HdB

I like being able to see friends' rides; or checking how much faster the pros at the Cape Pioneer rode some familiar roads on Tuesday. But most of that is available for free, without that Strava dies. Some premium features are just fluff, and the training stuff is available better elsewhere.

Lawyers 🤑 - Everyone else 💩

Not even just road events - I saw Origin of Trails won't be held this year, Trans Baviaans is back down to just one weekend, etc. (At the same time Gravel Burn is sold out, Epic seems to be sold out year after year. So perhaps there is some magic formula somewhere)

To me it feels like part of the whole "listening to respond VS listening to understand" thing. Or in this case, to pick apart and tell them their thinking is flawed. Oh but don't be offended. Not every statement is a problem that needs to be solved. You don't just start pushing the rider going slowly up the climb, you first check if they are ok and ask if help is needed. If not, you wish them well and go on with your ride.

I see next year's event is 19 Sept, and Karoo to Coast/Ladismith 7Weekspoort the weekend of 26/27th. Depending on how insane you are, you could do all three 😂

In addition: * Have detailed enough information available on the primary website/FB page/Bikehub page. I've had to Google in which province some events were held, because I guess whoever was responsible for the webpage didn't think that not everyone knows the exact location of Venue XYZ. Imagine you are someone who has never been in the area, and go from there. * Consider the participants' perspectives, as a racer, mid-pack and also the tail-end rider. - how technical is the route really? This is a very different thing for the inexperienced rider, so be a bit more clear in route descriptions so that each rider can pick the best distance for them to be able to enjoy it. No, a profile jpg of the route that has been resized and compressed so much that you can't even read the elevation details, does not tell them about the kilometers of rocky singletrack that they will end up walking and hating. - think long and hard about the start order and times of the different distances. Not everyone on an ebike has an unlocked bike capable of 45km/h-while-barely-pedaling. Having the racers of the long distance start a few minutes after the ebikes of the mid-distance is not a fun experience when they flash by while yelling at you to get out of the way, even though you are already as far left as you can be. - Try and get some bubbly energizer-bunny type at the finish, especially for the slower riders finishing when many have already left - to welcome them to the finish. - If prize-giving/lucky draws need to be before everyone has finished, figure out your system of how to be fair to the slow riders - missing out on a snazzy lucky draw bike because you were still 2 hours from the finish at the time (but well within the time cuts) must suck. You know who collected their numbers, you know who has finished and who is still out there. (and yes, I've recently been at some events that my wife and I had wildly different experiences).

https://www.treadmtb.co.za/zini-bicycles-hits-the-sa-market-sweet-spot-with-new-roam/ I happened to see a post on Facebook about this, seems it was launched quite recently. The components seem ok, including UDH compatible, just no remote lockout for the suspension that I can see.

Sheesh, I think I need to stop looking at this thread... Seriously though, the spec on this bike is very nice, way better groupset and wheels, and for less than what the new bike I'm aiming for will cost. Probably being stupid, but to save my sanity from analysis paralysis I've picked a Cypher DC Gen 2 that fits my budget, and have put on my blinders. I'm going to claim that yours won't work because I normally ride an L and this is an M, and not spiral through another heap of Youtube review videos.

Thanks, for now I'm ok, it is only a small bit of play, so not dangerous yet. I am currently saving for a dual-sus (unless I happen to win that Dreambike raffle ), so new pedals are a "some other year" priority.

Yep. Was hoping there might still be a few spare parts gathering dust somewhere. Would be nice if Cape Cycles answered emails...

I've had mine for a few years as well. I'm just not sure if it will be possible to get service kits for them anymore? I suspect the plastic claws on mine are getting a bit worn - even with new cleats there is some play.

Temperature: 8.8°C to 20.3°C, feels like 9.4°C to 19.2°C Wind: 2,9 to 13,4 km/h, with gusts up to 35,1 km/h Probability of precipitation: 0%

On the book of faces, their post mentions the emails will be sent from 8am

I did it last year with 2,2s front and rear (all I could find at short notice), on a hardtail, and it was fine. Probably going to use the same tyres this year, they still look ok. I do have two new Recon Race 2,4s, which would probably be a smidge more comfortable on the rough parts. As for pressure, I will have to check one of the calculators. Again. I can never remember, should probably write it down...

I'm already doing the Karoo to Coast this year, but I think this one will go on the bucket list for next year. It looks like something my wife would actually be able to do and enjoy, unlike the event this past weekend that she walked nearly half the route due to the route being far more technical than what she is currently comfortable with, and an ebike-to-water malfunction. I have since been instructed to not enter her for any events not explicitly marketed as a gravel event 😂

Free 4 all Tuesday again next week, and some new GPS-based routes available for events/group rides. The ability to load your own gpx files is apparently coming next month. Also, the Grand Tour is on again at the end of Sept: More information: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jpV6lPSOuctuLM6LKqN-YNBsgkh4iKx9D9puay2u53k/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.je60uc8yak7u

As far as I can see, it is a standard feature of the Gen 2 version of the Cypher - the significantly less expensive Carbon XT and LTD also list "SRAM UDH Hanger" on their spec sheets. The article only mentions "Gen 2" once, in the spec sheet, and "second generation" once - easy to miss maybe? And since the previous generation also had an Empire specification... Anyhoo, personally eyeing the Gen 2 DC LTD or perhaps the Comp. So... any opinions on DT Swiss 232 suspension on the LTD VS the SID on the Comp? At least one article I read rated the DT Swiss higher, but a mechanic I spoke to recently mentioned they are significantly more expensive to service.

My rear end took a beating on the hardtail, don't think I want to add smashed wrists and severely chafed palms to the list of injuries... And in terms of the winners - they shaved only a few minutes off their time on full-suspensions from last year, in probably better conditions this year. At the top of Bergplaas they only had 30 seconds or so on the next team, only on the smoother last section that they took a lot of time. Personally I'm saving for a full-suspension, can always put a 36T or even 38T on if the plan is try try and go fast.

More likely just to avoid needing multiple marshals or even traffic department involved for 18h with crossing a road? It was a bit better than last year at least - there was an exposed plastic water pipe just as you turned right to go back up, that could easily cause a fall.

Cellphone camera cannot do it justice, sadly.

I did my second, my dad his first. Given two health scares for him since I entered us last year, two months ago I was not even sure he'd be cleared to train, nevermind be fit enough. He was quite fit at the start of the year, and trained well since June, so it was on. The goal was simply to finish safely, with a hopeful "get to Bergplaas descent before sunset" - my dad is not the most confident descender. We spent a bit too much time at the checkpoints though, and he had to walk the second Fang and most of MAC, so the latter goal was gone, but at least we saw a beautiful moonrise. On the big descents, especially from Bergplaas, I kept it nice and slow so he could see my line and I could warn of any tricky bits. This year Neverender really felt neverending, I don't remember it being so mentally tiring last year. Overall it was a great day, nice and warm to start, the water crossings were nothing compared to last year (I was surprised at how many people walked some), no mechanicals and no close calls. We even ran into some family of ours at checkpoint 2, and from there we saw them at every checkpoint and at the finish.

Good luck all. Weather looks pretty good

It was at R1750 until yesterday. At least it includes socks and finishers t-shirt... I've heard positive things about the Dryland events, so I figure I might as well try it once and see what the fuss is about, same with the Prince George (though that works out much less thanks to the Black Friday special).

Jup, excellent motivation to not pick up as much weight as last year, plus doing the Rapha500 and Versus Back2Base.

I'd say if your bike can take two bottles, then a Camelbak is not needed. We did just over 12h last year, and I rode with mine, but with the bladder empty - I stuffed mine full with my tools, extra clothes, extra drink mix and bars (and when its straps broke, my saddle bag). My more experienced partner rode without a Camelbak, just the two bottles on his bike, and his medkit and tools etc in his pockets. We also didn't bother with the crates, we started with our lights already on our bikes. I'm expecting a few hours slower one this year, so my dad and I will probably use the Bergplaas crate for some stuff just in case.