EddieV

On our last trip through the Karoo our bikes weighed between 30kg and 35kg, we had to carry lots of water and food since the roads we took hardly had any places to fill up for at least the first 3 days. The corrugation of the roads cause lots of stress on the bikes and carrier loadbearing points ... so not just 35kg, but proper bike-breaking thumping with load .... Being able to use 29 x 2.4 tyres is great for the thick sand too. Wheels - I had a sp-dynamo front on a 32H-FRM rim and DT Swiss 240s 32H rear. We used steel bikes (Kona Unit and Momsen Str) with rigid forks. I've only ever used steel. Steel bikes in general is a bit more flexing? And easier to repair.

thanks, were your WTB's black or tan sidewall ..... I have the tan sidewall.

Hi Guys. Just want to share my experience wih these tyres. I have a pair of WTB 700 x 44c tyres on my steel/gravel/commute bike, mostly road use. About 2000km on them now. Was looking for a pair of smooth rolling tyres (solid mid section), and the WTB Byway looked like a good choice. My experience: 1. These are not easy/fast rolling tyres, the tyre squared up with the side knobblies. No matter how hard you inflate these, it makes square contact with the road. Literally feels like you are dragging the tyres around.😁😅 I could live with above, but .... 2. The puncture protection on these tyres is dismill. I have them setup as tubeless, but they puncture and cut worse than my 25c racing tyres. I use Stan's race sealant in them, but get sprayed often, and end up with half flats by the time I reach home. 3. And then thirdly, and this might just be me, is wet road sliding .... I feel useasy cornering in the wet with these, even at slow speeds, don't know if it's the compound, or the square tyre contact? I've used WTB Nano's for years and they were awesome .... The Nano's only issue was getting a warped tyre out the box, and then you'd have to do the return thing. I got a pair of 50c Kenda Smallblock tyres off Bikehub a while ago ... decided not to wait till the BYWAY 44's are finished, will do the swop now. 😉 The punctures are driving my crazy 😁

Yes, saw a YT video on this pump (Silca Tattico), looks awwesome, couldn't see a SA supplier though .... if I have an opportunity in future I will definitely purchace one ....

I own a Lezyne mini pump that screws onto the valve core (similar to the video below but without the valve core tensioner) ... it frustrates me when I unscrew the hoze and the valve core comes out with it. Is there any similar mini pumps out there, with a flexible hose that doesn't screw onto the valve core? or What other quality mini pump can I purchace alternatively, to carry on the bike during out rides, that won't split/fail on first use? 🙃

Just a quick thanks to Nick for his warning on his website for the ERD of the CX28 Alexrim. "Incidently, the Alexrims website lists the ERD of the CX28 rims as 582.2mm, but I measured it at 586mm. Other wheel builders beware." (https://wheelbuilder.co.za/wotd-if-its-not-broken-its-fixed/) I knew I shouldn't, but I nearly took the published ERD as the correct number while calculating and ordering spokes for my dynamo wheel-build. Nick's warning saved me a lot of time and frustration 😉

As an option, .... you can buy one of these from Takealot Silicone Sport Watch Band for POLAR V800 | Shop Today. Get it Tomorrow! | takealot.com I bought one in 2019 and it is still going. Use it weekly.

.... I think Roglic being a ski jumper is the reason here ... he doesn't have the same number of hours as others on the bike, so a bit short on bike-skills (relative to other peloton riders) - having spent most of his youth ski training?

As an alternative, depending on use ... what's your thoughts on running dynamo lights. For me it's been a no-brainer, no charging, no running out of batteries etc. It's been a pleasure. The "Shutter Precision (PD-8X)" dynamo brand is quite affordable, the "SON" brand a bit more, but the "SON" is advertised as self-serviceable. The SP not, but I've seen videos of guys doing it themselves. I had about 12000km on the "Shutter precision" before the bearings needed replacement, .... it's still waiting for me to be replaced as it's going to be a do-it-yourself job, but fitted another SP in the meantime. The 12K was mainly road mileage, with a little bit of gravel, don't know how it will fare under MTB trail conditions? The additional wattage loss on the dynamo is negligible, maybe 6-15W. The convenience that it brings is just great though. (In the rear I run a "Cygolite Hotshot" which lasts for days too.)😉

Sorted, thank you👍🙂

Thank you Sir, found some sealant at the Co-Op. And friendly MTBers that we met on-route gave us an extra bomb 👍

Hi Guys. A friend and I have done the first 3 days of our 7day gravel-only self-sufficient +-700km bike packing zik-zak trip from Springbok to Malmesbury. We desperately need to restock our sealant and a few bombs after having valve and rimtape issues, and doing an old pass (thorn strewn) over the mountain between Kudoesberg and Nieuwoudtville. Does anyone know where in Nieuwoudtville we can restock on Stans Race or similar and bombs this morning before 8am? Might be in Clanwilliam on Thursday(10/11am onwards). If we can't get this morning, we would hope to stock up there then.. Thanks in advance. We mostly didn't have signal for the last 3 days, (if I don't respond)

looks like there is ample space .. thanks

Hi, does anyone know whether a 29 x 2.25 tyre (21mm internal rim) would fit the FARR chromoly fork? Want to use the fork on another frame.

Thank you, if I don't find anything this week I'll get the correct specs and contact you. Much appreciated.🙂