nox1111

Accessorized the new car to haul toys BMW roofracks for surfboards and a well priced, compact Holdfast Snap-on 2 bike rack from Sportsworld (Thanks for the sterling service Dennis!)

OK, I know it isn't bike related, but it's Friday and so I think this is permissible, and I will have a bike rack on the back most weekends, so that makes it a cycle related buy. My (new-for-me) BMW X1 2.3D XDrive with flappy paddle gearbox is getting delivered this afternoon! Flippen excited!

good song, even if old.

dirt is pretty easy to map and fake on renders, the threadlock on some bolts and grease on the BB would be my giveaways that those are photos. But they're damn good photos! and a very clean bike - that I would love to ride!

same here...

hells bells, some lekker bikes on the way!

Phew!

Between R1500 and R1600. I was looking at loads of other helmets - IXS, Spez, POC, Bell Super, SixSixOne etc and this was by far the best value for money. Sure it's not a MIPS helmet, but decent shell thickness and light weigh, plus well vented FTW!

Got myself the Giant Rail helmet

Ryder sealant left me in the dirt on the K2C with a tiny pinhole in that awkward place where the sidewall meets the tread. whenever I would stop and inflate my wheel, it seals fine, but once you pick up speed, the sealant is too heavy and too thick and centrifugal forces moves it away from the hole. So after stopping the 4th time on that long downhill section about 10 or 15km in, I dumped out the sealant and went tube for the remainder of the ride. Won't touch the stuff again with a borrowed braaitang. Using Tyre Juice and have not had a puncture since I've started.

At last; a photo of me on my bike. Semi smile and not even biting my tongue. Proof! Well done, and thanks Chris Hitchcock!

Sheesh, that's a lekker bike!

That Tread is looking really good. If the weight (I'm not sure how they compare to my current shoes) and quality is good (and the toebox is roomy) that is my next shoe!

I didn't get the "clunky" feeling. I got there a bit late - so I had like 10 minutes to set up the bike for me, swopped brakes, pumped tyres, adjust seat height, flipped stem etc, and so when we had to start I just guessed an air volume for the fork - turns out I'm OK at the guessing thing. Fork was stiff and plush without diving. Soaked up big hits and only bottomed out on one hit that caught me by surprise. The 35mm stanctions looks awesome and the fork really feels solid and surprisingly light on the front end. I myself would not buy Manitou forks (we have a bad history), but if this one came OEM on a bike, I would keep it.

Schalk from SIlverback was awesome and arranged one of their in-house Prototype 27.5+ bikes, the Square, to join them for the Helderberg Free ride day. What a rad crowd to ride with, the guys are tough - hard on the climbs, even harder on the downhills. The bike is ridiculous - its's like riding an MX bike, you go through sections that normally would be hairy without thinking about it, and through sections that would normally be fatal, only slightly hairy. Even on another man's bike, very different from my own setup, and a bit small for me, I could hit most of the jumps on the black line and rail through slippery wet corners like a madman. Lekker people, super trails, epic bike. Maybe a plus should be on my shortlist for my next bike!

switch to silent and check the Welvanpas Yellow switchbacks. smooth flowy, fun!

I want to hit long flowy singletrack and just cruise with this in my ears

As I see it, this is a pilot event, even if it falls with the Ezels mtb festival and organizers has all the right in the world to do as they deem safe and feel that makes sense for the event. It is also their brainchild and it worked really well. Sure some guys would have wanted to go and could not and that's a bummer, but the trails and race format can handle a certain amount of riders (2 of the stages you're walking up a route that guys are already flying down on) and still be pleasurable. A race puts out a certain amount of entries and has some or other filter for entries, whether it be by age or whatever - also up to the organizers. In this case it was good riders on the enduro stage, that can vouch for other good riders. The relatively low volume was rad, no congestion or backing up on trails, and the riders could handle their bikes and where they ran out of skill, could roll with the punches on terrain where loads of very strong XC and trail riders may have struggled and gotten badly hurt, that's not that technically sorted. This was also the first of its kind, and a test mule for a new timing system, new format and the first time these trails were used for bicycles.

Nee wat, met daai hoë seat en maer tyres het jy baie guts gehad! En die 3x setup - wat verbasend goed gedra het op al daai klippe. Well done!

I would advise against going up there by yourself - if you fall and get hurt, and realistically there's a mentionable chance of that, you will be in serious trouble.

Armpump and smiles for days! I wish photos could do the sheer quantity, size and harshness of the rocks justice - it's just not the same trying to tell someone about a line over a step down section - and sounding like you are not using hyperbole to describe the amount of s*#t that could go wrong, and the very slim chance you have of making it out on top of your bike at the bottom of it.

Don't want to be negative, but my Spez shoes lasted a fraction of my Shimano's lifespan. Rubber on soles broke out in chunks on portage section on W2W until bare plastic on the one side and the wire loops where the velcro straps feed through, started tearing the straps (in a non related time period). Maybe I had a bad batch, but keep your eyes on these areas - and if it happens quickly, return them. All in great shoes for 3 months.

Ezelfontein Enduro, epic tracks, lekker people, well organised. Glad my bike is still in one piece!

Thanks man, I heard from a friend that races on the Enduro circuit - was my first enduro race and tough as nails! Only 50 entry spots and lucky enough to get one. What a race though!

And my Kalbo 1x10 setup fitted. Rode the inaugural #Ezelenduro this weekend and it worked fantastic!