mtbDobby

if you really ment "technically easy" - then that just makes your comments worse

Dammit - and here I was hoping to see if the spruit it was a mud fest and if not was going to leave now and do solo ride.... Thanks to this w@nker I'm no longer in the mood $&@?....

respect!

That is the reason the organiser requires a medical clearance that you are fit enough to take part - as the entry is open to everyone anyone may enter which means its not an exclusive list of race snakes - Not everyone can be a lean mean 70kg mtb racer....should that stop them from having the chance to compete...not in my opinion, that does that detract from the event or make it soft - A back marker out there slogging for 10hours everyday deserves his medal (if they manage to finish) as much as a top 100 rider, perhaps even more so.

after stage 1 there are already 19 riders who are out and plenty more to come

yes cut off time is not written in stone - but they will only extend cut off time if the winners of the day come in later than expected due to the conditions. To make a sweeping statement that cut off must be 8 hours come hell or high water otherwise the race is now deemed soft is laughable. the race is for pro's and amatures, thats what makes it unique - I have done plenty mtb races and trust me, the epic is tough no matter what the cut off time is, if you have not trained and are not fit you will not finish and even then you may still not finish due to tough terrain.

you need to learn to tether the brakes for effective stopping and use...personally I run 160 upfront and have no issues

web address seems incorrect

I've done 2 epics and think this is a valid question strangely enough, and has nothing to do with the number of hours you have ridden in preparation. In my 1st epic there was a day of plenty walking through beach sand, and I was wearing the falke mtb socks, the sand that got in there thru the weaves become like sand paper when combined with sweat and as such the blister were proper painful. In the 2nd epic I stayed away from falke and there was another day of plenty walking a beach sand, and I even stopped on occasions to take my shoes and socks off to get rid of the sand, had some funny looks from other riders...needless to say that evening and next morning the blisters that were on show in the medic tent where of a high quality and I couldn't help but have a smile to myself. Beware of the sand and walking - not sure any sock is fool proof but I did have a better time of it not using the falke, that's not to say its not a good sock when actually riding and not walking.

I'm also no expert but what I found amazing during last years epic was in the 1st day or 2 my Avg was around 155bpm, by the end of the 8 days my avg was below 120bpm and I could not get it over 130bpm no matter how steep the climb. This points to the fatigue mentioned previously and actually all posts above have valid points - rest a couple of days prior before testing max HR

update - loving it so far

Thanks - that is a concern of mine, but not getting younger(nearing the big 40) and have some lower back issues. As for the not riding part, well I have not found anywhere willing to demo this exact bike over a weekend, a ride in the car park or pump track on a different model is not deemed a ride in my eyes. I was actually hoping there would be some comments on people who have ridden this bike but there don't seem to be many.

Haven't ridden it nor taken delivery...

I have just upgraded to the above bike - I was riding the Volcan xc29er which is a hard tail and am now going the dual sus route - have I made the right decision in terms of bike and going dual sus? The volcan was definitely lighter and got me through epic last year....would be interested to ready the thoughts on this?

ztr crest on tune hubs - 80-85kg with no issues, if u heavier go for the arch rim

basically nothing since epic....put on about 4kg....hate myself for doing nothing and even more so for eating that chocolate.....will start on Monday....this time I mean it!!!

interesting topic....so yesterday I go passed cyclelab fourways for a bit of browsing session and low and behold there is a chainreaction stand, fully branded with a big lcd monitor hooked up to a PC...so I ask why they have done this and no one gave me descent answer other than the boss gets wha tthe boss wants..... anyone have any ideas as to why cyclelab store would do this, what is the benefit?

anyone know if they open yet - i dont have any emails from them stating operating days/times as yet so can only assume still closed...?

Please pm me the cost and booking details etc

so my epic partner and I are heading down to ballito on 26th to 2nd - even though its holiday we taking our bikes and wanna hit holla trails - Im keen to organise a ride or 2, easy going "base" training stuff...PM me if interested

I want to buy a new front fork with a thru axle - currently running the 9mm front skewer thru my tune hub - where can I get this adapter - my local bike store has already closed for the year :-(

photos are out on action photo

It has finally happend - Garmin and discovery have aligned so that you can earn points from your recorded activities on your device....better late than never!! http://garmin.co.za/news.php?newsid=135

I'm doing it as training for epic...at this stage it is worthwhile. Looks like it will be wet and muddy - any recommendations for tyre choice? Currently on RR but they not so good in mud?!

Yeah plz tell me what the bike is spec'ed with