it seems bike shops expect you to be happy with a guess based on a chart. According to YT, at 1.89m I could go L or XL. The demo bike I have is a L and it feels pretty good so far (which is 10 minutes!), but I can't really compare it to an XL at this point. What I'd like to know from the Jeffsy owners is: 1. How tall are you in metres & which size did you buy? 2. How has the bike been for you since you've had it? It would be great to hear from the AL owners here, most reviews nowadays always seem to deal with the higher end carbon frames & that's great & gives an indication, but some of us poor folk would love to have some proper reviews around the things the average joe can buy. Thanks in advance!

Hi all, Our MTBs were stolen two weeks ago and we are looking to replace and upgrade a bit. We need some advice on trail bikes as this isn't something we often buy and the mtb models seem to change quite a bit each year. We also would prefer new bikes rather than second hand (based on previous experience with second hand bikes). We mostly ride the trails in the Grabouw/Elgin area about 3 times a week. We don't do races and want bikes that we can have fun on the trails with, won't kill us on the hills and provide some confidence on more technical decent. We don't want to spend much more than R35 00 000 per bike (preferably around R25 000 - R30 000) complete, i.e. tubeless conversions and clipless etc. For my wife we are currently looking at a Scott Contessa spark 710 (2017), it's a carbon 27.5 which she feels will give a bit more confidence on the bendy single track sections (she had a 29er Merida). The older model also suits our budget. I'm looking at getting a Specialized Stump Jumper Alloy ST (2020) or Giant Stance 2 (2020). My previous ride was a FS Merida XT 96. Other bikes on our short list are: Merida One-Twenty 400 (2020) Scott Spark 960 (2020) Trek Fuel ex 5 (2020) And then more toward wish list than shortlist are the Norco Fluid FS1, Giant Trance 2, GT Sensor elite or Carbon Stump jumper... but on these the price is getting a bit on the steep side for us. Help :-)

In the market for a good all round trail bike. My 2 top choices are the santa cruz hightower and the new stumpjumper comp alloy. the stumpjumper is around $3k while the hightower is $1k more. Anyone have any suggestions on which one they prefer?

Hello all I'm busy looking into a trail bike for around R40 000, preferably less. Ideally I'm looking for something playful and poppy. I live in Port Elizabeth so I think 140mm travel will be the sweet spot, 150mm max. All help and advice will be much appreciated. Thanks

Hi Guys, I currently have a Giant Anthem X1 which I had for about 5 years (with a frame replacement in between) which I am generally still happy with, although the confidence going downhill is worse compared to my old Giant VT-2.What a bike - but got stolen. It is perfect for the Nissan Trailseeker series and most of the trails in and around Pta. I am playing with the idea of a trail/all-mountain/enduro bike for stage racing and when I go to Cape Town and trails with more technical downhill. I think the trail bike will be better and less punishing over 3 days in the saddle. Travel around 140mm, dropper seat and slr/xt (sram equivalents) is about the specs needed - nothing too fancy. It looks like my options if the budget is <30K is basically limited to the Giant Trance 2. (I will be very happy with another Giant and the bike gets good reviews). Any other options in the price range? (I prefer a 27.5 over the 29" which I don't like in terms of looks) Also it looks like a lot of the importers don't bring in the 27.5 trail bikes? I don't see them on websites. (GT Force, Trek Remedy, Scott Genius, Specialized Stumpy FSR etc...)

At last the day has come that I can build a bike that is exactly the spec I want (mostly), if one really managed to build the perfect bike then there would be nothing to upgrade and we can't have that now. Specs for now (12.58kgs with pedals and old tyres): Fork: 2013 RockShox Revelation RL with remote lockout (1.84kg inc axle and remote) Currently in for warranty repair and hopefully removal of the lockout. Shock: RockShox Monarch RL Frame: Anthem Advanced 27.5 frameset large (2.4kg with thru axle) Wheels: Giant P-XC2 27.5 Groupset: Full Shimano XT, 2x10, RT66 Rotors, 180F, 160R Stem: Easton Haven, 70mm, 0degree Bars: Nukeproof Warhead, 720mm, 20mm rise Seatpost: RockShox Reverb, 420mm, 125mm drop Seat: Pro Turnix Pedals: Shimano m520 Tyres: Onza Canis 2.25 front and rear (pictured with Racing Ralph and Honey Badger) Grips: ESI Chunky Future Upgrades: Wheels: ZTR Flow EX on something or AC Wide lightning. Bars: Raceface Next Riser carbon Seatpost: RockShox Reverb Stealth Pedals: Shimano XT m780 Frame arrived 2 days after the order was placed, good form William! The fork with remote on its way back for warranty. Basically the concept of this bike is to create a trail bike that is as light as possible but without compromising on strength and descending ability. Traits I require are a stiff but supple fork, plenty of grip from the tyres and a dropper seatpost for downhills and cornering. On the flip side I have a strange love affair with brutally steep climbs and so I also need something thats not too heavy and pedals well while seated or standing. Frame with 12mm thru axle but no cable grommets. Other frame options were a Santacruz 5010 (ruled out because of price) or a Pyga OneTwenty650 (ruled out because of weight). Although ideally I wanted 120mm of rear travel, enough good things have been said about the Anthem's descending prowess in its standard spec (100mm front and rear) that I thought I would give it a try. Personally my favourite review of the Anthem 27.5 came from right here on the hub. I trust the opinion of a guy who rides in baggies, a t-shirt and FiveTens far more then a fully decked out lycra jock, so thank you for your review Claudio. It was rumoured a while ago that Giant was toying with the idea of making an Anthem with a 120mm fork, this sounded like a great idea to me as my previous bike was a Morewood Zula with a 130mm Sektor and I loved it but it was a bit portly. Recently Giant announced their 2015 bikes and the Anthem SX was among them. So now that I have a name for what I'm building lets get started. Daryn wrenching, he should have his arm in a sling but he's bad like that! I'd like to dedicate this build to my good friend Dazza (Mechanic at William's bike shop) who is currently recovering from a severe meeting with a tree in Jonkershoek. That didn't however stop him from giving up his evening and doing alot of the work to get the bike together in quick time with fractured scapular and all. Also a special mention to SJ from Revolution Cycles for great service & advice. The Reverb hose needs better securing but otherwise I'm extremely impressed with the finished product, orange grips and all. When the Revelation returns I'll update with pics. Once again massive thanks to Daryn, I would have spent twice as long and done the job half as neatly.

The seed was sown on a particularly bumpy trail ride on my Nukeproof Snap, possibly the stiffest possible ride you will experience bar rigid bikes. It was time, I needed a bike I could throw down a trail without worrying about my poor body being bashed up by the vibrations. And so it started, my search for a hardy trail/all mountain bike had begun. Click here to view the article