Smartie

Our team is short a 12th rider (target = 6 hours). If anyone is interested?

I have used Bicycle Couriers: https://bicyclecouriers.co.za/

Following. Planning to do the same with my eldest in 2 years time - currently too young for entry. Bought a old tandem last year and busy re-building. Can’t wait to take the boys (will aim to do this with all my kids) for a spin around the Cape.

I don’t get it either. Could one get an official Sub3 via the Prelude then or even win?

Hand socks 🤪😋

DeFeet Gloves

I would guess that you have a 2016 version: https://99spokes.com/en/bikes/giant/2016/tcx-slr-2 I have the 2017 version: https://99spokes.com/en/bikes/giant/2017/tcx-slr-2 These are great and very versatile bikes. Originally built for CX, but they were later (the newer 1 x versions) marketed as 'gravel' bikes. This was before Giant introduced the Revolt. When I was searching for a gravel bike (pre-COVID), nothing came close to the TCX based on budget and specifications. I bought a used one and converted it to 1x and added flared gravel bars. The bike is fast enough for me - never felt that it has held me back at all. It is usually the legs and talent ;-). I ride this bike almost daily - from short to 7+ hour rides. The big plus on these bikes are the tire clearance. Originally built to have excellent clearance for muddy CX races, making them great for gravel. Claimed clearance is 50mm upfront and 45mm at the back. I run 44C tires that measure 45mm and still have space at the back, so likely one could go even wider, though I have never needed to. In terms of your original question, I would get a second set of wheels for road racing. Unless you have fairly slick gravel tires, otherwise there is a speed difference. But I would buy a set of wheels suited to the terrain you ride most and use the stock Giant wheels (if you have these) for the other discipline. The stock wheels are pretty heavy - I changed these fairly quickly to a set of (wide) Rapide ones and shaved off almost 0.5kg - the bike felt much more responsive after the change.

No, not sure, that is out of my league! 😉 On the route, from my experience here, most of the gravel roads tend to dry out quite quickly. So I would not be too concerned. The race organiser will make a plan if there is a problem with the route - for example, we spoke with one of the farmers on the ride last weekend. The race route use to come past his farm (short section around a bend), but this section usually becomes very muddy after rain, so they changed the route to detour through his farm to avoid excessive mud.

I live in Swellendam and ride gravel regularly. We had a lot of rain recently - not the scale of floods seen in CT, but it was certainly wet! We could not ride one of the popular gravel routes as the one section was properly flooded - but this cleared within a few days. That said, ATP should be good if there is no more rain. I did a long gravel ride last weekend after the heavy rains and the road was mostly dry (part of my ride covered some of the 100 miler route). There were wet sections with streams and mud, but all rideable. Yes, I had to clean the bike after the ride, but there was no excessive mud build-up. EDIT: I ride a gravel bike with Vredestein Aventura 700 x 44c tyres.

Yes, can't go wrong with the Pirelli Cinturato Gravel tyres! You could also try Vredestein Aventura 44c (my current set) - closer to the Cinturato Gravel H.

Sounds about right, that would include 15% VAT on the order amount plus a handling fee from SARS.

Yes, they send you a payment link prior to delivery.

In that case, welcome to Swellendam 😉 Great trails - which could literally start from your backyard! Excellent fibre from all major providers - Herotel, Openserve, etc. EDIT: Suggest getting a gravel bike as well - great gravel roads in this area!

Biased opinion - Swellendam. That said, housing affordability is limited due to limited supply. The latter is probably true for most small towns in the Western Cape. Otherwise George is an option, but it is a small city and not a small town.