kandui

the granny on the 2x10 can handle steep climbs, but is a bit harder than the granny on the 3/10. Guess my brain is playing games at this late stage.

I doubt it. Most likely just nerves before the race.

I know I'm asking for it, but stuff it! I am planning to ride the Epic with a 3x10 drivetrain on my FS. In the run-up I have been training on my HT which has a 2x 10 drivetrain which I have enjoyed. Riding the Knysna 300 on a 26/39 set was fine and I had no problems at all. My mind was made up, but having gotten back on to the 3/10 last weekend, it didn't feel as fluid as the 2 blade set-up. Open to comments.

The Signal Hill to Cape Point route seems to have been a premise on which the EMP in 2002 was based. I think a bit naive at the time, but with the upsurge in Mtb since then, this project has to be revived . I will get in touch with the guys in the know once my brain is clear of the Epic. As of May the Signal Hill to Rhodes Mem will be mapped and marked. One could consider that a start to the project.

There is definitely a group at work targeting garages in the upper reaches of the City Bowl. They could be targeting bikes, but my guess is they are taking what's not tied down and can be flogged quickly. Don't want to sound like a Hausfrau, but stick a large bolt in the wall, buy a length of chain and 2 padlocks. Attach the chain to the shackle fastened in the wall and loop the chain through the bikes. Close with the second padlock. I have had my garage in Gardens broken into 3 times over the course of 6 years and the bikes were never taken. Remote garages are so easy to break into: pull the door until the guide arm buckles and the plastic roller breaks. Open. Look at your mechanism and how vulnerable it is and you might think twice about leaving your expensive bike in the garage.

Flew from Cpt to Whk for the Desert Dash in December and had to pay R 200 for my bike to be transported. I thought I would save myself some hassle and pay the R 200 for the return transportation from Walvis Bay to Cpt (just in case the guy on the ground in Walvis decides another rate applies). Good thing the Air Namibia lady at Cpt Airport would not let me pay for the return leg, because there was no charge on the way back. Just goes to show how willy nilly these regulations are. On an Emirates flight you may take a box up to 3m long and hand it in as check-in luggage. Took a Patio Umbrella over for a friend like that and it cost me zip.

Here's an update on the sign at Mostert's Mill: It's an official TMNP sign and is binding. It was put up as a response to guys riding here and this bit not being an official cycling trail. I know that riding will carry on and so do TMNP. If you read the EMP (Environmental Management Plan) of 2002, there are mechanisms in place to request a trail be opened for cycling. So this is not necessarily a closed book. If anyone would like to read the EMP (it's not too long and pretty straightforward, let me know and I will email you a copy. Interesting bit in the EMP is that it talks about exploring the possibility of creating a trail from Signal Hill to Cape Point and I think that it's time to refer back to this idea as it had been "officially" put forward and is not a new idea.

Are we talking 26 or 29 inch here?

Advertised bike weights in ads are for a Medium Frame with no pedals. You buy a Large, you are already heavier. Buy a Carbon frame instead of the Alu version, you're saving 500g , but spending Thousands more. Put yourself on your bike and weigh the combined package, because the bike won't ride itself. Shedding a Kg off your body is relatively easy and costs nothing. Picked up my Alu Jet 9 and compared it the RDO version (with pretty similar components) and can't say my "arm scale" noticed any significant difference. My wallet would have had to cough up around 8k more though. More interesting question to ask: How much do you and your Dual Sus weigh together?

Happy to do it.

Thanks for the pic. Looks like your heart rate was up when you held the camera . The sign certainly looks official, but the placement and height of the sign looks a bit odd.San Parks signage is usually on a taller post. I will ask Jannie du Plessis to investigate and get back to you. I had a good meeting regarding the trail map and route signage and we are aiming to have everything in place by mid May. There is also a pretty good chance we will get large trail overview boards placed at the main entrances (Rhodes Memorial, Mount Pleasant, Kloof Nek). Don't know the cost of those, but I hope PPA will pick up the tab. Anyone know a good signage company who want to sponsor those and get their names linked to a good cause? At the meeting J d P asked me yesterday whether I had any suggestions on how one could stop illegal riding on Lions Head/Signal Hill. I told him that would never happen. There is no way San Parks will ever get a handle on that. So rather than try and stop it, I offered him the following ideas: 1. Open a part of the trail on a test basis and see how walkers, runners and cyclists co-exist. 2. Open trails for cycling on alternate days (Mo,Wed,Fri and Sunday) 3. Allow riding on Signal Hill from a certain time onwards 4. Allow riding on certain trails, but only from one direction 5. When TMB becomes a proper club, give members exclusivity to ride certain trails. Members have number boards to identify them and as part of the deal, we police the trails and encourage other riders to join the club so they become legal riders too. We take responsibility for the privilege and make sure we keep it. Part of TMB Membership fees can get paid over to San Parks as a goodwill gesture (think long-term here) or set aside to fund trail maintenance by professionals. San Parks can add to their coffers by fining any rider caught on the trails without a TMB board, an incentive for them them to patrol more actively. I got the impression that he liked what he heard and I have a feeling the door to riding on Signal Hill has opened a crack.

Mentioned the new sign at Mostert's Mill to the Head Ranger at our meeting this morning and he knows nothing about it. He told me there is another "Friends of...." starting up in the area and they are bitching about the cyclists. Most likely it was them who put the sign there. Is it an official San Parks sign? Send me a pic to ride@tablemountainbikers.co.za and I will investigate. CapeLandy, you might get to use your spanner after all.

The Grape Escape ran at a huge loss this year. Double the fee, half the entrants. Costs around R 2 Million to organise. Route was crap last year, so a big fee increase and prospect of another crap route made them see their .... . Route was great this time , I hear.

I must say, when I read about the "Value for Money" and look at what they offer as part of the entry fee , my blood does start to boil a little. A hostel bed or a tent, and we have to pay extra for that! No lunch either. Come on!

Agree with both points. 1. Yes, we are being taken for fools. 2. Yes, if it's too expensive, stay away. We all do the same maths: The known race costs X, so how can the other days cost Y? Why don't they just add a "Reason for Pricing" button and give us their take on how they got to the Entry Fee?

We'll celebrate with a bottle of Malema's finest when the signage is sunk in the ground and the Trail Map is on the counter at your LBS!

I have had a set-up done with Jeroen when attending to an Achilles issue I picked up during the CPT last year. He set the bike up and recommended I get some Orthotics for my cycling shoes and casual shoes. The bike set-up he did was fine, but the recommendation by Jeroen to go to the Podiatrist was a Winner. Since I have had the inner soles made up for my feet, my Achilles feels like nothing was ever wrong. If you are going to Jeroen for a set-up and you have some other niggles, do yourselves a favour, make an appointment with the Podiatrist at the SSI, even if it is just to reassure yourself. It's money well spent. We tend to forget about our feet inside the shoe and how that may affect our riding. For Bike Set-up alone, I can highly recommend Erica Green and Spook Groenewald from Daisy Way in Somerset West. Very nice people and their results are excellent.

Morning Guys. Just saw this Thread and can tell you the following. There are NO plans to curtail riding on the legal trails on Table Mountain. In fact, I am going out on a site visit with the Head Ranger at 11am this morning to check the spots where I want to put route signage. I am putting together a trail map for the area from roughly Kloof Nek to Rhodes Memorial, with the support of San Parks. I had a meeting with them 2 weeks ago, showing them my proposed trail map and signage. I included trails I knew would be contentious, to make sure I got every last bit in which we can legally ride. My map included the access point at Mostert's Mill, but San Parks said it was never part of the 2002 EMP for Mountain Biking on Table Mountain. Same goes for a couple of other areas we all ride regularly and the Rangers tend to turn a blind eye. I can understand the frustration, believe me. The dead end jeep tracks on the City side of Table Mountain are actually also not allowed to be ridden. There are no signs saying so, so how would you know? When San Parks saw the Dead Ends on my map they asked me to remove them, because, once again, they were not part of the EMP of 2002. But, I can assure you, I am working on getting these bits included in the legal trail network. Once I have the Trail Map printed and the signage is put in, Tread magazine are coming to do a trail review and will give the Table Mountain routes a full page in the mag. This should put a lot more focus on the area and help to get sections like Mostert's Mill and the dead ends added to the network. I must just add that there is a section of legal trails on Signal Hill which will be included on the map and marked on the ground. San Parks were not closed off to the idea of other sections being added to the trails, but said that a process needs to be followed. This includes public input from groups such as dog walkers, hikers and other interested parties, so you as mountain bikers need to be prepared to get involved when the time comes. The more public voices are heard on this , the better the chance of us getting more trail to ride. By the Way. The main marked trail (the Black Route) will be 26km long with 780m of climbing. Contact me directly at ride@tablemountainbikers.co.za if you're not on my mailing list, send me your name and email address and you will receive updates as and when there is something of interest to report.

No matter who imported it into our Rainbow Nation. Grey, Green, Blue or Purple, doesn't matter. If the product came off the Company's Factory Floor, it carries a Warranty.Even if it's bought though the Classifieds and the seller provides a POP, the Warranty stands. I don't see the ambiguity here. You can buy a second hand car through the papers with a valid Motor Plan , the manufacturer would honour it?

Use a normal hacksaw to cut the handlebars down.

Car Guards , they are ones who wave okes into illegal spaces and then expect cash. Cars were parked under the traffic circle at the stadium, since when are those legal parking spots? If your spot was legal, I sympathise. If not, what can I say.

The Rate of Exchange plays a big part as well when buying overseas. When the Rand is at 7.5 a lot of stuff looks like a good deal. Do the same calculation at 8.5 and you might as well buy local. I shop around for the best deal, locally and in Europe and sites like CRC are not always the cheapest when you look at all the costs. I for one believe that the Manufacturer or Agent should honour the warranty of any item bearing their brand if there is a legitimate proof of purchase and the warranty period has not expired. No matter whether it's the first , second or third owner or where it was bought.

I tend to agree with your theory. Chappies I can do about 13-17km/h on my mountain bike and up Suikerbossie I am doing 13-15km/h. This is of course weather, feel and mood dependent. Suikerbossie is a tougher climb than Chappies. Yesterday I ran out of gears on my 2x10, 29er with slicks when road descended and on the flats (my legs) and the gearing made me loose the bunch a couple of times. I was hoping to do a 3:10 or thereabouts yesterday, but I felt a bit pap in places after Simons Town and I thought the wind was a bit of a factor in the morning. Got to Simons Town in 1:11 which was on track, but thought the wind conditions were a bit "strange" from Smitswinkel to Sun Valley. Anybody else think so too?

that included taxes , customs and insurance. Must be a Fed Ex Mule Train.

Top Model of the Catlike Helmet for R 1800, instead of R 2600. Very nice looking helmet.