Skubarra

But a "free pass for everyone" is not the only alternative to "no one going"? As I have it there is no qualifying criteria from the UCI, for RSA 7 riders can be nominated by CSA. So all good for CSA to have criteria to make sure the best riders go, but if the criteria is so strict that we can only fill 1 of the 7 slots that is just dumb imo. Would like to think there are better solutions out there for the DH community.

The pont has been closed for a week now - so not completely uninformed I would say The hope is that the river will subside enough for the pont to open before next Saturday

Looks to me in the current format - the prestige, pride, honour and all those great things comes into play when the top 60 qualifies for the televised semi-finals and onwards. Before that its just qualification where the majority falls out anyway. Maybe prior to the introduction of the semis it was more relevant to do some gatekeeping on the qualification round? 🤷‍♂️

"free for all" is not quite the situation here though? But even if it is a "free for all" you will have 6 guys show up and not make it past the untelevised qualifiers along with 2/3rds of the field. UCI doesn't seem to care so its hard for me to understand why this would bring shame on hubland and CSA. Wouldn't seem like it but I actually really do not have a dog in this fight, so let me step out and stalk another thread 🤣.

Do they meet the criteria of the UCI? If not I don't know why this is a discussion, but if they do then back to my original question, what do CSA gain by having a more stringent criteria than the UCI? Is there an arrangement where UCI criteria is ambigious but local organisers are expected to be gatekeepers applying their own judgment?

I really have no dog in this fight, but this confuses me. If there are 5 extra slots available, and those riders can sponsor themselves - what is the harm in filling those slots? Or phrased differently, what is CSA / SA Cycling gaining by not using those slots? As long as they are good enough not to be a danger to themselves or others I dont see the harm? If CSA have to foot the bill then I would understand not filling them.

One of his needs is to fit wider tyres on his road bike for comfort. Clearance will probably be a struggle with many of the older rim brake frames when trying to fit wider tyres (maybe less with some of the newer frames). Just as an aside, its actually nice when your bike slows down when braking (especially in wet conditions), for me thats enough reason to spend money on disc brakes 😁. Just make twisty downhills and sharp corners much more fun to ride on a bike. But yes, if budget is your main concern you can save some by going with rim brakes.

Good thing they wouldn't want to part with their 26ers for any money in the world because if hub classifieds are anything to go by they wouldn't get much more than R6K... I admire your passion for 26ers but it really its just a budget or kids option now - not something you would recommend for anyone who doesn't specifically want to ride a 26er. The same for rim brakes - unless you are a fanboy or going low budget not something to be recommended (and this coming from someone who will still ride his rim brakes road bike for a few more years)

26 mtb owners were also in denial for a long time 😁 (me included) I agree with the sentiment that rim brakes are on the way out, don't know what the OP's budget is but for anything above entry level I would not bother with rim brakes, disc brakes are worth the extra cost.

I have the Uswe Outlander 3 1.5l, what is really useful is the pouch you have the option to click on, I keep all my tools in there if I do a long ride with the Uswe. I guess that extra weight helps with the moving up because I have never had that issue.

I suspect this is a personal preference thing, you wont really know until you try it - maybe a good idea to borrow one if you can before buying if you are concerned. Personally I find them comfortable to wear and haven't had any back issues.

The gravel routes We were given access to a few of the local farms and the condition for access is no gpx files to be published. Only gravel roads and a bit of tar - no singletrack, jeeptrack or mtb a-frame bridges. No big climbs either so it should be fast, "non-technical" races. The short gravel route an easy ride that replaces the old mtb short route - it is literally impossible to do a short mtb route for beginners/kids starting Durbanville without a ton of climbing. The 30km route should be great for casual gravel riders wanting to do some riding on the local farms not normally accessible to public. Also an option for mtbers who don't want to do the technical trails of Tygerberg (yes I know the hub thinks Tygerberg is non-technical but many out there find it intimidating + its much less climbing) Long route should be a proper fast route for the racing snakes and doable for mtb weekend warriors who want a longer ride) 12km 30km 86km

Hopefully today, tomorrow at the latest - I will also post it on here

@BuffsVintageBikes At what event did this happen? We will take a look at the timing sequence closer at the time, at the moment I don't expect many ebikes but lets see. At the Knysna MTB they started ahead of the other riders, thought that worked well for the most part, might be an option to look at.

The event website not yet updated but it is the 5th event in the WC gravel series

Stunning! I am insanely jealous of where you are cycling now!

Great to see you out & about and exploring @Prince Albert Cycles valley. Swartberg Pass my ultimate favourite climb in the country. Also visited recently, great pics but I must confess I don't think the brown filters do the area quite justice, I have never seen the area so green in my life! May it last for a while!

Drove up the Prince Alfred Pass by car a few days ago. I'm a gravel bike fanboy (did the Knysna mtb short route on my gravel bike the past weekend) but I found myself wondering if a gravel bike really has a clear advantage on the route. Up the climbs definitely but many of the downhills are steep with some washed away sections, loose gravel, corrugations, steep turns etc For me its a bit of a coin toss tbh, will be interested to see which type of bike dominates in the long term. Too early to be relevant but fwiw the road conditions are pretty good at the moment, a few washed away sections from the rains but roads are generally smooth.

Few things worth mentioning As mentioned earlier on the thread - the call to cancel the race due to weather conditions will be made by a safety officer / disaster management, NOT the race director. So this risk that you imagine of organisers cancelling races on a whim is unfounded, Not giving refunds where races are cancelled on the day due to extreme is common practice for cycle races in South Africa, one can debate whether its fair or not but it is certainly not standard. (Look for yourself, google the terms and conditions of other big name races in SA) Liability insurance is required for all CSA sanctioned races and does not cover refunds. Event insurance might but is expensive, not required by CSA and to the best of my knowledge not standard in South Africa for cycle races. As has been explained to you a few times, most expenses related to the event are incurred in the run-up to the event not necessarily on the day. The organiser "score" almost nothing if the event is cancelled last minute - cancelling a race last minute is not the profitable scam you imagine it to be.

No insight there... But we do have the Race to the Sea, Canola Roller and Paarl Bike Fest in Sept so there are at least 3 other gravel options that month.

Sucks a bit yes - Durbie Dash same date as always but obviously first time adding a gravel race (for various reasons no option to move the date). Gravel Monster moved from September and now clashing, clashing with the road & mtb as well so not entirely thrilled they went for that date but thats how it goes. At least Eselfontein moved one week out so I get to go through for that again

I was on a gravel bike for the short route. Got away from most of the others on the Simola climb & district road. The contour forestry roads had just enough rough stuff & sand in it to not make it comfortable on a gravel bike. And then the long rooty singletrack section at the end slowed me just enough to miss out on a podium, not that an old ballie should podium a short route anyway so all good 🤣 I think I probably would have done slightly better on my mtb, really lost a lot of time negotiating the bumpy singletrack without suspension. Also very much enjoyed the road race, again on the gravel bike I didn't try to stick with the elites and the bunch behind them was comfortable enough to have a lekker ride, our little bunch thinned out on the serpentine climb but after that comfortable pace again to the finish. My timing chip also didnt work for the road, luckily I saw that immediately and I walked to the finish line and showed them my Strava upload and they immediately updated my time on the system. Thought it might be useful for seeding somewher but doesn't seem to be the case.

Unfortunately it will be stolen for scrap metal within a few days

Most likely an oversight when the gravel race was added, I am not aware of any intentions to exclude gravel bikes (and the portal allows you to enter in the ebike category) From what I have seen from other gravel races there are relatively few e-bikes entering, I expect it will be the same for Durbie Dash so I don't expect issues. Most likely e-bikes will start a bit behind the normal bikes as to not interfere with the race leaders.

Hi Chris As I have it e-bikes are allowed on the gravel event. Where did you see otherwise, I just tried the portal and I could enter the long distance on an e-bike (or at least got to the point where I could pay) Let me know