Lone_Ranger

I decided to go the same route. Far cheaper than either buying a 650B specific frame or trying to fit 650B wheels with thin tires on a 26 inch frame. And you get almost the same effect.

I did a trail run in Constantia Valley, and they used this exact idea to market the 3 farms which we ran on. Gave discounted membership to the loyalty programmes, discounts on dinners, etc. Really was a great marketing idea.

This is exactly why I'm thinking twice about going 27.5. A high volume 26 inch tyre can give u the same circumference as many 27.5 tyres, as the difference in the wheel size is so small.

Ja I kakked myself when I heard a guy say 1000m climbed so far and only about 10km to go. I had this picture of us climbing up the mountain at some crazy gradient, cos I knew we still had to get back down.

My Strava says 1450m. The Garmins seem to have way less climbing. One guy with a Garmin had 1000m and we only had about 10km left, and there wasn't much climbing in the last 10km. Definitely less than 1700m though, the climbs were all relatively short.

Superb race and route. Even at the back of the AE group the spacing of the singletrack sections meant that there weren't many queues. I had 3 waits, and one was for a guy who fell in the thick sand and another was for a guy who snapped his chain. Nothing the organisers could do about either. 5 million times better than previous routes. The singletrack sections were brilliant!! Big up to all involved for a brilliantly organised event with a super route. Definitely want to be back there next year!

Rob Booth at www.carbon29er.com had some at one stage. He's on the Hub as well, I think he's username is carbon29er.

I did the exact same switch in 2012. Didn't even notice. You get used to it very quickly, and the fact that you don't change your front gear that often is a big difference. The one thing I did notice was that the higher end components perform much better than the lower end components, particularly in muddy conditions. So any change from Alivio to (as an example) SLX would make a big difference to your riding.

Looks like I'm going to have to give this one a skip guys. Just landed from Dbn, need to spend some time with the family.

Nice to see a bit of bromance on the Hub

HOT DAMN!!! That's some serious climbing on a SS. Big up dude, I can only imagine how that must have hurt.

I must say, I have waaaay fewer mechanical issues with my SS than my geared bike. Never drop chain (OK once while really hammering a technical downhill). No gear shifting issues (obviously). Also like the focus on the ride rather than thinking about whether I'm in the right gear.

32 - 18 on my 26er. Probably go 17 in the near future. Do Tokai weekly and done Jonkers on that gear without any issues.

If u in Cape Town I know this LBS. Some good deals, but it's a real circus. The Silverback / Scott comment gives it away. In fairness, the shop is not the biggest in the world, so it's always going to be a bit cluttered.

There was a similar situation with James Reid at the XCO Nationals last year. I think he took the U23 title in the end.

Slightly off topic / hijack. Has anybody used the 650B wheels sold by www.rapide.co.za? Looks lightish (1.68kg), and they're super cheap at R2999 per pair.

The acronyms are unfortunately part of my job . I was intending to be at the AGM, but work commitments currently have me out of town for two day every week. Hopefully I can plan my out of town days around the date proposed for the AGM.

The definition of watercourse is so broad, even a puddle on the road could be defined as a watercourse.

NEMA lists a set of activities which trigger either a full EIA or a slightly less onerous requirement of a Basic Assessment. One of the trigger activities (particularly in a proclaimed nature reserve) is the excavation or movement of 5m3 of soil, which is not much. The EMP is a long term plan to manage the impacts of certain activities on a particular area. From my understanding, it does not have to be linked to an EIA. It should be noted that an EMP should be a living document, and not a set of rules set in stone for all eternity. It should be flexible (to a certain extent) to accommodate changing cicumstances. Having said all of that, I really believe that SANPARKS need to look at how this EMP is applied, because I doubt whether the loggers abided by any EMP.

Fully agree with TokaiMTB registering as a NPO. You're much more likely to get corporate sponsors if you can show you've gone throught the effort to get registered.

Just a quick question. How widely has this AGM been advertised? Might be worthwhile putting a flyer up at the parking area at the Arboretum for those riders who aren't part of the FB group and not on The Hub. Could help to get me bums on seats at the AGM. Further, I think this discussion needs to be toned down a bit. Less "playing the man" and more focussing on the best way to get those world class trails in Tokai which we all want.

I saw somebody in the Classifieds advertising the Tom Tom watches. R1899 for the Runner, R2799 for the Multi sport. Link added below. https://www.bikehub.co.za/classifieds/77830-tomtom-multi-sport-watches-now-stocked/

There was a short review of their new running watch in the last issue of Runner's World. Looks qite good, and about R2200, so not too expensive. Looks like it's running specific though. Don't know about other models.

I have a Bryton watch. Can't remember the model number. Works great and a lot cheaper than Garmin / Polar / Suunto watches. Not sure who stocks them though, I got mine with a Groupon. I cycle (obviously) and my wife runs, and it's perfect for both of us. U just switch between run / cycle mode and off u go.

My 2c to this thread: If you a highly skilled rider that's superfit (ie very little walking) the carbon soles are the tool you. For me, and probably most weekend warriors, the plastic soled shoes are a good balance of stiffness and comfort when walking. I started off with Olympic (cheapest shoe the shop had ) and now have Answer. Both very good, but the Answer shoes definitely better. From what I hear the Spez Comps are great though.