DMD 1

No my wrist do not bend that far

So I have just ordered a new wheelset as my old XT rear hub has failed. So I did the logical thing and I have just ordered the 2011 26 inch Buzzsaw white American Classic tubless wheelset. I Ride a white Morewood Zula and the new white wheelset will be oh so sexy on the bike. I will shave about 400grams of my bike weight at the same time. Now I must just be patient untill they arrive.

Well it seems I have been brought back down to reality with a left handed sideways klap. I happen to have a 24 spoke hub and HOPE do not make one . So it is the XT one. Will be cheaper though.

I have the psc10 stand and it is great. Very stable. Look on Bucycle.co.za for pricing.

So far it looks like it is the hope, based mainly on the sexyness of it. As they say sex sells. Oh yes only realised now I posted in the wrong forum.

So the thread that holds the free body is stripped on my XT rear wheel set. I have a slight amount of play in the rear wheel now. Have tighted the free body three times in the last 3 weeks. Its time to get it slorted once and for all. Do I go with a new XT hub or upgrade to a HOPE PRO2 hub? Oh yes the HOPE is way sexier

Conti Mountain King 2.2 or Kenda Nevagal 2.1 I had the crossmark in the front but the lack of grip on the summer single track became a issue. With the MK, no more issues. I ride the MK and my wife rode the KN my two cents worth.

Check out the Tygerberg MTB club website for trail routes etc. The Club facebook site also post group rides. The routes of the club are fun but full of climbs. The Meerendal routes are flatter and less challanging yet still very scenic. Hillcrest and Meerendal routes use a honesty box payemnet system. Please do the right thing TMBC Check out other cape favourites Tokai, Jonkershoek MTO, Grabouw MTO (well marked), Oak valley and Lebanon, Dirtopia is a a good route Enjoy the cape.

If truth be told I mostly ride with the propedal active. Only go to fully open when it is lumpy and bumpy. On the Hillcrest upper single track it is always open. When I switched from the full lock out PR2 to the Propedal RP23 it took me some time to get used to it and now I would not go back. I find the RP23 more forgiving as there is always some suspension avaliable for those unexpected moments. One of my mates had a RP23 and switched to a full lock out as he prefers a harder ride. Its the same guy who sold Rouxtjie his trusty new steed.

Thats because you ride a weskus morewood.

Give it horns , go boy'tjie. Well done to the little man. Heres to your future.

Real old school . Its seems progress in tech does help sometimes. In this case the suspension systems would have helped these guys hugely

Yip it was a good old fashioned pepper STEAK, full of juicy cow meat

On Sunday the 12 Dec the DMD boys decided to hit the trails at Oak Valley. We were all worked up as the Oak Valley routes are legionary. I have not ridden there in the past six months and was hugely impressed with the trail development that has gone on there in the past year. I am sure the trail development has got something to do with the route being incorporated in the Cape Epic and the Wine 2 Whales routes. After a minor spill that saw A almost hug a tree stump and G-man breaking a chain we were at the second dam when Rob points out a huge bull. Man that was a monster of a bovine. As we looked into the distance we saw Craig riding towards a docile group of cows. As he was almost upon the cows one rather insignificant giver of milk decided these dam riders were not passing. The cow turned on its heals and mock charged Craig with much snorting. Needless to say Craig came to a brake dust induced standing holt. We had buy this stage regrouped and the general comment was what the "F" you going to let a cow stop you. So I put on my brave face and took on the cow. As I headed past the giver of milk decided other wise. It snorted and started running along side me. Well my cadence suddenly increased dramatically and with a burst of speed got past. I turned around only to see my 4 mates waiting. It was Robs turn and the dam cow did the same to him. By this stage all I could do was laugh at the looks on my mates faces as the did not want to take on the cow. Much name calling ensued with my mates taking the chicken run. They went off the route and walked along the edge of the dam to get around the cows. This was so that they could dump the bike and jump into the dam if required. As I said CHICKENS. Back to the awesome route again. We headed towards the back top point of the route and had a quick breakfast break. On the way down some of us had some spills again. Well not some us it was me. The route brings out the smile factor as its amazing with the trails cut into the hill side and the single track is smooth yet tight. Bar ends are a real hindrance as I caught the side of my bar ends twice on the trees. Thank goodness it was only a glancing blow to the bar ends and I was not rapped around a tree. On the way down after some fast flowing track with berms in all the right places I again saw some cows in dam close proximity to the route. The choices were do I burn past the buggers or do I take the cautious option a walk past the buggers. Well the burn it baby option was my choice, things were going well until one young milk udder sucker decided to bolt up across the track a few meters in front of me. I slammed on the brakes and let out a few choice swear words at the young udder sucker. After the ride we all met at Peregrine farm stall and had a real meat pie that was the kind that does not give you heart burn. We chatted about the route and it was decided it was a real winner and we have to go back again. Oh yes part of the route is going to be used in the Dirtopia 24 hour race at the end of January 2011, we can’t wait.

As long as he is not stuffing her !

This get my vote. Were do we make a donation for the funding.

I ride the full XT wheelset. I am 82kg. A mate of mine rides the same wheelset and he is the same weight as u. Both of us have had no major issues with this wheelset. It is full UST and robust. You can get it from CWC for R2999.00 last time I checked.

We were in the bottom of the Hillcrest valley were the vineyards end and the bush starts. This is part of the original Tygerberg MTB route that was developed at Hillcrest. You are basically in a Gat with climbing back out as you only option.

So yesterday a mate and I went for a ride along the green corridor in Durbanville. We would normally ride up to the mast, but last night we decided to drop down to the seesaw as it is always fun. Rob went first and I hung back so that the seesaw could have time to drop back into place. Off I went. As I was over the apex I realized, crap I was going to fast. The seesaw was still up in the air and I was about to drop of it. Well as I landed I went over the bars and into the bushes. I let out the usual grunts and groans. My knee was dam sore as I think either my bike or pedal knocked the cr-p out of it. Rob returned the scene and said Dude that looks sore are you ok. My usual response is I do not know. It was at this point that I realized that I had damaged the front brakes and I now had a break fluid fountain every time I pulled the front breaks. After resting a bit and making sure I was still intact we set off up the single track. This was fine as the knee was coping. When we came done the single track at the back of Hillcrest I realized how much you use the front brakes especially on the switch backs. After getting back to Robs place and having to walk on the knee I thought this could be an issue, as it was tender. Well some Cataflam D and Savlon did the trick as the knee is no longer an issue. Last night I was too worried about the knee to realize that I had bruised my ribs as well. So boys the moral of the story is ride a seesaw with respect.

Went to donate blood at The WP blooed tranfusion center just before a three day stage ride. Got chatting to the sister on duty. She thanked me for coming and sent me home without the donation as she said I would suffer badly if I donated. She thanked me for coming down and said see you next time. Not all of them are blood suckers, some of them care as well.

I got my wife a Silverback Ventura. Great specs and it cost R8000.00. It has mainly SLX and XT components, Rock Shock recon air fork. You should spend as much as you can so that she does not have to upgrade to soon. After some research I found that Silverback offered the best bang for your buc components wize. The new bikes also look good too. Good luck with the hunt and enjoy riding the wife, sorry I ment with the wife.

Spend some extra cash, say about R1000.00 in total and you will see the light. The magic light frpm CWC or the Nuke Proof reactor light from CRC. If you don not up your budget you will have a disapointing 24 ride.

It is called the revenge of the 26ers. It’s your painful reminder that you should have stuck to the old tried and trusted 26er. Forgot to mention that my post clamp fell apart during the TMBC fun ride and for a moment I thought I had lost some the parts. Luckily I found them and got it all back together again. No more creaking was heard. I suppose the tell tale sign was the creaking prior to the incedent

Rather save a bit more and get a Moorwood Zula . Simple yet brilliant. Better yet buy the frame a rebuilt with your old bike parts. Thats what I did.

I ride with Tygerberg MTB Club. There are now in excess of 1000 members and growing. The annual fee is about R300.00. This is for the local trail building programs. We now have about 60km of trails in the area that are maintained by the club. As I ride the trails at least twice a week @ R25.00 per ride this would work out to R1400 per year. At R300 per year, what a bargain @ R2.70 per ride.