michaelbiker

Yeah that price is just crazy for a bit of foam. I got mine when I was in Europe but the price wasn't that diff. I've run them for about 5000km and used them across multiple tires, so they do last longer than a tire.

Been using a Vittoria Airliner insert in the rear for quite some time on a Spez Fastrak / Schwalbe Racing Ralph and it works well. I like the ride feel - seems to dull vibration better - similar to a heavier side wall tire. One thing I don’t like about inserts is sealant doesn’t last as long in them. I had this issue with both the Vittoria and Tubolight inserts. So be sure to check sealant levels more regularly.

Our own version of Karoo to Coast

Ykywbike make a really good woman’s pair of bibs with a magnetic clasp at the back for nature breaks. Comes with the red Elastic Interface pad. I think you can find them on AliExpress for around R600 each and shipping is pretty quick - maybe a week to your door.

Klein Karoo. It’s champagne gravel all the way until it isn’t…

New roads

Yip. Learnt this the hard way… 😎

I have lost one of those teeny tiny Shimano bearings while doing a service. No amount of combing the garage floor with a magnet worked. Trail and tar kindly gave me a dead pedal to use as a donor.

I removed it with a set of circlip pliers. The plastic tool strips too easily.

Looks any day. They don’t squeak and creak, have a noticeably larger platform and if looked after last as long as the Shimanos. You can also buy replacement parts. They are more expensive though. The squeaking issue alone was too much for me with a recent set of Shimano XTs. Nothing solved it except going back to Looks.

Looks quite epic will check it out.

Cool! Let's hope the weather is decent. I'll post pics here during the ride.

Awesome. Thanks for the info. We’ll stay the night in George and take the pass early morning. I hope it’s not blocked with road works. Will check with the Airbnb when we get there.

I don't think you get a choice. It's Meili. Haven't had any issues with them.

@capediver thanks for sharing all of the vids and maps. We're planning on doing the same route in two weeks time. Doing it over 4 days with a rest day in the middle and starting from Rheenendal road. We have a backup driver to take our stuff between points, so we're going light. Any tips or gotchas we should be aware of that weren't covered in the videos with regard to the route?

Can it not be drilled out? You’d lose the pedal but save the crank arm. Pretty sure this is relatively straightforward with a drill press and a tame machinist.

This is cool. I have the non-powerbank version with USB-C and it’s been great.

Tomorrow there will be approx ten thousand people of all shapes and sizes cramming some training in for the CTCT next week on their way through Hout Bay. You’ll see some pretty dusty old “rigs”, tandems, wooden bikes and a lot of oomies on enduro e-bikes. Avoid the riders that look like they only learnt to ride a bike last week Saturday. You should be able to jump on a group along Empire road or at the bottom of the Chapman’s peak climb without issue.

You'd have to pry my 130mm Element out of my cold dead hands... but I don't do races (I am allergic to "gees" whatever the f*%k that is) and I ride my gravel bike on gravel routes. I agree with @DieselnDust though, gravel bikes are pretty well suited to most stuff. Like the Greyton MTB trails, those are a hoot on the gravel bike.