TyronLab

Had another Kathu trip, managed to squeeze in two quick 1hr rides. Blasted around the dorp streets yesterday evening. Managed to be lucky enough to get rained on, in the Kalahari of all places. Realised that these 120tpi Chupacabra tyres and the ever-present thorn trees aren't amigos. I was lucky with this one but I picked up the vast majority of every other pointy thing on their roads. Went out early today too into an absolute stunner of a morning. The redness of the earth, the massive skies the lack of elevation creates and the harsh nature create a sunrise that's greater than the sum of these parts. And one especially for my kiddos and nephews.

With our burst of serious rain on Saturday, yesterday turned out to be a cold, windy, and muddy solo ride, and it was absolutely awesome! I realised again why I love this bike so much, as as much as its a fun, trail ripping beast it's also a great off-roader. I get to scratch my 4x4 itch with it, attempting some pretty gnarly river crossings (10m+ long,both axles submerged) and technical riding. Sure, I have a love/hate relationship with it sometimes when riding smooth gravel and roads with XC-biked partners as its a piggy, and I'm not thrilled about dragging it through the 'Baviaans in January. I ride bikes to have fun though at the end of the day, and for that, it's friggin' brilliant. Also, bonus fun, I get to strip and regrease my hubs and BB! Mud surely is the gift that keeps on giving.

And it matches the bar tape nogals?!? Trés chic darling.

I grip 'em on the outside ends. Slack chain, fold it so that the link you're breaking is perpendicular to both the others, then....

I have always used long-nose pliers to do this. Just pinch the link on the two "fixed" sides diagonally across from each other. Also, slightly-related major shout-out to SRAM with the derailleur cage locking pin. Man, for a guy that takes both wheels and chain off for every wash (once a week, basically) that thing kicks so much ass and is so simple.

It's probably the most beginner-friendly trail in the GP area. Flat as a pancake, and the 10km/12km route (as far as I can tell) is very mellow with minimal features. Great for riding with kids too. Granted, I haven't been there in a year, but I see lots of people riding there.

That bad that everybody who's ridden one has died, or that great that everyone that owns one has been out riding for 5 days straight?

NOOOOO!!!! I just discovered Thaba... Probably the best trail system we have in GP. Let's hope the uptick in attendance keeps it open.

I considered it, but the entry seems a bit spendy considering its a route you can basically ride at any time, for free, with no road closures as far as I can tell. Can't see much value in it.

Vere ain't no 'burger like a Boksburger pappie! Rocking up at a trail, or Presleys, with sleeves is like rocking up at a braai with a long pant...

Doesn't seem like it'd be a very practical or comfortable riding shirt though?

Wow, what an absolute brute! With it tilted up like that it accentuates that head angle even more, that front end looks loooooonnngggggg! So badass. Why do I want it so bad even though I have almost no place to ride it?!?

So there seems to be one of these beauties that have caught my eye. Unfortunately reviews are few and far between, so I'd like to ping you guys for some feedback. How does it compare to Al hardtails you've ridden? The one I'm looking at is paired up to a 120mm Reba with a dropper, so on paper it seems to be as trail worthy as my Stache, but with a bit more efficiency for longer gravel rides. I'll probably throw a nice aggressive 2.4/2.5 front tyre on and keep the Ardent on the back.

Eina! Heal up quick bromosapien.

Thanks for the input guys, very insightful and exactly what I was after! Both of you confirmed what I suspected. I'm in a bit of a pickle with my bike choice at the moment, and my finances dictate I'm a one-bike-quiver guy at the moment. I think a XC/Trail 120mm dual susser would be perfect, but finding them in a price range I can afford is pretty rare, and fitting some more appropriate wheels / tyres on my bike is a spendy exercise. For the moment I'll just have to suck it up it seems and take advantage of its trail proficiency.

I'd actually like some input from you regarding the differences between the dual susser, the Stache and the gravel bike. I'm loving the Stache for trail riding, but I'm finding it to be a lot of work on gravel. Upping the tyre pressure sacrifices the comfort and lowering it makes it even slower, although as comfortable as my sofa. Don't know if its just me being a ninny, or whether there's any truth to the 29x3.0 tyres being boat anchors on gravel. Generally not phased, but I've got the Transbaviaans coming up and I'm concerned that I'm making it extra difficult on myself by riding the Stache. Any comments welcome.

If you're a beer connoisseur then its much of a muchness. Ask me to pay R50 for a Castle draught and I'll hesitantly accept. Ask me to pay R50 for a Skeleton Coast or a Camelthorne Bock and I'll give you R100 as I'm most definitely having two. If you drink beer to get drunk, there are cheaper and more efficient ways of achieving that. If you drink beer because you love the taste of beer, its all relative. EDIT: Thanks for making me lus for a beer at 08:30 in the morning at work, chop!

After another few days of having a mild cold just had an easy spin around the hood. Decided to go check out the dirt jumps I had mentioned previously. Unfortunately, they look even worse than I had thought, and even if they didn't, I forgot how absolutely massive and steep they were. Struggled to get some perspective to really show their gargantuanness, but even if they were perfect, I'm a long way off from attempting any of them. The good news though is that one of the lines (the only one with tabletops), has seen some clearing and some riding, so maybe there's some interest in these again. Rode that, but the lips are so steep I'll need some proper sessioning to get comfortable with it.

EDIT Whoops, wrong topic!

Managed two rides this long weekend. A short blast around my backyard MTB trail on Saturday. There's a drop on this trail that's pretty sketchy as its prefaced with a 70° turn 1.2m before it, and it has a 800mm drop and 800mm gap to a steep landing. Imagine someone just cut a square section out of the top of a ruby field walletjie. I decided Saturday was send day, come hell or high water. I know I've ridden dodgier stuff blind on other trails by now and I was sure I had the skill to send it, it was just that lingering fear from two years of staring at it and never committing to it, and seeing how few other riders attempted it. After a few run ups and much sphincter clenching I sent it... And didn't die! Decided to immediately hit it again to make sure that I know it wasn't just a fluke, and hit it perfectly the second time too. I was on top of the world! Sure, its pretty minor in the greater scheme of things and its very tame in comparison to some of you, but to me it was a definitive moment in my riding. An elderly couple walking their dog (not small, and on a leash, thank heavens, wouldn't want another outcry...) came up to me and congratulated me, they had seen me taking the run-ups and heard me whooping when I hit it. Yesterday was a gravel grind with a buddy of mine. Started out slow, gradually increased in intensity up to the point where there was no more talking, only teeth gritting into the hot headwind. Was pretty spent by that time (spent enough that I couldn't be bothered to do the extra 7.5km to get to a century). I once again foibled the route, but at least it took us on an adventure into Heidelberg's Military camp. Somehow we wandered into it, ended up riding around, greeting soldiers, riding around on their marching grounds... How was that a thing? How were we not stopped or asked for identification? I'm pretty sure if I asked them where they kept the R-15s they would have pointed me in the direction of the arsenal and given me a Castle as padkos. Decided to try his gravel bike, and was blown away by how much more efficient it was than my bike, and not that much less comfortable. I'm starting to think that my bike is a smidge too small for me and that I might go with a smaller tyre once these wear out (which is happening quickly, seeing as the casing is in contact with the dirt a lot and is starting to seep sealant). I'm realising that this bike is really good at some things, but is definitely compromised in other areas. As a trail-only hardtail its friggin' perfect as its comfortable, very grippy, confidence inspiring and super playful. As a trail / XC mixture its OK, but as an XC/Gravel bike its not great. Riding position is very upright and the tyre pressure is tough to balance. Too hard and it doesn't give you comfort but rolls well on harder / smoother surfaces, too soft and you can get rim strikes if you get rowdy and a lot of resistance on smoother surfaces, but more comfort on rocky / rough surfaces. All in all a great weekend's riding!

Yeah those prices kick ass! I bought my 735XT on special a few months ago for R4k, so it being sold for R3.1k now is a pretty big saving.

Joined a pretty big group for the Tour De Boksburg - a.k.a. riding all four trails in the Boksburg area in one go (Stadium, ERPM Golf course, RTT and Airport. ~70km total). While I had fun, it was a little frustrating and made me realise why I'm a little selective about which groups I ride trails with. Road rides I'm pretty happy in any group, but with trails I find that the local guys are a lot more interested in racing each other uphill and dawdling on all of the downhill and technical sections, sometimes opting to skip them entirely. Had a few maergat matric XCO bro's that were goading me for riding a "fat bike", until we got to the stadium track's jump / pump sections and I dropped them like hot lunch. Still, at the end of the day, I'm happy to be outside in the dirt with a decent bunch of guys.

And what bike did he bring? A MAN'S BIKE! Great to see another Stache. Back with the roadie group this morning for a nice and chilled ride... That is until the sprint starts and my hubris overtakes my logic.

Pole is looking at this bike going "yeah, looks pretty much like the 2021 Stamina". I love that they actually did this and it kinda worked, and how absolutely ridiculous it is when Levy does that little climb. I'd love to see what it looks like when someone wheelies it, front wheel above their heads.

I feel your pain... I'm actually trying to plan routes that head out north so that I can return riding south. Headwind home sucks more than uphill home!