Paul Ruinaard

Yes saw that. But that makes no sense. There was some other stuff that was included near the sterkfontein turn off but that was also used by the same race in years past. So I don't think its new. This is like an enigma. Trails exist but they are only known to jose with secret inside know how...

Where do these trails start and finish. Other than Avianto, is there a venue one rides from? i see them and out of respect have not hopped on to some of the sections along the roads but if they can be ridden, where does one go to start and pay and be a good citizen of Cradle land. Are these by the same guys that built Avianto, because that would explain the lack of flow and inability to build nice speed up, as they try to get too many kms in a limited space. Why not connect all these trails up. Avianto, Heia, Northern etc? Seems like all these little parks are trying to squeeze everyone in to their boundaries to allow them to charge, and the trails suffer. My 2 cents worth...

Wow - i want to do exactly the same - what frame is that. I am busy with a CX build and need help. Details please also of groupset and where those brake levers come from. Also wheels - what to use....

1,8m

So i am busy with a CX bike build. I am planning to use a Chinese frame with mechanical discs etc, so no problem there. The issues and questions arise around wheels. Has anyone got any advice wrt wheels seen as though I will be using disc wheels? My questions arise around tyres - what width rims to run, what rims to run, what tires to run using road disc. I would be using mechanical CX 77 calipers on 105 or Ultegra shifters. Will 29er MTB wheels fit assuming axle widths are correct? Has anyone got any experience in this area or know anyone that can guide me around this. I would like to build a one size conquers all bike - something i can ride on road but when i decide to go down a side road that is dirt i want to be able to do it. Seems like the wheels are critical to this and there is a lot of confusing information.

I really don't have much maintenance. But which bearings do you have in mind -remember i said spray the chain, not the cassette or the cluster or the cranks or the pivots etc. Maybe i could have less, but other than being a fat boy and chewing chains and clusters, not much goes wrong. There is a post on the Santa Cruz site where the guys clearly state that when they wash their bikes too often they get maintenance issues. So a hose is what they use after every ride, and leave the tougher stuff in place and do that once a month. Makes you think. Me I pedal the damn thing - hose it off, hang it up, do again next weekend. This is an old thread so there are lots of opinion

best answer out there so far- but again this is like religion. From some of the answers it sounds like people have nothing better to do than clean bikes. Do you guys ever get out there to ride these things - or is all your time spent on cleaning? Hose, Kleen Green. Hose bike. Kleen Green chain. let stand for 10 minutes. Hose Kleen Green off. Stand in sun. Oil chain. Takes about 15 minutes. Take to Josh for servicing every couple of months when it is really dirty. Let him fix the broken bits. repeat every 6 months.

Careful. I had a similar incident in 2007 and didn't attend to it and flaked out a week later and ended up in ICU on a ventilator. Sorry to scare you but I don't want it to happen to another person. Take it easy and if in doubt take it easier.....

There were known issues with the XT clutch derailleur: http://forums.mtbr.com/drivetrain-shifters-derailleurs-cranks/clutch-broken-xt-shadow-plus-859272.html

Get the ice tech rotors as well. Work brilliantly. I also went to 180mm rotors, and that added to the modulation even more.

send more photos of thta - i want to do a cyclocross build

Anton, You said this girl ate barbed wire - but that takes the biscuit man. Looks like she sat on some of that razor wire.... Sorry man, it looked like you guys were cooking out there.

If you lost consciousness do me a favour and be careful, think of getting a scan. I ended up in ICU on a ventilator and effectively died twice on the table as a result of flaking out a week after an accident that put me over the bars at 40 km/h. I smashed a helmet, but was too busy at work and under too much pressure to do much so I just carried on. I didn't even feel concussed. It was a costly lesson that your health is always more importnat than your work

To the guy and his son, all of about 5 years old, on the side of the N1 near Beyers naude, sans helmets. I was truly gobsmacked at your stupidity never mind the danger you were in. And were willing to put you son in. That was yesterday. This morning a bunch of roadies and their follow vehicle are on the climb up to the northern farm entrance from the Dainfern side. In the road. In bunches, side by side. On possibly one of the narrowest and most dangerous pieces of tar in Jhb. Where taxis often overtake in to oncoming traffic on blind rises. What were you thinking? Darwin's laws of natural selection are going to follow their statistical norm and eliminate you from the gene pool.

also to add to the others - depends on the chains you start with. Cheaper chains, thinner chains, lighter chains etc....

How about the optimum 94.7 times from Strava - like all the best segments strung together ? Somebody who is not busy can do that....

XT 785 brakes with 180mm Ice Tech Rotors

I was actually in the tunnel on the LHS when some guy had his kid on a small bike in the middle. I wasn't moving fast but I luckily saw him ahead of time as the kid was weaving in and out of puddles. Even moving slowly it would have been an issue. The light/dark scenario is an issue. My eyes take time and I am always paranoid on this piece of the ride. I think its just a matter of time before a big accident happens on a trail like this or Spruit. Someone is going to get seriously hurt when heads clash in a fast head on. FWIW: I suggest some big signs saying neutral zone until the other side of the tunnel and agreed that the trails markings should move so that they start on the other side of the tunnel, so the Stravaholes will only commence racing on the other side.

Hmm - the lady I saw was a considerable distance from the tunnel - are you sure this is the same incident. Or the head on happened on the road rather than in the tunnel. I also thought it looked like a stroke. But good that it wasnt If she did have a head on in the tunnel she managed to ride about a km down the road before falling off.

how do you do the pairing - looked at the setup but cant see an option. Is there an external third party chest strap that is better than the manufacturers?

Okay - so I have a Suunto Ambit and a Garmin 800. So now I want to use one HR strap for both. Both say they are ANT+ compatible but they don't seem to be able to see each others strap. Am i missing something? is there possibly a third party strap that both will recognise? Anyone else solved this problem?

I did this on a very early morning flight to CTN. Only when I looked down in the first meeting of the morning once I was there did I realize I had two different shoes on.

Flashfozzy I hear you on the manners story, but i am not sure it is bad manners to push in between two riders on an uphill? Or am I missing something here. I do it often if they wont move and I tell them what I am doing. After all they are being rude TWOT's (notice O - TWOT stands for total waste of time as opposed to a TWAT or TWoFT) by not moving out the way. And your attempt to create a well mannered young girl is laudable but is really in conflict with what is acceptable on an MTB. I see no issue with passing up the middle if thats all the track left to do it on. I would love to see the guys if she just casulally rode between them and dropped them up the hill.

Just so I am getting this right: so you sanction assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm as a redress for using bad language. And are willing to boast about it? Am I missing something here? I suppose if he had pulled a gun and shot you for assaulting him you wouldn't possibly have a view that somewhere this escalation of violence was the cause?

Ha Ha makes me think about old Deep section ally rims. I had a set of Mavic CXP 30's on my roadbike as my first custom wheel set. They were like flywheels -once you got them spinning. In side winds they were horrendous. But strong as all hell. I used to train with them eventually. Had them for years. They made you moer strong, then switch to lightweight climb wheels for races and it was like I had wings on the hills. Now you have a wheel that is light, strong and aero all in one. At a price of course.