Stark

I attempted the 50km yesterday.. how difficult could that be? I'd asked myself. Weil I almost died. It was a well organised event, loads of single track and lots of technical stuff and at my level of fitness I probably should have stuck to the 25km.... or even the 6km anyway I finally finished in ~4:40, my longest day in the saddle yet, but what i'd really like to know is if anyone managed to get an elevation map of the 50km. I have Strava on my phone but only managed to record the first 6 seconds of the ride If you have the map please could you post it, or if you know where I might find it please point me in the right direction, thanks.

Thanks found the results http://results.racetec.co.za/results.aspx I organized the chips for myself and two friends, both their times have been recoded but not mine :-(. Hopefully they can still fix it, will contact them tomorrow.

It was a great day out, the sand traps were a bit of a missions and they could have had another water point around the 15km mark, but I still loved it. Where can we get the results?

Hi Hubbers, thanks for the advice, just thought I'd not be rude and let you all know that I finally decided on the Merida Big 7 XT Edition I picked it up on Saturday, now just looking forward to having some fun in the sun. http://members.audiclubsa.org.za/d/24986-1/IMG_0723_1_.JPG

thanks, that looks like a nice option, if I can get it for under R15k. I had a look at the Titan 650b Pro Alu, but it seems quite heavy, never considered the Carbon... will definitely take a closer look.

A decent starter full suspension bike seems considerably more expensive than a decent starter starter hard tail... My max limit is R15k

Thanks, wouldn't mind getting something proudly South African however, I had a look at the AL655, it's heavier and lower spec'd than the Merida XT which is only a little (~R800) more expensive. The next momsen up from that is the dual sus Vipa which is quite a bit more expensive. PS - thanks for the suggestions, please keep them coming.

Awesome, thanks official time 2:10, still glad I finished :-)

Would love to see the official results... But kind of chuffed with my initial timing of 2:07 (35km)... We'll maybe not so much with the timing but rather that in actually managed to finish :-). The first bit was really slow with regular stops as the crowd got into single file for some crossings and single track. After that I just took it easy, didn't want to tire myself out, but as it turned out my legs were still feeling quite strong after the race, my bottom on the other hand, that's a different story. There were apparently over 1000 entrants on the day. I really enjoyed it, will definitely be doing that again.

We'll if this mornings weather is anything to go by out here in the south ( about 5km from the Lido), it's going to be a hot dry race. Not a cloud in the sky and no rain forecast.

oh carp, i'd better make an effort then ... I guess I'll also wait and register on the day then. By the sounds of it I don't think I'd be able to cope with muddy conditions in my current state of fitness.

Hi Guys <copy and past from my introductory thread in the Buyers Guide> I'm seriously contemplating riding the Summer Fast One this weekend. I have a borrowed Scott Aspect 630 26er (Large) I can use which I got last week. Besides a few rides scoping out area the local area I haven't really done any riding since I did the 94.7 in 2001 :-0 . Over the last 10 days however I've done 2 x 10 km, 2 x 15km and 1x 43km ride (done in three stages) :-). I'm fairly confident I'll complete the 12km ride, at the summer fast one, but I'm nervous to do the 35km route, my comfort zone seems to end at around 20odd km's so 35 would be pushing it... How long do they give you on the trail before they load you into the bakkie and take you back to the start :-)? Are there prizes for longest day ? Should get fitter, or give it a bash?

I assume you're referring to the Giant Talon 1 27.5? for a only little money I'd think the better spec'd Merida is better? ...also can't find the weight of the Giant but I assume it's heavier? ...oh and it's red Regarding the 29er: From the reading I've done it seems the 27,5 format gives you the best of both worlds, it's better than the 26er for the longer open roads and better than 29er at the technical stuff, which is what I'd like to work up to.

pity, I was in Cycle Lab over the festive season and no-one mentioned these super specials , Thanks will try them out, but it may be a month or two before I can actually get the bike, doubt they'll be so kind then.

Hi Hubbers Newbie here, looking for advice on a MTB under 15K. I've been wanting to get started for quite some time but for whatever reason haven't gotten my now plump arse of the couch. The stars are however now aligning so with that and just a little luck, I should be in position to get a decent starter bike in the next month or so. I've done a bit of reading on this site and it and it seems there are still many diverse opinions regarding which size wheel to get, suffice to say I think the best bike for me is going to be a 27.5" or 650b.... still don't know where that name comes from ;-) A couple of things about myself: I'm ~176cm short, turned 40 last year and mainly want to get into this for a change of lifestyle and to get fit. I stay just south of Johannesburg, there seems to be lots of decent trails out here close to Eikenhof/Walkerville. In fact I'm seriously contemplating riding the Summer Fast One this weekend. I have a borrowed Scott Aspect 630 26er (Large) I can use which I got last week. Besides a few rides scoping out area the local area I haven't really done any riding since I did the 94.7 in 2001 :-0 . Over the last 10 days however I've done 2 x 10 km, 2 x 15km and 1x 43km ride (done in three stages) :-). I'm fairly confident I'll complete the 12km ride, at the summer fast one, but I'm nervous to do the 35km route, my comfort zone seems to end at around 20odd km's so 35 would be pushing it... How long do they give you on the trail before they load you into the bakkie and take you back to the start :-)? Anyway back to the question at hand. What bike, 650b hard tail for under 15K? Overall weight is important, I think, and I've a long way to go before I start doing very technical riding, or long marathons which is why I think the 27.5" hard tail is the best option for me. Color is not terribly important but I'd rather not get a red bike. I've had a look at several options including the Scott Aspect 720, GT Zaskar (red one), Titan Pro, and various Merida's in the Big 7 range like the TFS 300 and 500. The bike standing out for me at the moment is the ~11.5kg Merida Big 7 XT Edition So what do you guys think, anything else I should serious take a look at? .