Bos

Interesting tests done here by the Americans..They like the Aggressor. I find the west coasters have similar soil types to what we typically have. UK, Germany etc all just shoot tires down for wet weather performance where we hardly ever have that for more than a day or two, and even our wet isn't Forrest floor slop. Aggressive dry tires performs OK in most of the capes winter anyway. https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/biking/best-mountain-bike-tires

This looks good! Someone mentioned it in a debate on one of the threads, but this does look much different at 2.5''. I'd try this out on the front with those corner knobs any day. And then some feedback on the RazarRock.. Murphys law, I have not ridden for 2 weeks and decided to ride up to the local radio tower. The trail down is a hiking trail, mix of riverbed style rocks and jagged reef like rocks. Needless to say, I flatted and had to plug. Was to low on pressure though, running 26PSI on that was asking for it. It was also mega windy, also into the sunset which made it even harder to pic and hit a line. Was pretty irritated with myself, luckily no ding.

I was running a lightweight 23ID rim (WTB KOM23) which was fine for my riding except I kept dinging them. I also got a bit of tire roll when going hard into berms, however a stiffer sidewall tyre might have been slightly better. I couldn't decide If I needed ZTR FLOW's or just a lightweight Rapide/Spank/LYNE 30mmID rim, so I pulled the trigger on the Rapide because if they were to soft they would be cheap to replace. I am yet to even ping the rear while my previous rim would have been written off by now, however I have the RazorRock on the back now. but, all in all, a nice lightweight option for medium to light riders for average trail use. I am yet to race a proper Enduro on them, but I live out in the Breerivier so my daily grind is rockville.

Went from 23ID to 30, and it was well worth it. Stiffer /more stable sidewalls giving more confidence. tyre didnt get much wider though. maybe 2mm a side. Also got the Shwable Razar Rock on the back @BAGEAR asked for a semi slick (came from a Ardent Race) and I'm very impressed with this tyre. Sure I'm not coming from DHR country, but believe it or not, this weigh's the same as 2.25 Ardent race, it rolls faster, the casing feels much stronger and It really grips well. I just took a chance since it was at a bargain at evobike but I'm over the moon. It has solid shoulder knobs and I have not lost the rear since, and I live in loose over hardpack country. I rode it in loamy Knysna and in the wet and so far so good. I really think its a worthey option. Its a 2.35 and similar to Maxxis 2.4's Here's some photos:

Thanks for all the replies guys. Some good points made here. I see even the Shimano saints' pins don't come close to the shoes' sole. I see the Mallet DH's scores with most tests, however, I could never come to grips with Crank bros system. Didn't like the vague float area between being clipped and clipped. But I think Moving away from typical XC shoes might be half the battle won. Those soles are nylon. Not made to grip on anything. They kill your feet walking in Enduro's anyway, so I definitely need some. As far as pedals goes.. The concept of clips with a cage is a bit of a paradox I guess. If the pins came in contact with the sole before you're clipped, It will hinder the clipping action, If the clip was proud of the cage, it favors the clip but isn't Ideal for the flat pedal part. However, I'm pretty sure it will be a good departure from my current setup. Some Pedal options on CRC.. Pity I didst have the time to go shopping in the UK, I was there last week but had zero spare time and got my hotel confirmation so late I couldn't even have stuff delivered to the hotel. What am I in for for Shoes in SA? Here's come CRC options around R700 bucks. The difference being the SPD clip on the Fire eye (TOP) has a fixed clip part while the Funn pedal at the bottom has a rotating spring, so the lead edge of the clip stands more proud. comments?

Ya but no.. haha Hanging on for dear life is one thing but In all fairness, Its not Ideal. I need new pedals, however I suspect, as you said, my shoes might be the biggest problem. (hard plastic soles)

Guys I have another first world problem.. Talk to me about Pedals. I still Ride good ol XT SPD's which serves me 100% 98% of the time. I have been thinking about Flats for a while with the focus on carrying more speed through corners since carrying speed is pretty much what Enduro is all about. I just find it nearly impossible to flatbox it around a loose flat corner without hovering my inside foot in-case I lose traction. On smooth hardpack getting my foot clipped back in is no problem, but In a rocky technical situation, getting the foot clipped in again often costs me the second or two I made up by clipping out in the first place. I use to Dirt jump with Flats for like 10 years and I have no problem with using them, however, I am not interested in going full flat pedal. So please lets not argue these points If it offends you, keep it to yourself.. If Flat pedals work for you. Its fine. I want to explore an option which I have not, mainly because it involves investing namely, a platform type DH/Enduro style SPD pedal with sneaker type flat soles around the SPD. Do these style of setups offer a good enough connection when not clipped back in that one can hit the next section confidently, without being clipped in?

Hey Splat, enjoy man! Its a great race. Got a bit of FOMO thinking back now. Let us know how it went. All I can say is, the Merino Monster is...a monster. Don't go to hard before it. The second part after you go passed the waterpoint is steep! Hope your'e geared for the occasion. The last day is also awesome, If the route still goes through that Morester farm, Its amazing.

Nice. Its quite expensive for a day out, but If the guys keep adding trails and one gets to do 10 runs of awesome trails, I'm all for it. I wonder if the plact the OTB happened is the same place as where I almost had a OTB last time. Just before the Table, next to the JD's. There was a funny lip, as if there use to be a jump that was removed or something? It just popped my back wheel up when I wasn't expecting it and I hit the table very out of control. I must say, I am still gaining confidence in jumping a FS bike. When I rode a jump bike I could boost to the moon, but Its very easy to get very nose heavy on a FS, and at speed, its sh*t scary. I'll be running a Full face next time.

I was packed and ready to come when something came up and had to babysit the kids all day. I knew the big boys would be there and would have loved to just see the changes they made since I last went in Oct. Also, I have some unfinished business with that table in the pic up here. It looks like they have spent a lot of time on the DJ's aswell. Someone mentioned next month again.. I'll have to wait. Did the flow-trail show signs of wear a tear by the end of the day?

Ok this was last week..But I'm seriously sad not to be there right now. I rode there as often as I could, every time was after a bit of rain. The forest smell, the loam, the flow.. so much of Singletracks, although its mostly hidden away from the masses. All one could hear was zzzzz.... and ish - ish - ish of the shocks compressing...These pics were taken when there was no Strava segment to be had, so the real good stuff was not caught on phone, but etched in my mind. One day I actually left my phone and garmin off, an just rode so there was no race just flow.. I would ride around with trail-forks trying to find tracks I had heard about or trying to string all the trails together in the most creative way. That place truly is MTB heaven. If I still lived there I'd be building trails all damn day.

MM.. We should all rotate wheels.. every week, like a book club I cant see the Aggressor being better for pure grip.. Then the Whole WC scene would be running it. It might however be a better compromise between rolling resistance and grip, which I am into. To me, its about the size and angle of the side knobs. I personally do not have much of a problem with the gap between center knobs and side knobs because the side-knobs gets a chance to dig in.

The longer the fork the slacker the seat angle, and the slacker the seat angle she more your bike sags, and once you start climbing, your weight goes even further back, and sags even more.. A travel adjustable fork really does make sense, although 140mm is a good compromise. I am using my middle setting on my FOX rear shock all the time now. Its actually become my normal setting, and on dirtroads I use the firm, which is almost lockout. Open only for downhills. The difference in sag between open and middle, is about 10% in my case. (5mm)

Thanks for all the replies guys. Im specifically looking for a front since I got a Razor rock for the rear in Dec for a bargain at EVOBIKE. Not a bad tyre, rolls fast yet hooks up when needs to and pretty sturdy sidewalls. Although I have not spent to many days riding rockgardens. In fact its very similar looking to the Slaughter..However Ill put money on the fact that you'll land on your face when hitting the frakes coming into a corner hot, that moment just before you lean her over..BANG! .. Not a front. Regarding the IBEX's @Mayhem, how the heck do you get it to slip? I must be honnest, I have not been at the forfront of the Enduro scene but I know how to ride, and I am yet to fault it. In my opinion its solid and gets goodd reviews online. Which is why I thought of going slightly more DH but Im not looking at strapping another 1/4 kg to my bike when I'm not in need of much more. Im really just keen to try something different. The Eliminator looks pretty good, also hefty though, a bit of a combo between the WTB Vigilante and the Trailboss. This option seems OK..29 x 2.3", PSI 25-50, approximate weight 890g or the 2.6'' at 9.30g But its a bit of a jump from the 2.4 size on my rear. mmm.. first world problems!!

The HR II and IBEX are actually very similar. Is the Minion just slightly more "DH" ?

Afternoon Gents... want to pick your brains here. Im looking for a front. I have been running a 2.25 IBEX which is not shaping up so great on my new 30mm rims. However I love the ride, they grip in pretty much anything. Im 70kg's Kitted and I've never really flatted in front, and would like to get to the top without killing myself, however, I wont compromise on traction. So I'm contemplating: DHR, Highroller II, IBEX 2.4, Hans Dampf. Any advice? I ride Boland trials 90% and gardenroute 10%.

Keen to give this a go since my bike is finally #ENDURO ready. Have not ridden Delvera for a decade though. I might have to do a recon of the route. Will Stages consist of most of the downhills on the Delvera trail network? Otherwise, when will the route be published?

Hi, where did you order the Airflex's from? I'm going to buy some next month.

Haha..volgende dag is alles weer vergete maar jy sit met n groot smile en sy sit by n nice restaurant en sushi eet?? Ken die storie!

Gaan jy ry? Ek gaan n plan probeer maak.

I have not ridden these trails for a very long time. I know Delvera has some rocks but Simonsberg mostly not right? I don't want to completely bust my rather lightweight current wheels which tends to happen when chasing the clock. Can anyone give feedback?

Bump

Hi Guys I want to throw some ideas around with regards to a one bike quiver or getting a CX and a Trail bike. (I'll build a fun HT with spare parts and the parts I end up replacing on what will become my trailbike) If I go for the 1 bike quiver, I'm going to build up a second wheelset because I'm busy ruining my WTB KOM23 set. They are built on some nice lightweight hubs and grippy 2.25'' tires. The idea is to swap them out depending on which riding I will be doing. I'm not a bike abuser but I'm dinging my current underweight rear wheel up pretty badly at the moment, and I think the 2.25's I'm running are about as wide as I can go without having tire rolling issues again. There are a couple of 26-29mm rim options at about 460-480 grams, which is light, will handle 2.4''tires and should make all round riding much more comfortable (I hope to be using these wheels most of the time. Kind of like the Lynne AMP 30, STANS ARCH MK 3 etc..) However, since I will have a lightweight wheelset, I don't want to go to light and end up dinging up my "though" wheels anyway. Does anyone have experience with similar products? Are they hard enough or should I be looking at the ZTR FLOW kind of tough.

What was it like last year?

The majority of the route is "proper" jeeptrack with great views and some singletracks in between. One or two short stretches of dirt or tar road to link The last 6-7km is mostly singletrack. Its not Jonkershoek but a really nice diverse route that should handle rain better than most. I think really worth the drive. Have I mentioned layer up!