Brian Fantana

That, and the rocky sections were where my 150mm of butter smooth travel really gave me an advantage. BUT I had to pedal that piece of metal uphill as well. Haha. Congrats on your ride on SS rigid. I have done many races on SSR but not sure if I will take on this one on a SS. RESPECT.

Yes, those cramps I had on the climb after WP 4 went away and started to ride strong again, but only for a few km's then my RD cable snapped, so I missioned home with two gears.

Were you riding in Qheubeka kit on a Swift hardtail?

No. Attakwas is a point to point route from Oudtshoorn to Groot-Brak. 361 is a circular route around Oudtshoorn.

The weather was perfect. My RD cable snapped 20km from the end, so I gooied 2 gears for the rest of the ride. Did 7:32. With the little training I have done and the 13.5kg trail bike I pedalled up those climbs, I am quite happy with my result!! On my way to Plett now. Definitely going to pour a few beers down my throat later.

Jip, and the brewery and Highland Coffee Roasters are worth a visit as well.

Bike parts on the kitchen counter... I have done that... once.

OK, so last night I checked, and discovered the following: - One of my 3 Presta ---> Schrader adaptors can screw onto the valve stem with the core removed - Problem Solved - My Genuine Innovations bomb adaptor can fint onto Presta, Presta with core removed and Schrader valves. It has two different size O-rings inside, with the larger one on the edge, and the smaller one a bit deeper. You just squeeze it over the valve until you can feel the O-ring have squeezed over the valve - Proble Solved Bottom line: The products that Skylark requires are out there, you just need to find them.

Cool, I understand that, but my main question was why you would need to seat a tyre on the trail? Even when a tyre burps, it remains seated in most cases, it doesn't pop of the rim completely. After most tyre burps you just need to inflate to the desired pressure again. But I understand that some TR tyres don't sit that tight on certain rims, and that you need a high flow rate to seat them, and that requires the core to be removed.

Why would you want to use a CO2 bomb with the core removed? Most of the time a serivce sation compressor or bomb have enough flow to set a tyre on the bead without removing the core, especially if you have soapy water on the bead. However with a floor pump the removal of the valve core is important. Edit: CO2 bombs are meant for trail-side repairs, I fail to see why you need to remove your valve core on the trail? In 8 years of riding tubeless I have only removed the core when topping up sealant or when repalcing a tyre.

Easy. At home I just press my pump nozzle (on presta setting) over the entire valve and inflate until the tyre bead sets. Then I remove pump nozzle, press my finger on valve opening, and then quickly screw the valve core in, and tighten with valve core tool. At a service station, I unscrew the nozzle on the air gun and press the pipe over the presta valve with removed core and inflate. Once again, remove air source, seal hole with finger, install core again. After this I use the presta/schräder adaptor and inflate to the desired pressure with the air gun's nozzle in place.

Those little plastic core removal tools makes it a breeze to screw the core in and out. And it is so small and light, you can keep one everywhere you might need it, tool kit, tool box, garage and car.

Yes that is correct. In 2009 and 2010 that first waterpoint was 40km into the race. The route was 135km back then.

Ja, not really worried. Better to pass lots of riders than to be passed if I start with the "groot kanonne" in the first group.

Hulle het 2013 tye gebruik vir seeding, maar ek het nie 2013 of 2012 gery nie, so hulle sien my seker as 'n nuwe ryer.

Ja, ek het een sub 7 al gery en 'n sub 7:30 (toe dit nog 135km was) en ek is ook heel agter.

+1 A tippy-toed white knuckle rider will bottom out 160mm on a 300mm drop, while a smooth relaxed rider will probably use half the travel, and negotiate the obstacle faster. To quote Fabien Barel: "Many people don't realise, that your main suspension comes from your body."

Those wheels are 700c with 32c tyres. Hardly comparable to a 700c mountain bike wheel with 2.2 tyres on. The effective diameter of the CX wheel with tyre is actually closer to a 650b wheel with tyre. Point is, it is not wheelsize that got him up there, it is skill. Pick your poison, allow your body and riding style to adapt to the bike you chose, and then, ride it like you stole it.

According to that Bergamont Video this guy would have stopped dead in his tracks, but he pumped the terrain to keep going forward:

It assumes that there is a constant downward force acting on the bike (the weight of the rider). The video also assumes that both wheels remain on the ground at all times. In addition to that it also assumes that trail obstacles are square edged. However a skilled rider will pump the terrain for extra speed, this means he will unweight his bike on the upside of an obstacle and weight the bike again on the dowhnill side of the obstacle. The obstacles in that clip could easily be bunny hopped which render the "roll over everything" moot. Each wheelsize has its advantages and disadvantages, don't get me wrong. But you have to take riding style and rider skill into account. Take an 80kg rider on a 10kg bike, the 80kg weight of the rider has a very big influence on what the bike does, and where it goes, therefore the weight shift of the rider has a very big impact on how the bike will ride over obstacles. The video does not take the dynamic weight shift of a rider into account.

Wow, that video is a pot ***!!!

You will have to compare the Bronson to the Pyga 140mm 650b. They are more in the same travel class. The Pyga 120 650b is more comparable to the Santa Cruz Solo.

My wife became so jealous of my Five-Tens she got herself a pair as well. And the size 5 is R100 less than my Size 10.5.

This is what my sole pattern looks like:

According to the email received yesterday the seeding will be out tomorrow.