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Factor Bikes has unveiled the MONZA, a new high-performance road race bike designed to offer elite-level performance alongside everyday usability. Inspired by the world tour-proven OSTRO VAM, the MONZA integrates aerodynamic efficiency, optimised carbon layups, and a balanced stiffness-to-weight ratio to enhance speed and responsiveness. Key features include a refined aero-optimised frame, simplified internal cable routing with a new HB05 barstem, and convenient integrated storage. With a slightly relaxed geometry allowing greater comfort without sacrificing handling, 34 mm tyre clearance, and Black Inc FORTY FIVE wheels, the MONZA aims to make race-ready performance accessible to a broader range of riders. […] View full article

Ready to escape the ordinary and touch down in the desert for South Africa’s most distinctive gravel race? We’re giving one lucky rider a chance to win a single entry into the Tanqua Kuru Bicycle Race 2025 – plus a return flight in a Sling Aircraft, departing from either Cape Town or Johannesburg. Yep, you could arrive at the race in a plane that’s as iconic as the race itself. This exclusive prize includes: Entering is quick and easy: That’s it. No hashtags. No long essays. Just a shot at the most unforgettable race weekend of your life. Entries close […] View full article

When Titan Racing Bikes landed a shipment of the Cypher DC Gen 2 just two weeks before the start of the 2025 Absa Cape Epic, I jumped at the opportunity for the ultimate long-term test. First launched in 2019 and updated with a second generation in 2024, the Titan Racing Cypher comes in two variants: the Cypher RS, with 100mm of travel for serious racers, and the Cypher DC, offering 120mm of travel for riders seeking a more forgiving and capable ride. You can read more about the design and development of the Cypher Gen 1 here. I’m testing the […] View full article

Are you ready to tackle a stage race with a difference? Whether you’re a weekend warrior or a seasoned competitor, the Glacier Waterberg Traverse at Summerplace Game Reserve from 9-11 May, less than three hours from Johannesburg, is your ideal event. Here are eight good reasons why. 1. It’s an escape Although Summerplace Game Reserve in the Limpopo province is a bit of a drive, it’s under three hour’s drive from Johannesburg and even less from Pretoria. It’s close enough for an easy drive (mostly on freeway) and far enough away from the big cities of Gauteng to be a […] View full article

Press Release The Shale is our take on a modern enduro machine—capable, confident, and ready for whatever the trail throws at it. Sharing the same proven suspension platform as our Link E-bike, it’s built for riders who want a bike that feels stable at speed, efficient on the climbs, and controlled in the rough. Its progressive geometry strikes a balance between confidence and agility, with a slack head angle that keeps things steady on steep descents, a steep seat tube that positions you efficiently for climbing, and a moderately low bottom bracket that helps the bike feel planted without losing […] View full article

Gravel riding may be booming now, but back in 2004, it was already a thing in South Africa. With the re-launch of the legendary Crater Cruise in 2025 (Sun 8 June), we’re taking a ride down memory lane to remind everyone that long-distance gravel adventures on South Africa’s secondary and tertiary roads were already attracting bunches of riders more than 20 years ago! It’s impossible to forget that first event in 2004, when mountain bike legend Mannie Heymans soloed to victory on the 101 km route in a lightning-fast 2 hours and 57 minutes—riding a 26-inch Focus mountain bike with tubes! Even back then, […] View full article

Bianca Haw and Hayley Preen, riding as team TitanRacing SE Honeycomb, powered to the African Jersey title and third place overall in the Elite women’s field at the 2025 Absa Cape Epic, racking up three stage podiums along the way. They thrived in the brutal conditions that defined this year’s race, with Bianca’s post-race interviews adding a dash of much-needed humour to each stage. Here we take a closer look at Bianca’s Titan Racing Cypher RS Carbon Team. The intense gradients and stage variations made this the year of chainring swaps and Bianca was no exception. She used a 34T chainring […] View full article

Press Release: First, we delivered the dream of the perfect mountain bike shift. Now we’re delivering the dream of ultimate performance for the mechanical mountain bike transmission too. This is Eagle Mechanical Transmission. The world’s first mechanical groupsets to use a Full Mount interface instead of a derailleur hanger. The first to let you shift anywhere, under absolute power, without compromising or compensating. It’s the world’s first mechanical system with incredibly easy “prepare, hang, tighten” installation, no adjustment screws needed. Rebuildable. Reliable. Affordable. Mechanical Transmission is the dream, delivered. Eagle 90 Transmission Eagle 90 Transmission delivers the dream of the […] View full article

The pairing of Matt Beers and Keegan Swenson as Team Outride | Toyota | Songo didn’t go as planned at the 2025 Absa Cape Epic. Keegan battled back problems throughout the race which meant that the team had to settle for a single podium finish, placing third on the final stage. Despite the setbacks, the duo delivered a masterclass in resilience; fighting through each stage and continuing to push on in support of the causes they were representing: Outride and songo.info. As a three-time Cape Epic winner, Matt knows a thing or two about bike setup for ‘the race that […] View full article

KAP sani2c stands out as an iconic three day mountain bike stage race. Founder of the race Glen Haw is a dairy farmer from Ixopo in KwaZulu-Natal, known affectionately as Farmer Glen by returning sani2c riders. The 2025 KAP sani2c will be its 21st edition. The Adventure is from Wednesday 7 May – Friday 9 May, and the ‘OG’ is from Thursday 8 May – Saturday 10 May (with a Prologue for UCI riders only on 7 May at 14:30 at Glencairn Farm). Farmer Glen started sani2c in 2005 to raise funds for Lynford school where his children were being […] View full article

Hayley Preen and Bianca Haw, riding as team TitanRacing SE Honeycomb, powered to the African Jersey title and third place overall in the Elite women’s field at the 2025 Absa Cape Epic. A relatively last-minute pairing they were dark horses going into the race, but they thrived in the brutal conditions that characterised this edition of the event. Here we take a closer look at Hayley’s Factor Lando XC. The Lando XC was launched in 2023 as the first mountain bike from premium bike brand Factor. Hayley’s build comes standard with Fox suspension, and SRAM Transmission XX-SL. The Lando XC […] View full article

Nino Schurter and Filippo Colombo (SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing) won the 2025 Absa Cape Epic at Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West today. The win is Schurter’s third Absa Cape Epic title, while Colombo claimed the crown at his first attempt. In the Aramex UCI Women’s Category, Annika Langvad claimed her sixth Absa Cape Epic title and teammate Sofia Gomez Villafana (Toyota | Specialized) her second, as the well-matched duo controlled the race from Prologue to final pedal stroke over the finish line at Lourensford Wine Estate. Langvad’s sixth Absa Cape Epic title – she has competed at the event six […] View full article

Belgian rider Wout Alleman and Czech partner Martin Stošek (BUFF MEGAMO 1) powered to a Stage 2 victory at the Absa Cape Epic near Paarl today. Starting at Meerendal Wine Estate and finishing at Fairview just outside of Paarl, the all-new team combination blitzed the 66km time-trial stage to finish 27 seconds ahead of Zebra Striped Yellow Jersey overall leaders Nino Schurter and Filippo Colombo (SCOTT-SRAM MTB). In the Aramex UCI Women’s Category, it was another commanding performance from the all-star pairing of Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane (Toyota | Specialized). Starting last in the women’s race in the […] View full article

Sunday, 16 March, began with an ominous mist hanging low in the Jonkershoek Valley, setting the tone for what would be an epic day of racing at the first National Enduro Cup of the 2025 season. Five stages lay in wait for the riders of the Full Enduro, three for the Lite Enduro, and a bonus Power Stage (technical climb) for the E-Bike Enduro competitors. The trails were rough and rowdy from the hot summer days and countless tyres lapping them up in practice. Top dogs and rookies from around the country were in for a day of massive climbs […] View full article

Nino Schurter and Filippo Colombo (SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing) timed their attack to perfection late on Stage 1 of the 2025 Absa Cape Epic to claim the stage victory and move into the overall lead of the men’s race. In the Aramex UCI Women’s Category race, Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane (Toyota | Specialized) took control midway through the day’s racing to win Stage 1 more than five minutes ahead of second-placed Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda (Efficient Infiniti SCB SRAM). They now lead the Aramex UCI Women’s Category overall by seven minutes.  The theme of the day was wind, […] View full article