avalanx

The top of Jonkershoek, saaltjie Botmaskop.

@pedal menace Message received from organisers: "We will have a pre-reg on Friday 7 June at Lynnwood Cyclery ( Willow Way Centre ) from 09:00 till 16:00. If you pre-reg on Friday you don't need to register again on Saturday you can go straight to batch loading."

Look rad!

I mean I its a pretty useful gauge of difficulty, descending anything on a 230kg motorbike with a 19" front wheel is a bit more challenging than on a 29er mountain bike. To be fair I think I saw a toyota avanza summit breedsnek on that particular day! 😆

The route was quite tough for 62 kms and 1100m ascent, lots of thick sand and rocky climbs. In fact there were a lot of places where even the very front of the race had to get involved in some portage. Although I haven't done the original, I wouldn't rate this route highly, it was awkward with poor markings. I think the organisers would do well to go back to the original route. The scenery around Buffelspoort dam was great though!

@W@nted hahaha totally agree, far too many "mountain bike" races are essentially a gravel route. the current state of Breedsnek makes for a moderate descent at best. Perhaps the new route is better than we give it credit for, I will report back!

@Croglet As far as I know the Breedsnek road conditions were deemed not fit for the race, which is a pity as I have been up on recently on a motorbike and its not bad at all.

It looks like he may have clipped his handlebars, nasty crash, apparently he has a separated shoulder. Hope to see him on the start line tomorrow!

Sulli with some top notch photies!

Glad the frame has such a low BB that it works well in EVO guise. I think a lot of people underestimate the effect a bigger fork has on geo, raising the BB and slackening the seat angle is not ideal in most cases. The new EVO has pretty spot on angles even with the shift, some other XC bikes(including outgoing epic) have pretty slack seat angles and high BBs with a 120mm fork. All around good work from Spez I think!

I totally agree with you I think more than 90% of Epic owners will use it as a glorified gravel bike. Sort of sad to think about really. That being said, I the the big S really nailed the geometry on this bike, definitely the most progressive mainstream XC bike around!

Flex stays have been used effectively in many bike designs, previous Scalpel, Scott Spark, Spez Epic. I'm just not sure I would label anything with flex stays a trail bike. Its an intentionally compromised suspension design for the sake of weight. Looks like a spot on race bike though, good to see less conservative anti-squat figures for an XC bike. 80% at sag should be pretty grippy!

This is great, I think I'd have one of these over the RC. That being said, I prefer my old Camber to my current Epic. Other's please don't make the same mistake, unless you get paid to win then go for the more entertaining ride.

Hope to see this bike at a night race sometime Jules!

Very impressive that two amateurs came in 9th! Massive well done!

If only you could pick one of those up for 4- 5k

Not sure why people bash specialized, just because they put a lot of money into marketing? Does that automatically imply they don't put a lot of money into development? I hate this hipster mentally developing amongst cyclists, a company of large scale is specifically the type of company that will invest into more niche market products like 29er ladies bikes. So why not let them.

When comparing the epic to the Scott, they are very similar.. The spark has better value at this price point and is certainly better spec'ed than the Epic. You mentioned you want something with no pedal bob, in that regard the Epic is the best option on the market as the brain shock eliminates suspension action from pedaling inputs. The value of the spark, would get me to buy it over the epic if this is as far as you can push your budget. However with an extra 6k or so; an Epic comp carbon with a new wheelset and crank is one mean bike! (If the same spec, I think the Epic is better platform) Now when considering all options, not just Scott and Specialized exclusively. I agree with @wapad, the 429 is a brilliant bike, especially if your goal isn't to win races but to "participate' I think the 429 will prove to be more comfortable/usable and you won't really notice the weight difference. *I would also say look at a tallboy, but they aren't the greatest in terms of value for money, even worse than spez

Thanks, will check them out. where did you buy the rims and the hubs?

I'm looking to have a custom wheel-set built. Hope pro 2 hubs(black) with ZTRarch rims(black) and I don't necessarily mind what spokes as long as they are (white) Specs: 142x12 rear 9mm QR front Where would be the best place to buy a build like this? (in Gauteng/online) Thanks for the advice, Daniel

Looks awesome!! Really keen to ride these trails!

This is literally just all the boring flat stuff! and you crashed on a 1ft jump!

This will potentially be my first sani2c, are there separate waiting lists for the race,adventure trail, or is there just one waiting list? I'm wondering if i have decreased my chances of getting a spot by entering for the race?

I am actually in a similar position myself, but I am more torn between the camber and the stumpy fsr. I would say try a camber, as it fits in between the stumpy and epic perfectly. Unless you want to finish top 20 in races you won't really notice thee speed difference between the two bikes, but they do have very different riding styles. Stumpy has a 69 head angle the epic's is almost 71 degrees, also 130mm vs 100mm. Again the camber fits in with a 70 head angle and 110mm travel. The 2013 cambers have also been optimised as 29ers now, considering they don't come in 26er form any more.

Hate bottlenecks, so so much.