Brian Fantana

Weekdays 05:30 form BP on the corner of 10th Avenue and Main Rd, Walmer.

Same here:

For Mrs Fantana:

Redbulltv is great. I have been using the app on my iOS devices for quite some time now, and I have the redbulltv add-on on XBMC on my Raspberry Pi. Watched a few XCO and DH world cups last year on above mentioned devices.

Sleeping in, looks very tempting atm. Especially with the MTB race completed today.

Coffee grinder sound:

After my BMX gave me the dreaded shin bite, my wife and I got ourselves some knee/shin protection for BMX/pump track sessions.

My Nike Pegasus running shoe size and my FiveTen Freerider VXi size is exactly the same.

There are a few other possibilities: Chainring bolts Shoe/pedal interface Loose crank arm bolt Dry bb thread Clicking sounds are usually caused by a dry or slightly loose interfaces. Process of elimination.

I struggled with a clicking sound from my crank before. It was a slightly loose pedal with dry thread. I applied copper slip to the threads and tightened them. Problem solved.

Regarding sitting and standing. I believe on a trail/AM bike it is better to set the sag while standing, but for XCO and XCM where a lot of time is spent sitting, I think the rear sag should be set while sitting. From Lee Likes Bikes :

I don't mind helping people, but what irritates me is when certain riders (mostly weight weenies) go out on a trail/race with the intention to bum certain parts from other riders should they run into trouble.

Both unlocked. Best is to stand on an chair/step ladder while you climb on the bike and concentrate on applying your weight slowly and equally on the contact points of the bike. General sag percentages are guidelines only. Best is to look at you bike maufacturer's specific sag specification for your model frame. In addition to that, riding style also dictates how you set up your suspension.

Brodie is growing like a boss!

A quick example. The 2013 Marathon World Champs was in Austria. Sauser won, with Lakata second. The route was 94km with 4000m of climbing, yeah you read correctly 4000m. The National ultra marathon coming up in Dullstroom is 118km with 2000m of climbing. Our races will never have the same level of climbing as the European marathons, and if you look past mechanicals, marathons are won on the climbs.

I also believe that from a health perspective, it is much better for youngsters (primary school) to race XCO than to let them race these 40km half marathon events. I have seen a few people allowing their 10 year old and younger kids riding half marathons, while the XCO events for that age is probably only 18km (3 laps) in distance.

It was in 2011. CrUsher did a 6:09. Here is the result sheet of that year: MTN_Attakwas_20110115.pdf

That is a question you should direct to our friends at CSA.

Boring....Really ?? Have you ever watched an XCO world cup? There is a very good reason why XCO is a popular world cup sport, and an Olympic sport. It requires the perfect combination of skill and fitness, and in addition to that it is very exciting to watch, and very spectator friendly. Stage races like the Epic will grow in popularity, but will never have the spectators that International XCO races draw, because most of the big climbs where the hard racing happens, cannot be reached by any vehicle, and most of those sections are on private land. So it is an access issue. The Cape Epic will be very expensive to televise, which is why they only do it on the first and last stage. An XCO World cup race can be televised completely, and I bet the cost is a lot lower because you don't require a helicopter etc.

The XCO in cape town this weekend is African Champs:

Yip, he is the "new" Brian Lopes. I have massive respect for riders who achieve success in multiple disciplines.

Here are two examples: Jared Graves (Enduro Pro) doing XCO for fun and training: Alban Lakata (Marathon ace and former XCM world champ) riding XCO world cup #2 - Nove Mesto 2013:

I think most people here are making it look like XCO is too tough for an average guy. In 2007 when I was still into "racing" I did a full season of XCO nationals in elite category. In hindsight it is that training and experience that gave me physical strength, mental toughness and skills. All the above can be applied on marathons as well. The last two years I have nit been fit at all. I still ride our provincial XCO series, on my 150mm trail bike, and it is awesome. Many obstacles on National level XCO courses are the same difficulty as obstacles on local enduros, but in XCO you have to ride them while you are close to max heart rate. It is an awesome experience, and some of the best training for marathons and enduros.