Dappere

Completely, when riding a 1x on my gravel bike I ran a 44. Some of the gravel event climbs became rather ambitious, to say the least! 😅 I swopped back to a 2x chainring of 46/30 to have lower bailout gears for when I'm completely knackered. 😆

+1 for adding a dropper. Good looking bike - how does she ride?

+1 for CBR

The drop bars have increased reach compared to a straight bar. Most road bikes have reach between 80 - 100mm, the latter being considered long reach. For gravel specific drop bars, generally with a flare, they have a smaller reach around 70 - 80mm. Specialized has a short reach version of their gravel drop bar at 65mm. When Trek released their new Checkpoint, they increased the top tube length and compensated by reducing the reach of the handlebar the bike ships with to 75mm. There are also gravel bars available at even shorter reaches of between 40 - 55mm, but they aren't as common. There is a cyclist, Chris Hall, who pointed this out in one of his videos:

Building a monster gravel bike seems to be favourable amongst ultra cyclists. Lael Wilcox is one cyclist that comes to mind who rides a similar setup. If adding drop bars, consider shortening the stem to accommodate for the longer top tube. I would love to see how this build progresses - post pictures!

There is another forum that speaks into this -> The form is rather old, but from my knowledge, and judging by some of the responses, I don't think there are options available. You could also consider a more budget-friendly option: https://sigeyi.co.za/. While I haven't used this brand myself, I have heard good things about it from people using it in my cycling group.

They do, but there isn't too much information available, other than an email address to contact: rethastigant@telkomsa.net Ref: https://d1zwi51l39apzt.cloudfront.net/uploads/events/78433/BOLAND GRAVEL MONSTER EVENT OUTLINE V1.pdf [Slide 8]

Mums are the best 😀. A 10% discount feels like a slap in the face. I hope you can get this sorted with Assos Switzerland.

I'm not certain if Kyle still works at CWC, but I took a pair of damaged Assos bib shorts I had purchased from CWC back to them. Kyle at CWC facilitated the interaction with Assos South Africa, and they ended up sending me a new pair. Based on Kyle's explanation, Assos will assess the damage to the bib shorts and handle it accordingly - either a complete replacement, repair or a discount on new ones. It's worth reaching out to the bike shop where you bought them and see if they can provide assistance.

I'm chuffed you think my perceptive observational abilities and flawless grammar could only come from ChatGPT! Unfortunately, this was penned by my own human brain, though I appreciate you believing ChatGPT is already that convincingly bright and eloquent. I'll take it as a compliment whilst reassuring you this analysis is all me, baby!

While Cube is known as a quality brand with excellent products, their distribution and customer experience in the South African market seems to take a blanket approach rather than addressing local needs. Their recent press release emphasised manufacturing prowess and brand reputation, with no indication of tackling pain points specific to the South African cycling community. To better serve this market, a more tailored distribution and engagement strategy may be needed from Cube, focused on understanding and meeting the unique requirements of South African riders.

I know leather saddles can be repaired or refurbished rather. There is a risk to having non-leather saddles repaired, comes down to the risk of the saddle rails popping out. https://m.pinkbike.com/news/why-is-it-so-hard-to-reinstall-saddle-rails.html haven’t heard of anyone locally doing it. Few options available in Europe, if you would like to go that route?

👆and then the organisers urging people to car pool or cycle to the venue says a lot about the current, and expected state of the roads. I was considering sitting this one out after seeing the rain today, the above validates my decision to give this a skip. Feels like another around the pot situation waiting to happen.

I generally run XR2 front and rear - my go-to tyre. This past summer I tried XR2 front and XR1 rear and really enjoyed it.

@Brettowski worth checking with Navworld -> https://navworld.co.za/

I was thinking the same thing when trying to tie that board to the Trek Checkpoint. The cables enter the headset from the front and have an outfront mount for my Garmin. I'm considering wearing the board like a Superman badge. 🤣

@Bearens First and foremost, perceptions of safety in South Africa depend on who you ask. Safety cannot be compared to that in Europe by any means. Events like the August taxi strike also tend to increase reports of unsafety. The Cape Cross is a truly beautiful route and one of my favourites. While I haven't done the whole route recently, I do cycle many parts of the Cape Cross routes from the Stellenbosch side often. There are certain roads to be wary of near Stellenbosch, but in most cases, I haven't experienced issues personally. As a South African, I may be more tolerant of certain scenarios in the country than you would be. Depending on how many days you plan to complete the route, I would avoid cycling in the evenings. Doing a set amount of kilometres per day, town-to-town, and staying over to enjoy local hospitality is a good approach. Many of the roads you'll ride are on private farmland - likely safer than public roads. This is part of the Cape Cycle Route Initiative set up by the Western Cape Government and Wesgro to promote cycling tourism in the region. You can find more detailed information on the official website: https://capecycleroutes.co.za/route Cape Cross route: https://capecycleroutes.co.za/route/cross-cape-route Accommodation: https://capecycleroutes.co.za/accommodation When riding, be sensible, ensure you have a cell phone and possibly a tracking device like a Spot. While you'd likely have cell reception most of the time, load shedding can sometimes disrupt cell towers. You can rent a Spot here: https://sat4rent.co.za/612-2/ Which end are you starting from, Stellenbosch or Plettenberg Bay? If Stellenbosch, let me know - I can ride the first part with you or show you some local routes when here.

My preferred tyre is the Bontrager XR2. My second choice would be the Schwalbe Racing Ray (Front) and Racing Ralph (Rear).

Use this (https://axs.sram.com/guides/tire/pressure) as a starting point, then play around by adding or releasing pressure until you find your ideal tyre pressure.

Aside from the major touchpoints on your bike, wheels are the best upgrade you can make on your bike in my opinion, and you will notice the difference. And if you needed a little more motivation to ride in the cold mornings, this could be it 🤣

I have had numerous sync issues with the Discovery/Vitality app. I have experienced issues syncing Zwift to Vitality. At present, I connected my Garmin and Strava to Vitality and sync all workouts through there. Although there are sometimes delays on the Vitality app side of things, I haven't experienced any other issues as yet.

Fair to assume then you are not part of the audience they are looking to attract? 🤣

Just because the race breaks the mold of what you are used to, doesn't necessarily mean the organizers are "from another planet and have a good stash of 420, or better". 🤣 These rules are pretty standard for gravel races in the USA and also ultra races/self-supported races. I suggest reaching out to the organizers directly and posting their response here for everyone to see. A lot of people might think the same but never ask or post about it. Getting official clarification benefits both the event and future organizers putting on great events by avoiding confusion.

From my experience, a good bike fitter is their weight worth in gold. You need to take into consideration that you need to work with a bike fitter to get the best position on the bike for you. You might need to go back to the bike fitter for adjustments after riding the position they put you in to adjust. A good bike fitter will do their base consult to understand your body's constraints and fit you on a bike accordingly. Should they notice something they can't assist with, or need a specialist opinion - they should inform you of that and recommend someone to see. Like yourself, I have flat feet and the bike fitter I used recommended certain insoles and recommended a place where I can go. After I received the insoles, I had another session with the bike fitter to relook at my position with the insoles. I would say, go to a bike fitter and take it from there.