Li Mu Bai

what a shame. another 'safe' ride spot ruined. I will miss it if this closure goes ahead. the soft drink cans and glass bottles dropped by vehicle occupants was also quite remarkable from time to time.

I still have no idea why the Cat 1-3 system from last season was abandoned. Racing against guys with similar ability rather than age makes sense. that way being man or woman doesnt matter, you start where you belong or have worked hard to be. VA VB VC, all antiquated and should be scrapped. Bring back the categories for the licenced racers. as for the seeded groups, if you put in the time and do the qualifiers you will get good seeding. no point in griping about slower riders or corporate groups. Still an awesome race, the views and scenery were just great. Pity it got so HOT.

Maxxis do last almost forever, but the crossmark sucks in wet conditions

YOU EITHER LIKE GRIP SHIFT OR YOU DONT. I HAVE USED X0 GRIP SHIFT FOR OVER 4 YEARS AND FIND IT TO BE VERY GOOD WHEN RACING. YOU CAN DUMP OR GAIN GEARS WITH ONE QUICK SHIFT IN SITUATIONS SUCH AS STEEP RISES ON BLIND CORNERS, RATHER THAN CLICKING AWAY WITH THUMB OR FOREFINGER. ITS LIGHTER TOO THAN TRIGGER SHIFTERS IF THATS IMPORTANT TO YOU. ALSO IF YOU ARE A TALL PERSON, CLIMBING STEEP STUFF OUT OF THE SADDLE CAN GET YOUR KNEES BUMPING ON THE TRIGGERS. XTR IS A BIG JUMP UP COST WISE, X-7 EQUATES ROUGHLY TO SHIMANO SLX. (X-9 TO XT, X0 TO XTR, XX - ?) BUT GO WITH WHAT YOU ENJOY, ITS ABOUT HAVING FUN ISNT IT?

What did you get Covie?

Windguru and windfinder still have Sunday and Monday as 'light' wind days. hopefully it stays this way, but these sites can only be trusted 2 -1 days before the event, as predicting weather is sooooo changeable...

wrong, its dictated by what your wheel rim is designed to withstand.

It has nothing to do with your weight or time you expect to achieve. look at your rims and read the warning label/disclaimer, which usually says what the maximum pressure that your rim with withstand. its no good putting on Schwalbe Ultremo's rated to 10-11bar, and your rims are specified to handle 8 bar max. what happens is you end up cracking your rim sidewalls with the added pressure, been there. match your equipment closely and pump to the max your rim can handle. hard tires = faster rolling but a 'harder' more bumpy ride.

hahaha, enforcing this 'law' is one thing that has failed miserably, looking at the commuters around JHB that dont own cars...

lots of wind for the week according to windguru, hopefully its all blown out by sunday. Great for kitesurfing prior to the race

haha, well done

The only pill that works for cramps is the "train some more pill" by sufferhardex

It got very hot on the climbs in the half marathon,and without a breeze it felt like a furnace at times. The ice cold water at the waterpoints was fantastic. my first Sabie, enjoyed it, but tough. could use more forest single track, but well organised as usual. Kids and missus enjoyed the fun ride too. Great weekend in the Lowveld.

Also in E, and also want to break 3:00 again. If your ave speed is 37km/h by the time youve entered camps bay, then its all good! Hoping for NO WIND... pity about Boyes Dr

Yup. same here. pointless exercise. received my 'official paper' in the post, still E, after a 3:04 last year, nuts... It still doesnt make sense to me: Argus 2011 finished 1404 out of the field of 28990, 94.7 2011 finished 1380 out of the field of 17543, and now my Argus number is 5400 odd - how on earth do I drop 4000 places on the start grid? I am pretty sure they have not reduced the bunch sizes by much. their seeding system is seriously f.......d up this year...

hehe

Sorry to disagree with you Look695, deep section wheels are definitely a LOT faster than standard. I have experience with 38mm carbon and 58mm carbon deep section rims. In climbing a normal wheelset at 1250-1450g is slightly better, but as soon as you hit the flats and downhills, the deep section rims perform far better. You are definitely able to go a lot faster and tuck a lot earlier than guys on 'normal wheelset'. even if they weigh a little more 1600g Trigon do a really nice set of deep sections locally, contact Willie on 084 453 8880. great value for money with a finish that is almost identical to Campag Bora Ultra2. Steering definitely becomes an issue in high winds, no matter what deep sections you ride. in CT high wind conditions it is still more comfortable to stick to normal wheels. My 38mm deep section carbon wheels were fine in the 2009 and 2010 argus when the wind belw its tits off... oh and beware of rider weight limitations. Zipp can only handle up to a certain weight and then twist. If you weigh 100kg, start looking for the Fast Forward Control stype, or Zipp Max, more spokes, more weight, but stiffer and will handle your mass.

yup, if you catch up as a group, you should pass not hang about. The slow group should not interfere with the faster groups race and not hang onto them at a faster pace once they pass. Reality is a different animal, and if there are no commissaires or marshals riding with, it does not get enforced, sadly...

most VC's enjoy a good cuppa...

make sure you warm up well, the pace up Krugersdorp hill at the start line can be an unpleasent surprise and drop experience. From there on out it rolls...

Punctured at 67km, VB were riding nicely up until then, quite sedate and not much constant attacking. Had fun working with some AL chaps to the finish, and a strong sprint at the end.

who cares

yup, the added deep section really is affected in the crosswinds, steering becomes an issue in gusts. This applies to all deep section brands. on calm days the added speed they offer, despite being slightly heavier, is an excellent advantage.

great event as usual, but my hardtail punished me on those loose rocky decents. Next time its back to my Dual susp.

it will most likely be a compendium of the published tips and advice from the magazine issues. all useful.