Tread Magazine reveals Silverback's New Moves..

[JarradVZ]

This is fun. GT bikes are crap too.

[onetrackmind]

I'm also somewhat perplexed why a World Cup MTB Team would choose Silverback when their bikes "are crap"

Me too.

[Evolution]

Hey Timmy, If I was employed by Silverback I'd be riding a Mercury 1 or a Prodigy. They're great bikes, and if you don't like them that's great too.

[covie]

Check out the latest bicycle mag, the editor rates the silverback carbon's as one of the best bikes he has ever ridden. And morewoodmad, those neotel chaps have won their fair share of races on their SB's, if your as good as these guys you get to pick your team, not the other way around. And if your a pro, you will go with kit that can make you excel not the otherway around, you have a career to build. Do you have any refrences off pro's on pick n pay specials I would love to see it

 

Fact of the matter is that if you take a similarly spec'ed SB vs Giant, vs Trek, vs Scot vs Meridia the differences are cosmetic, performance build quality wise they are pretty much on par.

 

And i personally would want to thank the chaps at SB, if it wasnt for them I never would have entered the sport, they were the only manufacturer to give me a great bike at one hell of a price compared other "well known" manufacturers. Keep it up, the brand snobs will come too when once they realize "that guy just passed me on a bike half the price of what i paid for mine"

[Solstice]

I have had two Silverback - hardatil - bikes and loved them both.

I now have a Merida soft-tail and a Giant Hardtail.

It is still early days for the Giant - not getting a warm and fuzzy feeling about her, whereas the Merida feels a lot more smooth...

So, on the Silverback issue...

So, build quality issues - none that I'm aware of.

Price versus value - great.

 

Comparison versus other brands...not even going to try...

 

I'd suggest that if you have an issue with any brand, pick it up with them.

 

If you want to play ping-pong - ask Tim Henman.

[joggie prinsloo]

Ha ha, chill out everyone. I'm just grumpy because a Brit will never ever win Wimbledon.

They are good value but the build quality just doesn't seem to be on par with some of the other brands. I have ridden one and didn't enjoy the feel. A mate also cracked one while pedalling along some district road. Each to their own.

 

Hi Tim,

 

I would like to invite you to go ride with our Silverback team. We will set you up on Mercury 1 and then we can go for a constructive feedback ride. Are you keen?

 

Best,

 

Joggie Prinsloo

Sales Manager

Silverback Technologies

[Bat-ass]

"its not about the bike"!!! , or the tennis racket!!

[Johan Olivier]

Sounds like a half baked attempt by a Silverback employee/rep to push the brand. We all know that the pro riders will ride pick-n-pay specials if they have to. A crappy sponsorship is better than no sponsorship at all. And besides: how much say did the riders have in this issue? Betcha some palms got greased at Administration level to procure this sponsorship.

Yes we are in a Competitive day and age, and yes SILVERBACK are matched up against Brands by the Likes of Giant, Merida, Specialized, Morewood, Canondale and so much more. When all you do your analysis of brands Look at all the Facts. Combined all the brands that are Mentioned has a collective Design engineering Experience of 200 years +, and now a company that is a Mere 5 Years Old get matched up against them, that is an achievement on its own. All the other brands are aware of Silverback and what they have achieved and I can tell you now, it does not stop here. It took them 5 years to be a "threat" to all the Other well know brands you see, imagine what they can be Capable off in the next 5 years.

 

Have any one of you taken the time or effort to test a Silverback, more a issue has any one taken the time or effort to Test a Mercury. Before you have not done that, I'd Suggest rather to focus on the knowledge you carry.

 

By the way, have any one of you whom are making all these comments scouted the Hub to see if any Silverback Employee has ever made negative comments against other brands? I doubt you will find anything. Silverback are students of the Bike Engineering and Brands of the World and acknowledge the fact of Good engineering when they see it. Morewood has great Design's, yes. I've seen it and I've tested it. The same with most of the brands you mentioned, and again. Just because it is a Local manufactured Brand, it does not make Morewood insignificant.

 

So I ask you, test and then give your true unbiased opinion before you preach the facts you don't know.

[Slowbee]

So Tim ... hopefully when you get online you will be able to accept the offer ..... it will be good to hear your report, unbiased of course.

 

 

 

and a HUGE thumbs up to silverback for offering a ride!! Major points for the brand

[GLuvsMtb]

Check out the latest bicycle mag, the editor rates the silverback carbon's as one of the best bikes he has ever ridden. And morewoodmad, those neotel chaps have won their fair share of races on their SB's, if your as good as these guys you get to pick your team, not the other way around. And if your a pro, you will go with kit that can make you excel not the otherway around, you have a career to build. Do you have any refrences off pro's on pick n pay specials I would love to see it

 

Fact of the matter is that if you take a similarly spec'ed SB vs Giant, vs Trek, vs Scot vs Meridia the differences are cosmetic, performance build quality wise they are pretty much on par.

 

And i personally would want to thank the chaps at SB, if it wasnt for them I never would have entered the sport, they were the only manufacturer to give me a great bike at one hell of a price compared other "well known" manufacturers. Keep it up, the brand snobs will come too when once they realize "that guy just passed me on a bike half the price of what i paid for mine"

1. Nolan Hoffman is an admitted doper. So if there was any justice in the system those victories would have been allocated to the true winners. Silverback brand was badly damaged which is why they are now trying to penetrate the MTB market. Nolan was never concerned about his carreer - he was only concerned about winning a few races so he decided to take short-cuts.

2. In the national setup riders have little / no say about the equipment that they get to use. In the perfect world the national administrators would have asked for proposals from 4 or 5 companies and thereafter got the role players and riders to give their input (I'll give 5 to 1 that this did not happen).

3. Spec is one thing. Geometry and suspension systems are another. If you put ferrari door handles on a tata, its still a tata.

4. Refer to my earlier comment about the psychology behind buying a bike. You satisfied a basic need by buying a budget-bike. Silverback is lucky to have a few peeps that want to recognise with the brand. A few Tata drivers also love their cars. Lets hope that if you ever have a warrantee issue, Silverback will take that into account. I am the first one to admit that my Morewood won't make me twice as fast as my old merida, even though it was twice as expensive, but it sure feels awesome riding her. B)

[lost frog]

Hi Tim,

 

I would like to invite you to go ride with our Silverback team. We will set you up on Mercury 1 and then we can go for a constructive feedback ride. Are you keen?

 

Best,

 

Joggie Prinsloo

Sales Manager

Silverback Technologies

 

Hi.

I've heard about a "ride before you buy" event on the 14th of august at Groenkloof. Will we have the opportunity to ride silverback bikes, including a mercury? I'm wondering why some major brands don't even bother to show to such events as it is a very nice exposure. I'm currently looking to upgrade to full suspension but it's very difficult to test ride bikes appart from parking lot loop.

[GLuvsMtb]

On the topic of pro-riders using Pick n Pay specials:

David Kinjah and Davidson Kamau came second in the Joberg 2 C on bikes that made Pick n Pay Specials look good. Makes you think what they could have done on sub 10 kg 'dales or Spaz's... (ask anyone who was there...)

Here are 2 pro's that simply ride because they can...

[Racingsnail]

MorewoodMad, you strike me as one of those guys who once they decide to emigrate feel the need to try to convince yourself/and others that you are making the right decision.Glad you are happy with your Morewood.

Not sure there is a need to compare Silverback to Tata, basically calling Silverback a cheap import( sorry Tata).

[GLuvsMtb]

MorewoodMad, you strike me as one of those guys who once they decide to emigrate feel the need to try to convince yourself/and others that you are making the right decision.Glad you are happy with your Morewood.

Not sure there is a need to compare Silverback to Tata, basically calling Silverback a cheap import( sorry Tata).

If we had a local cheap car in SA I would have compared it to that. I used Tata because SA is where India was 15 years ago ito world economy. None the less. I don't simply buy local because its local. I will not buy a Kurt Darren CD simply because he is local. The fact that Morewood is a local brand is incidental and I bought the bike because I loved it from the minute I saw it (even before all the reviews and the hype that now surrounds the Zula). I would have paid R80k for the bike - I wanted it THAT much.

 

You are missing the point. You buy stuff to satisfy different needs. A "sensibile, cheaper" purchase satisfies basic needs, where a more expensive purchase for a similar product satisfies more complex needs as well as basic needs.

Its like expecting to get twice as drunk on a bottle of Kanonkop Pinotage (2002 if anyone wants to buy me a case) opposed to a bottle of Beyerskloof Pinotage. Getting drunk was never the intention when you

bought the more expensive option (and I am NOT saying that there is anything wrong with the Beyerskloof either, in case you miss the point again)

Oh and racing snail - don't make calls on people's personallities when you really don't know them. If I was saying that Silverback is crap, rather buy Morewood, I bought one and this makes me Mr-Cool-dude-I-know-everything, your emmigration comment would have been warranted.

Different strokes for different folks is what I'm saying. Not one is better than the other...

[Racingsnail]

Maybe I just dont understand your attack on the brand. You are happy with yours and others are happy with Silverback, agree different strokes...no attack on your perrsonality.

Not having a go at your personality, agree that purchases are made for various reasons. For me I have a Silverback because at the time it was the best bang for my buck, now I will look at Silverback first because I have been that happy with the bike.

[mogwaai]

Hi.

I've heard about a "ride before you buy" event on the 14th of august at Groenkloof. Will we have the opportunity to ride silverback bikes, including a mercury? I'm wondering why some major brands don't even bother to show to such events as it is a very nice exposure. I'm currently looking to upgrade to full suspension but it's very difficult to test ride bikes appart from parking lot loop.

I'm with my mate Lost Frog here.

We decided to go to Ride Before you Buy @ Rietvlei to test some Full Susses, as we in the market to buy. We could only test the bikes that were there! - so now I'm only interested in the bikes I have tried. Only local bike was MOREWOOD. I have NEVER seen Mercury 1 nor Mercury 2 in any of the bike shops to test. I visit a lot of bike shops. Obviously, if you don't get these high spec bikes out there we will never buy them - even if they are good.