MongooseMan

How doable do you reckon the MTB route is on a non-sus gravel bike?

Yeah, good writeup on it here: https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/multiple-covid-19-cases-emerge-at-tour-de-suisse-and-tour-of-slovenia/ The summary:

Ooof. 2 weeks before the tour, that's proper unlucky.

I'm a fan of the various options from 30 South. Durban based, and they have a decent selection of styles at reasonable prices (I tend to treat sunglasses as disposable since they all break/get lost at some point). https://30south.co/

Bike addict https://bike-addict.co.za/products/wtb-resolute-gravel-tyre

My frontend is also 53/39. I tried with adjusting the B-screw, couldn't get onto the top 2 sprockets of the 11-32.

With winter fast approaching, and some muddier offroading in my immediate grave future, I wanted more grip than the stock WTB Byways on my Rook. I've posted in the past about the difficulties of finding a grippy 650B tubeless tyre that'll fit in the Rook, and eventually settled on the WTB Resolute (42mm). One ride in, very happy, handled the slushy and sandy greenbelts far better than the slick Byways did.

I haven't found something I can't handle with my 39/32 granny gear, plus I like the ultegra derailleur I have. Works fine once I added the hanger extender (which was only R100 vs who knows how much for a new derailleur)

I had an 11-25, upgraded to an 11-32. Then realised my derailleur couldn't handle that range, got a hanger extender, and now everything works great. Also using shimano ultegra.

For those who prefer videos:

They're still going strong. Done at least 10 trips to the shops on them, no issues thus far.

Pretty much what he said. Here's the one route, assuming a rather loose definition for "greenbelt" (you do get more options as you get above the city) https://www.strava.com/routes/2969511703232567508 Note that some parts technically require a Sanparks permit.

Plan B - the 2021 TdF by TJV. Released last night, a really interesting insight into how they turned around a terrible 1st week to have an amazing set of results last year.

Update: did a fairly short (55k) route from joostenberg this morning. About 65% gravel. Wow, so good. https://strava.app.link/KhKmkL2mAqb

My not very accurate caliper measurement at the front: And the back:

I know @TyronLab said he had trouble with 48mm tyres, but that may have been due to mud. For my part, I'm actually going down to 42mm, getting some WTB Resolutes. Pretty much the grippiest tubeless 650B wheels I could find that would fit my scout. Will report back next week once I've got them and fitted them.

Cool, thanks. Yeah, it seems that if I shift my start position to Joostenberg or Spice Route then the gravel % increases nicely, so will likely do that.

That took me a while 😂

So thanks to some great suggestions from @realjhk and @milky4130 I've put together a collection of routes, which will hopefully be useful to people with similar questions: https://ridewithgps.com/collections/48725?privacy_code=oYJanzrK2rfGhxCz There are a nice range of distances, from 40k to 210k, so something for everyone.

You can put the base map on the screen while you ride. But that's just showing you roads and trails that exist. It's not really showing you a "route"/"course" (which I consider a logical connection of roads/trails). You can ask it to create a course on the fly. I mostly use this to go "Back to start" once I've done some exploring and gotten myself lost, rather than following it from the start. Hope that makes sense?

I find my 530 maps work great. Plus if I detour it reroutes me back on course, no issues.

I'll pop you a message when I'm planning on doing a ride. Which ATP are you doing?

Thanks! I just realised I left out the most important question: Where's a good place to park/get a cup of coffee afterwards?

I realise there are a few similar (older) threads on this topic, but thought it might be useful to post some actual routes, in the hope of getting some local feedback (and hopefully serve as a useful resource for routes for others with similar questions). Doing some training for Around the Pot, and need a few Saturday rides that'll give me time in the saddle as well as a decent amount of gravel (without spending a weekend in the Overberg/Ceres). The thinking is to drive to Durbanville, park there, ride (hopefully about 80-90km, as much gravel as possible). With that said, how do these 2 routes stack up in terms of: Access (I don't have any MTB permits, are any of the roads off limits?) Gravel quality (I have a gravel bike, so no mountain biking hopefully) Safety (I'll likely not do these solo, but any particular dodgy areas on route?) I tried to piece together as many nice looking gravel sections as I could find using a combination of Strava heatmap, Google earth, and streetview, and this is what I came up with: https://www.strava.com/routes/2964141783499639926 https://www.strava.com/routes/2966731124999153446 Thoughts? Any better suggestions?

Just a heads up that dischem is running their "buy 2 get 1 free" on sports supplements until the end of today. Stocked up on race pro and hydration tabs 😁