leona

im glad someones asked this question coz I'm going there for the end of oct on a 23 month working holiday visa. have absolutely no idea where I'm going to go once i land in auckland tho..

can't you provide anything via email? I had a frame and old parts sent out and had a similar situation. i had no proof of purchase because the frame was a prize. had to send them an itemised list via email of what things cost ( rounded down A LOT) but they still charged me a fortune. free frame and old parts and i payed customs.. what a rip off

I rode ride the rock, tankwa and Sani mtn race the month before epic and I was fine..

Difficut to describe where the tap is.. The sign is really faded now. Maybe someone with the skills can mark a map and post it?

Il be there watching. Don't know the English riders personally but I've met quite a few other riders who are going in my time in sa so il be cheering.

Il be there watching. Don't know the English riders personally but I've met quite a few other riders who are going in my time in sa so il be cheering.

are there results anywhere?

How did everyone find moving the cows? Came through one field and the cows were all on the path. Luckily I grew up on a farm so I wasn't toto worried as they didn't half calves. Just kept going saying 'come on girls, move move'. 2 guys came past soon after and thanked me

yes.. eina... pedalling all the time and that last hill/wall was a brute! id love to know how many people actually rode it. seemed more trouble than it was worth!

Very excited. Mtn series has been such an amazing way to see the country.

ive had an s-works epic for a year now. my first 29er. i didnt look at anything else for reasons i wont bother with. been living in stellenbosch since dec and kept meaning to hire a camber to ride at jonkershoek but haven't got round to it. today is my last day there and I'm off to hire one shortly. should be interesting, just wish it wasnt pouring rain... I'd say your riding goals would dictate which bike. I race and the epic was for racing so camber wouldn't have even come into the equation.

warmish and dry til about 11 when the heavens opened and then it was torrential rain for a few hours

What a disaster. I was so looking forward to this. It was my last race before I leave the western cape for good and I really wanted to win. The briefing was all in Afrikaans so if there was any mention of what arrows to follow then I wouldt know. Got to a junction with arrows pointing both ways and no marshals then later on got to a junction with 5 all waving flags. Some people went left. We got sent straight on which was obviously wrong as after a while we saw a 4km to to board. It was too late to go back by then so we carried on. After the 2km to go sign we met all the runners then there was a 19km to go sign which I now know was for the runners. Was there any mention in the briefing? I don't know.. We ended up riding back in the way we had gone out and coming back with 30km on the clock instead of 60. I got up at 4.30am to come, I paid my entry for he 60km and I was leading which is what makes me so disappointed. I know they had last minute route changes but there can't be any excuse for the marking and for so many people going wrong. I was offered a free entry for next year but I will have long since left the country. What a crap way to finish my time here. Just so disappointed.

How much climbing us there

im not even reading through this thread. don't get xtr!! they are a night mare. I've had nothing but trouble with them. 3 warranties, brake fade, broken clamps.. you name it. go xt. they work

I'm happy to field any questions.. just replied to your pm but generally if anyone has any... i worked in retail for the last 5 years, garmin one of my specialties. answered plenty of questions from people who then went off to buy online cheaper so my knowledge is free

depends on the bike.. had 580 on my 26in and that feels fine. epic came with 690, got 710 with the intention of putting bar ends on but liked the width so much i never did. 690 bars now on a 650b and id like them wider to be honest. i have crashed a few times catching the wider ones on trees tho..

Views are amazing from everywhere! If you (general people reading this) go and do the red for the first time, you come to the bottom of a bit of singletrack and can turn left or right. Roght is signed that it adds a few km. def go right, there's a switchback descent then climb. It's very cool. I've ridden there on my own mostly. Through summer there were always plenty of workers out plus quite a few houses around so I've always felt safe. The only bad thig is so far you have to ride for a waterpoint. Yesterday we rode from Devon valley onto the red route and it takes 2 1/2 hours at least to get to the tap. Fine now but in summer it was far! Met the lady who's garden tap it is yesterday so got the chance to thank her for opening it up to us.

i often cant but if i put it into google then get the direct results link that works..

the 810 and 510 both have that annoying auto save feature when you press stop. i have an 800 and a 510. if i want to temporarily stop the 510 i just hit stop then when the save/delete screen comes up, just press one of the sideways arrows to get back to a normal screen. i wouldn't bother turning it off if i was stopping for coffee say, even if it was an hour or so, id just do what i said above and then hit start when i got going again. I'm sure itl be the same with an 810. that removes the risk of deleting it by mistake. its a stupid feature. id definitely turn off the auto power off, its never going to be a good thing, itl always be turning itself off when you don't want it to!

this is so stressful!

commentators curse.. talking about no punctures then 3 in a row. so crap for the brits (+welsh). this is SO cool watching it on tv. normally have to watch online or on my phone if the net is slow.

i have a top fuel and i never really got on with it that well. sure its really REALLY fun downhill but i found it awful going up, geometry is too relaxed for me and even with the suspension firmed up i found it too bobby climbing. the new fox shock with ctd (climb/trail/descend) makes a big diff but you will be looking at one like i have with pro pedal which makes little or no difference really. (pro pedal makes the rear suspension a tiny bit firmer for climbing). if going down is your priority and you aren't fussed aout the way up then its an excellent bike and really good fun. i have a 29er fs and a 650b hardtail. they are chalk and cheese. i cant really compare them. if you can get 650b then do as you will get benefits of the big wheels without totally loosing the handling that you are used to. its so new though that your unlikely to get anything special second hand i wouldn't think. if i was you i would try to get a 29er for a long weekend and really try it. i didnt like it at first either but it takes time to get used to it as its a different riding style. SA is designed for big wheels! i think you should do that before making a decision so it can be a fully informed one.

i don't think theres a right or wrong answer. i want both, its really nice to ride something smooth with loads of berms, table tops etc but sometimes you want to be a bit scared, not know whats coming, really challenge yourself. theres room for both and everything in between.

ooh ooh this is a good one for me. when i was working in bike shops id always say to people to have short sleeved base layers, arm warmers and a gilet as absolute essentials. knee and leg warmers too. if its really really cold id wear a long sleeve base with arm warmers then take them off once its warmed up. windproof gilet is a must. you need stuff you can take off easily and quickly. you will get use out of arm warmers and a gilet for loads of the year. i have thick and thin arm warmers so i have a choice but you don't need to have 2 thicknesses.