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Robbie Stewart

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Everything posted by Robbie Stewart

  1. to appease your mind. No, never. What I have discovered that even with washing gloves immediately after every ride they still develop a pong after time. I use an anti-bacterial wash now that sorts out the smelly business.
  2. that, and your gloves . . . when you realise you are breeding e-coli on your fingers
  3. I reckon its the washing machine killing the liner. My helmet is still new but in dire need of a new liner. Here's hoping Leatt have replacement stock.
  4. This song just hit me in the feels. 1994 was a good one.
  5. Leatt also have something akin to MIPS which works well. I've had a few smacks and it dissipated the force each time. One thing I would ensure is that the helmet you get has replaceable helmet liners. My current lid only came with one, and it is starting to fall apart from regular washing. It's about a year old.
  6. I never considered it as a possible reason until DieselNDust mentioned it, and it made me think, but as I typed my response I was thinking that would be the case since 2021 which clearly hasn't been. Anyhow, I still have respect for anyone who starts the Epic and makes it all the way. I reckon as much as I believe I would ride it all, in all likelyhood I would be doing a fair bit of walking as well due to compound fatigue as Jewbacca said. From the comfort of my couch something just riled me seeing all the people walking on the ST and that reminded me of a time I was exposed to similar doing Trailseeker events. Now when it comes to trails, I ride the ones I want with my mates and barely anyone else, and that suits me fine. Kudos to anyone who loves the camaraderie in suffering a multi stage event.
  7. this is very true. I was very surprised to see Jonkers on the final day. I was even more surprised to see that the "Toyota Technical" zone was deemed to be G-Spot, which is way less technical than Armageddon for one.
  8. @DieselnDust I believe your covid assessment is likely culprit number one. Which brings me to the next question, should the Epic participants be monitoring their cardiac health over the next couple of months if compared to global increases in heart related health complications attributed to covid. That would be an interesting metric to monitor. @Ozzie NL Sure, I don't disagree, and I could state my position less harshly. I am just not a fan of being held up on single track. I am not a Danny Mac or Schurther even with regards to single track skills, but I can hold my own down a technical line because I spend a lot of time riding them. I am stoked for the people who enter and ride the trails, but I would not have much fun being held up (having experienced this before on events I participated in). Your comment re batches refers to being seeded in a faster batch, but does that imply an equal improvement in technical ability? Look, this year's route would entice me to "almost" enter because it looks fun, but I am no racing snake, so I would be in the latter half of the field every stage, and I would be frustrated out of my mind by day three.
  9. your correlation to the increase in singletrack is exactly what I am talking about. People can ride district roads all day long, but the moment there is ST thrown in the mix then everything comes to a grinding halt. Craig Kolesky proved it in his videos. What I mean by "no business" is that they should first get the required skills. I am curious how, per example, people would assume to ride Armageddon with very limited to no technical skills. Either the route organisers faulted for adding that rather dangerous line to the final stage, (which I don't think they did - just to be clear) or people again would walk down that entire 3 odd km stretch, holding up the ENTIRE train behind them. My take on the Epic is that it should be taken a tad more serious than it seems people do. They spend the wads of cash to get there and "participate" and in the process stuff it up for folks who are capable to handle the tech thrown at them. And that to me is a massive waste of my money, and my time, because someone on the trail is too intimidated to ride over the rocks. Armageddon 4 rock garden comes to mind. I will bet a fair chunk of people walked that line.
  10. nah, I watched the whole Craig Kolesky video saga on YouTube last night, and I was horrified by all the people walking perfectly rideable singletrack. To me it seemed more of a case of ZERO skills other than being able to ride a bicycle on a flat, level, preferably tarred road. Anything less than that and there is a global dismount and hike-a-bike for who knows how long. Another reason to not do the Epic. I would blow my lid every time I get held up by people who have no business riding the epic at all.
  11. I almost got taken out this morning by a MyShiti bus, one of the big ones. I was approaching the circle by the Table Bay mall (I was there first by a rather large margin) when the moegoe behind the wheel came from behind and just decided to cut the lanes to get his behemoth around the circle, and in the process he squeezed me towards the kerb while his rear wheels where trying their best to mount my back wheel. After k@kking myself and letting the mini behind me pass, and the aforementioned moegoe stopped at the bus stop just outside the circle, I decided to stop by his window and just about blixem it so hard that if it were glass it would have shattered. He jumped in his seat from fright, and I ripped into him because of the severe adrenaline spike I was encountering before I pedalled away. It would seem that the bus drivers have prior experience driving minibus taxis because they drive just as bad with zero awareness of a cyclist flashing like a Christmas tree.
  12. As I understand it, the shipping costs are not too heavy and the tax a.f.a.i.k. is 15% depending on what you import. Clothing for example has import duties, but I don't think components have. I had a chat with @MORNE about this a while back and this is what I recall. He orders from there from time to time.
  13. https://www.merlincycles.com/groupsets-93716/?discipline=mtb
  14. Locals in Cape Town, and Tygerberg in particular have the perfect setup at the Leatt skills park at Hoogekraal to hone the required skills for lines like G-spot. Spend some mornings riding just the skills park to learn bike handling skills in drops, berms and jumps and then see how that translates to the trails and how your progression just sky rockets. Too many people pedal past and do their riding such a massive disservice. If they only knew what they were losing out on. Edit: not forgetting about the Hoogies Hammer and Bloemendal flow line. Don't just ride it once, but do laps over and over until you conquer the obstacle that intimidates you and then progress on to the next bigger feature. Then when you ride a place like G-spot again it is a joy and not a exercise in fear management.
  15. Around the middle of the last decade I was visiting a client in Claremont. Upon my return to my bakkie I saw a huge gouge on my fender. The client's CCTV revealed a delivery truck bringing an order to his shop that reversed into my bakkie was the culprit. I grabbed the video and sent it to my insurance. They asked for a case number and I just gave up the claim at that point. About a year later they called me to inform me the claim was processed and they will pay the money into my account. Luckily the delivery truck was also insured with Santam so it was an in-house legal claim. When I was requested to go to SAPS was when I just walked away, but thankfully they didn't let it go.
  16. Jonkers Irish, Armageddon and Red Phoenix then up Bosluis and down Firehut on day 8 of the Epic is going to be brutal. All the best for all the amateurs. Even the pros are going to feel this stage.
  17. I'm pretty sure Wellington is where the gates to hell are located, and the last person in left the door open.
  18. I'm pretty sure it was claimed already . . . from insurance.
  19. Didn't take pics but I managed Tokai DH0 today. What an absolute gem of a line. My heart was in my mouth until after that rocky drop-off but my stoke levels are at an all time high.
  20. A mate was riding DT Swiss 511 till it was square and in need of replacement. Due to the struggle to get stock he opted for a Lyne AMP 30 rim and it is bomb proof over trails like Black Rhino, Cobra and long sessions at the Leatt skills park. I also rate them highly and when the time comes they will be replacing the wheels on my Stumpy.
  21. This ☝🏻 I must also admit to enjoying this regaling of your ride. It was captivating. You clearly have a story telling talent there.
  22. At the end of the day I understand OP's issue in that money is tight and when you spend it you want the highest return on the investment and in that he has a valid point, on paper. In practice on the other hand the perceived value does not align with actual value. And therein lies the rub. The main problem from my understanding is actually the fact that mountain biking, as like any hobby these days, is super expensive. If you don't want to spend money hand over first with no end in sight, then exit the sport now. Stop the drainage, cut your losses and run without looking back. Failing that and he decides to stay then it's best to understand that buying the bike is just the beginning. Wait till it needs servicing, or you start doing events, or you fall and need new gear to replace the shredded gear and smashed helmets. Or the trip(s) , yes - trips with an S, to the ER. Replacement parts, new chains, new tyres, new grips, new brakes, new chains rings, new cassettes. I can go on. What I'm getting at is that this is a very pricey sport and you have to decide how far down the rabbit hole you're willing to go. I bought a new specialised stumpjumper Evo last November and within less than 100km it completely deleted the freehub body ending in a warranty replacement. Do I still ride the bike? Yes, and it's a complete beast of a bike at that. Since then I've had no issues. But I was willing to spend on a decent bike and still had a issue that was resolved immediately like OP has.
  23. I absolutely detest lower limb injuries. There are few things in life I hate more than crutches, so I feel your frustration 'Dale. Well done on seeing the light in this dark cloud. I struggled with that during my recovery.
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