Bub Marley

Mine took around 6 weeks i think.

There is a setting on the camera which shows you to toggle mirror off which resolves their issue.

I rode with the mediclinic guys this year. I think our teams past each other a few times close to the end.

I dont really care about the top 5 cheating. It’s just easier to put a team of 8 together compared to 12. It would still be cheaper than paying for a 12 man entry when you’re only 8 people. This is probably a pointless discussion anyway. I haven’t heard or seen anything that they would even consider something like this.

Have a price for an 8 person team. Then a different price for a 10 person team and a price for a 12 person team. I think it’s a lot more difficult to manage if you have an individual entry system and then you need to link it to a specific team.

The problem with this is the entry fee remains the same whether you are 8 or 12 people. What they could perhaps do is reduce the entry fee if you have a smaller team.

It’s so much easier to put together a team of 8 than 12. In 2022 and 2023 I sponsored a team and honestly getting 12 people on the same page in terms of commitment, training etc is a nightmare. And then you always have a last minute pull out in terms of illness etc.

1million for a bike and it comes with Chinese carbon wheels. Some deal that.

I personally think 12 in a team is too much. If we drop it down to 8 or even 10 and keep the same number of teams it will open up a lot more space on the road. The stretch from Robertson to Bonnievale is a disaster waiting to happen as traffic is open on the oncoming side and at the point i noticed most of the elite teams coming through and every amateur team trying to jump on and score a free ride. That road is not very wide especially with oncoming traffic. So yeah, my suggestion is make the teams smaller. And it should be safer all round. It’s also really hard to get 12 people in a team. So many headaches and last minute substitutions.

I’m interested to know what happens after you get dropped. Do you still go hard till the finish or is it like now I’ll just have some fun and enjoy the event instead.

Why do people always assume carbon is weak?

Can you maybe post your Strava file? Just wanna see where exactly this race goes through. Considering this for next year. The website is a bit of a mess.

So my brakes are Shimano. Drivetrain is sram. Don’t think Sram road shifters will be compatible with Shimano calipers?

In terms of converting my hardtail to dropbars, i currently have a Sram X01 11spd rear derailleur. I assume if i slap on either an Apex or Rival 11 speed shifters, it will work with Sram’s cross compatibility. The current derailleur is quite an old spec though. Probably around 2016 model. Besides the shifters and brakes, is there anything else that would need to change? I know i need the adaptor for the post/flat mount brakes as well.

With wider tyre clearance. That’s the key. Honestly, this gravel thing is just too complicated. I’ve come to the realization that the variation in terrain and the term gravel is just far too wide and complex. You are never gonna have the best bike for all surfaces. Whichever route you ride on, you gonna be compromised somewhere. I think I’ve come to the realization now, that unless you are racing and competing right at the front, a rigid bike with smaller tyre clearance is going to be fast but uncomfortable. So for 90% of people, any form of suspension be it in a fork or wider tyres is going to make for a much better ride.

Just enter for the event instead. Normally happens around April.

This looks pretty cool. Kinda looks like a gravel bike to be honest. You wanna maybe give a breakdown of what you did to get the front end lower?

I think i figured out why i hate the look of these bikes so much. It’s the forks. More specifically those that remove the suspension fork for a rigid one. It just doesn’t work. I think if I’m gonna do this, I’ll keep the suspension forks. And this is purely from a looks perspective. The added suspension might come in handy as well on some rougher terrain.

Probably a while. When we aren’t close to Argus I dont think they care too much.

Do this Mense know there is no prize money in the C batch? Why would you risk your life and your bike for no rewards especially on a 170km race? In saying that, I also recently just risked it down Bainskloof for absolutely no reason and am now nursing a broken collarbone so maybe i should just shut up rather.

I have a few routes loaded on Strava already if you want some gpx files. Drop me a DM and I can send to you.

Does it have to be mondraker specific? Deda normally have loads of options which might finish it better if you cant find mondraker. It’s not really the end of the world though.

If you can find a handelbar/stem that fits that slot perfectly, it’d finish the bike off superbly.

Also planning on doing this given the recent trend towards wider and wider tyres. Struggling to find sram shifters though for some reason.

And yet you continued with the order despite spending 250K more than originally planned?