nigelhicks

I know of gavin ryan. He was on track today. Check out quickpix.co.za. or ill see what he has

Looks like everyone had some fun today

thats the long term plan dude All access trails for hiking, and horse riding, and then bike-specific trails. They have a lot of work to do though to put in coffee shops and trail centres etc - but the vision is there

Having spent time on both bikes - I have this to say .... 1. If you are going for the Fury - get the Carbon one if you can ... the Alu ones kept creasing at the shock mount on the downtube. 2. The Fury is a MUCH Better ride than the Goose and (unlike Peach and them say - Id say the Carbon Fury is far more robust than the goose - if you comparing the Alu Fury ... then i dont know.) 3. The pivot system (although looking different) is essentially the same - the Fury has better bump adsorption though. 4. Alu Mongoose's are good and you cant go radically wrong with them - they suit SA's tracks as they are pedal frienly bikes. 5 - So IMO ... if you looking at an Alu Fury ... go for a Goose .... BUT if you can get a Carbon Fury ... definitely without a doubt got for that!

For DH access etc The DH Track is shown in Red in the one image with the shuttle access shown in Green and Yellow. The green is a section of contour road that the DH riders will ride along to the collection point on the main access road. The yellow is the actuall shuttle section.

To all riders thinking of coming to the Provincial Event this weekend - here are the directions. You can enter on ROAG's website. Schedule - Saturday - XCO and Enduro - plus Unofficial Practice for DH (no shuttles provided - sort yourself out) Sunday - DHI - Official practice in the morning with racing in the Afternoon (Shuttles provided all day) Unfortunately i do not have a map of the XC or Enduro but have put up a map of the DHI Access is shown in YELLOW on the image 29°45'21.96"S 30°38'21.91"E Directions. Take the Hammarsdale offramp off the N3. Turn left (coming from Durban) or right (coming from PMB) and travel up the 385 Main Road towards Hammardale town. Take the FIRST road to the right (after 1.4km) at the sign D657. After 50m turn RIGHT at the big Gumtrees into Edwards Drive on dirt. Follow this road up the hill into the Sugar Cane of Hill and Dale Trails. Take the left Turn signposted "Workshop" near the top of the hill for the Parking area and registration etc. As the main Event area is not at the top of the hill as it is centralised for all three events over the weekend, DH riders accessing the Track will do so from the main access road where the DH crosses and then ride down the remainder of the track and then shuttle up to the start to begin practice etc. - Or alternatively they can just ride up the access road for about 100m to the start of the track. Cheers Nige

or you can contact Bike life - they provide finance for bikes through local bike shops - I know Leighs Cycle Centre in KZN does it - as does Morningside in JHB www.bikelife.co.za

Just so you all know - KZN MTB are trying something different this year ... If you enter 2 events for a weekend Provincial (say Enduro and DH) ... the entry for the 2nd event is reduced drastically. So we are trying to make it more affordable for people to do more events rather than just focusing on just one ... Once final things are out i will let you all know the structure - but AFAIK (and please dont quote me on this) ... its R150 for a single event - then R200 for 2 events (so you save R50 per event) .... Pretty cool IMO

for those of you who are coming down from JHB for the weekend for the Enduro - think of staying on and doing the DH the next day - the track is not at all difficult and can easily be ridden on a trail bike.

There is no onsite catering - i am not sure if there will be vendors who will come down that are sometimes at the other races. So just to be on the safe side - bring your own food and drink. From PMB the venue is about 20min drive.

not sure what Sydney has planned for the Enduro - but ALL the trails are BRAND NEW ... The DH i have built is short but fun - but with no rain over this past week it is just powder at the moment. So should make for some interseting racing Will be interested to see how the Enduro fits into the Provincial format with timing etc.

IT IS NOT BARTLETTS ESTATE ... Its Hill n' Dale trails - I have been kaked on a couple of times for the wrong name as it was changed a couple of years ago and the farmer is quite specific about this ... It is in Hammarsdale right next to the N3. Directions to Hill 'n' Dale Trails are as follow : On the N3, take the Hammersdale offramp and travel up the 385 Main Road towards Hammersdale town. After approx. 1.4km take the FIRST road to the right (D657). After 50m turn RIGHT (by the big Gumtrees) into Edwards Drive (Dirt Road). Follow this road up the hill into the Sugar Cane of Hill 'n Dale Trails. Take the LEFT turn signposted "Workshop" near the top of the hill for the XCO/Enduro parking or continue to the top of the hill for the DH parking. GPS Co-ords are 29°45'21.96" S, 30°38'21.91" E

i want it rutted and rough - wont do any pruning of the track other than the new rock gardens

couple of changes up top and maybe down the bottom Near the top ... 1. after the first 2 road gaps im looking at putting in a new section down to Cloud 9 ... then i'm looking at changing Cloud 9 and going further right to use the gradient and rocks more ... I will be adding a long new rock garden to make it rougher. 2. add more rocks below Cloud 9 3. Haibo will be no longer - we will have a new section crossing rut hill but then turning left and crossing the road again using a super steep section with more rocks. 4. - then below the pedal - i will probably use the Masters line at the 4 cross section. 5. - Looking at putting in a new section at slip-n-slide ... (where sam hill binned it) ... on the left bank of the valley. So have some ideas ...

nice to see 2 new venues this year - Meribel will be cool i think - and have been looking at the Cairns tracks on Facebook - WOW!

Yeah its crap that some of the bigger track venues dont bid. But there are tons that could also make awesome tracks. Eg ... nevegal, kaprun, vail ... but the venues dont want the world cups as they cost too much to host. I know that vds didnt have the cash to host this years event. As far as uci commissioner said to me is that schladming just didnt have he cash. Also from a logistics viewpoint the uci like triple event locations as it makes it easier for the venue to host the event

Cap ... remember that its not just the uci who set the venues. Venues bid for the rights which the uci then award. If vds and schladming dont bid they cant get awarded a spot. A couple of years back windham bid, was awarded, but then pulled out as they didnt have the cash to run the event and hosting it would have sunk them. The uci actually Battle to find venues willing to bid for events as it costs so much to host the events.

yeah i can take you around Check your PM

Ya i saw the pics ... looks awesome ... that double at the start of Roots was always too small ... looks way better now - and safer for Joe Soap as its case-friendly

Looking good guys ... keep up the hard work

nice one dude - that bike looks sick!

the wifes set up on her 650B Trail bike (130mm travel rear 140mm front) 50mm Funn Stem - 730mm wide bars - low rise (15mm)

the wheelsize debate even made it into the simpsons! http://nbbb.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/smpnsbkwhl0110.jpg

Ya - awesome ... Is it just me .. or are there a large amount of 26inch bikes in that video?? :whistling:

Also love the bit where the 26 slows down dramatically at each "hole" that is perfectly sized for the big wheel to roll over it ... because all the holes on our trails are perfectly sized ... yes ... What happens when the hole is bigger so the small wheel can roll THROUGH the hole while the big wheel get stuck ... hahaha - this is by far the most amateur 29er video i have seen ... Shame on Bergamont for making such crap.