Newbie321

How many people have now broken something on the new flow trail? Saw another potential victim today ????

Maybe have a look at the Trek Top Fuel 7 and Top Fuel 7 SX as well but apparently stock is limited at the moment

I'm never spending money on a Silverback again, I've had 2 frames with the same issue from one of their other bikes and they never replaced it like for like. I just gave up and ate the loss on the second frame.

Scott does look nice plus two water bottle cages...

What about the Trek Top Fuel 7? I've been thinking about getting either of those two options. Have the same budget and requirements as OP

I've started going up the path towards Majik forrest and then to Bloemendal and the same way back. It's actually more enjoyable than the cow poo and having to do the D'Aria loop/sewerage plant. I do miss the Altydgedacht parts though.

Anyone know when they will open the lower part of lombards terra and b-spot? B-spot has been closed for months now...

As far as I know. This was the last field that still had some good color left

Define trails you will be riding on and how hard you are going to go. I had the previous model of the Stride and in 6 months had a couple of broken axles, a busted bottom bracket an my hands regularly got sore from the cheap brakes going downhill. If you are serious about trail riding save up and get something better the difference between cheap, passable and good are well worth it.

Thanks, I'll give that traverse a try, looks interesting compared to the cow dung on the protea hotel traverse. I see on trail forks you can also go via the st johns rd link, do you know if it's open or did you just want to go the extra km's?

Which trail was this? I normally don't venture further than bloemendal/hillcrest.

Yep. There a good motorists and bad motorists and then there are good cyclists and bad cyclists and the idea that a couple of people represent the greater whole is just absurd. Most motorist at least in my experience give ample room or even wave me through a stop street when they have right of way, then you also get those that role though stop streets or cut in front of you at a circle.

Boggles my mind that a guy riding a motorbike would say that, the cognitive dissonance is real. Motorist have a similar view of motorbikes.

Shorter crank length and the 36 chainring is probably the issue. Here is a nice GCN video on the subject of crank length. Short of it is that for any given crank length your power is unchanged if you have a sufficient gear range, only cadence would differ. So you probably are just over geared.

Mist made for quite the view, it just descending into that when it gets cold ????

From what I remember it was a resonance issue, the first people who found it tested my components then put on a known good set of rotors, pads and calipers and the vibration was still there. Silverback themselves from what I was told put a weight on the chain-stay and that stopped it on the initial frame, but I think that range of frames was just shyte, because it has apparently happened before on the same model and the fact that 2 frames from my own experience had this issue and one that never made it to me. Edit: I'm still riding the temp frame they gave me because they couldn't replace the frame like for like after 'making' a new one but that also had this issue. So I just said stuff it I'll keep the frame I have rather than get the lower range branded frame which probably would have had the same issue.

Sure in most cases but this was proven to be the frame by a bike shop/member on this very forum and silverback themselves. I even bought a new rotor and pads out of my own pocket after the original shop I bought it from was next to useless in helping me resolve the issue.

Silverback Sola 1 here for me, BB is almost 2 years old lots of mud riding no issues, however I had the frame warrantied because of vibrations with the rear brake, the temp frame suffered from the same problems under certain conditions and the frame they 'made' especially to replace my frame I never even saw because when they fitted everything it also vibrated under braking. Needless to say I won't be buying silverback ever again.

The last bit up to the top of Bloemendaaler was a breeze, literally and figuratively.

Thanks for all the suggestions, went up the lombard/xco climb, was a nice change of pace, and up bloemenhill, a couple of those steep switchbacks gave me trouble so that something to work on.

Thanks, I'll try some of them out. Just looking to for smallish sections I can work into my routes. Jeep track is getting a bit boring

Are there any technical climbs in the network of trails? I've been around bloemendal and up to the mast, while there is lots of climbing is there anything a bit more techy?

I used to ride Newlands forest to lower tokai on a hard tail. It's all blue routes with bits of technical stuff mixed in. The greenbelt, Southern cross to lower tokai would be doable on a gravel bike. Constantia nek to Kirstenboch would also be doable on a gravel bike depending on how far you go. If she is really adventurous she could probably do the whole route but there are a few places that might be a bit difficult.

I have a cheap ryder hand pump I use on my MTB which works fine for those low pressures but today I tried it on my road bike and struggled to get any air at around 70 psi into the tube, it became physically difficult though not impossible. So defeated I got the floor pump out. Any recommendations on a good hand pump for those road side fixes or should I just hit the gym?