Steady Spin

Oh yes, there is that. I ended up switching inserts like a man possessed. RCs have Nike insoles from a pare of naked running shoes, the Bontragers have Specialized footbeds.

What happened after the accident? I remember reading about it and being heartbroken for him. What a legend of a man. Was he paralyzed?

I think the last time I rode VG with you was in 2013. Good times back in those days with the dogs. I'm heading there again on Saturday. Will keep my eyes open for the signs. It is very well marked at the start though. Can't fault that. I can imagine it being more difficult to maintain it out on the outskirts of the trails.

I have fairly high bridges and I get a lot of pinching on the top of my foot. Also some dead toes about 15km into a ride if I don't move my foot around or stop frequently. I ride with very loose shoes. Yet to have one come off my foot so it works just fine. Loosen the laces. I ride in either Ride Concepts of Bontrager. The RC is a true 10 and I got a 10.5 in the Bontragers. I basically alternate thick and thin socks to get a good fit. Try to use a thinner sock. I find the ones from SOX to be extremely thin and comfortable in the RCs and I have some merino wool socks for the Bontragers.

Post links to these great shoes please?

Reading this freaks me out properly. Having double breaks will really complicate things in life. Eating a burger and wiping comes to me. Speedy recovery my friend. Hope you heal up fast.

If you are in JHB give Linden Cycles a call. I recall a big old crate with old parts that they have available. You used to get an adapter that would convert the old quill stems into a normal modern standard stem. That could be your next option.

Good to know about the Pomphuis loop. We got stranded with 100s of these little buggers in our wheels. Rode as far as we could before hiking the rest of the way next to the tar road. Starting to think that Bufffels might be a good option instead for a good leg stretch. I do have fond memories of previous rides at VG though. Would be great to relive that.

Looks like that comes back on a black route called "Saddle Singletrack" Let me look at the heatmaps quickly. I also downloaded the full map from the Van Gaalens site but it isn't super clear with something called "Ode to Erik" into "Gully" into "Wave Rider" I just couldn't find "Wave Rider" It appeared to be super overgrown.

Good morning. A little help please. VG is not known for excellent trail signage and as a result we got terribly lost just before the concrete strips climb. Thanks to @_David_ I now have a GPX file to help plot the route better. Below is where we went wrong. We tried to skip the "concrete strips" & "tant miems" due to lack of fitness only to get stuck next to the fields on what Trailforks believes is a section called "Edge of the Fields" leading to "Wave Rider". Thanks to an oversight in topping up sealant we both punctured and had to hike back. The booboo is indicated on the map as well as what we thought would be the route to get to the railway and then "Pomphuis Loop" Is there an option to get to Pomphuis without going over Concrete Strips etc? We do have friends that know the route but they insist on the Concrete Strips and apart from fitness we also don't like the super rocky downhills on the other side. My fiance is that confident on technical trails like that. We just want a nice day out to stretch the legs and do a little climbing. My plotted route below

Thank you. We tried to do the loop towards Concrete Strips and then follow the railway to Pomphuis Loop and back to the start. We ended up next to the fields in what can only be described as devil thorn hell. The section of trail we got lost on is called "Next to the fields" and then also "Wave rider"

Most of trail 2 and 3 at Red Barn was bone dry. We actually have dusty bikes after this morning.

Did Van Gaalen yesterday. Sadly we both punctured due to getting lost and had to hike the river trail back. Everything we rode was plenty dry with only the river being proper siff in places. But… wtf is VG’s problem with putting up proper signage on their trails. Jeepers.

Steel for me always. Alu lasts about the same time as a chain at R750 a pop.

Quite a specialized system.

Bedside table humor in this case.

It goes on really smooth though. Really worked its way inside. Penetrated with no friction.

It has a learning curve I guess. Either dumps too much or too little. Time will tell. So far i’m not blown away.

Caved and bought two. The lady and I prefer different brands of lube. Will test and report back.

We worked out a route at Red Barn that isn't that bad as it skips the worst mud hole and swimming pools but even with that we need at least a day of sunshine to dry enough to not sink everywhere.

Thank you sir. This changes my plan quite a bit. You can't ride VG and not do the River Trail. Damnit man. I'm gatvol of mud already. I like the cooler weather but jeez...

Also getting gatvol of hearing my gears grinding themselves to pieces and washing my bike after every single ride. Rumor has it that Van Gaalens drains well. Will swing by there on Saturday. I assume Hennops will be dry as well.

Confirmed as I thought. Under controlled test the XTR reported 4000km but I can’t see that happening in real world scenarios. I’m loving my ShiRAmanoM frankenbike drivetrain and I should see the best of both worlds.

What is the solution then? Chains on both bikes are lubed every third or so ride. Both chains are run through a Park Cyclone chain cleaner using Prepsol or Ecologic to clean before rinsing and drying in the sun. One uses Bat lube and the other Muc Off C3 Dry or Squirt Chain Wax for wetter rides On the one we replaced the SRAM NX chain at around 1600km One the other a KMC entry level chain lasted 600km and then the XTR at 2000km Checked with Park Tool CC-3.2 and replaced when the 0.5% side drops in What am I doing wrong that I don’t get 5000km from a chain? Maybe it’s a 12spd thing?

Interesting. Could have been why i got only 2000km on mine. About a 1000 less than what others reported on the same chains. When I replaced my chainring in December I found that a 32t got dangerously close to the frame. Turns out the driveside spacer on the bb was skipped bringing the chainring closer to the frame than what it should have been. Hopefully the spacer sorted out the slight misaligned and will increase chain life. Who knows. Waiting for @DieselnDustto give his feedback.