Bro Derek

Due to the fact that the carbon is cracked in a straight line, my very humble opinion is that it is damage caused by impact - NOT to the damaged area but to the axle area Likely in transit by being dropped/thrown or wedged with force The cracks would be at a flex point or if something was wedged into the space Localized impact damage doesn't look like that, but over stressed/impact damage looks just like that Like if you drive into your garage with the bike on the roof type vibes

I still don't regard that or him as being a positive influence on kids, but my gripe (if it's even a gripe) is about the whole concept of going to worlds for experience. If the people going aren't going to be world beaters, what is the experience for, other than the jol? So if we are going to Jol, then expect these things. If we are going to learn how to be competitive, then this isn't it

The Springboks also used to play matches for beer. Professionalism is here and all I can think about is Ali Larter in varsity blues in a cream bikini saying 'Things Change, Mox'

One thing I keep asking is the whole 'experience' thing that gets thrown around so much. The two suuuper experienced guys that have gone to multiple international events went as follows; 1. Got severe arm pump and went slowly down the bottom half and finished nearly a minute behind those off the front page 2. Didn't qualify for finals and make a massive boob of himself on socials but was there for the jol, despite the poopoo of having to convince the powers to let him go The former is quite clearly not fit enough to be at worlds As a parent, I would not want the latter to be influencing my kid as a young person trying to find their way in the humdrum of big events. He might make 'rad' videos, but his conduct is not one of influence and grounding for a youngster to learn how to succeed in the sport. So it leaves many questions in terms of why it's beneficial for the hubbaloo to exist. Without chronically good talent, one could go to multiple world champs and still be rubbish. Adding to this, is this environment actually positive for a 'kid' to experience? I'm left dumbfounded once again why there is still a need to feel represented in a discipline where we have no real chance of being vaguely competitive

Maxxis what? This is incredibly cryptic as Maxxis as a brand have a range of VERY DH oriented tired that would suck, I mean SUCK, on tar. I have noticed that recently you have been incredibly obtuse on the forums with your comments. I hope you're doing ok. Sending love

Both races were on DSTV

hahahahaha I see Loic beat our fastest by 10 seconds even with his not insignificant crash. The past experience for the older guys has obviously been invaluable 😐

This.... If you are a size Medium, buy this; https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/hardtail-mountain-bikes/763348/banshee-paradox-v3

I'll also add that a HT is not an XC bike and a dual suss is not suddenly a trail bike. There are HTs built for getting rowdy and twitchy XC dual suss bikes. IMHO a rowdy(ish) HT is boss. Dropper post, 120-140mm forks and a slackish head angle will be more than enough bike to ride some burly trails. So getting the right Geometry for the type of bike you want is more important than 'HT or Dual Suss'

Very few people develop enough to even remotely get close to their potential too, so there are a lot of disappointed athletes, parents and coaches trying to figure out why they can't quite 'get there' So many people aim to perform at their ceiling and are unhappy with their median. Expectations are way too high and pressure adds fuel to the fire. Imagine if Garmin and society had a smile meter, or an enjoyment scale instead of a performance one. Most 'athletes' would be far better off, mentally and physically, especially kids

Got an update on the price... 2500 pounds, so 60k for the entry. That is pretty elite level pricing for a local saffa

Look at the spec sheet for the version on review..... Then you can go and clean the mud off your face

I think the guestimate was 'nothing less than 20k - more like 40k' It's also really hard to run 40-50km for 6 days in a row. I did the 2 versions of Odyssey and I've done my fair share of 100/200 milers and longer events. This multi day running format is really tough. Tougher than a non stop race and a very different kettle of fish to a cycling race. The copy and paste formula across the two disciplines has never worked in the past for more than a 3 day race of less daily mileage. I think KAEM packed it in last year due to it running at a loss. That event had legacy and international renown. But as I said, hopefully they prove me wrong and can keep the event alive for more than a handful of years

Similar concept to the original Cape Odyssey - which I think only did 2 years despite coming with the 'Epic' logo and team. I struggle to see events like this being sustainable. There are only a handful of idiots (said in a kind way) who would be willing to pay that much to do it once, maybe 5 to 12 of them will pay to do it more than once and there aren't suddenly 100 more idiots each year who suddenly want to run that far on consecutive days to fill the roster. But ja, good luck to them.

https://www.vertorack.co.za/ These are awesome. Price is also really good for what it is. Pieter is an amazing dude and will work with you for the best solution as he manufactures/machines parts etc all in his workshop in Paarl

Mook and I have no beef as far as I know. Sorry if we do I don't have beef with anyone, I just hope that people like Robbie and others will take a good look at how they view their vehicle, how they use it and whether or not it does in fact need to exist the way it does. Spoiler, it doesn't. I doubt it, but like Lloyd Christmas said, even one out of a million still means there is a chance....... Cyclists can use the road, if there are two lanes, occupy a lane. It will save us the posts about how someone opened their car door without looking and killed someone.

Sigh The only response this warrants is a sigh I'm sorry society and the education system have failed you

Is there another lane to pass slow moving traffic? Again, you're seeing the problem from a car/driver point of view and all other road users are the problem when sharing the road with cars. Motonormativity. I will type it 500 times until people can see that the problem IS cars and how they are used/perceived and how THEY share the road when they shouldn't be there a lot of the time anyway. Until this entire perspective shifts, none of the peacock clothes, flashing lights and self gratifying behaviour arguments and anecdotes mean anything People keep saying things to 'prove me wrong' but instead keep showing just how ingrained motonormativity is in our heads. That perspective is what stops anything from changing.

The above just proved my point further, it does not make it 'Moot'. Quite literally the opposite YOU are the problem. With your massive car for no reason. Because you think it's cool and society tells you that it's cool. It isn't functional and it takes up massive road footprint unnecessarily. Until you and people like you can embrace function, rational usage and want to start using alternatives that benefit everyone, all these self gratifying posts about how THEY use the road while riding is Moot Motonormativity and small willy syndrome proven in just a handful of posts

There we go @ChrisF Just in case you were going to reply without reading again 😘

How am I wrong? It's not about you, it is the broad picture. You can do whatever you want to. You are trying to convince me that there aren't alternatives to what exists. If you read my first post and my second posts that flow into the discussion, you will see that your replies quite literally just reinforce what I have said. So perhaps stop trying to make it about you, read the comments to understand what I'm saying instead of reading them to be more right, and come back to me. Again, 1 person in an SUV or Bakkie is not necessary. You can drive a small footprint vehicle when necessary. Anyway, until you can understand motonormativity, how you fit in and have experienced the alternatives in a working, everyday environment, you will never agree with me. Which is again, the point I was trying to make I'm not right, as mentioned, we are talking ideals. You are also not right, unless you want to keep making it about you. I don't know you other than your ability to use personal anecdotal facts to prove points on this site, so I can never win that

There we go. You have quite literally just made what I said in my 2 posts a reality The first person to want to cling to their car because they use it a lot My post before the one you quoted is relevant to your reply. Not you or anyone can tell me you need a double cab bakkie to visit clients alone

A large motorized vehicle should have a radar that buzzes if something is protruding into it's space in front of it. Or, as I said, remove most of the vehicles from the road. In the cities I have lived in that have made cars mostly redundant, I have always been happiest and less stressed. You also find people treat others more like people as they are constantly in each others space without a 2 ton metal death bubble separating them south Africa is a terribly segregated society. We leave our walled castle in our enclosed metal bubble, get annoyed at other groups of road users, park, moan about the parking, then go to a shop/mall/gym and moan about other shop/mall/gym users that we feel are in our way while wearing airpods, then finish whatever we are doing and go home to our castle. in SA 70% of people don't know the names of their neighbours. If we had more car free zones, people would be surrounded by people, which creates interaction and humanizing of groups and people we don't know. This is not an opinion, this is based on examples and studies already done. Until we can see the car as the problem, we will remain in this cycle. It's easy to hate 'cyclists', 'them', and other groups if we constantly dehumanize them. Motonormativity makes us all try to justify things from the point of view of a car or a driver, instead of looking at things as they are. Cars are only important because cars are seemingly important. 1 person driving around in a double cab ranger should be illegal. I person in an SUV, illegal. There is absolutely no need for it, especially in CBDs and areas that would be far better served with pedestrian/cycle traffic. This is all not going away until peoples small egos can realise their car doesn't make their willy bigger and you don't need a 4x4 to drive to the Kalahari on dirt roads once every 3 years

Law for whom? Commuters and people using bikes as transport definitely can't afford one. Hell, a Varia is way out of my cycling budget. If we are talking ideals, they should probably remove the road maintenance budget, make small electric cars mandatory in cities, or better, electric bikes, ban large footprint 1 person vehicles and spend that money on creating better public transport Cars are largely unnecessary, but motonormativity

No, I'm not at all. I am not in the dark as to how it works. No need to assume anyone is an idiot. But on that, comparing wheel size to EPO? That's a stretch, or not at all relevant. PEDS are not a slightly larger wheel. They are cheating. Using a different wheel size isn't cheating..... unless it's better, then why ban it if it makes the sport you're governing better?