I would pay R200 a year for a proper phone catalogue of SA trails with user reviews so I can visit with confidence. There are many new trails popping up around the country but unless you have you local contacts it's difficult to know where to ride. The idea of riding 300km to find an overgrown path marketed as a trail is too risky for most of us. We have some of the best purpose built trails in the country where I live in Somerset East but it's just ~5 of us who ride it which is a waste. If this concept can make these and other trails accessible to more people it's a great idea.
I also thought Willie would be one of the first names on the team sheet. He was the difference between the class of 2012 and now. Being a Shark I'm a JPP fan but not at the expense of Willie.
It was a perfect day out there. I managed to hang on until the 70km mark but simply didn't have the legs for the climb. Then 10km from the end some friendly guys came past and we picked up the pace to the end again. Did a 2:51 which was way faster than I anticipated. Just a quick thumbs down to the clowns who decided one lane of the N1 is not big enough for them. They had to slalom around the cones into the vehicle lane to move forward in the group while the vehicles were passing.
Sodra ek weer op 'n ander topic click kan ek nie verstaan wat maak almal skielik of hulle ingels praat nie. Ek stem, die rofste deel is die eerste paar kilometer. Elke keer as almal briek vir 'n pad vernouing of iets moet jy alles gee soos die voorste manne verdwyn. Al wat jy sien is die rook van jou eie longe wat brand. Ek sal maar voor moet rondstaan om vas te byt.
I wanted a Saris rack from Bicycle Power Trading that they do not import as a standard item. I sent an email and Dave went out of his way to bring the rack in with their next shipment. Awesome company to deal with. I don't subscribe to this 'oversees is first world idea', South Africans are some of the most pleasant and resourceful people you will find anywhere.
Only negative thing I've read is that they put your brakes quite far inboard. So if you ride with your hands on the edges of the bar with short lever single finger brakes like Shimano XT your brakes might feel out of reach. I have never used them myself but just something to consider.
For everybody with a Type 2 here is a good article showing the inner workings of it. It can cause a difficult to diagnose knocking sound every time the chain grows due to suspension movement and impede your shifting once the tapered bush gets sticky. When this happens follow these instructions to lubricate the bushing. SRAM says it's self lubricating so they might have used a material such as vesconite for the bush but a bit of grease will help. Obviously if you have no issues with your type 2 then don't try and fix it. Two of us with dual suspension bikes have had to do this to eliminate a knocking sound so I thought I would share. http://bicyclingaustralia.com.au/2013/08/sram-type-2-overhaul?page=show
Until the bushing on the SRAM starts getting sticky after time, then you'll wish you could release the tension just a bit. Once this starts the initial effort to overcome the friction every time you shift or the suspension moves is very noticeable.
The 'Argus ready classifieds' is one thing. Soon some guy will want to know which is more suited to cruising around in a bunch in the Argus long after the winner has finished; his 22mm 1360g climbing wheels, his 38mm 1450g alround wheels or his R20 000 50mm 1520g aero wheels?
I have the type 2. Go XT. When the bush on the type 2 gets sticky (it happens, just Google it) you can't resolve it on the trail. I had to take one apart for a friend last week. The XT you can release the clutch with the lever and set the tension.
I can't see why Spez needs to change to 27.5 when the geometry on all their 29ers handle like a dream. Compared to all my 26ers (Giant Anthem, GT etc) my Epic just rides the technical stuff better and I'm only 1.7m. By the looks of things they have the longer travel segment sorted as well.
Your cat has jumped ship to my MTS front brakes. I better check my stem bolts then. Seriously I'm looking for some Magura 7.1 pads to buy because apparently the 7.3 OEM version pads on my bike are hit and miss.
I am waiting for my wheelset from CWC with Hope hubs. Some days I have illusions, pretend I'm Sauser for a bit and browse super light hubs and chinese carbon rims on the interweb but then I remember I can't even finish the Argus in 3 hours and buy the fit and forget option instead. But I still keep browsing ...
