janneman72

Hi All We're staying in Pietermaritzburg before the Amashova but don't have transport back from Durban to Pietermaritzburg except for the bus leaving only at 14h30. We're starting at 6:05 and should be finished by no later than 10am. What do you guys normally do to get back earlier? Ciao, Jan

Hi All Who is doing the Beast of the East MTB race this Saturday at Hazeldean shopping centre? It seems as if the entries are closed but I think I will do a late entry tomorrow during the day. Looks like a very nice route, lot of single track, jeep track, huge prizes(bikes worth 7k) to be won etc http://www.entrytime.com/index.asp?GoTo=EventInfo&EventID=3247 Ciao Jan

SingleTrack Cycles in Hazeldean shopping centre(Cnr of Silver Lakes rd and Lynnwood Rd) does club rides from the shop almost every Saturday at 8am in the winter and 6 am in the summer. Normally there's a slow 20km for the newbies, 40km medium paced and 70km+ rides for the fit riders. As the summer gets warmer there will probably be club rides from 5:30 the morning during midweek except on Mondays(and Sundays). Please see website for more details: http://singletrack.ncce.co.za/ or http://www.singletrack.co.za

That's what Burry said before he went over the handle bars because he couldn't see the 'klip' with those 29er wheels.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Burry Stander supporter However, it seems that even Burry struggled to get his 29er over the Rock Garden at the WCO XC and fell. So stick with your 26er as 29ers won't make MTB easier, all the 26ers with Lefty's made it, well done Cannondale.

Hahahaha, good one!

I'm one of the route masters at our LBS and the 29er guys said that they would like to challenge my friend and I on our 26ers with a 55km MTB social ride. Mine is a Cannondale FS ad my friend has a Merida FS. The 4 29ers couldn't keep up with us on the climbs, downhills as well as single tracks. So it's not about the bike but it's rather about the rider. I will probably buy a 29er when the technology is more mature in 5+ years time but for now I will most certainly stick with my 26er. As far as I know, due to the wheel diameter and spoke length the 29er wheels are less stiff than 26ers so you loose energy through the rims, the standard gear 29er ratio is much less on a 29er than 26er's(you can see this with the naked eye without counting the spikes) due to the bigger wheel which in actual fact with every pedal stroke you get the same distance on a 26'er as with a 29er, 29ers are less maneuverable hence the reason you don't get 29er DH bikes(I think and if so they are not very popular) and that's why people are saying that 26ers are more fun. I think comparing 29ers to 26ers is like comparing apples with pears, one hubber said that the one is not better than the other, just different and designed for different purposes and that is exactly just that. However, apparently the KHS 27.5er is like Albany, the best of both worlds but I cant vouch for that, never seen or ridden one.

I'm one of the route masters at our LBS and the 29er guys said that they would like to challenge my friend and I on our 26ers with a 55km MTB social ride. Mine is a Cannondale FS ad my friend has a Merida FS. The 4 29ers couldn't keep up with us on the climbs, downhills as well as single tracks. So it's not about the bike but it's rather about the rider. I will probably buy a 29er when the technology is more mature in 5+ years time but for now I will most certainly stick with my 26er. As far as I know, due to the wheel diameter and spoke length the 29er wheels are less stiff than 26ers so you loose energy through the rims, the standard gear 29er ratio is much less on a 29er than 26er's(you can see this with the naked eye without counting the spikes) due to the bigger wheel which in actual fact with every pedal stroke you get the same distance on a 26'er as with a 29er, 29ers are less maneuverable hence the reason you don't get 29er DH bikes(I think and if so they are not very popular) and that's why people are saying that 26ers are more fun. I think comparing 29ers to 26ers is like comparing apples with pears, one hubber said that the one is not better than the other, just different and designed for different purposes and that is exactly just that. However, apparently the KHS 27.5er is like Albany, the best of both worlds but I cant vouch for that, never seen or ridden one.

Singletrack Cycles - Near Silver Lakes, Pretoria. Corner of Lynnwood & Silver Lakes drive. Always friendly, very competitive pricing, great group rides during the week and weekends, real MTB events(next one in rooiberg on 16 April 2011) and a great technical team. And they do have nice coffee and the Cheeky Monkey across the parking lot have nice draughts.

I agree with bontie, I have 2 Cannondales and they are really great! You can not go wrong with Cannondale, very stiff and responsive frames!

Wow, what a beaut!!!

Try SingleTrack cycles on the corner of Lynnwood rd and Silver Lakes drive at the Hazeldean centre. They have great technicians, we never had a problem and they do things thoroughly. Their club rides are also awesome and the technicians ride with on Saturdays for any plugging, technical bike issues etc.

New races are closing in on us and the update hasn't been done yet, I also expect a big jump based on the Argus and R4S.

Geez, PPA does take long with the seedings, R4S and Argus is still outstanding with some races soon...

Got lost with about 120 other cyclists on the Shova because the cops/marshals decided to go for a wee or something and did an additional 21km with one hell of climb for nothing. Was apparently in the local news paper so Shova is last on my list. Argus, Jacaranda, R4S and Berge and Dale was nice though.

Great for the guy starting in D, what does it matter to you anyways? Warning to you Janneman. Dont incite and dont insult. Thank you.

Perhaps rather spend your time learning to bunny or J hop, I don't think you will come right with the RAF. I also had some bad falls on my MTB, it's part of the game and a risk you're taking when you start with MTB'ing. Sorry to hear about your fall though. I think the most of us, especially MTB'ers, have been there.

Well mostly MTB'ing for now, first the Sani2C which requires a lot of training I think, then the Oyster fest MTB and Road. After that the Kremetart and Jock and then the cycle starts all over again with the Amashova, 94.7 but this time we added the MTB event as well, Jacaranda etc. Also in the interim a few Babbas Lodges and Redstones.....

Hi Spat The Argus being the Argus with Boyes drive, perhaps wind and everything I'm aiming at about a 3:08 - 3:15. The Argus is not as flat as the R4S, FastOne etc... If I want to go faster than the group I will have to drop them somewhere and find faster ones OR ride alone(with all the wheel suckers these days I can just as well ride alone, same as riding in front for 90% of the races anyways) but it will be better to ride in a group. Thanks PeterM, I didn't think about that. Will certainly keep it in mind.

I'm starting in group U this year but only started to cycle 8 months back after a few years of not cycling which caused my seeding not to be great but I'm a good cyclist. According to Racetec, Group U will only finish with a time of about between 3:25 and 3:36. I have done the Argus 6 times before and I'm fitter now than ever and normally win the local race group that I start in and average at least 37kmh on all gauteng races more than 100km. What do you guys suggest I do for the Argus in order to get my 3:05 time or similar, I'm not going to pull the group the whole 110km's! Anyone else with the same fitness level in group U or V and the same problem? Ideas and advice welcome.

I'm in U and will be trying for a sub 3:15.....

No worries, I'm 1.74m and 89kgs and I love climbs, normally i break the bundle on climbs...It's all about your weight power ratio at the end of the day. If you weight less you have less muscle as well.

1.74m and 89kg, 110% happy with my weight power ratio and performance:) 54cm Cannondale Road Bike M Cannondale MTB

This will be my 6th Argus, nearest was a 3:04 in 1997 but I stopped and helped my buddy who bonked 5km's before the end and missed my sub 3...So it's still haunting me, aiming for a sub 3 in 2012 though, not this year...

In the Gauteng area there's plenty of them....PM me if you want more info.