TyronLab

For some context, I'm currently helping my fifth newbie (wife, brother in law, friend, now cousin+wife) get into cycling. For our first ride together (my wife, cousin and his wife and I) went for a ride. They bring two "good" Makro bikes and I bring my normal MTB and my wife's cheapo Trek MTB. After 2.5km we swap bikes, for fun, and they go "ja nee *** this is so much better". Don't buy a Makro bike dude. You can spend a smidge more on a second hand proper MTB that won't fold in half, and if you don't dig it you can sell it and not lose money. Ideally you can pick up one that's the right size for you (should be a L/XL depending on brand), and seems to have been maintained. Rather buy a "shittier" well-maintained bike than a "higher-spec" poorly maintained bike. More context - I also bought my first grootmens mountainbike in 2018 only wanting to get some exercise in, because I loved tootling around my neighbourhood on my BMX when I was a teenager, and because I had a small tax return burning a hole in my pocket. No plans other than that. Yet here I sit, having smooshed myself riding 512km in a weekend in one go at the Munga Grit (again). You don't plan an obsession, it just, kinda, happens...

I'm a simple man. I see a Scout, I smash Like.

First test ride with the new kit. Taking it on a proper long test tomorrow. I'm really surprised by what this handlebar bag can swallow. I've got a multitool, pump, tyre repair kit, and 20,000mah powerbank in it, and looks like there's enough space to stow my jacket and arm warmers in there too. Might do that, then I can lose the rucksack completely.

Ordered one of these (the large black one). Should be receiving it tomorrow. Really excited to get my paws on it and see how much I can cram into it. Picked this up yesterday, and (so far) I'm really impressed. Way higher quality than the price would indicate. The beam has a sharp cut-off at the horizon, which is ideal for not blinding oncoming traffic/pedestrians/gazelles, and has quite a wide distributed throw below that. For its quoted lumen output of 1000lm it's not far off my "2200lm" Marvel Blast, which I now realize has a very vague round blorb of light. Fit and finish seems really good too. The fact that it has an aluminium mount that's split and bolts together is a big bonus. I was trying to knock it out of place on purpose this morning (hucking a rigid bike to flat on rock hard tyres is the best I could do) and it didn't move a micron. Did a battery test (rode alternating between the brightest and dimmest setting) and left it in the sun and the cupboard on the dimmest setting, which would be more than adequate for Grit type riding, got about ~7 hours total out of it. Charged up to 100% capacity from the powerbank in ~3.5 hours, so with running it off the powerbank and charging in the day I should have more than enough juice for two full nights. As an aside, I've mounted a 3rd bottle below the downtube, threw on my bodged innerbarends, and building excitement with every hour that passes. Doing a full gear test later this week, and this weekend, then it's off to the "races" so to speak!

I've considered these, the add-on one seems like a good solution for an additional hand position. The integrated one has no rise and pretty much no backsweep, so unless you ride very hunched over and in the attack position all the time that just sounds like sore wrists/shoulders to me.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I think this ⬆️ little oke could be the winner winner chicken dinner. I had a Rockbros framebag, and the zip got stuck and subsequently broke on night one. Had to use one of the straps to try and keep it closed as best I could. Reference below (excuse my grubby feet, but after 40 hours of wet/sandy socks I was very over shoes). It's a pity this dude is adventuring at the moment, if it wasn't for that I'd totes order one of them. They're pretty slick looking! At the moment my packing strategy is looking like it'll be: Handlebar bag: Powerbank. Tools/spares. Pump. Bars. Light/small backpack (that I got as a part of the goody bag in last year's Grit): Jacket. Arm warmers. Medikit. Spare headlamp batteries. Idea is to keep the backpack as light as possible so that it doesn't annoy/chafe. Unfortunately with my frame's layout fitting a frame bag and two bottles in the triangle doesn't work. I can mount one of the bottles below the downtube or on the fork with my bottle mount adapter (pictured on the seatpost above), but I'll still need space for a third one or I'll need to buy a framebag that's big enough to take a 1.5L bladder (also still an option) and still be able to fit what I'm planning to put in the handlebar bag.

So, it seems I've once again gotten ridiculously lucky with an entry into the Munga Grit Cradle 17 days before the start gun fires. The universe loves and hates me equally it seems. From my previous experience I'm looking for some help with the following two equipment needs I have: 1. Light. I ran out of battery on night #2 during the last one (and at the Transbaviaans this year) forcing me to ride with a poepie headlamp. It was not pleasant. I'm looking for a light that I can charge off of a normal USB powerbank while its operating. Doesn't need to be like the sun as a lot of the route is just gravel road. Seeing as I don't do stuff like this every day I'm not that keen on spending a few grand on Extreme Lights batteries that'll sit in the cupboard for 90% of their lives when I already have a 20,000 mAh powerbank I'll be carrying. 2. Bags. My previous Rockbros frame bag worked in the traditional Scout frame, but there's too little space in the triangle for it and two bottles in the STR. It also has a borked zip from the previous Grit. I generally ride with spares and food in jersey pockets and don't own a saddle bag, but seeing as I need to carry batteries, lots more food, and a jacket etc I need some storage. I was considering a handlebar bag, but the cycling specific ones I'm finding are rather spendy. DIY / Bodge / Hack recommendations welcome. Sending me a link to a R2500 Apidura bag will be wasting your and my time. As far as navigation, I borrowed a buddy's Garmin 530 last time but I feel a bit sleg doing it again. Considering just using my phone for navigation. Cutting four holes in a square pattern in a rigid phone case and cable tying that to my stem is a method I've used with some success previously.

A bike as unique and rad as that deserves a rider that wears a jersey to suit 😁 Both impeccable.

I keep seeing comments like these and not understanding what people are so on about. I've ridden a bunch of multiple-hour slog fests in sloppy/sticky/grassy/sandy/wet/dry-ish/pooling mud and I've genuinely never had an issue a good clean hasn't remedied, even with my drivetrain sounding like a rock crusher during the ride at some points. What I see a lot of though is people having their bikes pressure washed for R50 by some rando at a trailhead, or dropping their dirty bikes off at their LBS and just saying "fix" with an open cheque book. Even after the Transbaviaans' 18 hour mud fest the only additional work I needed to do outside my normal washing routine was remove the crank and clean out the spindle / bearing interface as there was some trapped dirt. With some mechanical sympathy during washing and very limited wrenching skill I don't see how every time your bike gets muddy it has to equal thousands of $$$ of repairs. Then again, I ride rigid bikes with "cheap" components for the very reason that I can do things like ride in mud without worrying too much.

Had a look at that, but the TT is actually 7mm longer than my current bike.

TyronLab:"I need a bike that's shorter than my current one" @MORNE :"Here are two bikes that you've seen, that would work perfectly, but oh wait, they're actually longer than your current one! HAHAHA the ol' bait 'n switch <oops!>!"

Great to see you back on the bike Ben!

Yeah, I've considered the corner bar, but I really like the hood position which it lacks. I've already got some drop bar brake levers that I'll port over from the Scout, and will likely get a bar end shifter to take care of friction shifting.

That's a good suggestion thanks! I've got the Ritchey Venturemax which has a 76mm reach, so I can claw back another 11mm switching to the Walmer. I need to drop a total of like 55mm though, so the 11 from the bar and the 15 from the stem only gets me halfway there.

I need some help with the monstercross thing I'm looking at creating. I essentially want to smoosh my two current bikes together (a Rook Scout and a Momsen STR). I want a Curve GMX+ / Salsa Cuttthroat, but I don't have (and don't want to spend, if I'm honest, even if I had) that kind of money. A 2.4" tyre gravel bike with a dropper a.k.a. drop bar rigid MTB a.k.a monstercross bike is where I'm at. Options: Get a 410 - 430mm A-C , tapered steerer fork with MTB tyre clearance for the Scout. If such a thing existed, that'd be the cheapest / easiest way to do it, but alas. I'd be OK with running 650B/27.5, even though I'd prefer 29 for availability and the fact that I love my current wheels. Throw my current fork/front wheel on the Scout. The increased A-C (70mm longer) can be somewhat cancelled out by removing stem spacers, but it'll likely handle weird and have a slack seat angle, which I don't like. It'll also have limited clearance in the back with a 29er wheel in it. Get a frame that'll fit my current mountain bike's components, but has the right geo to work with a drop bar as the STR is too long / stretched out with a drop bar. Ideal specs: Tapered head tube. Recommended A-C of 490mm (~100mm sus furk) Threaded BB. 31.6 seatpost (or 34.9, so I can fit my current dropper with a shim) 460-560 seattube length Effective top tube of 570-600 Rear tyre clearance for 2.4" MTB 70° or slacker head angle Non-boost TA rear wheel (non-boost QR works too, I can just swap out the caps on my Rapide wheels) Post mount disc calipers Steel If I could shorten my large STR frame's top tube by 40mm it'd be pretty much perfect. I tested this idea out, but it just wouldn't be comfortable for anything longer and I'm already on a 50mm stem, even with a 35mm it'd be stretched. Also, yes, I cable tied my shifter and dropper levers on for this experiment, for extra bodge points. I decided this concept needed testing at 22:15 on a Thursday night, k, so it fit the ambiance of the occasion. I also know I can get a custom frame made, but there's fokkol money for that now. So, bikehubland,

There's a definite correlation in bike burlyness / intended purpose and posting a pic with the saddle dropped or raised. Someone posts their XC bike = Seatpost is a monolith of efficiency and wattage Burly bike = Saddle should ideally be touching the rear tyre That is a proper machine though! It's like Dropkick Murphies distilled into two wheeled form. Also a pretty wild pendulum swing from a gravel bike!

Had one of those and it was an absolute hoot on trails. Running 17/21 PSI F/R you could point it down pretty much anything and just hold on. It'd monster truck over/through some really chunky/sloppy stuff with nary a hint of an issue. Beware of 3" tyre availability though, hen's teeth. Those Bontragers roll well but are very prone to punctures, and if you throw a set of more reasonable 2.5/2.6in treads on the stock 46mm ID rims they're squarer than an electrical engineering banquet. Enjoy!

Sometimes the differences are pretty substantial, but I'd definitely say I went on a 50 hour ride, not a 35 hour one... OP, why do you care how much time you spent if you're just trundling with family though? Hell, even when I'm riding for "training", as long as I'm home roughly the time I want/need to be home the only thing I (or you) should care about is how much fun you had.

Don't be. Rode the TB in the rain and with the right kit and some semblance of logic you and your bike will be fine. A lot of people complained about needing to do major repairs after all of the mud and water, but I also saw a bunch of people pressure washing the bejeesus out of their muddy bikes' linkages/shocks/BB/hubs halfway through the race... my "cheapo" Rapide wheels and BB bearings are still smooth as silk after having sloshed through the same gunk. Disclaimer: I ride a rigid steel mtb, so YMMV.

I don't know where you live, but your pics always make me hate where I live. Just gorgeous!

No problem dude! I'm also still enjoying mine. Running the 2.35 width on a 25mm internal width rim and I dig the shape, not too rounded but also not squared off. Done 2,200km+ probably 60% tar and they seem to be wearing well too, have only had one puncture that needed plugging. will most likely get 4,000km or more from them before changing. One thing I have noticed is that they're pretty quiet on tar which to my mind indicates good rolling efficiency (noise = energy after all). I'm running ~24psi front, ~27psi back and I find it a good balance. Can probably go a bit softer, but I like the surety of not rolling a tyre and denting rims.

I have to agree that the CP's weren't as stocked as I remember. At CP5 the gigantic, stuffed chip roll was replaced by a little packet of five undercooked chips, and at CP7 the tannie didn't want to give me two jaffels even though there were a bunch on the tray (much more than there were people at the CP). When I inquired why not, she said "you're going to give it to your support driver and he has to pay". So I took one, stared her in the eye while I at the whole thing, and then asked for another one for me and one for my team mate who was recovering outside. To top it off, the "Spur burger and beer" that you got at the end of the previous races (and I understood we'd still be getting) is now a Wimpy burger you have to pay for. It's not about the money, don't promise a hungry, cold, muddy, wet dude food and beer (which he paid for already technically) and then not deliver. That's shitty.

To the Transbaviaans repeat this past weekend for some adventuring.

Yeah man, it seems like my calling in life is to be the conductor on the Hype Train and push people along in the events I do. I'm always the guy thinking "we need some levity up in dis bitch". You might have heard me sing "vat hom pappie swaai hom" and my disheartened teammate responding with "soos n sakkie suiker" based on a song we were jamming to on the way to Willowmore.

Nope. The light on the derailleur was faintly eliminated permanently. Tried to clean the battery terminals, tried holding the button in to re-pair it, and even tried some dude we found on the route's AXS battery that was working on his bike, no dice. Mechanic at CP4 said that it was water damage, happened to a buddy of his, but seeing as we hadn't done a serious water crossing then yet, and it was after the Baviaans Back descent, I think it's busted electronics from vibration (similar symptom to damage from water). Still, for a top-of-the-pops Rival Xplor eTap system that's shitty. We joked a few times that we saw many Mechanicals on the route, but we were sure we were the only Electrical for the day.