JJDT

I think with all the rain, the road will be a challenge in terms of roughness and corrugations. The bad part will only start just after Venterskroon just before the first climb. Hopefully it will not be that cold, but looking forward to the event.

I hear you also done 20...but with the +1 and next year it will be why not 1 more and +1, +1...then it will be 25...😊 Will stick to the "round" number for now...who knows November is still a long way...

Basic budget setup if the current setup can accommodate the upgraded components: Cassette - Sunrace 11 - 46 R1525 Chainring 104 BCD - 34T R429 (Rapide) Chain - KMC 118 Links R550 Shifter - Deore - R695 Rear Derailleur - Deore - R995 The prices as per Evobikes except the chainring.

Spoke to him last night and he indicated that he will forward me the information. He bought Giant but not sure which models but it is not dual suspension bikes.

Friend of mine bought himself and his SO new MTB's. The chainrings on the bike is 30T and he wants to fit 34T chainrings. Further to this he asked me if I can source the chainrings for him. Browsing online looking for chainrings there is the mention of offset, saw a few chainrings that does not mention offset. Question what will the issue be if I replace his 0mm offset ring with a 3mm offset ring? At this stage he is just doing some causal riding on the road and occasional gravel roads.

Do know part of this route as I normally ride some parts of this route for an out and back ride when we camp in the Parys area. I normally turn around at the Schoemansdrift bridge. Just past Venterskroon the road is getting somewhat spicy with corrugations and just general roughness. Once past the climb the road is better, but returning the descent to Venterskroon will not be smooth and do not expect a fast descent. The last two climbs before the finish will be somewhat demanding, the first short but steep and the second climb long, but will be rewarded with a fast descent to the end. Hopefully it will not be that cold as the last time in winter I rode past Koedoeslaagte Trail Park it was a chilly -3.

Agree with the health checks, waste of time and effort. The last time I would've met the BMI index would've been 24 years ago when I trained for Comrades. When I look at the photo's of that time I was "skin & bone" but very fit. Fast forward to today I'm also very fit but slightly heavier but happy with my weight and also the blood pressure measurements are not in line. Last year went for my checks and my blood pressure was slightly above their range and also my weight. My wife on the other hand is on blood pressure medication and her measurements were also slightly higher... The only reason I'm still on vitality is my life assurance is linked to vitality and the benefits especially the premiums can not be matched. I asked a friend in the insurance industry to look at my benefits and premiums as I wanted to boot vitality. He came back informing me that he could not find something similar for the premium, same benefits the premium would've increased more than the vitality premium, so I'm stuck with Vitality for now.

Thanks for the highlights. Quick question did you decide that the food at the last waterpoint was not good enough and would rather have a Wimpy burger as you were enroute to the Wimpy before turning around😁?

If you are tired and the legs are tired that 9.1% gradient, although on tar it felt way more steeper for me at least.

Great event and my suffering started with the climb just after WP4 after turning right, recovered somewhat after WP5 and then the last two beasts were there, first the Mount Grace climb and then that cement road climb which seemed to carry on forever this time around (Normally after 50km in the legs this climb is not that bad, but with 140km's in the legs and a really tough climb just 3km's before it is another ball game).

Hi All Anybody have insurance with or dealt with the above mentioned company? Currently insured with King Price and do not have any issues with them. I wanted to change insurance especially my building insurance which is currently with the bank, but it is very expensive. Approached King Price just to have all my insurance under one roof and when they heard the word Lapa which is basically attached to the house they indicated that they are not willing. Went to my broker and asked him to obtain quotes and received two offers one from Santam and one from Auto & General. The quote from Auto and General is very good. I do not just want to change and when it comes to claims it will be a start of very difficult journey.

There were not that many vehicles on route, most of them you only see them parked on the side of the road or at water points. Hardly any vehicles following you on the route.

I did the Grind this year and last year. The organisers do allow private vehicles on route. There were only two places on the routes where vehicles were not allowed and that was basically about 15km into the race (this years reverse route) and the previous year the last water point before the end. Overall a good event for the price, basically 1/3 of the price compared to Race to the Sun.

Thanks for the effort, will send you a message now.

It is the Flightdeck shifters. Thanks for the reply and will wait for your feedback.

Looking for hoods for my old 9 Spd Tiagra STI's. This is a while since I noticed that the rubber is sticky and after the weekends wash the rubber is starting to disintegrate. The only place that stock STI hoods is Evobikes but the closest version is out of stock. Willing to pay for the items.

@Skubarra I did some research on the event and have noticed that there are a few climbs such as FANGS, MAC, Never Ender and also the flat fast sections. If needed then I will need to change the ratio to maybe at least to a 50 at the rear. @DieselnDust I'm relatively strong but I will not going for any Strava KOM's. I just want to get to the top and also have enough in the tank to get to the end as the Never Ender also lies ahead with that long drag that is relatively steep.

Also my first time doing this event. Just a question for the guys who did this event before in terms of gearing. Currently running 11spd with 11- 46 with 36 Chainring. I'm not a specialist climber and will drop the front to a 34 and the question now is will this 34 - 46 ratio be sufficient for the "MAC"?

What is the best way to get a stuck seat post out? Wanted to do a setup and while in the setup it was found that my seat height was a bit to low. Wanted to adjust it and found it will not move stuck inside the frame. Bike is with LBS for two days now and when I asked this afternoon, I was informed that there was not any progress to get it out. Normal Aluminum Frame bike with Aluminum seat post. So and I want to take my bike and with advise from this forum I might just get the seat post out myself. Any tips and tricks for getting the seat post out of the frame.

From a South African perspective Alan deserves a gold, although the results indicates third but he showed determination. I think this race although 3rd surpasses his most recent win as he had to be in the red for most of the race, try to close the gap, staying on the wheel of the flying Brit and got dropped twice but still managed to get back on the wheels of the two front runners. Just as he was in a shot to win this race, I believe he does have the ability to win the worlds as he will win this years world cup series.

Insane racing...Alan made us proud

Flippin ads...

Koretzsky is matching Pidcock at the moment...Alan looking fine at 3 at the moment...

This was the last proper monster...

Just to add what has already been mentioned, ride one or two other events prior to your "main" race just to get the feeling of what to expect one race day. It is one thing just to ride the local trails as opposed to be in a race. You need to be somewhat prepared on what race day will happen, bottlenecks, someone making a mistake and fall in front of you(will you be able to stop in time or swerve to avoid falling yourself), extreme heat(you will most likely start in the last batch at a very late time and depending on your speed it maybe a very long day). Enjoy the MTB journey...