Old and Slow

The answer depends on what and where you ride. If you're cruising along gravel roads then you likely don't need bigger range. If you frequently do rides with lots of steep climbs then it's nice having something to make it easier.

Fantastic bike! I've got a Spider of similar vintage and it's a superb machine. Enjoy it!

Riding in mud is about the worst thing you can do for a bike. As you said, it acts like sandpaper/grinding paste. I did an 18h event around 2001/2 in Hillcrest and it rained almost constantly for 18 hours. I won my category but had to use my R500 prize money to replace a rim that had worn through.

POV with Laurie Greenland. That bottom section looks scary with huge jumps at huge speed.

That was such a strange and tragic story.

That's really disappointing! Hoping for a quick and complete recovery.

The day is young, let's go!

Those junior women times are crazy. Top junior as fast as the 5th elite woman and then 2 minutes to next competitor!

I raced bmx in my late teens and suffered two concussions 2 weeks in a row. My memory has never been the same. I also never raced bmx after the second crash. Edit: I'm glad he's following good medical advice but bleak that we won't get to watch Finn pin it this weekend.

My point was simply that guys derestrict ebikes so that they are no longer simply gaining assistance but are riding fully fledged motorbikes, and get to feel like they're better than everyone else. Similarly, guys that hate on ebikes feel better than everyone else because they are "more skilled/train harder" than everyone else. Both are the result of fragile ego.

I think it's a reinforcement bias. If you believe ebikes are a cop-out for hard work and skill then you will interpret your experiences like this: If I get held up on singletrack by a normal bike, the rider is the problem. If, however, they are on an ebike, I am no longer able to assign blame to the rider- the bike is wholly to blame. If I see a rider working on skills on a normal bike; they are new to the sport and should be supported: but if they're on an ebike, I feel the sport is being overrun by usurpers who should rather be on a golf course. Those who hate ebikes and those who derestrict their ebikes so they can destroy everyone else, suffer the same problem: poor self-esteem and inflated ego that needs a way to enforce their superiority over others.

Let's put this thread to bed before it becomes a mass debate.

After reading through this thread, my new list of topics to avoid around the braai is: Religion, politics and e-bikes.

Counter point. I am lazy and unfit but have fairly good technical skills. I ride a human powered bike. In my younger days, when I still did events, I would get passed by the entire field on the uphill, and then ride like an idiot on the technical stuff, scaring the daylights out of the guys I passed in dangerous over-taking manoeuvres. I am certain I caused more trail damage with my cool roosts and late braking than most ebike riders cause now. Chops will be chops regardless of what they ride. Thankfully, I have matured and have almost become a lekker oke now.

4 rides and the outside of the cranks look like THAT. @LazyTrailRider, your watch does seem brand new now after reading through this thread.

Change your username to "ExtremelyDiligentTrailRider" to set the precedent for your next purchase.

It's about as technical as the 100m sprint in athletics, and no one finds that entertaining.

Oddly excited to find this thread. I was hiking up Inferno 1 at Boschendal on Monday and two large puffys were mating as they slid down the hill side together. Sadly I was unable to record the remarkable encounter because I was hiking up to look for my phone that jumped out my pocket on the way down.

Rode at Boschendal today and lost my phone going down Inferno. On my last hike-a-bike up to try find the darned device, I stumbled upon 2 big Puff Adders in the act of procreating. Reached for my pocket so I could record the remarkable sight but....

Completely agree with this. The track looked awesome to ride, but it didn't really make for exciting racing. The laps felt short and with few places to overtake. The super tight last corner didn't give much room for a last minute attack. Camera work couldn't possibly have been worse than Petropolis so at least they sorted that out.

I have a bialleti brikka 4 cup which I feel makes a better cup than the other Moka pots. That said, for camping and weekends away I take an @home 6cup. The quality is excellent and it wasn't that expensive.

Seat angle has absolutely no effect on weight distribution unless you are seated. If you're going into corners fast while seated than the bike is the least of your concerns.

Perhaps to clarify, my definition of being cautious is upright position, weight further back on the bike. Over confidence means riding beyond the capability of the bike (generally unlikely) or your own skill set. Committed is the middle ground. Not necessarily pushing the limits but being intentional about body position, not backing off the moment your front feels like it's going to slip out. Having recently installed a 1.5 angle headset, which took me from 67° to about 65.7°, I have noticed that I need to push the front harder than before to get traction. Another thing to consider is that your trail bike is possibly carrying more speed into corners than your old bike, so you have to brake harder before the corner to avoid washing out.

I find being more cautious only makes matters worse! You have to commit to get the tire to grip. Here's a pretty good cornering video that may give you some tips. https://youtu.be/ZOqFywGllFw

It could be the slacker head angle that's your undoing. With the slacker head angle and shorter stem of a trail bike your weight is shifted further back than on a traditional xc setup, so you really need to weight the front wheel to gain traction.