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26/09/06
Raleigh Carbon Frame
I bought a
complete 2007 Raleigh RM 8.0 as soon as the
first stock hit the shores of out fair land as I
just couldn’t wait any longer to get my hands on
one of these carbon bikes. I justified the
purchase to myself and my wife with an elaborate
scheme that would end with her (my wife) getting
a new full suspension Raleigh bike comprising
all the parts of the RM 8.0 and me getting the
carbon frame. Check out my
2007 Raleigh Carbon Frame Review
18/09/06
The Average Mechanic
The
Average guy took on the role of the Average
mechanic this weekend. The arrival of my new
Raleigh RM 8.0 Carbon hard tail on Friday led to
a 48 hour bike building fest.
Having had a small set-back
after my appendectomy, I am once again not able
to ride. So, all you loyal MTB Online readers
will have to wait a while longer for a review on
the new carbon hard tail. In the meantime, I had
a very interesting weekend playing bike
mechanic, bike mechanic. I’d like to share my
SRAM vs Shimano experience with all of you from
a bike build perspective. Read the
Shimano vs
SRAM set up
07/08/06
Big Induna MTB Race
When I went to Fritz
Pienaar in Hatfield to pick up my race number
for the Big Induna, I was asked a very strange
question. The guy handing out the numbers asked
me;
“What bike are you riding”
“A Raleigh” I replied.
“RDS?” he probed.
“Yes” I said.
End of conversation.
I couldn’t quite figure out what he was on
about! That was until I got about 10km into the
race. Ah! I though. He was asking me because he
though I should be on a full susser! And he was
right! I would imagine that all but the hardened
race snakes could survive the Big Induna without
a full bouncer. Read Average Guy's full
Big Induna race
review 24/07/06
Hollowtech Cranks
Ever wondered what
the Hollowtech stands for in the Shimano range
of cranks? Well it means that it is hollow
inside. How do I know this? Well, trying to
chase down a breakaway this weekend on the
Sunday ride, my left leg became separated from
its position on about the 6th power stroke. Damn
I thought, busted pedal! If only I was so
lucky!!
Just for the
record I was gaining on Dave when the disastrous
failure occurred!
Shimano being the
great brand that it is had me back on my bike in
less than a day. Thanks to the guys at Coolheat
who are the local distributors of Shimano for
their excellent service.
02/07/06
Stumpjumper and Pace fork reviews After
my initial impressions gained from the Adventure expo
a few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to get a Specialized
S-Works Stumpjumper FSR 2006
to test for the weekend. I really looked forward to
this test, as there has been so much said about the
new Stumpy.
Also read a review on the Pace
fork that is being used by the specialized racing
team.
19/06/06
Adventure Expo
The
adventure expo at Kyalami this past long weekend
would have certainly just passed by me without
even so much as a second thought. You see, I am
not one for “shows”. I have not been to a
Pretoria show, or Rand Easter show since I was a
kid. I find them boring
and not at all that they promise to be. But this
expo was different. They had bikes there. Stacks
of bikes! And they were going to let me ride as
many of them as I wanted to around a 150m track.
Read the demo day bike
reviews
22/05/06
Ironhorsebikes
Hot
News!
South Africa
will be seeing Iron Horse
bikes hitting the shores in the next few weeks.
For those of you thinking that these are Pick
and Pay specials, go to http://www.ironhorsebikes.com/
.
All suspension bikes have the, much celebrated,
DW-link. Check, in particular the Iron Horse
Azure, a 3.5” XC Race machine.
Morningside
Cycles will be bringing a couple in, and I am
old they will be here in about 3 weeks.
03/05/06
BMC Fourstroke
I have just
popped in at Fritz Pienaar Cycles in Hatfield
and they showed me the new BMC Full Suspension
Frame. It is sort of like a Trek Fuel in design
as it has a static swing-arm. But it also has a
VPP type link. Very interesting! The frame will
retail at a very reasonable R8000. It has a
Manitou Radium shock and all the pivots are on
sealed bearings. The frame looks very sturdy.
The frame is
called the Fourstroke and has 4 inches of
travel.
BMC has the
slowest website in the world; I am trying to get
a link to the frame. Check
out the BMC Fourstroke website
Maybe I will be
able to test one in the future.
20/04/06
2006
Cape Epic Preview
174
Hours 18 minutes. 3870.2km. All since the 2nd
of January 2006. And now, according to the Polar
16 week program, I am ready!
Well I never though I would say this, but it all
seems so quick. It seems like just last week
that we entered the lottery to be part of this
Epic, and now it is 2 days away.
I have replaced my entire drive train, I have
new tyres and cables and I have done the
training. But am I ready?
I actually don’t know. Does anyone really
know? As a very good mate of ours; Andrew, said
at our last big training camp; “The truth
serum will be administered on the 22nd
of April 2006.”
Are
you ready? See you all there!
Check
out the Team
Barloworld Subaru Website
3/4/06
I decided
to go to Forest to Falls at the last minute. I
checked the weather forecast on Monday evening
and on the strength of that made some quick
arrangements to stay in Sabie and go to the
race. The forecast looked good, with some rain
in the beginning of the week and then clear days
from Thursday and a sunny day for race day.
I
noticed Kevin Evans slipping into the front of
the start chute with the new carbon fibre
Raleigh that he and Mannie will be riding at the
Epic. There
were many envious stares and many volunteers to
hold it for him, while he got rid of the water
bottle he was drinking from. I was too far away
to get a good look, but the reactions of the
others said it all, looks like a sweet machine.
28/3/06
I had a sneak
preview of the new Raleigh Carbon Team. It is
obviously a full carbon frame, with DT Swiss
wheels, XO Rear derailleur and trigger shifters.
Avid Carbon disc brakes. XTR crank and all the
new Ritchey components.
Manie and Kevin
will be racing these at the Epic. Looks like it
will be a battle of the carbon bikes, what with
Liam and Christof on the new carbon Epics!
Check the Raleigh
website for pictures
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