Jbr

The thundero HD is ok, I just had a pinch flat on the first fast rocky descent to I'm a bit scared of running it for an important race, as I've had many rim strikes with the pathfinders and never had a flat in comparison. Otherwise they feel good and fast, maybe not as grippy as they look in terms of traction or for turning, but on par with the pathfinders for sure, and they're quite light even in HD.

Okay, so I'll confirm sunday probably as I'm planning to bring in friends, but I'm under the impression that members can bring in guests, that don't need the permit, only their ID

for the crux

I tried fitting the airtrack 2.2 at the back just to see, turns out it fits, and it's probably rideable if you're 100% sure it won't be muddy at all (clearance about 2 to the chainstay drive side, a little more comfy non drive side). Wheels are Lun Grapid 45 with 25mm internal and 32mm external, on a non-UDH crux Since we're at the end of summer and SA's is looking like a wet course, I'll be keeping that in mind for later, and will be using the 50 for now at the back, and keep the 2.2 for the front. Also it makes the bike quite a bit heavier that with the Tufo 48 HD (I also added quite a lot of sealant as the tyres are so big)

45% of the price of the GX (that let's be honest, isn't very expensive this days IMO for the piece of tech), now we're talking (assuming it works just as good)

That's kind of why I'm asking the question, who has a bike with UDH and would like to have a mechanical group. It's kind of like asking who wants a aero road bike with clearance for 32mm tubeless but with rim brakes

MMmh not keen to read the whole marketing BS about it, why is it for you guys a good thing ? Unless it's half the price of the electronic stuff ? Combining UDH and Mechanical seems like something that targets nobody ? I already think that the XPLR transmission group is completely useless, but this sounds even more useless to me. And that's coming from a guy with an XTR mechanical group on the MTB and a GX AXS Mullet setup on the gravel bike so no hate on either of the main brands nor towards mechanical groupsets.

I'm receiving a AirTrack 2.2 and a Tracer 50 today or tomorrow, looking forward to seing what fits where

I do not remember certifying my copy of ID, is that a requirement ? Btw, I went in at 6:40-ish last weekend, tried again this morning, they asked me to come back at 7. Apparently they let you in earlier in the weekends but not during the week, totally understandable as there is quite a bit of trafic in there in the morning from the people working in there. Also be careful, doing intervals there with a rising sun, it can be difficult to spot the animals on the road 😅

Got this on the whatsapp group created last year for the series

https://www.strava.com/routes/3338838362429483398

There were definitely MTB’s last year. It’s probably the race with the least rules I’d be extremely surprised if anyone told you anything about the bike you’re riding. Just please, if you ride a MTB slow, don’t feel force to blast down the last descent towards the first single track 😬😂

they should just specify that TT bikes or flat bars are forbidden

to be clear, I was answering this, not talking about the TT bars Gravel is so nice because there's a huge variety of possibilities, it can be hilly, technical, fast rolling, muddy, sandy, etc... you really have to think hard before the day to build yourself the fastest bike for the day, and often you'll get it wrong, but sometimes it will pay off. That's the beauty of it. If one guy was brave enough to rock up to a 168km gravel race on a road bike or a mountainbike and somehow ended on the elite podium, man I'd have all the respect in the world for that guy.

please tell me you're not serious.... that's one stupid comparison

who cares, if you win on a gravel course/gravel race you're the gravel champ, regardless what bike you're riding

I also ran the sworks 42 at ceder, but too hard as I wanted good control on the tar descent, but then with the heat they went even harder and it was unbearable on the corrugation close to the finish

the state hasn't changed, and Drew Dillman who was sponsored by them last year (now rides lauf) said they advertise it with clearance for 2.2 because he ran 2.2 on them (so it works although there's probably not a lot of margin for mud), but the official clearance is still the same. Kind of the same story as for the crux, that does take a 2.2 front and 50 rear, although officially the clearance is 47.

guess the Y4rs is *** what a masterclass from MVDP, Ganna also very impressive.

Probably listened to someone on instragram telling him to raise his saddle

Me too man, me too 😜

What hair

I see 709 teams finished stage 1 with 28 individuals that finished alone, so that's roughly 1500 participants every day. Slower riders starting last (can't work around this), they should probably consider doing like W2W with a week for the faster guys and a week for the slower guys so that they can start early and not cook in the sun. The fact that this event gets that kind of attendance at the price that it costs and for what you get blows my mind, especially with a title sponsor like absa. Surely they could make it work for everyone to enjoy their passion without some peope having to go home after two days, or worse, never go home again

outride songo from 11 to 13 mins back, game over There are support teams in front of them 😕

It's just a normal wednesday for our Wellington boys