TyronLab

Out of all of the options out there, there's no one bike that is perfect for every situation, unless you only ride one type of thing and only that thing. To me, you need to understand why you're riding and what you want to get out of it. Unless you're really at the pointy end of the field and you're looking for every advantage you can, ride what feels lekker. At the end of the day, ride the bike that is "you". The one that makes you stop at the end of the ride and stand and stare at it in the garage for a minute before you go in the house. I've had some of my best rides on bikes that were very far from what would be considered "optimal". My riding is very similar to yours. A bunch of road miles in the week, longer distance road and gravel mixed routes on the weekends with trails thrown in the mix (mostly with tar commutes to the trails). That's why I ride rigid MTBs and gravel bikes. They're not the perfect bike for most of the rides, but it puts a smile on my face more than any other bike.

After being "forced" to buy another bike, I took some time to ponder and compare and spreadsheet the hell out of this choice. Wishlist: Not a carbon frame. I'm too nervous that it breaks, and I've had bad experiences with "good" carbon frames. Drop bars. Hydraulic brakes. 1x drivetrain. Nothing proprietary or hard to maintain. 50mm + tyre clearance. 3x bottle cages. Dropper compatible. I landed on this and, so far, it has exceeded my expectations: It's a Giant Revolt 1 with a 40T GRX 600 crankset and a pair of 50mm Maxxis Ramblers as upgrades from the get-go. I was unsure of the colour at first based on the online pictures, but in the flesh (and with the tan wall tyres) I absolutely love it. Still needs a proper trail test, but so far it's been efficient enough on the road and, on the dirt bits I've thrown in, supremely comfortable. The fit is also bang-on in stock form, which I was pretty sure of before purchasing thanks to Bike Insights and having quite a few bikes to use for comparison. Maiden voyage:

Anyone surprised by the average age / weight / demographic in here has evidently not been on your average roadie group ride lately... or maybe that's just the groups I'm fast enough to ride with 😄 At 1.77 I'm exactly on the split between M and L mountain bikes. I've generally been more comfortable on M frames with slightly longer 50-60mm stems but have had issues with my 755mm bb-to-saddle distance causing seatposts to run at ther min insertion. 55cm roadies or M/L gravel bikes are perfecto with ~70mm stems. Size 10 shoes (it sure looks like I'm more on the Kenyan end of the spectrum of torso/leg length here). 35 (or, halfway through a below average innings) 85-89kg depending on how much I travel and whether it's my birthday month.

Managed to cross something off of the challenge/bucket list this morning; Riding Suikerbosrand on a singlespeed. 34x20 worked well on the climbs, but seeing as I spun out at 25kph it meant the flats and mild downs were pretty slow in comparison to normal and meant I couldn't gather some momentum to coast over rollers. The wheels did proverbially come off on the last big climb, where the beautiful morning turned to sweltering heat and a small tailwind which made it feel like riding in an air fryer. Didn't have to dab, even though I was proper grinding by then. Always fun!

Still working on the prompts, but AI seems to be getting closer to solving your packing conundrum.... 😄 EDIT: We're getting closer!

Man, this is ******* awesome! And proof that if you're a lekker dude the universe will have lekker things happen to you. Very, very jelly @Jewbacca, but also super excited to dot watch you next December! Please keep us updated on the bike, this abomination will be something magical.

Out of interest, what does this weigh in this configuration? Vintage bike conversions seem like a hoot.

That's the thing. If you're overtaking someone, even if you're at 190BPM and redlining, you have to compose yourself and give a very gentle and upbeat "good morning!" as if you're just out for a leisurely cruise.

Psssssht, right brake is the front, moto-style. And yes, when a buddy wants to try rigid singlespeeding I want to sprinkle the added brain-screw of having wrong-way-round brakes into the mix too. I'm sadistic like that. (Actually, in truth, I swapped these brakes from another bike, lines were a little short, so instead of wanting to shell out for new hoses and bleeding I just swapped the lines. I'm also stingy like that.)

Also ride alone the vast majority of the time. I like riding with people and riding alone for different reasons, riding with others just doesn't work out most of the time. I already work too many hours so I limit my riding in my family's waking hours. As such I'm always out of the door very early (also for quieter roads). Groups I could ride with start later, and oftentimes stop for coffee or a beer mid-ride on weekends, which seems like a waste, so end up riding alone. My morning routine also dictates that I need to be in the shower by 0530 or the whole system at home doesn't work. Most groups plan rides that only finish after that, so I often peel off mid-route and ride back alone. I try to be very conscientious about where and when I ride, stay alert and up to date on current hotspots. I also see no point in resistance so my bike is insured and I'll happily let it go. Hell, I'll adjust the saddle height for them before they ride away.

I don't think it's a lack of entries, I think it's a cashflow issue (based on zero knowledge, purely an assumption). Lots of people get bonus in December and March, I'm guessing the majority of entries happen then. Might just be an incentive to get the entry numbers up ahead of time and have some cash to work with? Judging by the WhatsApp group, and how many people already entered for 2024 based on the special, I think this is one of those that has a substantial percentage of repeat riders and not a whole bunch of new faces every year.

For shizzle. I striggled to justify paying triple the price vs. just standard bar ends mounted inboard, but these are in another league. Should be standard equipment on a flat bar bike.

I see the 2024 entries are on special until Dec 31st 2023. R20k (a pittance by comparison) gets you on the start line boys and girls!

Tested out the limits of 34x15 today, tackling my tried and tested urban climbing loop. I was proper 30rpm grinding some sections (granted, some pitches were ~15%), but didn't have to engage third gear. Came away with a few PRs too, which was a nice surprise. This bike is crazy fun!

Rim brakes, gross.... And yes, I'm just stirring *** now. That hip angle of the front guys is making my stomach hurt. Back to the dot watching. Marnus Nothnagel is starting to get close and closer to the cut off marker. See he's arrived at WP3 now Let's go boytjie, no time for dawdling! I can however relate to arriving close to last place at a WP, checking the tracker, and seeing that the winner has travelled double your distance (or in my case at the Grit, finished already). Strangely not demotivating, but rather awe-inspiring. @gemmerbal also needs to watch his time. He's a third done, but there's not a lot of margin.

Good idea, maybe for the purpose of the thread we should be identifying ourselves with our pedigree. Maybe that chills everyone the **** out. 2-time Grit Cradle finisher, but I identify as a Full Munga finisher.

Why is the Hub so blerrie aggressive these days? Every thread turns into some disagreement (hell, the last couple of posts is the third just in this thread)... Just, be lekker. We're watching dots on a screen that represent people spending second-hand-car money to ride their bicycles (that cost new-car-money) through the desert in December for zero benefit outside of bragging rights and personal fulfilment... None of this makes sense or should be taken so seriously.

How is that even possible. I come back from a solo 27kph/1hr road ride on my mountain bike and I've done a solid Z3 training session. How in the name of all things holy has he averaged that over 650km?!? Conditions being advantageous or not, that's a mind-bending pace. Out of interest, is the record time an actual recording of Ramses' traverse along the route, or just an average speed assumption based on his finishing time (similar to the cutoff marker)? If it's the former, Drikus is killing it. @Carlog also going well, only 1hr stopped so far and at ~430km. Strong riding!

I also think that in a race this long you're going through ups and downs, strong times and weak times. Unless you're really committed to and patient with your drafting partner, you're very similar and going through the same motions at the same time, it's likely that at some stage you'll organically separate (well, that's what has happened to me).

I think this is very much a personal preference thing, what's most comfortable and familiar to every individual rider. Unfortunately there aren't very many locally available options for off-the-shelf drop bar bikes with MTB tyre clearance, and the options that exist are very expense (Curve, Sling cycles). Interestingly, my first grit I did on a steel drop bar gravel bike with 48/43mm tyres, and didn't have any severe hand/bum issues. Second one I did on a steel mountain bike with flat bars and "inner bar ends" (not the proper ones, cheapo Decathlon ones I just put inside of the grips) with 2.35" tyres and I had horrendous saddle sores and couldn't use my pinkies for a week.

Wish I had some slap chips to go with all of the salt in this post... I think drafting is going to really come into play in the Tankwa with the infamous headwind. Interesting racing!

Off Topic: How badass of a name is Oren Azmanov?!? It's the name of a person that invented the first tank that shoots lasers and sharks. Please tell me he has a wild, bushy moustache...

I'd take a stab and say a few main reasons. One, redundancy, should your hydration bladder pop or malfunction you still have a backup in the form of a bottle in the Tankwa. Two, variety. Having just water gets old if you have big gaps between WPs, having one bottle coke, one bottle energade, one bottle water gives you some options I guess. Given the budget, I'd be rocking a full frame bag with a big bladder in the bottom along woth ine spare bottle, similar to Bianchi Arcadex dude.

I'd also like to give the oke riding the Rapide Tigre with day-to-day components some kudos. There's a clear trend of those that can afford the entry also not being shy to splurge on their bikes too. Its refreshing to see a bike in the mix that's more steel and duct tape than Apidura and primo-everything. I, for one, wouldn't bring anything I'm not willing to damage/scratch/drag/rebuild to this ride. I see a lot of post-ride maintenance bills at Cyclelab being more than my current bike's value even if all goes smoothly.

I used to think the same, and I unfortunately still can't manage to fork out R30k to do this (even though I desperately want to). Having done the Grit Cradle and knowing the company and rep that was doing the RV and WP logistics for that, I can tell you it's no small feat. It was a mammoth task coordinating sleeping arrangements, sustenance, safety, medics etc. and that's a 500km circular loop. Considering the full fat Munga is a 1100km one-way ride, it makes the logistics much harder. This isn't a CTCT water table with a few cups of coke and maybe an energy bar if you're early enough. There is a mountain of food, and multiple food options, at every WP and RV, as well as tents, bedding, medical supplies. All of which are expected to operate continuously for at least 3 days with people literally arriving and leaving constantly at any possible hour. Multiple full-time medical vehicles patrolling the route. You're also splitting this cost between a very small number of entrants (~120), so the per-person cost skyrockets. Sure, I think they must be making some money out of this, but having dipped my toe into Munga water I can confidently assume that they aren't raking in 60% margins you might think they are. Considering they only have 3/4 events a year and it takes a team of people to arrange it, and the fact that this is as niche and boutique as something like the Epic without the notoriety and people-draw that has, the entry price makes sense. On topic, best of luck to all of the riders, One day I'll hopefully be in Bloem alongside you nervously kakking myself for what lies ahead. Just keep moving, keep the pedals turning, and take the time to have this experience saturate you to the core as I know it will.