TyronLab

I think NSBB summed it up perfectly. Riding a gravel bike is a mindset thing. Every bike is built to fill some limited portion of the riding spectrum between a TT bike and a DH mtb. . As someone who went from a 29+ heavy hitter trail bike, to a Rook Scout 11 Speed, to an XC race weapon, to a racey carbon gravel bike, and now to a steel rigid MTB (all within the space of a year) I can confidently say that every bike has some specific area it shines in and the more you stray from that sweet spot the "worse" it gets. Even in the gravel bike category two bikes can feel like polar opposites. The Rook is a great mountainbiker's gravel bike, if that makes sense. The geometry is pretty upright and comfy. The steel frame is very compliant. Has a 1x drivetrain. And with a (relatively cheap) handlebar upgrade (I can highly recommend the Rapide 460mm gravel bar) it has a real sense of plantedness and control off road. I felt pretty comfortable sending it on trails it wasn't designed for. The Titan Switch I had on the other hand felt like a roadie gravel bike. It was responsive, agile, stiff and felt like a racehorse. It goaded you into wanting to smash out some rapid miles on the road or smooth gravel, but never felt as sure footed when the going got a little rougher. If you find the idea of being out of your comfort zone appealing, whether that is physically, mentally, or even geographically, get a gravel bike. ... Man now I miss my Rook all over again..

K, so you're the authority then 😁 How would you compare them to other bars you've ridden? Their pricing is (as always) really good, so if they're comfy I'll probably go that route.

I had a look, doesn't look like their carbon bars are in stock. Have you used their alloy bars? I'm a big Rapide fan (currently running their 29er wheelset and rigid fork, really liking both), so if their alloy bars are compliant I'll happily look at that. I've had a look at those, but they seem to be out of stock (as they have been for quite some time). Any links to local supplier? My google-fu seems to be weak today so I can't seem to find a local one. Very very nice, but also very spendy (especially since I'd need to add a stem to it too). Thanks for the tip. I'm a smidge too impatient to wait with the current shipping issues, but if this works out to be the best deal it could work.

My recently built bike has a hodgepodge of mismatched parts (which I love) that have been serving me well, with the exception of one component, the handlebar. Its 720mm wide, has no branding on, and feels like its cast out of solid Aluminum as even when I was running a Reba/different wheelset/different tyres/different pressure it transmitted every small vibration into my hands. Noticeably more than any bike I've ridden before (and I've ridden a gamut of mtbs in the last two years). It also has ESI silicone grips on which I've used before, so it rules out the grips just being hard. I've narrowed it down to what I'm assuming is a cheap OEM handlebar. Seeing as I'm running a rigid fork, the issue has been exacerbated. I'm keen on upgrading to something with a bit more compliance to it. I've read good things about carbon bars, but I'm nervous about needing to be gentle with it (I like not needing to worry too much about something fragile to the point where I soldy previous carbon bike partly because of this). I've also read that the specific bar design matters more than the material its made out of. Not too fussed about width (I think my sweetspot is 780, but I'm comfy on 720-800mm wide). Don't think I'd like a completely flat bar so some backsweep would be good (the standard 9deg is just fine). 5-15mm of rise. Ideally 31.8mm clamp. Any recommendations from seasoned bar swappers? I've had my eye on the Farr endurance bar, those little ergo magoefters next to the stem seem cool, but I'm open to anything that's not my current torture stick.

I actually remember the start of the last one I rode in. The first 30min it felt like the entire field was racing past us in a moer of a hurry. I was slightly panicky as I was at 170BPM thinking I was super under prepared. Everyone seemed to settle down in the first climb though. I'm focusing on training hard enough so that I could scrape in with a 10.5 / 11hr if I bled through my eyeballs throughout, so that I can enjoy the 12hr we have planned. The more I ride the more I realise that these fictitious time limits we set ourselves are super pointless. I'm riding solely to have a great experience. If we take longer than 12hr it starts to become a pretty long day and starts detracting from the fun. Less than that and I need to train more than what I'd consider feasible while still enjoying riding my bike (i.e. it not feeling like work). That's just me though. If you enjoy training your guts out to go from 150th to 110th then you do you bro.

Do you have the 8 or 11 speed? If its 11, my 11 speed Scout (RIP) performed really well. I also suffered chain drops, but that was because I was riding some very rough gravel at speeds I shouldn't have been and bunny hopping it over trenches. So, to be expected. Other than that it was smooth for the time I had it, and I did a fair share of muddy / sandy / dirty off road riding with it.

I have mixed emotions about the 5am start. It makes the logistics a little easier (i.e. not driving home in the middle of the night), is closer to my normal start time, should need less cold weather gear for the night and you get to see the scenery after Bergplaas in the day (for us mere mortals). But riding in a gigantic reserve in the dead of night was kinda part of the appeal. I remember stopping at one point and just sitting, in the pitch black darkness, and listening the absolute silence. One of my fondest memories of the race. My training has... Not started. And probably won't in earnest until after my planned marathon in June. I maintain a moderate level of constant riding fitness, so I'm not too worried.

If anyone has an HG freehub that can work with Rapide wheels, I'd be happy to trade my XD freehub with you for some time. I'm keen to try out a Single Speeding on my bike but cannot be bothered to import a special kit or buy a complete new hub just for this purpose.

How did you even buy it in the first place without passing the mandatory gravel biker entry survey? 1. Beard, or at least a Selleck-esque moustache with curled up ends. 2. Susceptible to poisoning from coffee that doesn't come in bean form and needs a mechanical device and 30min to prepare. 3. Has been commercial-beer sober for four years, but at a functioning level of drunkenness on imported Ales for an equal amount of time. 4. Wardrobe consists of exclusively trailerpark-chíc flannel printed clothing items. 5. Drives an Alfa Romeo, Land Rover, or has equivalent experience of being berated, sanity and financial prowess questioned, and generally distrusted by traditionalists (or Hilux Drivers in the aforementioned cases). It's kinda the law.... Keep in mind that I got my steel gravel bike because I got a softening on rule 2 (Nescafe and Jacobs are indistinguishable to me, was nearly beaten to a pulp for that) and I have rule 4 down, but not exclusively. Also, enjoy the CTCT!

I had that same issue in the Munga Grit, and I think it's a gravel specific issue. Due to tyre size you're very dependent on tyre pressure for comfort. At a pressure where the sharp impact of a bump is reduced its pretty easy to ding a rim or pinch a tyre on a rock. Both my tyres lost pressure during the Grit. The sidewalls were so worn by the end that they were seeping sealant and I binned them (at least, I would have binned them if I didn't scrap the bike). For reference I was on 650B x 43 rear and 48 front GravelKing SKs, so pretty meaty.

I am once again toying with the idea of a SS setup on my current bike, but I ended up with an XD hub to fit the fancy schmancy XX1 cassette that came with the bike. Anybody have any options or alternatives to the expensive import options to get a SS cog onto an XD hub? I've strongly considered just designing an adaptor (splines and a thread, not too hard to machine) and having it machined by a buddy. Would maybe work out cheaper than either getting an HG Freehub to suit my Rapide wheels or importing an expensive kit.

Might enter the 24hr, but the "no external food" mandate is a little iffy. Will there be any food or waterpoints provided, or is the food truck the only option? Will it be available for the entire duration of the event?

A really trusting buddy of mine is lending me his Kickr V5 while he's in Europe, so my bike took me into my garage this morning for my first Zwift race, which I'm pretty much already hooked on. I unfortunately had a toddler that was practicing his parkour in our bed from 02:00 this morning, so I overslept my 3:55 alarm by a smidge and ended up turning the crank for the first time 50s before the race started at 4:05. Needless to say, I was wholly unprepared for the 320W+ sufferfest of the first minute that awaited me (even though I was warned that Z races start fast). Ended up dropping from the first bunch within 5min, and waiting for the next group (who were actually in Cat C with me, not the A+B+C mix of the leading bunch). Being on the heavier side (86kg) and an expected mid-packer for Cat C (2.8 W/kg) the pace was quick, but not unsustainable in our little bunch. Tried to drop them on the steep climb in Innsbruck, but got caught right on the crest. Had a 5-way sprint to the line, went over the line third in that bunch. Ended up 9th in my category (admittedly out of only 10 participants), after ZPower filtered basically the whole bunch I was racing. I'm pretty much hooked. 40min flew by (especially considering that I was at 101% of FTP on average the whole time). The fact that I can scratch the competitive/gaming itch I've struggled to satisfy since losing interest in online gaming, with other similarly-fit people, and not feel like I'm as horrible as I really am (nobody brags about being 4000th at the 947) is pretty great.

Thanks! It was in Rynfield in 'noni. Some random path in the veld in the general direction of Broodblik.

I'll happily throw some fuel on this fire with my rigid steel steed. Not singlespeed (although I am toying with the idea of getting a SS kit for it, or getting a SS road bike). Do it! All the cool kids are doing it, don't you want to be cool?

I actually thought about that statement after a group ride I joined yesterday. I was suffering on a short, steep climb I've ridden many times, standing up and blasting to try and keep in the little lead batch, and felt pretty miff at the top. "Is it supposed to be this hard three-and-some-change years on?" I pondered, feeling as if I'd never really progressed. Upon the mandatory post-ride Strava reflection I saw I had set a PR on that climb, and realised that it was the same climb I rode on my second group ride ever (a few weeks after getting my first big-boy bike). I also remembered feeling pretty much the same then as I did yesterday, but on that ride I was clinging on for dear life to the back of the 23km/h average group. Now I was in the front of the lead batch in the 31km/h average group on a mountain bike.

If I can give you my anecdotal opinion piece, get a bike that makes something inside you go fizz. When you get back into the house, do you open the garage door back up just to have a quick stare at it? Have you ever tapped it on the top tube and went "atta boy!"? Having a bike that makes you want to go out and ride >>>>>> any other bike. If you don't know what you like, go second hand and test some different bikes out. Buy smart and you won't lose money and you can figure out what that "it" bike is for you. Whether its a shiny carbon dual susser or a steel gravel bike, buy something that makes you want to ride. You'll spend more time riding it, become better at riding it, become a stronger rider, and eventually do well and enjoy yourself more. Its more about the meatbag pedaling than it is the bike.

Are those Lyne Amp carbon bars? How are you finding them? Looking for a set to replace my super unforgiving OEM Al bars that came with my bike.

While I agree that is a good idea in principle, I very much doubt that any LBS will have the right equipment to truly be able to say whether a frame is completely free from defects or not. They'll do a visual inspection at best, same as you can at home. I often find that bikes will generally be homogenous, that is to say that if one part is a bit shoddy, there'll be some other niggle too. If you're inspecting a potential purchase and the wheel bearings feel rough, or the headset is a smidge loose, or the BB has a bit of play, you can safely assume that at least one other part of it needs attention too. Nobody's going to replace all their pivot bearings every 50hrs but leave their fork unserviced for two years. I've been very fortunate with my deals on bikehub so far. I've only dealt with good, up-front guys that have been accommodating and easy to deal with. I've been trading online for a while though (computers used to be my jam), so I've gathered some experience in spotting a bad deal, just from the ad. Some of my personal red flags: No photos / only one or two photos / no close-up shots of the known questionable areas (fork stanchions for instance) or photos of a dirty bit of kit immediately raise a red flag. If the seller doesn't give enough of a crap about his equipment to at least clean and take some decent photos of it, odds are they didn't look after it in the first place. Over-selling. If I see an ad that tries crazy hard to tell me how good of a deal it is it I'm instantly worried about the legitimacy, especially if there's nothing negative in the blurb. Nobody's going to give something away for bottom dollar because they just like humanity a lot. No detail/specifications in the parts list. Not stating any flaws. Unless you're selling a demo bike you've only pushed out of the LBS, took a photo, and posted it on bikehub, something has happened to it. If I see anything for sale that is obviously used, there will be something not-perfect about it.

Really stoked to be able to post in this thread finally! I've been lusting after an STR for some time now. It ticked many of my boxes: Locally supplied. Rare. Had the geo numbers that seemed to fit me perfectly and was one of my targets when I was looking at a short travel hardtail trail bike, but then I bought the Stache as I couldn't find a good STR at the time. Had a steel gravel bike, and wholly bought into the Steel is Real lifestyle. Made me want an STR again/even more. Its matte green. Green bikes are scientifically the fastest (yes, even faster than red). I've been loving my gravel bikes for the last while, but I always ended up pushing them a bit too hard (plenty of dinged rims, weeping sidewalls, worn forks) on my off-piste adventures. So when this turned up in the classifieds I summarily sold my fancy-schmancy gravel bike: It was a proper hodgepodge of components, but it had the skeleton of what I believe is going to be my personal quiver killer. When I showed my wife the first picture, she furrowed her brow slightly and said "But your gravel bike is much prettier. This looks like a Dunlop tennisball or an ad for Wimbledon". So it was officially dubbed Tennisball. Some wheeling and dealing later, it's been transformed into Tennisball V2: Only finished the build last night, but in the quick shakedown I've done I'm already beyond stoked. With the wheel upgrades and rigid fork I've shaved off 1.4kg to the front end. Don't care about the overall weight, but this translates into it feeling very agile and responsive to inputs. Get out of the saddle and it hurtles forward. Has a 125mm dropper on and some 2.35 Rekon Races on 25mm Rapide wheels, so WAY more trail ability than the gravel bike but without being a boat anchor on the commute there and back. Steel frame means I don't have to worry about every stone that touches the downtube and there's a real sense of compliance (if the Scout was anything to go by). After a lot of experimenting with different bikes I think I'm getting close to my personal one-bike-to-rule-them-all. First bike in a while that really feels like its mine and has some real personality to it.

What's your setup like i.t.o. reach/stack and brake placement? In a setup like the one NSBB has I can imagine it'd be tough to get to the levers from the hooks (in my terminology hand positions are flats-hoods-hooks-drops from top to bottom). I had a 46cm Rapide gravel bar and reached the brake levers pretty easily. Had the bar set up that the extension is horizontal and the hood's flat bit is in line with it. If your brakes are set up too high on the bar (so that the hood's flat bit sits at an incline) you will struggle to grab the brakes. And I'm assuming you're doing this to get a more upright or less stretched position, thus my question about fit. I love flared drops (especially the Rapide ones) as I find the angled-in hoods to be a much more natural position for my hands. So much so I'm putting one on my tandem. For reference this was my setup. Excuse the dorky positive angle stem and stack of spacers. This was my Munga Grit setup so comfort trumped style:

This is Boksburg pappie, we only got ADSL a few months ago, don't come here with your fancy internet thingamawhatsits! EMTBP is open 24/7, it's a free-access trail behind the stadium. I've ridden there dozens of times and never had an issue, but I wouldn't go it alone in the dark. The ERPM Golf course park opens at 06:30 if I'm not mistaken, closes when the golf course closes.

EMTBP is still open and more than rideable. It drains relatively well for the most part. It gets maintained every once in a while (I actually headed up a fundraising drive a few months ago that at least had the grass cut along the route). It gets used by Parkrun and by the local dirt bikers, so the trails stay pretty rideable year round, if a little rough, and most of the jumps have had the lips rounded off by the dirtbikes, but still fun. You could also check out the newest trail we have, which is at the ERPM golf course. It gets at least partially funded by entry fees and maintained a little more often. Has a few fun-ish sections, but don't expect any real features as such, and is prone to becoming a bog. Big Red Barn is still the best trail we have that's within rideable proximity, that and Thaba.

Yebo Yes! I had one of those yesterday too. I didn't have a route, or a plan, or a target interval or heart rate or speed or or or.... I was just out, riding my bike, because riding a bike is fun. If you sit back and consider it (or try to explain it to an alien), the fact that there are so many people taking cycling so seriously, training their balls off, never taking a photo/piss/beer break, just to be maybe, slightly better than average, seems a little strange. You don't see people at the driving range at 04:30 in the morning, religiously moering 100 balls before work every morning and a 500 on the weekend, only to try to come mid pack at a regional paid-for tournament.

Noice! Well, at least half of the official Titan Racing Switch Pro Club was there. I had a family commitment (was in Botswana the whole week) and was much too busy blikseming down trying to learn to wheelie a drop bar bike to attend. Sincerest apologies. I am a bit miffed that I couldn't attend, but there's always the winter version... Good on you and congrats just on finishing. How was the clearance with the 45s and the mud?