Bub Marley

I can agree with this. I have the trail lens and I don’t think the lens was made for South African trails. In the US, they have loads of forest trails and I can definitely see this lens shining in that terrain but on our farms, we have too much open areas which means too much light is let in. Even the trail torch is slightly darker, but I’m not sure it’s quite dark enough for trails.

Top of Hoogies and Conties.

In Think it looks better the way it was intended to look. And so far, this is applicable to everyone’s bike. I think keeping the flat bars and just changing the fork gives the bike a sleeker look.

I thought of doing this as well. But everytime someone posts a pic of there conversion I get put off more and more.

Anyone been to Majik Forest lately and can comment on the general conditions / Upkeep of the trail? Is it rideable? Haven’t been there in ages and obviously dont wanna bother if all the trees and bushes are over growing etc.

Mate, you’re just meaning for the sake of moaning. It’s not discovery’s problem if you don’t have Wi-Fi. Do you want them to give you free Wi-Fi as well as a reward. Shaper told you exactly what you need to do and then you can take the rest of the week off. You also claim to know that as well so not really sure what’s the issue then? You also qualify for a rest week after 25 consecutive weeks achieved.

I also feel that most of the farms are content with the honesty box / snapscan system. So if the honesty box works for the farms, then I don’t see why club members need to patrol the farms. It’s all about honesty. If you wanna cheat the system, then that’s upto you but I’m assuming that if you aren’t a club member you’ve done the right thing buy buying a day pass. I’m not gonna stalk you and ask for proof.

I honestly don’t have the balls to ask someone to show me their day pass. Tbh I’m not even looking out if people have boards on their bike. It’s just not in my thinking.

Did you do both upper and lower? Lower definitely geared more towards beginners. However there are 2 more technical routes but very short. But yeah the farm itself is definitely more family oriented. Upper Bloemendal is just a climb fest. If you incorporate Hillcrest, you basically climbing all the way up to the mast. Then descend down Bloemendaaler, then do that freaking nasty Bloemenclimb through the forest which just crazy tough. And then descend slightly before you start climbing again. Honestly, if you love climbing upper bloemendal is like climbers Heaven. Hoogekraal though is just way more fun. Together with Contermans, id definitely say are the best two farms in the Tygerberg network. They have a bit of everything but the single track on both networks are just top class.

Awesome. Suits me even better now.

Will do. It’s not allowing me to enter online. Says online entries closed. Think I’ll wait till Wednesday before I decide. See if there’s any update on the trail conditions.

I wonder if they’ll accept new entries now. only reason I never entered was Ramadan. But given that it got postponed, hopefully I’ll get to ride this.

At least that tells me now to get a gravel bike which the biggest clearance when i do decide to get one. Was also thinking maybe convert the hardtail, put a rigid fork in with drop bars but then you still have the gearing issue.

So ideally we need gravel bikes with enough clearance for mtb tyres. Basically like his Felt bike he’s riding this year.

Yeah but this is excluding the aerodynamic penalty. Common sense tells me a narrower 42mm tyre will be faster on a flat district road than a 2.2” mtb tyre? Maybe my way of thinking is still old school.

Im curious as to how much difference chunky tyres would make compared to skinnier gravel ones on district roads?

Are you racing? Like pushing for time & position etc. If you’re not racing, then I’d go for the 40. The lighter gearing will be more beneficial especially when your legs are finished towards the end of a long ride and you have a mountain to get over.

I’d say your biggest upgrade would be gearing. You’d be able to fit a larger chainring which should make a huge difference on your flats and descents.

Just on pure feel here. I have done this climb on numerous occasions. That descent leading upto the actual climb, I can definitely say the momentum gained from the descent will assist in propelling you up the initial few meters up there. It’s a pretty fast descent.

There is a bit of a downhill before the climb starts. But to get there you would still need to climb back up every time. So dont think it makes a difference.

Having lived overseas and gone through the hassle of flying with my bike back home, I can tell you that people underestimate how massive those bike bags actually are. If you dont have much other luggage then you can work around it but if you are carrying a large suitcase on top of the bike bag it makes getting around very tedious. I think if it’s a short trip then just rent a bike.

I’ve had 2 crashes where I’ve written off a helmet. One helmet had MIPS, the other didn’t. The one without MIPS was a much heavier impact, got hit by a car, and it still saved my head. So I dont think MIPS is the be end and end all. If the helmet has it then great, but all helmets have to pass a certain safety standard anyway. Of course if you have the option, then go for the one that has MIPS, but there are some manufacturers like Abus that still don’t use MIPS.

That’s never going to happen as much as we want to see it. They rely on the YouTubers to provide this content. If you want to see more of the back of the field guys, watch Craig Kolesky. He’s given you a great perspective of what it’s like. If anything it’s actually put me off it a bit with the amount of walking that would have to be done if you stuck behind someone on a climb and then also stuck behind slower guys on single track and not really enjoying the trails. I would also subscribe to Jasper Verkuijl’s channel on YouTube. He’s an amateur but very fit and finished 3rd at the epic in the Amateur category. His videos are top notch quality and bring a more racing perspective from the amateurs. It’ll probably be a while though before he edits and uploads it but yeah he’s the go to guy for amateur racing. His content on the Haute Route events are top class.

Smart this. Might even test the waters and see what type of offer I get😂

Just had a look at the results now and I see Jasper Verkuijl is riding. Awesome stuff. He’s content is especially with the Haute Route events are top notch so looking forward to seeing what he comes up with for the Epic.