aquaratza

Thanks for the info @kk6gan: The club usually reduces prices just past halfway through the year I think... and I highly doubt we'd go back to level 4, don't worry

Hi I'm hoping someone can help: my friends want to ride in ~Durbanville tomorrow (I live in Durbanville). Most of them are club members, but potentially two of them aren't. They're most interested in Hoogekraal and Contermanskloof trails. Does anyone know if those trails (unlike the rest of the network) allow for day passes? Currently the club's newsletters say that trails are only open to club members, but I'm hoping Conties and Hoogies are exceptions to this rule.

You get what you pay for. Websites take time and money to run and this one is run well. I've subscribed.

Hey all I mostly print using PETG - it's an amazing material: It's very strongflexiblehas low thermal expansion coefficient (so doesn't warp easily like ABS)doesn't release as many fumes during printingextremely good print bed adhesion (too much in fact)and generally just works.I've discovered it's dishwasher safe...It seems to be very good for mechanical parts (rubbing against each other in use).ABS is okay, but not recyclable, warps easily and releases a lot of fumes. I've tried PLA a handful of times. It's biodegradeable, which is good and bad. PETG is more interesting. Below is a big part printed for an underwater scooter. It was printed with transparent PETG. You can see a little bit of warping on the thin support structure underneath the main ring. This is okay, it just needs to last the print.

Well done to you all, I passed a couple of you towards the end of your event (23:30) whilst trying out the Epic KOM haha. Your mileages were disturbing (and I thought TransBaviaans was bad).

Yes, thanks again David, it's a really fantastic tool. It already rivaled the best tools a few months ago, but now it's just awesome. I particularly enjoyed some of the educational materials you linked to, like "aerobic decoupling". The Power/HR graph with the ability to exclude warm-up/cooldown samples is also great. The user power distribution graphs on the /power page put things into context, enjoyable to place oneself. The system is not only interesting and functional but it's also aesthetically pleasing and technically cool (asynchronous loading on the fitness graph page). So yes, thank you

And on that note: does anyone have any experience retrofitting Tacx Galaxia rollers with a resistance unit? Something like the Minoura resistance unit (or even something "smart")?

You can upload your Wahoo files to a Garmin Connect account. If that account is linked to Vitality you'll get the points. You may also have to change the device in the .fit file. It's all very easy to game. Fun fact: I cancelled Vitality when I started routinely exercising. I had spent years paying for it without realising.

I agree; people getting out in the open is not going to bring about the apocalypse. Let them ride...

Haha, it's not the cleats, I'm actually pretty good with cleats. I'm just really generally unskilled and super risk averse ????????.

Cleats

Better to be safe than sorry I think, I also walked a few of the sandy downhill switchback sections. It wasn't an easy course; my friends struggled a lot, one almost didn't make the cutoff. Well done on attempting it and persevering, and even more well done for helping others

When/If I eventually get an ebike I'd totally go the MAX POWER route . Given that there are no restrictions if you are going to get an ebike you might as well go the full hog; BIG battery, BIG motor and HUGE brake disc rotors. This wouldn't be for exercise, this would be gratuitous fun. Having a battery on a bicycle is like having chocolates in the cupboard; one can't resist... but it would be fun.

It was perfectly rideable but a bit scary/high stakes. I was seeded in the last group due to having no race history with the PPA. By the time I got to that section everyone was walking, so I mostly walked with them. There were a number of single-track sections of the race which involved unnecessary walking. Frustrating, but understandable. Regarding grading, I've noticed something similar; a blue trail on the TMTB network is easy but a blue trail on an Australian network scares me. I figured the Australians had mis-graded the trail haha.

Haha, thanks and yes. I was planning on holding my tongue but er, yeah, I was surprised when the ebikes started overtaking. Oh man, one of them overtook me at crazy speeds (up a steep section too)... and about 20 minutes later I found him stuck on the side of the road. The other e-bike highlight was a rather large lady, sitting with her e-bike at the finish, smoking a cigarette. Individually those factors don't elicit a reaction from me, but together I find them a bit contradictory. When I think of the spirit behind "race event" and "e-bike" I think "someone who would like to join in but is physically unable to due to age/disability/etc." and I think on principle this is a sweet idea. I don't have a problem with ebikes on these events per se, I think it just needs to be managed tactfully. Restrictions on power output and capabilities should also be codified. It's a complex thing. I should rock up with a Greyp g12s... It has pedals... those scramblers look like a lot of fun.

@Chingy182: Was there anything identifying about him? What did he look like? Branding? Just curious. @JohanDiv: yeah... there were some interesting titbits on that front. The event was very dusty, I can't remember the last time I was that dirty. The views were beautiful. The trails never seemed to stop climbing and they were deceptive in their gradients, it was a psychological challenge. I was a bit saddened by the lack of baby potatoes (as ridiculous as that sounds). I try and avoid high-GI carbs (sugar, bread, normal coke, etc.), so I generally stick to bananas and potatoes during events... fortunately I had some nuts with me so that was my food haha. The tunnel was SUPER COOL, man that was such fun. The little coast down the old road was also awesome, such fun. I was a bit disturbed by the one section that had a steep descent into a valley on one side (pic attached). It was cool but it was scary, a friend told me someone fell shortly after I rode through there. Everyone had come to a stop when I got to that part of the trail, so it was a bit hike-a-bike. You can see the inversion layer in some of those pics.

Two friends and I are in EL / 07:20. I bought blue zipties today. Excited!

I'm doing the repeat again this year. I wasn't going to do it but my friends unexpectedly paid for my entry eish. Unlike last year I'm actually putting some effort into training this time round - but I suspect no amount of training will stop the ass bruising haha. Lessons learnt from last year: aggressively prevent team mate from eating simple carbs (!), make shocks nice and soft, fine tune handle bar angle to reduce wrist unhappiness, carry a satellite messaging and tracking device (Garmin inReach mini). Super excited and mildly concerned . Riding cross country at night is AWESOME

The replacement unit appears to have glue/loctite on the bolts that came loose on the previous unit - so recently-manufactured NX derailleurs shouldn't have this issue. Also I don't think anyone has complained about 11-speed NX (which was apparently constructed very differently to the 12-speed NX).

Yes @ new NX 12 speed (bought in the last +/- 4 months). I just wanted to say a big thanks to CWC/CycleLab for replacing the 'sploded derailleur - without fuss. I emailed them, they asked for some photos, they asked me to bring it in and then gave me a new one , retail unit, boxed and all. Really good customer service, super happy . Thanks!

My GX Eagle setup has been great... Just bought another GX Eagle derailleur to replace the sploded NX derailleur.

My NX Eagle has failed, my GX Eagle is still fine. The NX had 790km on it, the GX has 3800 km on it.

Same thing just happened to my derailleur... 4 months old. Bought it from CWC, warranty claim time haha :|

Thanks for asking - I rode this trail yesterday (into the nature reserve behind Bloemendal) and it was really beautiful. Lots of animals and great views. There was a gate at the top of the nature reserve that had a TBMTBC-favourite rusted lock on it. Does anyone know if this was once a club trail and if so the history? The lock had the club's code dialled in

I think the GX Eagle is probably the best value proposition; from my experience it is clearly extremely durable, doesn't feel plasticky, has the better bearing vs bushing in the shifter (lower resistance), etc. and doesn't cost insane amounts. It seems like a reasonable economic compromise. My NX chain is rusting a bit, but the GX still looks new. You can mix and match components (GX/NX/etc), which is nice.