Baracuda

I have the GK Slicks which are a lot faster than the GK's that you have. They are nice and tough and can deal with a little off-road well. however, if you are solely planning to ride on road, I pop on a pair of Spez roubaix 28c and they fly. I would not ride off-road with them, but they light and fast.

I suppose it depends where in NZ. I was on South Island in the Alps, where after 3 nights in gale force winds and driving rain in the mountains, I opted for an Airbnb cottage on a farm down the road instead of the general base camp at the bottom. In those sort of conditions, eventually everything gets soaked through. But I would take a "robust tent"

Lots of options. Something with less rolling resistance on the back (e.g. Reckon Race, Crossmark, Saguaro) and then something with a little more grip on the front (Forekaster or Barzo). I find the Forekaster drifts less on "loose over hard" than the Barzo. Aside from the tread pattern, get the tough build and I find Enduro seal is one of the best. With my Maxxis set up (Reckon race back, Forecaster front), it has been a case of install and forget.

Keen to hear how comfortable it is on gravel.

Very much my experience as well. I built a gravel bike for the Swartberg Fondo and found that with 38mm Panaracer slicks, it actually forms a great "South African road bike". Great for our rough roads, wet Cape winter mornings, riding into potholes in the dark, jumping pavements when taxis or constantia moms cut you off, etc etc. My old road bike and associated tires used to battle.

Shackleton got from Antarctica to Elephant Island without a GPS. He should be okay finding Swellendam without one.

I have the Panaracer SK 43s and they are amazing. I have hammered them on rocky karoo roads, up and down the Swartberg pass and they handle well. They lost some pressure (overnight) with Stans, but with Enduro liquid / slime they loose very little pressure. Before I bought them I read endless reviews and while there are many amazing tires out there, they seem to be a good balance between grip, rolling resistance, toughness and suppleness. Considering mainly offroad gravel with some tar sections (75/25) In terms of size, i can't find it now, but I did find a review by a guy who field tested all the sizes and found 43 to be sweet spot considering speed and comfort. Apparently they are particularly supple and comfortable tire, while still being tough. The 45s apparently feel stiffer and are not as comfortable (which is counter intuitive, but that is what he found).

Solely my own experience - not saying that Ergofit is wrong and right or incorrect or whatever. I had my bike set up through Ergofit years ago and had lots of issues with itb, hands etc etc. I just thought I was unfit, unconditioned. Then just before covid, I built a bike and Evolution Cycles finished off the last bits for me and Trevor Court did a bike fitting for me. Compared to my old Ergofit measurements, the saddle is 1.5cm lower, stem 2cm shorter and 1cm higher. Really comfortable, no more itb and I can transfer far more power. Perhaps raise your handlebars and shorter your stem a little. This is just my experience.

I got the stem on my gravel bike and agree completely with you. A game changer in terms of comfort and also control. I am aware it is just supposed to be a shock absorber, but it does form a suspension function as well, keeping the front wheel on the ground over bumps, stopping bouncing and improving grip and braking. I debated the weight thing before I bought it, but after one ride, I never gave it another thought. Worth every gram.

A lovely photo and I love that track on my enduro bike, but not sure what the point is? Gravel bikes are meant for gravel roads, not downhill single track. It is like saying mountain bikes suck on motocross tracks in comparison to motocross bikes. Well of course they do.

In our minds eye we all have different ideas about what "gravel" is, that is why arguments about gravel bikes just keep on going around in circles. There is a sweat spot on dirt roads (not single track, not rocky jeep track and not heavily corrugated), where gravel bikes thrive and fly. Better position, speed and efficiency compared to an mtb and you have a grin from ear to ear. A bit more bumpy and a hardtail mtb or efficient XC full-suss will be more comfortable. The downside, is that you have big mtb tires which slow you down and are a hack on tar roads in between. A bit more bumpy than that (rocks larger than golf ball size and corregations larger than 3cm) and all bikes just suck, especially over 100km.

Exactly, I love bombing down Karoo roads on my gravel bike with drop bars. Yes, you need to choose your line and work it, but I would feel like a complete tool on my 140mm Pyga riding 100km of flat dirt roads.

It does not get great reviews either: https://road.cc/content/review/214488-wilier-jaroon and apparently quite heavy: https://www.cyclingweekly.com/reviews/gravel-bikes/wilier-jaroon As mentioned the Kinesis Tripster is good. The new fork is apparently quite comfortable. Ribble also have some decent bikes at a reasonable cost: https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bikes/gravel-bikes/

I don't know that particular frame, but I did build up a gravel bike with components mainly bought from Merlin. I managed to get a Kinensis tripster frame and fork from a guy in Joburg for next to nothing. An amazing bike. Merlin also sells them: https://www.merlincycles.com/kinesis-tripster-at-gravel-bike-frameset-with-columbus-forks-148669.html I then chose these wheels, which are also amazing and have handled a lot of abuse: https://www.merlincycles.com/fulcrum-rapid-red-5-db-clincher-gravel-wheelset-161574.html And then a mixture of Shimano 105 and Ultegra parts (the rx back derailleur with the clutch that you need for gravel). Every 2-3 months or so they have 30% off sale and that is when I picked up most of the bits for the bike. On parts I paid 14% VAT, no duty.

I am sorry, but one can't seriously believe "mtb slipped out of the shadows of cycling" due to the Cape Epic???? It is one little event that has no impact beyond the small group who ride it who are perhaps 0.01% of mountain bikers in South Africa. Most mountain bikers I know in the Cape have never done the event and never will, and spend much time investing in trails etc. We mountain bike because it is fun, not to do some silly stage race. Outside of the blinked realm of the W.Cape or even South Africa, mountain biking has exploded because it is fantastic, not due to an elitist event in South Africa.

Hair grows on me without me knowing about it or with my consensus. I doubt the sheep is consciously cultivating it.

Quite different. One grows on a goat, the other on a sheep.

Whats the matter with Brakpan ladies now?

BKB and the Mohair SA produce some stuff that is available locally in the Eastern Cape, but there is such global demand for our mohair by the top fashion houses in the world, that most of it goes directly overseas. Like beautiful women from Benoni, before you know it, they on the world stage looking back at us.

https://privateer.co.za/product/apidura-race-bolt-on-toptube-pack/

6mm

I have one of these: https://www.naturehike.co.za/collections/hiking-tents/products/mongar-ultralight-2-person-tent?variant=2047357681696 And it is really great. Have used it in adverse conditions New Zealand and here and it seems to be waterproof. Packs really small. It is twice the width of my shoulders and one can sit up properly in it. I have had smaller tents before, which are a real pain, especially if you stuck inside for hours in the rain. This one you can actually move in, lay out all your stuff, get changed in it, keep all your gear with you, cook under the flysheet etc.

Yip, I have one per hour. The reason for focusing on concentrated energy / carbs is also to cut down on bulk. Otherwise, one would have to eat a large jam sandwich every hour. After 5 hours...

They certainly are easier. The trick with date balls is to roll them in coconut or it gets sticky. But it is really interesting to look at the data, I was quite surprised and never considered dates before, but where as bananas are 23g carbs / 100g, rice 25g / 100g, etc, dates are 75g /100g. On the energy side, certain nuts like almonds and peanut butter also have 2-3 times other foods that I used to think were full of energy. Good old peanuts and raisins have far more energy and carbs that most energy bars per unit weight at a fraction of the cost.

4-5 hour rides. I look at the GCN channel on youtube occasionally and they have had a few clips on how much to pros eat / drink, how much should one eat on a ride and so forth. The pro's consume a scary amount, equivalent to 3-4 energy bars an hour (made up on bars, gells, drinks, cakes etc). Amateurs should be on about half that. So I tried it and it is amazing how well it works. Energy drink, bar and gell per hour and after 4 hours you still giving it horns. You should try it (and gears), you may win the whole event.