scubes

How about a massive group ride thru the black arrow white arrow route thru the ruins.....

So I rode there Sunday. Still a great spot to ride. The race was on so I did my own thing which was a mix of green and yellow in the original direction whatever that originally was! They had cut the trails probably due to the race so it was a fun ride.

If you look at the whole place overall, residential complexes and warehouses are being built all over, coming ever closer to the reserve. In the reserve new roads cut through fields. I think there is no effort being made to preserve this as a Green Space and the poor animals inside. Which is a pity. It all began a while ago when the signs saying Modderfontein Nature Reserve were changed to read Modderfontein Reserve- the word NATURE was removed. Anyone else notice this? It is now a reserved place.. probably end up in a few years being chopped up into areas for housing units.. warehouses, factories..shopping centres..offices.. etc.

Modders is a huge area with beautiful trees even a river and some game that have not yet been poached It must be a huge mission to keep all the trails there free of debris especially after recent rains and storms. Do any of you guys even do the black route? The one leading off from green yellow red by the river? I have never seen 1 other mountain bike on this trail when I have done it. It is huge fun a bit techie but that is why it is such fun!

So I rode the reversed yellow trail today. A few kms of gentle climbing to start. Not for newbies? The twisties which were at the end and now are at the beginning were a nice warm up... I never did them when they were at the end as they were boring. I really enjoyed this reversed trail and am grateful for a large safe scenic venue near home although the encroaching business and residential property developments look ominous.. I noticed a new fence in the reserve where before there was no fence ... just after the 1st large rock and the small stream.. maybe the start of demarcation for development which would be sad as it will halve the size of modders. The short steep climb by the small dam I couldn't get up with flats.. or maybe I didn't try hard enough. The black thing on my top tube is a tear gas canister from Kevin at Cycle Safe which I bought yesterday. Doesn't get in the way and stays put and is easy to use if need be. Comes in a snap cradle and easy on with 2 cable ties. Comes in a dark green olive colour but I went stealth mode and covered it in black duct tape.

I only came across this now but good advice me thinks.

ahh okay... well the 2016 Trail 5 model has: XCM fork, Acera on back, and 3x9... I got excited for nothing. The mountain bikes at Decathlon Greenstone have comparable specs and similar prices.

The Cannondale Trail 7 and Trail 5 are coming to Makro- I asked them and this is their reply: Our distribution and merchandise teams believe that the Trail 7 should be in all Makro stores by Friday 21st September with the second drop of Trail 7 and Trail 5 stock coming into stores around the 5th October. On Cannondale's website the Trail 7 looks basic with Altus 2x9 and Suntour fork and Sunrace 11-36 on the back. Nice to see it is not a 3x9 at least. The Trail 5 looks a bit better with a Rockshox fork and it looks like a 1x10 setup with a 30T upfront and Sunrace 11-42 on the back. I don't know what Makro's pricing will be? And will the landed specs be the same as U.S. ones?

I didn't want an XD Driver, so I put on the Sunrace 11-50 cassette..... with Sram NX derailleur... and a 34 oval upfront. The Shifter I put on is Sram GX. Took some tinkering at home to get the shifting right, but now it works well. It is my first time with Sram and I am happy, but kinda feel that next time I may go back to Shimano....

wow- much smaller very sad will the red river section still remain? how about the black route rocky sections?

I buy and sell a lot on Bikehub. For me it easy quick and fun, else I would not do it. I avoid gumtree olx etc. Hubbers are friendly folk and honest, never had an issue. I do bargain a bit and to me it is part of the fun. Not too much. That is when I am buying. And most guys are open to that. When selling I am ok with that too and sell items that are great quality for a great price so someone else may benefit from it and enjoy this sport of mountain biking. Having said that, recently it has been more difficult to sell in this economy. I have 2 items for sale currently (a pair of fat silicone grips and a new chain tamer device) and they are just sitting there at bargain prices. Maybe no one needs thick silicone grips or a chain tamer device though

This is my concern at Modders. Wherever squatters are allowed to settle (allowed as they have obviously come from somewhere) whether they are legal or illegal (what is the actual difference anyway) squatters......this is when the crime starts and it then escalates and cyclists/runners/hikers/walkers get attacked- It happened at Voortrekker/Groenkooof/Fountains in Pta, has happened (and is happening) on the Spruit and at various other places such as Hennops where an amateur mountain biker such as myself has been to and has cycled and hiked. At Hennops for example I have watched as the township/settlement/location/town/city (what is it called?) across the road that goes to Harties has mushroomed and the closer it gets to that road the more the crime increased at the Hennops 4x4 area and hiking area until they even put up that sign warning of a hijacking hotspot. I really hope this doesn't happen at Modders. It is a big place and it is easy to hide there inside and ambush a cyclist and if you're riding alone you'd be very isolated.

+1 for Seattle Linksfield

hi is this still worth doing? and safe?

where's the dates?

These look better- are these avail locally? https://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-gear/review-togs-give-riders-a-hand-up/

I have a ground control 2.3 grid up front and an ardent lust 2.25 on the back and it works well.

Mr Lee What about the brand new Maxxis Forekaster 29x2.35 boet? Overseas reviews are great for wet and even dry trails even though Maxxis website says it is for mud. Also they are specced new on Scott bikes and it could be now that bike shops are starting to stock them too. Could be a good tire?

A few weekends ago I attempted for the 1st time that big rock at the bottom of Victory Park on the Spruit. It was quite overgrown and at the top of the rock hidden from view were 2 "young men" smoking it up. I found it a bit weird and in case of any danger I chatted to them and talked my way out of either A) a situation with 2 dodge characters sitting in the bushes but why? or B) a potential ambush attack. At that point on that rock you either go over the rock which I actually then did just to get away from them after our little chat. Or to turn around means getting off the bike- so in essence a real good ambush spot. Pity... as for me the Spruit has always been safe I've only heard of incidents around Emmarentia by the tall treed area. When chatting to the one guy he said he is a MTBer so I asked where is your bike and he said at home hmm.. they then asked me where is my cellphone... and I said at home.

interesting thread. I'm now over 40 and love my HT. but then again i have never owned a dual sus. have been slowly upgrading the HT to be more trail capable with plusher fork and dropper etc. the bike now is fun and i love riding it. Still climbs well. i like the challenge of a HT and picking your lines correctly on black routes and tech sections. However.. i like being different and am that way in most things in life.. i would suspect that 99 out of 100 people would choose the dual sus over the HT if offered both for free. a bonus is the lower running costs of maintaining the HT.

Myles with the Spaz and Onza- why the tougher casing on the back and not the front too?

My alu hardtail has an alu seatpost 31.6mm I put in a carbon seatpost FSA, 27.2mm, and used a plastic shim. That way it prevents merging of the alu frame and carbon seatpost. The thinner diameter carbon seatpost definitely does absorb trail vibrations I find. Just my experience. I don't do heavy riding but am scared the seatpost can break so I do check it for stress marks and cracks and haven't found any. For now it seems to work. If carbon bikes come with carbon seatposts then they must be safe and reliable, or not? Am actually thinking of taking off the carbon seatpost and putting on a dropper post which would make things interesting.

I went to 6 diff shops yesterday and couldn't find any stock of the adidas s stealth sole mtb shoe for flat pedals. that included the adidas store in sandton. i also emailed adidas who said not all their products are always available online. just can't find a pair..

oh yeh the access road had a few ruts.....the dirt roads inside Dikhololo are very sandy in parts so make sure your tyres can handle lots of sand.. and like others said lots of thorns on the single tracks/animal paths.. i don't run tubeless and had a few punctures.. the little shop there sells puncture kits for a reason!

I am also going there soon. I have been before and I mtb'ed inside Dikhololo around the animals which was pretty fun especially seeing as I didn't realise how fast a giraffe can move and how curious they are.