100Tours

We rode George - Cape town 2 years ago via Matjiesfontein. From Matjiesfontein we crossed the N1, through the windfarm to Karoopoort and then turned North up to the Tankwa farmstall. We stayed over at Hartnekskloof. There is nothing along this road between Matjiesfontein and the farmstall. Hartnekskloof hospitality was fantastic. From Hartnekskloof we climbed Pereboomkloof / Katbakkies pass (*****) aka Skitterykloof (for the effect it had on the sheep), thorugh to Op die Berg (coffee), and down to Ceres over Gydouw pass, then Mitchells Pass and over Bainskloof to Wellington, where we slept over again. Finally Wellington to Melkbos/Blouberg, and into Cape Town along the west coast cycle route If you wanted a 4-day version you might push up to one of the lodges in Tankwa, then sleep at Op die Berg and Wellington. the final day would be the same

duct tape over the holes in the underside of your shoes. Stops the venting. solves the problem

Follow the washing instructions - wash in a separate laundry bag. My castellis are 5 years old and this has made all the difference. I put the shorts in a laundry bag when I take them off, and that goes in the wash.

I usually use masking tape over the area I want to cut. a fine blade hacksaw should work fine. Use a mask. Don't inhale!

Hansa is my go-to SAB beer. Around Jozi, Mad Giant 3pm, in a returnable bottle. Lovely light craft beer and after you've taken their returnables into account, just over R30 a beer.

you shouldn't have any issue going from 25 to 28, however if you want some reassurance measure the inside width of the rim - it should be 19/20mm or up. The older standards were around 14/15mm, and then the tyre tends to bulge out a bit. I've never seen that cause an issue, but it doesn't give you much or an aero profile.

I've Pm'd you

Yes, in theory. Aluminium has a finite number of fatigue cycles until it will break (unlike steel or carbon). I'm still riding a 20-year old aluminium cannondale however, and it hasn't shown signs of damage yet. Might happen during my lifetime, might not. I've seen fractured Titanium frames that are only a few years old, but not Aluminium. Alu was the material of choice for h/bars, pedals, and so on for Paris Roubaix up until a few years ago because it is more forgiving than carbon (carbon will kill road buzz, but not corrugations), and it likely represents a lot better value as a gravel bike material at the moment. If you have 50k+ to spend then go Carbon, if you're in the 10-20k ballpark then Aluminium is a really good choice.

True. I'm a snob - I like the hydraulic routing on the ultra levers better 😁

Has happened to me before after a long week riding in wet weather from Knysna to Stellenbosch. The bearing shell being carbon, and the gritty conditions creating a perfect grinding paste. I don't think you can fix it

Agreed - I am a 2-by for gravel guy. Now if there were only 10 speed hydraulic lever options..

My experience was that my first gravel bike (Spesh Diverge 1) was very nice on tar, but not 'gravel' enough for SA. The early bikes were probably more CX than gravel in their concept. Number 1 issue for me is tyre clearance - my personal belief is that only 45 mm is enough, and if you're stuck with a gravel frame that tops out at 38 or 40 then before long you're going to be re-selling. My current steed will take a 50 and I'm very happy with that. less than 45 and you're goinng to ride too hard a pressure and still you risk punctures. The problem is that once you've found the right tyre width now you can't find the appropriate gearing. it doesn't help having MTB tyre clearance if you're stuck with a maximum 42t front ring. There are a special few bikes that get this balance right (Giant Revolt, Canyon Grizl), and the rest are still searching. Shopping for road bikes doesn't have quite the same learning curve.

Alter stems are notoriously brittle. And that's before you've messed with them.

You can ride the National park - just pay entry fee. And if you are on gravel there are some awesome routes around there.