GrantRH

Lots of people raving about the XT 1x11, which i think is close to the equivalent of GX 1x11.

interesting that you replaced the Roval Carbons for the ZTR Crest. Reason?

apologies RS-1

As far as I recall, the first pike to hit SA was on the Epic s-works.

Test The Best 2016 I took a late drive to Modderfontein with the family today to try out a Camber at the Test The Best demo day. I was lucky to get my hands on the 2016 S-Works version with XX1. I should add that I currently ride an Epic Expert with Di2. But I wanted to know what all the Camber fuss is about. I took the yellow route (+- 35kms) so I got a good feel for the bike. So is it true that the Epic is more of a race bike and the Camber for trail-shredding? Simple answer: yes! It took me a kilometre or two to get used to the different feel for the bike, but after that the Camber's trail ability became obvious. I immediately noticed how the front wheel plants itself firmly to the ground. I am not sure whether this is because of the RS-1 fork or the Camber geometry. But it is VERY noticeable. I pushed it much further than I would with my Epic and it held on easily. Funnily enough, I thought the tail slipped out a little more, but that could have been because of the wet trail. The front never let me down. How much difference did it make? Quite a bit. On 3 to 4 minute sections I was about 20 seconds ahead of my previous PBs (thanks Strava). Another element of the Camber which I loved was its ability to throw itself around a little. Getting airborne over small jumps was much easier, and more balanced. This machine has "fun" written all over it. Having said that, the Camber felt a bit sluggish on the climbs and open flats, compared to the Epic. I was wandering during the climbs whether it was all in my head, or whether I had just been influenced by the marketing hype. Comparing my strava sections, and whereas the tight singletrack sections clearly favoured the Camber, for many of the climbing sections, I didn't even place in my top 3 results. Some climbs I was way off my PBs. And I was pushing the climbs on purpose. Another huge difference was the XX1 vs Di2. After some muddy sections I had to tinker with the barrel adjuster on the XX1. As the kilometres ticked by, the shifting seemed less and less clean. Based purely on this single ride, the Di2 is miles ahead of the XX1. Oh, and the dropper post. A new experience for me which I was quite looking forward to. I did use it for about 4 or 5 technical sections. For me it felt a little weird when the seat was down. I did handle the technical sections better, but I felt a little unstable without the reassurance of the seat directly underneath me. Perhaps something that requires a bit of getting used to. So what is the ultimate verdict? I will be sticking with the Epic and Di2 and rather look to upgrade my frame to the 2016 or 2017 s-works version with the RS-1 fork. If that RS-1 fork can do 80% for the Epic compared to what it did for the Camber today, it is hugely impressive. The reason why I still prefer the Epic is because my season focus is on stage races. I want the easiest bike for the job. And while the Camber is an exceptionally balanced bike, it is not the race machine that the Epic is. I am by no means a podium contender (more like top 1/3 of the field), but the Epic is much more effortless in the energy sapping stuff, like long climbs, and generally faster in the flat sections. For stage races, I don't need the extra time on the singletrack because that is not what saps my energy. But if my focus was 1 day mostly singletrack riding of 50kms or less, I would definitely go for the Camber. It is a beautiful machine.

Update: I had the immense pleasure of riding the W2W in November, what a fantastic stage race. I used the opportunity to put the Di2 to the test in terms of on-the-go trimming and battery life. The gear trimming is incredibly easy to use. Similar in effect to barrel adjusters, but much more precise and simple. You can see the adjustments up or down a point with each click of the shifter. Very precise. The only irritation was that you can only trim the front chainrings when in granny gear. This is irritating because when you are in granny gear you are likely to be doing some serious climbing and the last thing you want to worry about is adjusting gears. Perhaps there is some mechanical reason for this? But on the whole, gear adjustment/trimming is incredibly easy through the ICU and shifters. I managed to figure it out during the ride and without reading the manual. It is also helpful that you can always remember your original settings so you can revert if necessary. In my view, gear adjustments using the ICU and gear shifter are much easier than using the computer app. Regarding battery life, as Buffallo has mentioned, it lasts much much longer than I had hoped for. I used only 1 bar during the entire W2W. I also discovered much later after the race when my battery life did eventually reduce to 1 bar, that a far faster way to recharge it was through a standard power bank, rather than through the usb laptop connection that I had originally charged it through. It took about 1/4 of the time than through a laptop charge. It also only used 25% of my power bank, which made me realise just how power efficient the entire Di2 system is. By way of simple comparison. I can get one iPhone charge out of my power bank, and my iPhone lasts maybe a day. I use 25% of my power bank to charge probably 80% of the Di2 and it lasts for probably (at least) about 800kms of riding. All in all, and 6 months down the line, the Di2 is still looking invicible and shifts as cleanly and precisely as it did on day 1. As others around me start upgrading to Di2, they appear to be equally blown away by it.

I have seen more and more bikes coming out with the Di2 over the last couple of months. Anybody want to share their views - good, bad or otherwise?

Loving those Cambers ripping through the singletrack.

Dropper post and AC wheels?

First time at Karkloof. Properly blew my mind. By far my favourite trail.

That fork looks like it has medical pins holding it together like a broken bone.

A full service is definitely in order. Especially a full crank and BB clean.

Update time... So I did a 40km today (Pennypinchers Silverstar). It was supposed to double up with the Juma tomorrow, until the Juma was cancelled due to bad weather conditions. Well, I was surprised Silverstar wasn't cancelled as well. It was a mudfest of note. The picture above doesn't do the mud justice. This is what it looked like after I had ridden through some puddles to clean things up. It was so bad that people, including me, stopped occasionally to clear the mud from various sections. It was so thick that some peoples back wheels were stuck. I remember taking handfuls of mud/clay from my back wheel arch and around the front dérailleur. It was messy!!! So how did the Di2 fair in those conditions? In one word "unbelievable"! Yes, the gears occasionally slipped when pedalling, but it only because there were so many layers of clay that the derallieurs had no idea which gear it should be in. That is to be expected. More importantly for me, was how the shifting in those conditions performed. It remained crisp and clean, against all odds. The riders around me were complaining that they couldn't change gears at all. I had no such problems. A touch of the lever and the gear changed. I, personally, put this down to the strength of the electronic mechanics above the cable version. It just did its job. There was some scratching in some gears, but that is to be expected given that the free space usually occupying the chain guide was crusted with clay. The verdict: well beyond my expectations. I really thought that it would battle in such extreme mud. The only question left to answer is the lifespan of the system, especially after some punishing treatments like today. More on that later.

I have never ridden through mud/clay like that! I had layers upon layers upon layers on my drivetrain. This is actually a picture when it was cleaner after riding through some puddles... So how did everyone fair? I still had fun.

Had mine for over a year now and they are still unbelievable. Nice write-up Iwan!