Tatt

Nice. Is that Sunrace the full steel one? If so please post the mileage you get out of it. Tom

What stem have you used there? Tom

Just to the right in these pics. Will scratch through and see if I got any of him. Tom

Stage 1 finish.

My Stage is number 4... Ordered in August 2015. Built and riding 6th of January last year. I am a big fan of waiting for a frame, gives me enough time to look for specials and spread the cost of the build over a year. Tom

You beat me to it - I was also thinking we should give a few peeps on here the opportunity to organise this event next year and see how they cope... For me, the only time I ever get on a road bike is to captain my blind neighbour on this event. Riding to the start with him yesterday was hectic, with all the other drama's adding to the mix I was very happy that they cancelled. As I had a bit of free time, instead of bitching, I took him for a coffee and then went and collected old clothes and headed down to Hout Bay to help out a bit. It was a humbling experience. I left Hout Bay just after two, and the Karbonkelberg fire was still raging and heading towards Llandudno - there were approximately 8 to 10 fire trucks that I could see and the helicopters trying to control the blaze (if you don't believe me search #karbonkelbergfire). Can you imagine them trying to move through 35k riders going up Suikerbossie!! Cancelling the event was a massive decision to make, and it was the right one. For all those posting on this forum, there have been some great ideas and some rather interesting ones... So instead of just posting here, why not engage with the organisers directly? Tom

Very good article. Ive been looking at what to wear and what lights to use for a while now. 1. Strobe is much better than fixed beam. 2. The brighter the better (just common sense this one). 3. Not scientific, but based on my observations, the colour of light used is crucial to being seen... Strobing white up front at all times (day and night). Strobing red during the day on the rear, and at dawn/dusk a strobing white (or blue/orange) on the rear - this from looking at cyclist riding in traffic, their red lights get lost amongst the sea of car lights and robots. Have been doing my usual 5.30am training route up to Constantia Nek usine white on the rear for the last monty and my number of near misses has decreased significantly. Tom

I'm a big fan of them, even although I don't own one. Had my right knee rebuilt twice and heading for my third rebuild... So can definitely see myself getting one of these in a few years time when it packs up for good and the left leg needs a little help doing all the work! Tom

Nice build! Save for the dropper first - all Pyga's should have one.

If its 11.5km/h that was just about my average speed for the entire Epic last year! And I had the joy of his Missus puking on me after water point 3 on day 1... Having said that, I did a lot of riding with him and the other lonerangers over the rest of the week and thought he was an alright guy.

Sorry for your loss!! What exactly is the extent of the damage? Does it have to be a full frame replacement? Tom

The bike mentioned above was mine.. To give a little context to the issues mentioned... I sold my 110 as my Max had just arrived. I initially had absolutely no plan on selling it, but it was suggested to me that having 3 bikes in the entrance hall wasn't ideal for a good marriage. About two weeks later I received Whatsapp pics of the broken chainstay. As luck would have it, the day I cancelled my insurance on it was when Paul contacted me to tell me about the issue he had while taking a peddle at Magic Forest. I was very surprised with the chainstay breaking and got both Pat and Revolution involved with fixing it - which they did without any quibble, even although I had sold the bike. The guys at Revolution can also vouch for the fact that the bike was fully serviced at all times. Two days before I sold it, it went to Revolution for a top to bottom final service to check that the bike was 100% before sending it to its new owner. So as Baracuda rather stupidly suggests above, it was not sold because of any underlying issues, if I had been aware of any problems not only did I still have warranty, but I was (and still am on my current bike) fully comprehensively insured, so it would have been one simple phone call to get it sorted. Further, the crack in the frame was found almost a year after I sold the bike, not on the second ride. I was contacted by Paul a week or so ago, and I forwarded him the original invoice documents that I had on file for the bike to help him with his claim. Tom

Did Tankwa and Epic on my Max, also did same on my 110, both running 140 travel upfront. If you're skilled podium material you'll probably err towards the Stage and be able to throw it at any track given to you, or if you a slow overweight back marker just having fun you'll do perfectly on the Max, with the longer travel making you look like you have slightly more talent than you actually have.... I fall into the later category.. Tom

That's the frame my Missus wouldn't let me buy!! Tom

Flippin heck Dubbin, mine is a non-issue compared to you!! Tom

Post hijack - Got a question for the clever people here.... I completed my online return, which is very straight forward as I am just PAYE employee. During the year I was paid a couple grand for mileage at R2.25/Km by my company and I also had to pay in for medical expenses as a result of falling off my bicycle every now and then. After completing online SARS owed me 29 Cents.. I like many here then got a nice email from SARS stating that I had correspondence that needs looking at... Turns out I am being audited and they want all associated documents.. This is where my problem starts... I was a bit slack with claiming my mileage, and only submitted it when I remembered. So my logbook actual Km's traveled for work is over double of what I actually claimed - all of this I can prove, as I have satellite tracking and can see on the web where I was on a daily basis... SARS have asked me for my complete logbook with opening and closing readings and where I have been, etc - will they kick my backside into touch for not claiming, or just tell me that I am stupid? Tom

The mountain has some fantastic riding - Plum, Tricky Techy (or whatever it is called now), all the MF's, and then all the nice Greenbelt bits just around the corner. Plum before the Epic got hold of it was always one of my favourite places to fall! Tom

How it should be done!

Me running out of talent on my Stage a few weeks back..... Tom

Just discussed with two other Pyga owners.... You're probably looking at around R10k or so for it. Would probably get a bit more if you had a Revelation or Pike upfront. Tom

Cable routing on mine after close on 4000 kay's. No issues or damage.

Wouldn't mind putting my Stage next to yours to do a side by side comparison. Wanted to do much the same thing, but couldn't wait for the XL to come out. Tom

How wide are the bars you are using? I ran my OneTen on a 50mm stem with 760 bars and I'm running my Stage on the same stem with 800 bars. I'm 185cm and have no issues with reach on either. Tom

Day 2 this year... Probably the only time I would have ever achieved a Strava KOM over a 200m section going up a hill, as they had a few bees at the bottom of that very untechnical climb....

Just out of curiosity, have you ridden the bikes available? Tom