G--thebus

Not a chance in hell that I would buy a single thing from this bunch, they should be run out of the industry like the crooks they are. I have coffee after my rides at the Europa next door and twice I have needed to buy cycling stuff and refuse to take a step into their door.

Superb bike shop, changed from my very long time lbs after their service just went downhill since they were THE jhb mtb shop and have only good things to say about Linden. Lots of young guys who are keen to help and know their stuff backed up by some very experienced people behind.

That bomb-hole is notorious, couple of years ago a mate of mine stopped to help a guy who had broken his head on it. The ambulance arrived, picked the dude up and and took him off to hospital whereupon the mate (who has been riding mtb for years) decided to give the section a little go to see how it held up........ there used to be a little double ramp there...... and he promptly went over the handlebars, broke both forearms and found himself in bed next to the chappie he had earlier helped. Also took a month before he could go to the toilet properly by himself as both arms were in casts.

Been through this "cycle" myself and reckon my call is: 1. indoor trainer with dedicated bike - gearing/setup etc makes for realistic and relevant training 2. high end spin bike (or watt bike if you can!) with cleats and right saddle - lack of gearing not ideal 3. indoor trainer with your normal bike - the level of wear on the components is pretty harsh 4.low end spin bike....this will not last so rather take the money and buy a nice toy But the end result for me, a concept 2 rowing machine for the quick 15/20 minute overall workout and then having identified a quiet road with a 5 minute gentle climb a couple minutes away from me. Hit that baby for 45/60 minutes of one off hard pushes or tabata intervals on the way up and recovery on the way down. Far more "FUN".

Just got a reply to a mail from Nicky at Berg and Bush. There will be a car shuttle from the start to the finish, details will be in the next newsletter and are being posted on the website now.

Agree Giordana are good value for money and Assos are so pricey that you end up wearing the dam things out 'cos you can't afford another half decent set. AAAAAND sure as nuts that tumble throught the rock garden will hurt waaaaaaaaay more in Assos!

The garmin 800 is the bomb. Long battery life, all the mod-cons and quick setup and sattelite fixes. Only downside and its minor is that long fingered gloves are a little clumsy on the touch screen.

Do NOT, repeat DO NOT take only one set of kit. Rather look like a real mountainbiker and take some unmatched non-lookalike/branded kit. I have two S2C's where it PISSSED down and those were in March when it was warmer and I assure you that the amount of attached mud and wet that I packed back into my box (in a ziploc) that night was LARGE. Last year was a chilly start and I shudder to think of having to start day 2 or 3 in soggy wet stuff in the cold.

Those barstards should have been left in prison and put in a cell with a couple of 100kg rapists for a couple of days. Hope they get put away for a long time regardless.

THAT (the little pearl about large chainring, large cog) is a cool bit of advice! The last chain I changed I reckoned I was 2 sets of arms short trying to measure the damn thing. Always could have just used the old one but am a bit slow on some days...

Agree with the consensus around the parking, I thought I had 55 mins in hand until I turned off the highway......SH!!!!!!TE, eventually saw my group heading for the start at 6.50 while I was still queing for the throne. JUUUUST caught the back of the group as they went off, luckily no early shennanigans off the front. But on the PLUS side the motorbikes and the police van where GREAT on the marshalling front as they cleared a BUNCH of traffic ahead of us. NOT sure I'll be back unless I hear they have sorted out the start... Was wondering why the guys were winding it up so fast at the finish too.... until I saw the mats....aha! is THAT where the finish is!

A set of Mavic Ksyrium SL's was my all time best purchase. Compared to my old Shimanos the immediate acceleration uphill was very noticable. GREAT wheels, 6 years on and they still roll beautifully but are now relegated to training wheels.

Great idea, we've all been there sitting in the car..... somewhat sheepishly I have been on both sides but am trying to be less of a wanker A great truism for all those holier than thou's out there.... "You are either a wanker or a liar"

Would agree, have to shop around. I would add Dunkeld and Morningside Cycles to this list. Also have a look at the 2nd hand market you are going to get a great deal currently. Sorry sellers but there is little doubt its a buyers market for bikes right now.

Take your bike, there is some great single track on the east side of the reserve. Pretty tame but fun. If you want a long outing you can cross over into Mabalingwe and cycle in there too, just be careful of Rhinos! A great longish ride is to head out of the Zebula eastern gate, take a left on the dirt road and then right up towards Elements golf course, its a great drag of a climb. Back the same way into the single track and home.

Paraffin on the chain/cluster/chainring then rinsed with sunlight or clean green and water. Then relube. Same process as used by the SA dude who wrenched for Phonak team at one point. If its good enough for the pros......

Just about all farmers are "mtb friendly". Make the effort of greeting them and asking permission (even though you're already trespassing) and they are generally quite chilled. My brother has farms in these areas and the thing that irritates him is when guys come through, see him and don't even acknolwedge him but ride on as tho they have a right to be there.

Just a related question on "Fountains". I drive through to pta and ride Groenkloof whenever I can but how does one access the "fountains" section, I was not aware it was different? Can you park at Groenkloof and ride through to Fountains and how?

Running 112km along the wild coast in 3 days (one of the most beatiful spots on earth) and now being ABSOLUTELY sure that cycling is the KING of sports!

Tubeless/slime! Hellooooooooooooooooo!

If you have decent hydraulic brakes on board strength should have little say in the matter. My MTB bottle cage opens out to the right and I generally use my right hand to drink anyway (on my road bike which is a straight up bottle arrangement) so I like to have my left hand on the back brake while I'm drinking, if i need to slow down I do not want to find my chin on the tar or gravel as I lock up the front wheel.... This comes from a past experience when my new bike was set up front brake left.... VERY quickly changed it.

Wow, my yellow and black carbon LOOK would be happy with these new clothes!

There is quite a lot of reading material on this little issue so you are obviously in good company. I would probably qualify as a middle aged racing snake at 69 kilos but in the 1st 20 minutes of any race/ride I feel like there is lead in the legs. I am a big believer that stretching before exercise has limited value, a slow building warmup of the muscles in the ranges that they are going to be used is first prize. Stretching afterwards to ensure muscle damage ('cos thats what you do to them when you build them) does not progressively shorten the muscle is a must. There is specific training that can be done for this (besides the morning cuppa') which involves a 10-15 minutes warm up followed immediately by hard above threshold intervals..... that said I have tried it and am still crap in the first 20 mins..........

Stewie, Your approach is the same as mine. I shift the bike into a gear so the back derailleur hangs fairly low and then run the chain through a shallow marg tub of parafin. Give one brush with an old toothbrush and run through again. The crud in the bottom of the tub is incredible. I then clean off with sunlight or clean green and rinse. I then use White Lightning lube or Finish Line dry. I do it once every two weeks or so. Am now sick and tired of asking the bike shop if I should replace my chain, reckon my road bike has done 15,000km + on the same chain. Tried the T9 stuff that Shamus recommends but its seems oily and although it seemed to work for a long time my chain looked filthy.

Yup AndyR the dude with the ponytail was a bit of a hazard. Strange he's been around for a long time in A bunch and I have never seen him ride like that. Coming down homestead he tried to sneak past on the left and almost took out a bunch of people. He was swerving around a fair deal but then we probably all have our dodgy days. Goes with the territory when riding with 16000 people.