Dan Dob

Shebeen, I also got my hopes up with that trail rider reports blog! Does look like a good source of info for some epic mtb rides though!

Good point there Starry nights. I was thinking more of Cape Town when I made that comment, but Durban and other small cities would also be OK. The roads aren't as busy (or fast) here and they have a good network of cycle lanes all over the place. A lot of them do need to be redesigned in terms of flow and access though.

Hi Guys Been riding around on E-bikes for the past few weeks (yes, yes I know-it's cheating!) I put our impression down in a quick review here Would love to see more cyclists on our roads-even if it's young pupils and old grandparents using motor assist! Oh, and also, if you read our blog every now and then or appreciate whats on offer there, please vote for us in the SA Blog awards, of which we are finalists!

Hope you come right with this. That area could do with more active trail builders (building decent singletrack)-you have potential to have hundreds of km of singletrack at that way!

My Diadora mtb shoes are still going after 10 years! This is after racing, hikeling, exploring, touring and travelling. Finally, I think they are on their last legs

just watch out for clearance! i bought 2.4 conti rubber queens and can only fit them on my bikes that have fox forks!The rockshocks forks don't offer enough clearance and even on a giant trance, they wouldn't fit on the back.

iRide Africa has high end mtb and road bikes for hire now as well. Check out website...

I've just added Hillcrest and Oak Valley trail reports to our blog at http://www.irideafrica.com/blog

Hi all Look out for our latest trail reports we'll be posting up on our blog for the next week or so. Today's post covers the Contermanskloof trails. http://irideafrica.com/blog/

iRide Africa will be getting maps out of this area ASAP. We just need to get out there ourselves sometime!

Bos, I had no choice but to race on a 5" trail bike. Got eaten alive but still had a lot of fun.(except for the extra lap that I went and did by mistake!) Would love the organisers to put in more technical sections though. the fit guys just clean up the regular joes on non technical decents and climbs! iRide2010-06-07 00:53:25

Enjoy the trails! Back in the 90's myself and friends started building the trails there and I still think it has the best riding in the country.

Interesting discussion this! Personally, I gave up racing years agao because the races weren't technical enough. I still consider this the case for most races. Knippie, a rating system would go a far way in getting the correct kind of riders to the races that suit them. Good thinking! I think toning down races would be the wrong move. I guide 'begginner' European and American riders regularly on our trails in SA and they all cope on our trails just fine because they have learnt to use their body and bikes properly from friends or instructors. Lessons work! I do agree that there is nothing fun about massive sand sections and tufty grass singeltrack though, but SA must not get left behind in the mountain biking world! More singletrack!! (flowing and technical)-it's the very essence of mountain biking.

Oh man, Wish I coudl have joined you guys, but had some trips on. I hope to ride there soon and maybe get a map up of the trails if you guys are keen. Well done with all the hard work-it is appreciated so much!

same happened to my brand new fizik Gobi saddle in Tokai the other day. In fairness I did land on it pretty hard but very bleak that it was brand new-no easy way to fix it I'm afriad(my rails were just bent but the plastic in the saddle part had snapped)

I have had this issue with quite a few of my Conti tyres-they are very porous if they are not UST specific! I have come right by lining the entire inner of the tyre with a thin film of the sealant before even fitting it to the rim. Then allowing it to dry out and then mounting on the rim and putting more sealant in as normal.

Hi Pinkellsworth Check out iRide Africa if you are interested in experiencing the best trails in the Cape Town area.

A few more here... http://iride-africa.blogspot.com/

hehe! Guess I got what was coming to me-maybe there is a point of being too generous? Who goes out riding without a pump!? (errrr, I have done it before actually-just lucky enough to get away with it) http://www.irideafrica.com

I lent a mtb'er called Graham/Graeme my pump in Harkerville forest in Knysna. He was meant to leave it with the office at the entrance to the ides but I suspect they got back too late and it had closed. If you have my pump (My name is Daniel) please PM me so I can get it back, otherwise I guess I'm out of a pump... Thanks