Skubarra

Friend of mine was robbed of his mtb on that gravel road few years ago, not sure how safe/unsafe it is now but I'm also a bit nervous when cycling through there.

That section among the trees where you took the photos, is a known hotspot for muggings, but criminals are probably more interested in the motorists stopping there for the "services" provided by local ladies than the cyclists passing through.

You are brave - only cycle there on the odd occasion that section along the trees always feels super dodgy to me. That said I don't know of any recent muggings there.

Visiting George in Sept - going up Montagu pass on my gravel bike was top of my to-do list, guess I am going to have to park that idea until the next visit Also thinking of the Prince George race thats supposed to go down there in October...

There are hubbers on here who are far more knowledgeable on these things than me. The one key difference I know off is that the 2022 version should be able to fit wider tyres (53mm vs 45mm), for me its worthwhile to have that option if you are planning to cycle where the terrain is very bad.

Some random thoughts R700 is pricey for a funride, no matter how well its justified. Event still attracted close to 400 riders so clearly enough people feels its value for money The organising, the venue & the route were excellent. Starting with 20km climbing not fun but by the time you get to the singletrack the field is properly spread out, was lekker hitting the singletrack without traffic. Had lots of fun, finished the ride with a big smile on my face. Would love to do it again next year.

There would be different opinions but my preference is buy the frame I really want for the long term, and the rest I upgrade as/when the budget allows including wheels.

Was a diehard hardtail fan for many years. For me it was 300km Tankwa corrugations over 20 hours that killed me (and the guys around me on FS bikes still looked fresh like daisies) & a 100km mtb race at McGregor shortly after where I was again broken and beaten by guys on FS bikes who I knew for a fact are slower than me. Made the switch shortly after Not quite convinced a better specced hardtail would have made the difference but an intriguing idea!

I have the carbon version, absolutely love the geometry of the bike. My roadbike and hardtail gathering dust in the garage! Only thing I changed was the 40T chainring, found that I was spinning out now and then on the flats & downhills

I have never felt wider and softer tyres can really compensate enough for the lack of suspension, but maybe I just have one of those older HTs that rattle your teeth! That said I the vibes I pick up from the OP is that he has already decided to get a HT, its really just up to the hub to help decide which one! 🤣

Not exactly a like for like comparison because my hardtail was an older model, but I bought a full sus to replace my hardtail on trails - only to see on Strava my full sus is faster everywhere including gravel and tar despite being heavier than my HT. Only reason I still have the HT is because as gemmerbal said - the maintenance on it significantly less so it works well for commuting.

I'm with @eala If you preferred the full sus over a gravel bike on gravel/road rides you would probably prefer it over a hardtail too The 2kg weight saving is less of difference than one might imagine, especially for social type rides. And you will miss your FS when you do trails. If you are only allowed to own 1 bike I would keep the FS, possibly a larger chainring more suited to road/gravel type riding might be an option for you.

True - I was thinking along the lines of Malmesbury -> Darling -> Yzerfontein -> West Coast National Park which would still include a short stretch on the R27 but at least not all the way.

As I have it the XCM will be mostly the gravel roads (including the section next to the river) but for the XCO there is a proper technical trail that was built

Even if there is a proper yellow lane I find it more than a little disconcerting trying to enjoy my ride when huge hunks of metal constantly blast past me at 120km/h+ on a busy road. Same reason I generally avoid some of the other roads around Malmesbury, Wellington at busy times or if I'm on my own. +1 on the alternative route around Malmesbury and Darling, but yes there are people who do the downwind dash on the R27 on occasions.

Not super clued up on that side of the organising but I do know that if your event is CSA sanctioned then public liability insurance is included, if the organiser have to buy that separately it can be quite expensive. Guess it depends on how big you want to go, a small event can get away without CSA easier.

Exactly - you dont have to take a medal but I can promise you there is a vocal minority who are passionate about that little trinket and will make themselves heard if they don' get one. And don't even think of replacing a medal with something actually useful like a bottle opener or bicycle bell or whatever - if its not a medal there will be complaints. Also forgot to add, don't do goodie bags if you can avoid it. Its a crap load of admin and labour to get right, can quickly get expensive and people will complain anyway about the contents.

A few tips from my limited experience: You need a strong team around you with people you can trust, on the day things go wrong and its chaos, you literally can only direct people to help and wont have time to solve big problems yourself. Assuming its a mtb race make double/triple sure all permissions with property owners are in place (owner initially said yes, farm manager now says no or some buffalo now moved a camp - suddenly there are endless problems) Plan properly to open and close farm gates. Route markers - start early with the marking, make about 2x more markers than you think you'll need, check it again on the morning of the race. Nothing else cause as much chaos and conflict as a misplaced or missing/stolen route marker. Afterwards make sure route markers are removed (by peeps that know the route), property owners hate old route markers lying around on their property. Give medals - a significant portion of participants like and expect medals and will crap on you or on social media if there are no medals. Especially in summer make sure there is enough water at waterpoints and a backup plan to get more water there if a waterpoint runs out. Participants will hate you and your race if they get thirsty to a waterpoint and there is no water.

And just like that the needle that's in this thread lately makes a whole lot more sense!

I managed to get hold of the owner. All sorted out 👍 Sadly they are closing, a proper mom & pop shop that took personal interest in their customers. Will miss them a lot!

First problem is actually to just to get hold of someone to communicate with regarding the issue

Luckily its my spare 12 year old enty level road bike (which ironically I bought there) so no hurry really - but lack of communication makes sense if it was the sheriff that locked the doors. Lets see...

Very sad to hear. I have been going there for more than a decade. Now I just need to find a way to get my bike back that was there for a service.....

Any Kuilsrivier hubbers on here that might know whats going on at the Cyclosport bicycle shop? Have been trying to contact the shop for more than a week now, shop locked up when I visited, phone is not being answered. Website looks like its down and social media not being updated...

Also respected that - still got hate on the hub though for not ratting out his drug suppliers. Nothing will ever please the hub mob 😁