michaelbiker

Barring a proper bike fit, I would say a large is too big for you. Especially considering you are 5cm below Merida’s range for a large. If I were in your shoes I would exchange for a medium.

Back up the valley

I noticed these trails on Trailforks and was wondering if anyone here has ridden them recently and can give a little insight into their condition. https://www.beaumont.co.za/mtb-routes

The thin dusty line

I recognise the middle pic was lifted from bike24.com.

If it’s in Indonesia steer clear. Those stores are almost always scams.

Really beautiful Xmas day in the valley.

Rest day but a pic from Tokai yesterday

I just ordered a tire from CL. They sent me the wrong tire. Turns out the “stock sticker” they had on it was incorrect. When I contacted support they agreed to send me the right tire after they had collected the wrong one - only they sent it to my house in Cape Town and not where they sent the original order to in Hermanus where I am currently staying… I am not sure now what they sent me, so am hoping it’s correct when I get back. Otherwise, it’s another swap-a-roo… They must be losing quite a lot in courier fees to fix all their fulfilment errors.

Paul Cluver appears to be closed for day visitors. I think they only do events through the farm. A shame really, as it was one my favourite spots to ride when I wanted something more wild.

Oak Valley, Grabouw. Amazing day.

The Slik graphics stuff is really cool. Just Ridewrap-ped my bike.

Happy place

I have an Airtank and had a Joe Blow. I way prefer the head on the Airtank and the tubeless seating feature is really handy. The pressure gauge is good but not great. I gave the Joe Blow to my dad.

Wow must have missed each other by an hour or two.

The great nothing approaches… 🌨️🌊☔️

Indeed. I hope it wasn’t washed away yesterday. That river crossing can get quite hairy if they open the dam gates.

Up the gorge

I think you can order straight off the Hammerhead site. I bought mine in Oz so shipping was free. I know they ship to SA. https://support.hammerhead.io/hc/en-us/articles/115005950327-What-countries-do-you-ship-to-

Up the valley. Amazing day!

Been running one of these for 18 months and it really is the best I have ever used. In Spain this year using Trailforks and Komoot we were able to do some pretty incredible routes and the Karoo never skipped a beat from a navigation point of view. One really annoying thing about it though, is the mount. It's made of swiss cheese. So make sure to use the tether if you are using it. You can also switch to a Raceware or use the included quarter turn adapter and a decent a garmin-compatible mount. But always use the tether...

The material thickness is really important on soft bags. I saw a review of bags on the Loamwolf and the Dakine for example was terrible because the material was really thin.

Have done 20-25 international flights with my Evoc bag. Had it since 2014 and it's still going strong. Never had an issue or damage. Paid R2500 for it back then. I use it with my mountain bike mostly but I have flown with my road bike a couple of times. When this bag eventually dies, I will replace it with exactly the same one. Takes me approximately 30 minutes to pack a bike. If you go cardboard box, use lots of foam and zip tie everything together. I have had some pretty bad damage done to a carbon frame which was caused by the end of the wheel hub rubbing against it. The bike was packed by a bike shop too...

It seems to be a bit easier than the previous Epic black climb which came from Camphill side, but yes, not an easy one at all.