WIPEOUT 1000

Solving 1 perceived problem (the front derailleur) with a multiple of others. All things being equal, a couple of obvious negatives that come to mind: Mechanically, it has more parts and is significantly more complicated that a standard hub and front derailleur combination The planetary gears in the Classified hub has to be less efficient than a standard hub It forces one to cross chain, which is again less efficient It is proprietary, if you break a wheel you have a problem It is not clear to my how one integrates it into an existing ecosystem (e.g.DI2, AXS, EPS) It is significantly heavier than a standard freehub It is really expensive compared to the alternatives In summary it a proprietary solution that is more complicated, less efficient and heavier than the obvious alternative. The only question I have is why?

I am graduate mechanical engineer with more than 30 years experience in the design, building, operation and maintenance of mechanical plant & equipment and from my perspective the issues PT raised are legit. What type of engineer are you and how does that make you qualified to claim that everything PT said had no engineering merit and is just pure emotion? Do you possibly also ride SRAM?

I am aware that the majority of millennials and Gen Z’s generally form their opinions on whatever is trending on social media and/or what the Google/Youtube algorithms pushes to the top. Furthermore, I appreciate that everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but as the saying goes “not his own facts.” In this case, if you want to make a constructive contribution to this discussion, I suggest you consider a bit more science/engineering and less marketing hype. I’ve attached a link to an unsponsored video, explaining why this is truly a very poor engineering solution. “Mechanical Engineer's Opinion of new SRAM Eagle” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDxgxHiijF0

If you've not bent a derailleur hanger your either very lucky and/or you've not been cycling that long. I've bent and/or destroyed at least 3 or 4 derailleur hangers and my son has done 2 in the last year. Furthermore, I have also had the misfortune of destroying a frame in the mid 1990's because back then the derailleur hangers were part of the rear dropouts and a branch on a trail ripped my derailleur clean out of the hanger, not only destroying the hanger, but also bending the rear triangle. Without getting technical, i.e. getting into impact forces, levers, bending moments, yield strengths, etc., you'll be surprised how easy it is to bend/break a 12mm hollow aluminum thru axle.

Agreed, yet, another example of how SRAM "innovation" provides the customer with a worse outcome. Why just bend a derailleur hanger if you can break your frame?

I've done 20 000km on a single chain with less than 0.5% elongation using standard paraffin wax and a cheap slow cooker. It's neither complicated nor expensive and it definitely faster and cheaper than any chain lube that comes in a bottle.

Waxed chain, they all shed wax initially.

I have not bought one locally but I suspect you should be able to find an Angleset in SA. You can also also look at these: https://www.workscomponents.co.uk/ https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/pages/geoshift-angle-headset https://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/slackerizer-angle-headset.htm

I owned one of these and mine had a 120mm fork, but if I had to change anything else, it definitely would be installing a Cane Creek Angleset (or equivalent) to slacken the head angle a bit.

I've never understood the purpose of the microscopic little tread blocks found on most gravel tyres. How is something that small supposed to grip on gravel or sand? I ride Panaracer Gravelking TLC slicks, and although the casing says 38mm, they are more like 40mm. The're light, cheap and have a low rolling resistance.

The older stuff is actually fairly easy to service yourself if you some mechanical aptitude. There are some good videos on youtube.

I agree, I hate riding indoors. The last time I used my H2 was in lockdown 2020.

Try a gravel bike with slicks 🙂

I do not understand how they can justify R28 900 for 5 days and 1000km of unsupported cycling. If they manage to find 150 people, that sounds like R4.3 million for what? Furthermore, if you really want to ride something life changing, why not try the Transcontinental, this year for GBP350, 12 countries, 16 days to complete 4400km and 47km of climbing.

I'm not sure I get your point, for me at R75k, both are overpriced.

I ride 2x because despite all the marketing hype, 1.) it is more efficient (both theoretically and empirically) and 2.) I have the cognitive abilities to both understand this and also operate a front derailleur. However, to your question, I weigh about the same as you do and the biggest problem I have is that I can generate more force than my knees can cope with. I invariably have to run smaller chain rings to prevent overuse injuries. In my experience the smaller rings have made a huge difference although I've ridden compact on my road bikes for years, I have also recently gone from a 36/26 to 34/24 for JoBerg2C and I finished the 930km without any knee issues and I'll not be going back to the larger rings.

From my perspective, the biggest advantage with disc brakes on road bikes is that you can run wider tyres and for me the wider tyres have been a game changer.

On some hubs you can buy a conversion kit to change between different thru axle sizes. DT Swiss Conversion Kit for 240s FW-Hub Disc Brake IS to 15x100mm thru axle - HWGXXX00S4470S https://www.bike24.com/p2406091.html

Farmer Glen and his team have done amazing work on the trail and although we were re-routed past the mud where possible, there was still some mud on the Sani2C section of Joberg2C, (see picture from day 9). However, compared to day 2 & 3, it was awesome and the track should improve significantly if it stays dry.

Joberg2C Greetings awesome mountain bikers all over the planet, When all the talking is said and done it is time to ride – we are having our challenges on route thanks to global storming. Most of you would have seen the crazy weather that has caused havoc on the coast of KwaZulu-Natal. Our thoughts and love goes out to those people who are suffering. If you want to do your bit please consider Gift of the Givers who are tireless in their efforts to help people.. joberg2c will work around the challenges and we will ride, come next Friday. We have route options for each day. After what the world has been through and what it is going through, this might be one of the more contemplative mountain bike rides you will do. As they say in the classics, “never mind the weather as long as we are together” – and the saying “n boer maak n plan” (a farmer makes a plan) has never been more apt.

This is the R102 near GJ Crookes Hospital, Scottburgh, approximately 3km from the old finish on the beach.

I suppose the same question applies for Joberg2C next week?

Very sad to see the person covered in a foil blanket this morning. My thought and prayers go out to his/her family and friends.

I wonder how long it will take for the 2023 Epic entries to get sold out. I’m not sure the demand is what it used to be. I see this year’s race register only had 557 teams. From memory, I believe that in previous years entries were capped at 600 teams, although there were definitely years with more than 600 teams.

To the best of my knowledge most OEM bearings are manufactured by the aforementioned brands (should probably ad SKF). The biggest challenge is just to make sure that you get the correct equivalent, i.e. same material, type and dimensions.