Bos

Good on you. The thing with the ocean is, it doesn't give up when you get tired, It sends relentless sets just when you sneak to far into the impact zone to catch a smaller one in, just to teach you a lesson, that sneaking inside for a smaller one, will not be tolerated! But If you paddle back out after getting your wet-suit put on back to front by the cleanup sets, you will be rewarded by the cooker that will leave a smile on your face all day. My signature use to say.."Training is like wrestling a gorilla, its not over when you're tired, its over when the gorilla is tired".. Micheal Rogers Its time to get in shape for Enduro season.. I might just enter a couple of 50km marathon races to help my sorry ass get off the couch.

Haha, missed a bit of banter & burning here. But to your point, surfing is excellent x training especially stand up where you're paddling (with your arms) whilst balancing on your sternum and compensating... getting axed.. if you dont pull finger and HTFU heck yes. I miss that.. Raising a 4 year old boy, 1yr old girl, not sleeping through, long work hours is not ideal. Currently I get some pushups and pull ups done. but rides are 30 mins in the week and 1:30 on a weekend. I'll have to up my game if I even want to finish the big EWC enduro days. Indoor trainer has been dusted off.. It's Discipline though.. lots of it.

Ah Man I miss that place. Good to see the Phantom Pass DH open again. What was it like? Did you get to ride the singletracks up at Simola? Some sweet BC like goodness up there.

Know the feeling dude!

Ive done the 60 a vouple of times, really love this race. Never thought of doing the 30km before, but I'm sooo unfit and need some kind of motivation. Did the 30km still include the singletracks?

New Silverback that launched last week?! Nice looking bike. Their top dog Marathon bike looks amazing. Although not for this thread.

So I hit Helderberg On Sunday morning. Man I forgot how fast that middle bit is. So much fun. I rode it once last year in May, so hitting jumps and drops is like hitting them blind, which adds to the rush for sure. The climb to the top.. Pretty much killed me in that wind though. Better get fit If I want to do any real Enduro's this year.

Great event. The route has always been real mtb with a good mix of singletrack and jeeptrack. Pretty rocky but not unlike most races around here. Makes it interesting though. Bit to unfit this year, but really great event.

I think a 90deg side on shot would have showed it better. The perspective is balancing it out in the photo. Never knew he was running it. Did he run it last year?

Ol Steel city is quite the unit! Good to see him still involved and enjoying Mtb' ing

You have much to learn son! https://bmxdirect.net/category/grips/ From back in my dirt jumping days when half my bike was made up of BMX parts I would shop at bmxdirect. I got a couple of pairs of BMX grips because they were so cheap. The ones I got are not for sale anymore but are similar to these.. I know they are not lock-on, but I don't have issues with grips turning, unless I've had a crash and sand gets in between the bar and grip. PreviousNext STRANGER QUAN KRATON GRIP GUMZAR125.00 In stock

About the same..?

Might end up trying the Paarl DH, should be in good condition after the provincial. Will ask the wife If she will drive me up and down a few times while the kids are getting car sick in the back.. CHANCES!!?? That Saaltjie Climb is a fricken killer. Weather will be perfect though.. should be mid twenties.

Theres a DH Bikehub team and the password is posted on the Downhill thread.. Perhaps try the same password? It was something silly, try "bikehub"?? More importantly.. Who's jointing me for a Jonkershoek Saturday morning? Should be mint after the rain. I need some new mates since the others are always full of excuses (snotty knee high ones)when I want to ride.

Has anyone entered the Pinkbike Enduro Fantasy league? Cant be asked to try find a Bikehub or SA league to join. https://www.pinkbike.com/contest/fantasy/enduro/ Can the season get going already!?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I recall initial tests suggesting a 180mm bike that pedals like a trailbike.. Whats not to like

Looks a bit like a pregnant dog dunnit

At first these bikes looked hideous, but its starting to grow on me. Great riding, this young lady rips! Nice trails though https://www.vitalmtb.com/v/36408?width=780&height=440'

Another vote for the 29'' I think its all going in that direction anyway. Very interesting to see how in the Enduro-mtb mag, trailbike catagory bikes have gone from averaging 120/130mm to 150mm. I think a 140 rear end is enough. I guess it depends how you dress it up as well. https://enduro-mtb.com/en/trail-bike-3000-group-test/ https://enduro-mtb.com/en/high-end-trail-bike-group-test/ https://enduro-mtb.com/en/best-trail-bike-you-can-buy/ in the earliest test 28% of bikes were 29'' in the last, 61 were 29'' In my humble opinion, as someone also interested in the mythical no compromise one bike quiver (its all a compromise BTW) in this day and age I think the biggest two factors in the one bike quiver is weight and the height of the front end. If you can keep the front end as low as possible, even better adjustable.. you're winning. Weight, In the distance game, it will always be a factor. Therefore, get two wheelsets, since swapping wheels are about as much haste as one would want to go through, but also quite an important part when it comes to confidence,ability,weight and strength.

You sound well stoked I haven't had a bunch of modern enduro /trail bikes like a bunch of the guys but I did recently go from a 110R/120Fmm bike to a 135R/140F. The confidence it adds is mind blowing. I'm loving it. and As you said, I typically blast into hairy sections hot and the wheels and skin ends up paying the price. I've actually gone over to a convertible full-face lid, Im a father and ever so slightly more responsible now:) Amazing how well the Vitus seems to climb!? To me the biggest drawback is the high front, when things get steep. Attempting to answer some q's.. 1. Maxxis, most online shops stock them. Trailboss, I havent seen anything wider then 2.3's in SA, Dont discount some of the faster rolling semislick type tyres that still corner well, If you're not riding wet much, they roll unbelievably well. 2. 30% sag.. Cant tell, what do you weigh? I took my volume spacer out, I'm only 72kg's kitted though. So If you're heavier, perhaps you should try it? 3. Cant tell, but If you burped the rear you might have been running to little pressure? I cant get myself to run those things since they do make your wheels feel I've been naughty/lazy to check my pressures of late and have been awarded with some dings, front and rear.. I ride about 27 PSI front and 30 Rear but that is very weight dependent. Listening to some WC circuit Mech's on the Downtime Podcast, they say how they typically increase the tire pressure as the rider gets closer to race day. Since the speeds increase. This makes sense. It all depends at what speed you're hitting the rocks.

https://www.vitalmtb.com/community/OneUp,37548/blog/02/08/2019/entry/1911 Just to take the ease off your Mondays.. I love this.. Its what I want to ride all day long.

The big difference, to me, is how a simple deg or two can make the worlds difference in confidence. On sections one use to hang on for dear life, one suddenly starts looking for even faster lines or ways to gap stuff. BUT, One eventually gets use to that too.. My 2 C, (and its just what I've read) Is that to big a taboo is made of the offset and that even to the pro's the difference is almost negligible.

Nice I signed up yesterday. Must still think about my players a bit..Joined the Bike hub league. cant wait for Maribor!

Nice looking bike. Not going to be cheap though.