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20 minutes ago, splat said:If this is for a gravel bike, why not get GRX instead of Ultegra ?
The clutch on the rear much is super useful for keeping that chain slap under control!
Agree, but I cannot find a full GRX gruppo, any ideas? 1st thing is to move from mech discs to hydraulics if I do a stepwise upgrade.
1 hour ago, RossTopher said:i really dont think there is an ultimate winner between the two. if it comes down to what you can get your hands on and what groupset/shifting you prefer.
i did a build with a 105/grx mix - 2x11 (48/31 front and 11/36 back). ITS GREAT
i have another bike with sram apex 1x11 (44T up front and 11-42 back): ITS GREAT.
the 1x is now more of a dedicated road bike and both speed and climbing are not an issue.
what i have noticed is that the sram brake feel is streets ahead of the shimano
Can you please share your 105/grx mix details Ross?
26 minutes ago, Frosty said:From my experience:
2x with a compact cassette (closer ratios). I’m not a fan of the gear spacing on a 1x, and the weight penalty is immaterial to me by having another chain ring.
A frustration is when to find a good 2x (shimano) groupset if you do a custom build, even 105 is not available - unless I look in the wrong places....
17 hours ago, Skubarra said:I hope you were just being modest when you said you are decently trained... Because that is an incredibly punishing schedule for a bike packing trip. Even without he headwinds, summer heat & corrugations - you are looking at a very tough 8 days. All the best!
Agree, This is a ±1090 km trek. At 23kph = 47 riding hrs = 6 hrs per day.
Similar to the Epic...
18 minutes ago, valen_tin said:I'm really happy to receive so many helpful comments! Thank you all! I included most comments, routes you sent me, and further information from the strava heat map and ridewithgps into my new route. In addition, I added some smaller villages and Swartberg pass. I'll also pack some extra water bottles and wider tyres.
My current schedule looks like this:
13.02. Start - Botrivier - Napier (140km, 2000hm)
14.02. Napier - Breede - Witsand (109km, 1000hm)
15.02. Witsand - Stilbaai - Mossel Bay (172km, 1200hm)
16.02. Mossel Bay - George - Oudtshoorn (120km, 1500hm)
17.02. Oudtshoorn - Swartberg Pass - Calitzdorp (126km, 2500hm)
18.02. Calitzdorp- Van Wykersdorp - Riversdale (117km, 1700hm, bad surface)
19.02. Riversdale - Swellendam - Riviersonderend (167km, 2000hm)
20.02. Riviersonderend - Greyton - Start (142km, 1700hm)..it will be super hard on some days
. Looking forward.
Make sure to log on to give us a nice race report!!! Plan to be on the road at sunrise at 06h00 to beat the heat. You don't want to be on the road past noon for too much.
6 minutes ago, valen_tin said:A Gravel Bike with 40mm tyres. Tar roads are welcome
The gravel roads, especially the Karoo, will be rocky (sharp ones) so I would recommend either 45mm since you are backpacking or a good back-up plan for punctures. Certain sections of Swartberg Pass is very rough at the moment due to travellers and rain, even with a MTB, so take it slow. Ditto for Lategansvlei
More comments, I would suggest a small change to the route out of Oudtshoorn - take the R62 tar road towards Calitzdorp and then take the right turn towards Lategansvlei about 5km out.
I cycled the exact same route from Oudtshoorn to the top of Rooiberg pass and the route is safe but will be out of mobile range for most of the time. As another person said - the area can be very very hot in Feb (40 C) so carry enough fluids.
Plan for 1 day extra and do Swartberg Pass - it is well worth while.
It will even be better to plan for 2 days extra and have a sleep over in Prince Albert (excellent, excellent town with plenty places to sleep and eat) an also do the Swartberg Pass from the Northern side, which is much more scenic, but also more of a challenge.
55 minutes ago, valen_tin said:Dear cyclists,
I'm planning a solo gravel bike packing trip around the western cape from 13.02. to 21.02. I'll take a taxi out of Cape Town to Franschhoek/Stellenbosch with my bike case to avoid the townships. From there, I'll do a round trip, following the cape route on my way back after Oudtshoorn, leaving my case and stuff at an AirBnB. I'm a decently trained cyclist with some ultra-cycling experience, so the endurance side of my trip should be fine. I also got a bivy satellite phone. However, I'm from Germany and concerned about my route choice and safety, as I don't know the area. I'm planning to stay mainly in AirBnBs overnight.
If you are a local or know the area, would you be able to comment on my route? Does it include any sections that I should avoid? Are there any segments I should add?
I'll add Prince Alberts pass from Oudsthoorn if my legs feel well.
What about sleeping out in the open? Is that possible in remote locations?
Would also be awesome if someone would want to join for a day or two!
Thank you in advance and best regards,
Valentin
Hey Valetin, are you using a MTB or a gravel bike?
1 hour ago, Eddie Stafford said:I would love a Lynskey, but not sure if I would get a new one for the same price.
I'm on the Lynskey sales notifications, and some frames are going for good prices. Not sure about the small print...
1 hour ago, peepeekaitjie said:Cian Uijtdebroeks was bullied at Bora, cyclists had an anti-Cian whatsapp group
Spicy!!! Is there another angle to this story? Is Cian perhaps the new Remco?
Don't see them around so often anymore, but Fizik Gobi is perfect for me, fitted them to all my bikes.
The older M3 (M5?) was better than the later models.
49 minutes ago, NotSoBigBen said:If I had a dollar (no not a ZA rondt) for everytime I've heard 'you must be mad the amount of riding you do alone, it's not safe' .... My wife says I don't play well with others and that's why I prefer it 😝
I'm well aware of the risks and I do try to be as safe as possible knowing that's no guarantee.
I know I'm not the only one since here and there I do see other riders out on their own.
My question is are there other hubbers that ride alone most of the time despite the danger?
98% of the time.
57 minutes ago, 'Dale said:No more iconic brown shorts in the peloton. Van Rysel bikes, helmets and sunnies is incorporated as the French-based team is also renamed as Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale.
Jumbo-Visma renamed as Visma-Lease a bike.
Nairo Quintana returns to the Worldtour and is, controversially, recruited by his former team in Movistar.
Wout to target the Giro. Huh?
Some of the interesting shifts and evolutions to affect 2024.
Suddenly it's going to be cool being seen in Decathlon kit 🙂
24 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:They get HEAVY, especially the wider aperture ones.
My 24-70 f2.8 (non L) weighs a touch over 900g, add a DSLR with grip, and flash and all of a sudden your over 2kg in your right hand. Throw in a few thousand pics in the space of a few short hours and its hurts.
We were in KNP last weekend and my friend shoots a Nikon D750 with a 20 year old Nikkor 500 f4. Weights a ton and can't handheld at all at his age. But his quality in low light compared to mine....
My ISO was creeping into the unacceptable range!!!
4 minutes ago, Vetplant said:R10 Body only with RF100mm-400mm Lens
I had a look at the R7, but it will stretch my budget too far. The R10 seems more than capable for what I want to do: Mostly capturing my kid's sport and then also wildlife(not necessarily birds yet)
I have family members with RF lenses(L series), so I will look at borrowing said lenses when required
Good choice!! R7 allows for easier control when you shoot more "manual". but to be honest I don't think you need it. BBF is quite nice and I think you can set the R10 up for that. 100-400 a real lekker lens at a good price point I also don't call myself a bird photographer, but my best sightings in KNP this year (6 weekends) was of birds!!!
L-lenses - just a dream for me!!
On 11/20/2023 at 6:31 PM, Vetplant said:I'm in the market for a specific Canon Camera and Lens. I went so far as to set up a EXCEL spreadsheet to keep track of prices.
Prices in September/OCTOBER were proper specials, 20% lower than current "Specials". Stuff right now is just inflated retail prices with supposed "savings".
Delayed gratification will win out in the end. I'll keep a tight grip on my Randelas till somewhere in the new year when they want to make revenue targets again thank you very much.
I'm curious, what are you buying? I've done the same a year ago and pulled the trigger for a R7 and some lenses in May/June.
51 minutes ago, Stephan said:Wow, thanks to everyone for the amazing response! Lots and lots of new ideas and route planning to do now. 🙂
Benky's Rhino route might give some tips from Villiersdorp to Calitz - might not all be public roads. His ride is on Strava.
5 minutes ago, Joedirt92 said:Our family comes from Kruisriver, so I know the area quite well.
I would suggest you go further on day 4 as previously mentioned, otherwise you have the drag to Kruisrivier + the three "kriega" climbs towards Swartberg pass + swartberg pass for day 5 (2000m climbing at least)
Day 4 can be extended to closer to the swartberg pass, and there arw a lot of acommodation options on the route
Cheers,
Johannes
Those kriega climbs!! elevation from groenfontein to the top of the pass is 1700m. eina!!!
Pity the OP cannot add a detour to Red Stone hills. Or perhaps that is a good place to stay at day 4?
Just be aware, it can also blow a G-A-L-E out that way, in the afternoon… 
Gravel Bike - 1 x or 2 x Groupset
in Ask Anything
Posted
For my MTB equivalent gear ratio you would need a 28x42 for the last 3km of Swartberg.
Having said that, I've done Swartberg many, many times on a MTB, but never with a gravel bike, so not sure how the 1x gravel crowd manages their gears for the race. They most likely use a 50 cassette?