DieselnDust

its a polymer that absorbs UV, IR, and depending on colour, some of the visible light spectrum

There are many who believe they will not be competitive without having a top of the line bike similar to what Professional Elite racers use. The reasoning is, "making sure the bike is not the limiting factor". Some people just love nice things, diamond rings, expensive everything......and R400K bicycles fits the bill. Whatever floats their boat, we're all different. I've mostly used XT, XO1, Ultegra level components. Splurging out on the top of the line makes the bike look nice but its still only as fast as I can pedal it and often the 2nd and 3rd tier kit lasts longer and is easier to live with. Is it perverse to sell a R400K bike? I don't think its the selling price that irks me, its the mark up from R7000 to produce the frame to R400k on the shop floor. That a lot of added value that does add up incrementally

its purely prestige money. True value is what it would sell for 2nd hand. I'm in the keep what you have for as long as it is serviceable and replace with a 1yr old barely ridden bike from someone upgrading to keep up with the Jones'es

https://www.montagutrails.co.za/ https://makadasadventures.co.za/trails/ The publicly available trail network is relatively small, about 15km in total. Mostly a mix of single trail and jeep track. The bulk of the riding out there is on private land hence the "Ask a Oom". he longer routes use district gravel roads mostly with a bit of single track here and there where farmers have allowed easy access without MTB'ers encroaching on farming activities. I did the Ouberg pass loop. Very scenic.

Montagu mania was mostly in private land? i was there over December holidays in 2022 and the easiest public trails was the Montagu trails . The other stuff I had to find farm houses and ask a Oom

The Zerotwo from omnico is a good option that doesn’t break the bank. the new rear hub is also very reliable and reasonably priced spares make it easy to live with. money no object? South industries on hubs of your choice. Speak to the Sultan of Bling in Somerset West ( Williams Bike Shop)

There is plenty but until recently not very well maintained. There was a race , the Makadas 75km marathon back in the 2000’s that included what looks like stage 1. Looking at the course map it looks like A lot of old trails from back then is being revived .

in my case, all were still within the warranty period when the lens coating peeled off. None were warrantied. Wait I lie, one was warrantied at Cycletour Expo when one of the reps saw my lens was peeling and grabbed them off my head and gave me brand new pair. The resthave all been rejected due to "sweat is too strong", improper cleaning (Cold water and oakley lens cleaner is apparently not correct), Not storing in Oakley branded sunglasses bag ( I used a Sunglasses hut pouch they placed in the box). Back in the 90's when Oakley had a branch in Cape Town ( Black River Business Park) their service was good and fair. The last 20 yrs or so since luxotica took over good and fair service is gone

good insights👍 @Skubarra i can't recall if it was Arianne or Annika or if it dates further back to when Gunn-Rita Dahle Fleschsa suggested the ladies only start group and other inequalities needing to be addressed before she'd consider coming back for another roll of the dice. Sabine Spitz also made some comments about the prize purse and ladies teams getting help from the men's B-team. It immaterial who owns it because its' been the sentiment of many of the ladies teams in past expressed by various competitors Anyway lets see what they announce in the future. Either way its interesting times

true, Oakley does have a wider fit range than other brands that seem to cater for everyone over 6ft2'. I feel your pain on this one

Some brands are "Godlike" and will be evengelised. Misery loves company I guess. I''ve had better results with Rudy Project, 100% and even D'arcs. I use D'arcs for Mtb mostly (the Peak) and they last long enough, are comfortable, don't distort and accept prescription lens inserts. For R1200 bucks all my boxes are ticked.

No one is disputing that its still hard. Previously the equal pay advocates campaigned on the basis that the ladies have their own race over the same distance and therefore deliver the same R/km value. With a shorter course, is this still true (which is where @babse was going with his question. So we're unpacking it, sensitive as it is. Are so saying equal pay is still valid because "its hard"? I suspect because this is a minefield, it was not included in the press release

The best solution for Oakley is to throw them in the bin and move on. The longest lasting coated lenses seem to be 100%. Mine are 6 years old and no signs of peeling, both pairs. My experience with Oakley is pretty much as you describe even with POP.

I had a look at the other races in the series. The elite ladies field is tiny in all of them and those stages are a lot shorter (although Swiss Epic has mega climbing everyday)

So that’s unequal pay then… ride less km but get paid the same = more $/km with a smaller field…

Interesting question….

Their short cut will have to be around 20 to 25km because they’re usually about an hour to 1:10 behind the men over a 90km stage.

I have serious reservations about the length of the ladies race being the primary problem. I think its more about shortening the broadcast length and the duration the helo's are in the air. This all speaks to cost reduction on a grand scale. The depth of the ladies field is all about lack of interest and team budget. hanging around with some of the XCO teams when they're here is quite revealing re the Epic. "It's hard, its exciting but it has no relevance to my season, or my sponsors.." "recovery is a problem because we can't stay in SA for another week to recover properly. The budget isn't there." "i have to peak too early for the Epic. I can't go into it and ride myself in. I have to peak two or three more times in the season. That's not possible. On the men's side, Only Avondeto and Braidot did well in the season but also raced Cape Epic. Chris Blevins skipped the Epic and had his best season ever. I would say Braidot and Avondetto were largely unaffected by riding Cape Epic. Maybe because they started their prep later? Point is, if the ladies teams really want to win it and perform well in the XCO season they can find a way to achieve this. Its happened before, just ask Annika Langval, Kate Courtney. I'm sure John Wakefield can add very useful insights

Don't keep the NV shifter and Derailleur. They're sh&t. Those parts just don't last. Eagle 90 is way better if your bike can accommodate UDH

Well that’s going to be interesting if they do arrive at the same time for a sprint finish….. I see the opportunity for multiple fups

How do you feel about this development @Kylie

GX AXS is adeqate, the up charge to XX1 only gives you a shifter paddle upgrade which is R300 on its own (the pod is the same) and a carbon jockey pulley cage vs steel. Level Ultimate, i assume the new 2025 brakes are superb and fully servicable, unlike the SLX units and also around 100gr lighter per brake. Your wheels though are a wea point. Your rear hub is a cheap Formula hub with a HG freehub that cannot accept a 10t sprocket that XD drivers allow for. The free hub on your sec hub is also not upgradable if i have the model correct, well it is but you may as well buy a new hub if you go that way. I'd leave the brkes for now and upgrade them when they bomb out. Rather spend the money on a new rear hub or new wheels and the GX AXS

🤔...... Does this mean the women's race will now be Epic...ish? And what of the mixed team's race, Age grouper ladies? Will they still be measuring all...?

Not quite 0/7 the moving of the finish location back to Stellenbosch is news to me. general direction though was close. I like that they’re linking some of 2005 to 2017 and 2018

not me not riding has that effect