mtbride

As an average home mechanic I agree 100%. I did a lowers service for the 1st time couple of weeks ago on my Revelation 130 (and also replaced the airspring with a 140mm), the lowers service and spring replacement/re-grease I will do, but damper opening no thanks ... Just looking at the schematic of an open damper puts me off trying it.

Rode Sani last year with an Aspen 2.25 front and Rekon Race 2.25 on the back, I was under the impression the Aspen actually had more edge grip than the Rekon Race so put it in front. For me it's splitting hairs between an Ikon/Aspen/Rekon Race, they all have limited treads and on loose over hard they are all all over the place if you're going fast, but they performed well at Sani for me.

Did Sani2c Adventure last year on my Large 120 800 (only change was to lighter tyres Rekon Race and Aspen 2.25s and ESI Extra chunkies). We ended in the top 15%, with a 15min puncture delay ... My bikes about 13.8kgs with XT pedals. So it can be done, sure a carbon 10kg dual would improve our performance, but I'm not sponsored haha Think the weight is in the frame, it's quite a burly frame compared to a Spark I think.

The GX Eagle 10-50 is 450grams !

My 120 800 Large stock was 14.2kg with pedals, dropped to 13.8kg with XC tyres. The biggest % of weight is frame, wheels, fork and tyres. Other than that the savings will be small and in the 100-200 grams per component if you're lucky ...

You will get answers from 1.6 - 2.4 bar ... to each his/her own, depending on weight and terrain, and the rim width

I have the 120 800, I would say wheels and tyres. It's a beefy frame/bike, yes you can save on all the small things like axles/stems etc. but the biggest savings will be in wheels and tyres. I rode Sani this year with it, but swapped the Forekaster 2.35 and DHR Maxxis 2.4 with Rekon Race 2.25 and Aspen 2.25 for the race. My bike is 13.8kg with XT SPD pedals with the race tyres. For me next would be wheels, one should be able to save approx. 450gr over the original wheels, but that would be wheels of 10-15k ...

Yup it's tight with a 2.35 tyre on the back of the Merida 120, I have the 800, but I'm not sure if I will ever need more than a 2.35 in the back, in the front I will be able to go up to a 2.6 or more with the Boost fork there's lots of clearance. For 30k odd I paid in May, you will not be able to beat the spec list, GX Eagle with a Revelation fork Oh and the bottle fitment is also tight ... you need a side entry cage and a not so big bottle, but I ride with a pack so not an issue for me.

Merida 120 800, 120 back 130 front, unless you need 2 bottle cages, this frame barely fits a small bottle and that's with a side cage. I ride Camelbak so for me it's not an issue.

ESI Chunkys ftw, the Luvhandles I tried became throttles after a couple of months, back to ESI chunkys and they are 100s

Sunlight, been using it for years on bikes with some lukewarm water, never an issue with paint fading or any weird stuff hapening, after years of washing with it. Use cleangreen on the cassette/chain with an old toothbrush, and that's it.

Merida 120 800 or 6000/8000 if you want carbon

Merida 120 800 for 32k brand new with 12 speed GX Eagle. Bit heavy at 14.5kg but if you want you can put other tyres on and drop 400grams there alone.

I completed Sani2c this year on a Merida 120 800, and managed to finish in the top 15% overall in the Adventure, so it's more about whats in the legs than the bike weighing 1.2kg more than my old 2014 Anthem X1. I did however put on a Rekon Race and Aspen in place of the DHR and Forekaster that the bike came with. Think one cannot beat the price of the 120 800 and the specs it comes with, the Trance is alot more expensive, but perhaps a bit lighter. I can feel the bike is a bit more sluggish in slow direction changes, but once up to speed it's much more stable and the 130/120mm suspension eats up more than my old Anthem If you're only looking at Giants I'll also go for the Trance 100%