Graham S

What a pity! While we were riding at Banhoek we kept looking over at Hellsend to see if anything was happening yet. Nothing yet, so we just continued with our ride and checking across the valley now and then. At around 10am or so we packed up and headed to Darkfest. Quite a lot of people hanging around waiting for some action. We walked the entire course, marvelling at how massive the jumps were. 2 SA riders did some jumps for the crowd which were pretty damn amazing! Sam Reynolds did one run down drop in and called it quits. AFter he dropped in we called it a day and head home. Pity as it was my first DarkFest so was really hoping to see some action and meet the riders I've been watching on Youtube. Guess we wait till next year! WhatsApp Video 2023-04-22 at 12.22.40.mp4

We were riding at Banhoek yesterday and it started raining on and off towards the end of the ride. Those smooth, fast trails started to feel a bit like ice! Was wondering what Jonkers would be like today. Guess we have the answer 🤣 As mentioned earlier I'm kind of happy as it means I can look at entering now. My Enduro entry went to watching a cancelled Darkfest 😭

This better be an early April Fools joke, I was about to post a thread 😅

That was not the point of my post to be honest. My point is the price vs the use case of the item. How can a pair of enduro shorts cost R1800 when it literally does nothing more than cover your legs and give you some pockets and maybe some comfort if it has a chamoix? Where is that R1800 coming from? Thats why I compared it to motorcycle gear. The price vs protection factor seems to be better with the leathers versus the shorts. My post is more of an observation than complaint.

Based off of the other thread about tyres. I've only been into the MTB scene for about 1 and half years now, started late 2021. I came from over 10 years of motorcycling and buying lots and lots of road and race gear, boots, leather suits etc, all very expensive stuff. The thing that blows my mind about cycling clothing prices is the fact that there is basically no material there. A pair of kevlar reinforced jeans desgned for slide protection in a fall is around R2000 and up depending on the brand. A pair of RST leather boots is around R3k and up for other brands. How are MTB shoes almost the same price? How is a pair of MTB shorts or a lightweight shirt etc all in the above R1000 range? All it is is light. It barely does anything to protect you in a fall. Kitting myself out for MTB has been almost as expensive as buying my motrcycle kit all over again. 😅 Now im not implying that I was expecting MTB to be a cheap sport, but more an observation on how high prices are for items that do very little for you vs the price you pay.

Agreed, if this was a normal tear this would be a non issue. The problem is that the heat melted and thinned out an area of rubber. The cords themselves are mostly ok but the rubber holding them together is super thin now, you can just about stick your finger nail through it quite easily

Yeah agreed. I asked this same question on some international facebook pages and the results are as follows. All Americans, brits and other: Replace the tyre, rubber is cheap etc. South Africans: mixed responses with patches and replacement. MTB tyres are quite a chunk of change if you werent planning on replacing a brand new tyre. Coming from motorcycling and paying around R6000 for 2 tyres to MTB where the tyres are just as expensive makes unforseen purchases quite a sting to the wallet. Especially since I just used my entire bonus to treat myself to a new (to me) bike and now the tyre is dead 😅

Ya the area around the burn is noticeably thinner than the sections that are unaffected. Its not like a normal cut as I assumed. The side wall over that entire area now feels very thin, you could put your fingernail through it. So would probably need a really long patch and a tube.

Stock standard CRV. That's just where the exhaust sits 🙃

It's an exo+ casing. I'll keep the tyre and tube as a spare incase anything happens on my other tyre etc.

After filling it with air again and feeling around the affected area, its paper thin and the tear is getting close to the bead. So will rather not risk it and chuck the tyre away Will get a new one tomorrow...

This is what the inside of the tyre was looks like. I've cleaned it up a bit and zoomed in onthe area.

Thanks for the info! Ya with my old 26er the rack was perfectly fine but with this new bike and the frame design its not sitting that nicely, especially since the down tube is so thick, it doesnt fit in the rubber older. If I hang it from the top tube it clamps nicely but then the front wheel sits very close to the ground, maybe like 10-15cm from the road... I've put a tube in the tyre now and will plug and patch it and see how it goes. I assume running it tubeless again is out of the question?

2010 Honda CR-V

Ya front tyre, DHR. I put a tube in it for now, havent ridden on it yet though. Hmm good suggestion about using it on the rear. I just put my old front tyre on the rear and the new tyre on the front ...😒

PATHETIC start to the evening ride. Bike shifted in the bike rack and my BRAND NEW maxxis tyre melted slightly from the exhaust.. No sealant came out but it did lose air. I took the tyre off and checked the inside wall. One tiny hole in the rubber itself, but the strands in the casing dont look to be affected. Can I patch this with a butyl strip or something similar or do the sewing method? Ill try and post a pic of the inside of the tyre wall this evening.

Ok thanks for that info, I didn't know that! Maybe I'll just get a 30T chain ring and leave the cassette alone.

Haha ya ive already been scrolling through his shop Theres a nice 11/50 Shimano casette on the classifieds that would work nicely as well. Ill have to suffer through this month though, I used all my bonus money to get the bike! 🤣

Ok thanks good to know! Im actually going to pick upa 30T chain ring this weekin the mean time. Will see if I can find a ecent 11 speed casette somewhere.

Haha ok cool! I just need to sort out the gearing... currently sporting a 34/42 and climbing is not great 😅 Finally have a bike thats Enduro ready. My old 2010 Commencal Meta has served me well and taught me a lot in the year and a bit that ive been riding. 2017 Transition Patrol

Picking up my "new" bike this weekend so finally feel like ill be ready for an enduro. My poor 26er was taking a serious beating. When will they be annoucing the lite?

If you are just splitting clips together and not much else then use the GoPro Quick app. Depending on your gopro model you can also use the GPS data to overlay stats like speed, elevation, GPS route etc. Its pretty easy to use and has some nice features. If your videos are only going to be viewed on mobile, which 90% of youtube content is, then shoot at 1080 or 2.7k. These resolutions will be much easier to process when editing, take up less space on your memory card as well as making your cameras battery last longer. Dont bother with 4k, like at all. Unless you are viewing your content on a 65"4K TV all the time. 48, 50 and 60fps give a nice natural look. 48 is slightly more cinematic, 60 is very crisp and smooth. For editing on PC in premier Pro, these are my suggestions. If you want more cinematic looking footage with nice motion blur then id suggest getting a set of ND Filters. 8/16/32 8 for cloudy overcast days and 32 for bright sunshine like mid morning to mid day and later. This will reduce the light coming into the cameras sensor by a few stops and give you a nice smooth motion blur. Be sure to shoot in Pro Res with these settings. Camera: GoPro Hero 7 Black with Wind Cover Settings: Pro Tune ON 2.7k 60fps Shutter Speed: 1/120 (Frame rate must be double your shutter speed when using an ND filter) ND 8/16 lens filter ISO Min: 100 ISO Max: 100 (Only use this for sunny days) Sharpening: Low or None Mics: Auto and Wind Colour: Flat Export Settings: VBR 2 Pass Maximum Render Quality Bit Rate: Maximum possible, atleast 50mb min and maximum 70-80mbs This will create a very large file, over 2gigs, but will give you the best quality for youtube. Example footage https://youtu.be/Yci193AGcAs?t=28

Interestingly when it comes to dealers buying bikes and hiking the price. I had my eye on a bike that was R35k on the classified section and was listed as a Large. Was a bit outside of my budget but it looked great and I'd justify the price. It sat for aaaaaages. Then a dealer bought it and it was relisted for R10k LOWER than what the previous owner was selling it for but it was listed as a MEDIUM. So the previous owner had it listed as the wrong size and more expensive than the dealer. I sent the dealer a message to confirm the size and it was infact a medium. Which is too small for me which is a pity as the price was perfect now. Extremely rare occurance but thought I'd add that to the thread.

Great video, thank you!

Hey guys, I'm starting out doing some strength training on my off days. My week is looking like this. Monday, Wednesday, Friday - Strength Training in the gym Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday - MTB rides (Or gym cycle if I cant make it to the trails) My question is this. Can you reccomend any strength programmes specifically for getting stronger and improving your riding? I have looked at "The strength factory" programme thats around R550 for the most basic one.. What I am currenty doing is a full body split I used to do a few years back before cycling. Each day conisits of a bit of upper body and lower workouts, stretched over a 6 day period so by the end of the week you have hit all muscle groups. It then goes to a "B side" which has different variations but the same split. Would this be enough for strength training as its more of a wholelistic approach vs a "bro split" that focuses more on building massive muscle, vs my rotuine thats more of creating an athletic physique while being functional? Any input would be much appreciated!