kandui

I am toying with going to the 26/39 gearing. While I am managing fine with the bigger rings, I feel that my legs are having to put in an extra effort on the climbs and living in Cape Town, it's up everywhere! I definitely do more climbing than flat riding,so I will most likely benefit from the smaller rings. I use SRAM XX 2/10 ,so can't comment on the Shimano 2/10.

28/42 or 26/39?

A Lefty would be nice, but I am working on a budget of max R6000 , but I would prefer to stay under that. Also need a second wheel set at some stage. So conensus is pretty even- Fox or Rockshox.

I have 2 29ers (Niner Air Carbon and Niner Jet 9) sharing 1 fork at the moment which is not ideal. The one I have is a Fox RL , 100mm. I am looking for a second hand fork with a tapered steerer. A mate who fixes bikes says stay away from the SID because it's not stiff enough. He recommends Fox. I am 1,89m tall and weigh 89kg. Your thoughts please.

I ride a 2/10 (42-28) with an 11-36 on my HT and a 3/10 (24/32/42) with an 11-36 on the back on my FS . Both 29ers. A 2/10 can be a tougher ride up the hills, so go for the 3/10 set-up, if you battle with the climbs. I will ride Epic on my FS with the 3/10, to make it a little easier on my ass and legs.

I watched the Carte Blanche insert on dune mining in Northern KZN last night. To make a profit, Exxaro has to destroy a perfectly intact environment with the promise of rehabilitating it when they are done mining. They don't know whether they can return the land to it's original condition as they have no mining project which has been closed and fully rehabilitated. 90 permanent jobs to be created by destroying thousands of hectares of vegetation. Is that a fair sacrifice to make? How many jobs will be lost in tourism and agriculture? To me it looked like a balanced report with both the For and Against being given a fair airing. I found myself questioning the fit between mountain biking, which requires an intact natural environment and a mining company which needs to destroy such an evironment in order to make a profit for its shareholders.

Sani + W2W + Epic = you must spend a fortune on entries every year! It's never seems to end. Sani and W2W are rides I do with my wife at her pace and we have a good time together. For 2012 and onwards I am going to hang back on all entries and wait till the last minute to pick up discounted entries or at least pay for my entry closer to the race time. This nonsense of paying for a race 9 months in adavance makes no sense to me ,unless organisers start giving early bird discounts. My Sani entries for 2012 are costing me an extra R 6000 for flights, transfers and 2 B&B nights. No matter how fantastic the experience is , it never ends with the entry fee.

Don't forget a spare rear derailleur hanger ! I take a week off, but I will ride again as soon as my mind says my body wants to get on the bike. I am riding Sani with my wife and she is a fit social rider. I ride at her pace which is great for me. I can help her up the hills and enjoy a mellow event. We have a deal: Sani and W2W we ride together. No pressure.

For the OP. A friend of mine had to pull out due to injury which left his partner pretty miffed. Anyway, the partner found another guy to ride with, but both of them have paid up entries,so what do they do? They pester the race office until they relent and give my friend a refund on his full entry, minus R 2500. They bought the entry back. Moral of the Story: forget about selling through the Classifieds. Call the Epic office and hound them for a refund, it can be done! This happened last week.

You can deal with the heat. There are water points where you can fill up bottles and drink to your heart's content. Take a couple of Rehidrate sachets along for the latter stages. The 147km sounds worse than it is. Look at it this way. If it was 147km of single track and rutted jeep track we would be out there for 10 hours or more. There will be a lot of open dirt road riding on the long day which I am sure you can deal with. Go to the times from last year and look at stage 5 (Worcester-Oak Valley). That was 147km (or similar) and we had a lot of dirt road. Go out on the weekend and ride 147km on dirt roads in your area, don't worry about single track. Do it again next week and then you can tell yourself that you can handle 147km. By the time the 147km stage comes, your body will be acclimatised.

G-Unit, to answer your question. A guy I met during the 2010 Pioneer, broke a rim during a stage and limped back to the finish. The mechnics sold him a new set (he couldn't buy just one) for R 4000. What can you do? During the race you're at the mercy of the guy who's got what you need. At the 2011 Epic my partner sheared off his rear derailleur during the Prologue. Our mechanics (who shall remain nameless, but I will never recommend them) were meant to fix the bike overnight before Stage 1. As we rolled to the start my partner's bike didn't feel right, so back to the mechanic to get the bike sorted with seconds to spare before the start. On Day 3 , my partner had a front wheel issue (also meant to have been fixed) on the start line. The group started ,but I didn't see him turn around a go back to the mechanics, so I carried on and only realised about 5km down the track that my partner was missing. We lost over half an hour on that day. Point is, you can have good luck and have no issues (pre-race service and riding "light" during the race will increase the odds in your favour) or you can have a lot of issues like my partner did. Mechanics during the Epic will take walk-ins ,so you can take your chances without paying the hefty mechanic's package price. If you do choose to pay for a mechanic, make sure that in the group, each mechanic is not working on more than 4-5 bikes during the Epic. Get it in writing if you have to. There is not enough time in the day for one mechanic to have 10 bikes to service. Inevitably your bike gets looked at at 3 in the morning when the mechanic is overtired and can't focus anymore. That's when mistakes happen and stuff is overlooked. If you have space, bring a spare wheelset along to share with your partner. There are Shimano and SRAM tents at the race with spares, but the mechanics are taking stock for their own use ,so some items might not be availble when you need them. My wife is doing Massage for 4 teams and is sharing space with 2 mechanics who will each take 4 bikes. I can recommend them as package mechanic or as a walk-in mechanics. As part of the Massage package, my wife is offering each team a large storage box for spares etc. She will have my Nissan Patrol and there is plenty of space to store stuff. Having your own array of spares with you is often as reassuring as having the mechanic's package.

Unbelieveable! Imagine this as the last roadworthy test for our Minibus Taxi's. How insane would that be? Just trying to visualise it is making me laugh.

As a novice to these long stage races, I took a mechanic package for the 2010 Pioneer. At around R 1600 I didn't give it much thought from a cost perspective and thought the safety blanket of my own mechanic would take some pressure off and give me peace of mind. At the end of it I had a bill of R 45 for one shifter cable which needed replacing. 2011 Epic I took the mech package at R3000 ( a lot more thought now), again for peace of mind. My bike had a bit of dirt caught in the freewheel hub which made a noise, but was of no further concern, other than making a noise when freewheeling. Mechanics said they would sort it out, but 1km into the next day's stage the noise was back.They didn't fix it but decided to fit new brake pads instead (which I didn't need). Not happy, but more pissed because my partner had major problems with his bike which were not attended to properly by said mechanics and cost us a lot of time.On stage 3 my partner had to go back to the mech from the start line and I had to wait for half an hour before we could geet going. Other than that, no problems with my own bike so the R3000 decision was put into question, especially since our chosen mechanic did not do the work properly , because they had too many bikes already and were still accepting walk-ins. No mechanic at 2011 Pioneer which was a good move. Checked bolts, cleaned and lubed bike myself. No issues. Get your bike serviced properly before Epic and put on a set of brand new brake pads and you will be fine. Make sure tyres are new or newish. A well maintained bike with all parts new or newish (not years old) will get through the Epic. If major stuff happens, go to a mechanic and pay. None of them turn away walk-ins which makes a mockery of the fact that you pay thousands upfront for exclusive service.

When you finish the stage there are guys and gals who take your bike off you for a wash. Once washed, the bike is put into the bike park where you can collect it. If you have a mechanic's package, the mechs usually collect it for you and take it to their spot in the Supporters Village. Revolution Cycles in Bree Street will also have 2 mechanics at the Epic and are taking 8 bikes maximum.

Reminds me of the Golf Day where a rogue 4 Ball pulls in and scores 56 Stableford points and second place loses comes in on 46. Prizes happened to be be sponsored by Canon and were worth 6k per person (camera and colour printer)

I still believe a medal (in the true spirit and meaning of the object) goes to Finishers 1,2 and 3. Everyone after can get a memento to commemorate their accomplishment. How about the old fashioned badges that used to be given out at events and these were sewn on to the tracksuit jacket? Why not bring those back? Or make the item given to you after a cycle race useful. Tiny K mentioned a keyring. How about a medal with a magnet at the back? A magnet which reminds you of your achievement ever time you attach one of your children's drawings to the fridge?

Medals- a very emotive issue. I am not being militant about this. With hundreds of riders crossing the line at short intervals, there is little time to be nice and complimentary to everyone when handing them over. A symbol of achievement and a memory jogger, agreed. When I got that medal on Saturday, I just saw all the medals I have from fun rides and I was thinking to myself, "Where is this one going?". My opinion on the matter won't stop medals being handed out, majority rules on this one. While I don't volunteer at PPA events, I do try and do my bit with the Table Mountain Bikers initiative. What has this topic got to with TMB I am asked? Nothing, but TMB has a Forum which is open to discuss any topic, same as the Hub. I for one was not disappointed that there were no medals at the Rollercoaster. My experience was not diminished and I had a great time.

Just reading this about the cheat rider and am interested. Where do you think he managed to find a shortcut and jump ahead of you?

Ok, that does it for me. Get the medal from the interested volunteer and enjoy the satisfaction of your achievement.

In response to eccentric1. The "disinterested" refers to the handing out of the medal, not the volunteer's duties assigned duties to make the event happen. If he or she accomplishes his duties with enthusiam an gusto, well done. Don't twist my words. Nowhere was I dissing the volunteers who are an integral part of a race. My issue was with the medals. And don't assume to think that I litter, you know nothing about me. I thank each marshal on the course when I pass them and I keep my litter in my back pocket and put in the bin or in my car when I am done. When I am at home and showered, nobody is cleaning up my mess because I didn't leave one. Ever! Stick to the topic.

Your friend could have been a novice cyclist at the time and was thrilled at her achievement? The other sport you refer to she would have trained hard to win her Gold medals. I wonder what she would think of her 10th Amashova medal or 94.7? Same value? You who want medals , go out and get them. From now on I will respectfully decline.

I hear what you're saying. The medal may have more value to the short route riders, because he might not ride a lot and it makes the achievement a lot more potent for him or her. But the guys who ride regularly don't need the medal to confirm their achievement. I ride a race because the route is otherwise not open for riding, I am training or I enjoy a particular race's route. The medal is of absolutely no consequence. At the end I am glad I did it , perhaps have a few tales to tell and can check my time against others on the internet. I am satisfied.

There is clearly still a demand for medals, that's why they are still being handed out. This morning just got to me , another plastic pack with a piece of metal and ribbon all rolled up inside. I bet you that's how they are delivered from the supplier. At least the Epic medal was still placed over my neck , there was some sort of personal interaction with a smidgen of recognition thrown in. If you want something to show what you have achieved, why can't they come up with something more useful than a medal? Maybe it should not be called a medal anymore, but a Finishers Token. You get timed and your results are there for all to see and for you to refer back to whenever you like. Guys (including me ) complain about the value for money aspect of races (Day and Stage) with regularity and the Finishers Token is one part of the cost. It may not be a big part of the cost, but it all adds up.

"Depending on your relative fitness some medals are meaningful just for finishing" What's fitness got to do with it? Focus on the "meaning" part. Show me one Fun RIde (races on the PPA calendar for instance) where a medal is handed over in a way that has "meaning". Come on, if you need a medal to prove something to yourself, then train and finish top 3 where a medal is perhaps worth something. Are you saying the personal achievement of finishing a race only means something when you get a medal, even as the person in last place? I haven't done a Freedom Challenge, but even the blanket loses it's "meaning" after a while .Perhaps the dog chows it or moths get hold of it, will I therefore never remember the experience? The mere fact that medals are handed out in their hundreds at every weekend Ride should tell you enough.

Another race, another meaningless medal. That piece of metal they give you in a little plastic packet with your lucky draw numbers is the last thing I think of when I enter a race. They are a waste of my money and totally meaningless. The guy sweating over 60km gets the same medal as the guy doing the 10km fun ride ( equality for all, I get it), handed to them by a disinterested volunteer as they cut your number board off your bike. What is the point! These things cost money and as far as I am concerned, rather get a representative of the charity the ride may support and hand them a cheque for an amount the medals cost to make. Or give me a button during the oline entry process ("Medal", "Support Charity X" or "Entry discount") I just want to ride the events because I enjoy them, what the hell do I need a medal for? It's not like I single handedly rescued 10 mountain bikers pinned down by enemy fire, with a Gu and a cable tie! I got one this morning at Franschhoek and will get another one tomorrow morning. Medals are reserved for Places 1,2 and 3. Why should I get a medal for coming 20th or 210th! Is my achievement being recognised and rewared by the organisers? Hardly! Tomorrow after the Rollercoaster I will refuse my medal, I don't know why I didn't think of this before! Must have been the Sheep gene which takes over at the Finish. No more medals for me.