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Precisely. Trying to compare KB and Deer Park is one of those false equivalence arguments.

Basically, if you want to ride in an actual forest, ride the KB loop and enjoy the real afro-montane forest SA is famous for.

You're doing the devil's advocate thing quite well 🙂

Quoting statistics without any factual basis is not good activism. False equivalence is another poor tactic in a debate. (I feed my squirrels a healthy diet of almond nuts every spring from the two alien nut trees in my garden but they also enjoy the small seeds on my Celtis Africanus trees as well after they've decimated the nuts. Some might call them pests but I've resisted the urge to despatch them and claim the hundreds of nuts for myself. )

Parkscape is not the real enemy. It's another group who act in a clandestine fashion. They refuse to engage and do not announce their actions. These are the botanical activists who on various occasions have tried to get the bike trails at TokaiMTB shut down with factually inaccurate complaints to the Environment Department.

Squirrels are alein invasive species. I personally like them but they're not conservation worthy. Are you sure you're not just pulling our collective leg here?:-)

"I have read quotes from visitors to Cape Town in the 1700's and 1800's who described the vegetation on the slopes of Table Mountain as a barren, rocky, dull, and unexciting wilderness." That's a 300 year old opinion of some Europeans used to the greenery of their home counties who tried some terraforming by planting stacks of oaks and pines. Not really something to base your petition on IMO.

I'm afraid OP, you're not going to win this one. I know how you feel as a Tokai regular since the 1990's, the loss of those trees will change the feel of the place completely. but, TMNP is an environmental conservation area and as a result all aliens and especially invasive plants will be removed eventually. Personally, I'm glad the aliens are getting removed as I love the Fynbos and indigenous forest that is found on TM. Its a pity that at Upper Tokai, aliens still rule the roost and TMNP seems to have lost the plot on how to deal with the problem.

There was recent case highlighting somewhat inconsistent US justice system in Tulsa (google Tulsa fire truck accident trial). A woman allegedly under the influence of cannabis turned in front of a speeding fire engine (lights on and siren blaring) which resulted in the deaths of five people including the woman's own children. She was tried for "manslaughter" i.e culpable homicide in our law. A telephone call from prison in which she expressed the desire to smoke a joint on getting out made the judge "angry" and she was handed five life sentences. The reports don't detail the legal reasoning behind the finding or all the facts relied on but it seemed to me there was negligence on the part of the fire truck driver as well. (edit - if I recall correctly the accused pleaded guilty or "no contest" in US lingo meaning that an enquiry into her culpability may not have been performed. Bad advice or decision on her part I think) Be that as it may, I've posted this to to illustrate how severe the sentence was for negligent driving causing a death. I think our country is far too lenient and perhaps we need to be heading this way... (I suspect that the sentence may well be overturned on appeal and I think the legal reasoning was flawed but that's another story)

Best bet would be to speak to Pyga - they may have a bearing set kit. If not I'd find a trusted bike repair shop (i.e not Cycle Lab) eg Stoke Suspension in Cape Town or their equivalent in other centers and get the bearings fitted by them. You need not only the right bearings but a bearing press to fit them properly and avoid frame/bearing damage.

I think bike and hub manufacturers are to blame - carbon road bike frames seem to have been designed to amplify any sound occurring on the bike, including loud hubs.

Seen on Ou Kaaps this morning around 0625 by a mate meeting me for a ride at Tokai was an erratically driven Merc that caused the following vehicles to hang back to avoid his antics. Possibly a drunk as a skunk tool behind the wheel and another statistic waiting to happen.

I was referring to the anonymous post quoted by Shebeen above not yours. Knee jerk reactions don't help either.

Yes indeed and what the silly person you quoted above forgets is that while cyclists may break the rules of the road, their conduct is almost never a factor when they get mowed down by a car or motorcycle (Chappies earlier this year).

Attempted murder was never going to fly in a case like this unless there was evidence that he had planned i.e intended to try and kill a cyclist with his car, something which could easily be inferred if he had shot at the rider from his car....

Sorry, my bad, you 100% right

Yes, that's why the charge will be culpable homicide i.e the negligent causing of another's death. Not something that they usually charge a knife attacker with. In this case the drunkenness, speeding, possible attempt to leave the scene and obvious negligent driving are AGGRAVATING circumstances.

So sad and unnecessary. Drunken negligent assh#le ....probably all three

Did you mention that BH has become almost exclusively a gravel/road and marathon/XC MTB zone. Gravity riding is dead on BH, at least in the forums and race reports.

I think it will depend on the kind of riding you do. If you are in the Cape and intend winching yourself up Jonkers repeatedly then the DB's may be overwhelmed and some 4 piston XT's or even Saint DH brakes with big rotors may be the answer.

Good advice right here. I learned swiftly that big S speccing 28/24 spoke rims on an Enduro bike was a very bad idea. 32's front a back and no more worries.

Nope, he needs to change tyre brand - Maybe Spesh

Sadly in SA, that is the definition of MTB. I think "gravel" has just outed SA mountain bikers and now they have to "identify" correctly.

I think you need to look at your calculations again. Try and borrow a 29er fork to test the concept. I went from a 180mm 27.5 Yari to a 160mm Fox 36. Even with the 20mm shorter travel, once you add the bigger wheel, it slackens the head angle significantly - in my case about a degree. I The slacker STA is quite manageable on the climbs. I always ran my seat as far forward as possible anyway and with the shock in climb mode its not very noticeable. There is a good article on Enduro MTB mag from a few years ago re an MX conversion. I agree with most of what they say. I think the benefits outweigh the disadvantages which in my experience are minor... https://enduro-mtb.com/en/mullet-mtb/

AFAIK they are different frames 27.5 vs 29. The 27.5 has 170mm travel as well and although there is massive tyre clearance I think you'd run into clearance issues at full compression with a 29er wheel and appropriate tyre, if it would even fit. As I said above there are virtually no climbing issues and the benefits of the set up would be lost if a bigger wheel was fitted at the back too. My main focus is on DH performance, not climbing in any event.