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Its a mountain bike not a gravel bike after all. Sounds like you need the new Trek gravel steed with suspension.

Okay, I think I'm on to a good thing here. Aside from some minor set up changes - tyres and shock/fork pressure, the conversion is a success. I managed PR's down the Tokai DH line this morning after several years of pretty mediocre runs down there. Bike feels controlled and jumps the same as ever, if not better. This conversion has given my 7 year old bike a new lease on life.

Im 188cm tall and ride a 27.5 Spesh Enduro from way back in 2018. Bike works well, has a bottomless rear suspension feel, a short head tube and the geo is still relatively current. It does however have quite short chainstays, relatively compact reach for an XL and a slackish seat tube angle. So, how would this pan out if I added a 29er front wheel to the bike? With the help of a friend who went to a 38, I received a 160mm travel fox 36, a wheel and an Assegai and the testing began. My 180 Yari had almost the same axle to crown measurement as the 36 29er fork so the bigger wheel was going to make quite a difference. It was pretty apparent straight away that some significant geo changes had occurred. The bars were now 25mm higher at least and the HTA had slacked out to around 63.5 degrees and the BB had been raised by 20mm or so. I slammed the stem which reduced my bar height by about 10mm and added some air to the rear shock. First ride was at JH up Irish 1-8 and surprisingly, aside from the still too high bars the climbing was quite manageable. The ride back down Armageddon went well too. I expected some negatives from the bigger wheel and higher BB in the corners but was pleasantly surprised. The front felt calmer and the grip was improved noticeably over the smaller front wheel. The 160mm fork proved to be a winner but needed some air pressure adjustment to aid comfort. I did manage some Strava PR's on the descent. I decided to experiment with a lower bar height and replaced the Spank 75mm bars with a narrower 38mm risers. The next ride took place at Tokai on the AM trail and DH 1 to 4. Bike felt very different with the lower than normal bars but climbing was improved. I noticed the bigger front wheels roll over on climbs - fewer hang ups on protruding rocks than I'm used to. Again, I did not notice the higher BB in cornering situations which remained confidence inspiring from a front end grip perspective. The lower bars did affect my ability to lift the front wheel but probably something I could get used to. that said I am considering some 50mm rise bars to even things out a bit better. The 36 is now in for a service and some more tweaking and testing is on the cards later this week...

A route is not a trail system necessarily. Not sure Helderberg has routes per se but Banhoek definitely does fit the bill. Some quite tough routes of 15 to 50 km if you want to punish yourself. Helderberg and Jonks are more for slogging uphill and plummeting down on your trail/enduro bike.

You guys are going to cook out there - is the event later than usual ?

Why were they unsuitable? It was gravel roads wasn't it?

At the moment its 2 saffers in the top 3 GC positions. Beers is protecting his lead. He looked poked (for him) after yesterdays stage.

The GRG @R29k exclusive accom...eina

American riders from the tornado belt must have felt right at home...

Borril is 5th in 40-44M

Looks like AMP has taken the lead in the women's event after today's stage. I suppose we're getting to the point where stage race roadies are going to start shining.

The highlights videos are pretty good if a little scripted. I was hoping A Frischknecht would dominate on his HT MTB with a real fork on the front 🙂

Looking forward to this one!

Mamil, just go a ride bold man, it will be okay. (My newish Spesh helmet is the same yellow as that shirt so maybe I am the target market)

Just needs a suspension seatpost to complete the early MTB bike vibes...

@Bro Derek found the perfect bike for you... https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/commuter-e-bikes/856157/2-stroke-motorized-conversion-brutally-fast

He should know that SA Gravel is best ridden on a full suspension MTB.

Ya, in todays climate of aerial bombardment and drone wars, gladiatorial combat is totally unacceptable... I'm thinking Trumpy and Vlad in loincloths in a cage would make good TV though. A Ferrari cannot be compared to a Colnago bike - the only thing Colnago make are the frame and the rest of the kit on it anyone can buy. The car is bespoke in ways 99.9% of bicycles are not. The car also guarantees you acceleration and cornering speed that most other vehicles can't match while the Colnago will be overtaken on the first twisty downhill by me on my R5k Raleigh 10 speed.

I think there is also an argument to be made that ludicrous high end prices drive up the cost of lower end bikes because even though they are also overpriced, they look cheap in comparison. At least with an italian sports car you may actually be buying supreme performance because of the tech on offer and some even increase in value. The push bike for R400k is just a waste of money.

Thats a dope bike.

Is that some kind of leg out Moto GP/Gravel cornering build up he's doing there. Are speeds that high in #gravel?

Okay, so now the FC thinks you need to pay them to go bike packing? What do they provide?

I think its crazy that the top women ride a shorter distance than the rank and file. Just seems wrong. And the F Ups you allude to could be a thing.

We are back at this event after 8 years. Looking forward to it!

Going to be a good watch!