Thank you all for your great submissions here and on social media. I applaud you for your enthusiastic disregard for Rule #49.
The winner
The winner of the Darkhorse Wheels is Andreas de Lange.
Preliminary results should be here: https://www.saseeding.org/participants/event-results/nissan-trailseeker-wp-2-2016-06-25 But doesn't seem they've uploaded them. Should be out later today.
This could be it? http://snippets.mapmycdn.com/routes/view/embedded/1110855636?width=770&height=330&elevation=true&info=true&line_color=E60f0bdb&rgbhex=DB0B0E&distance_markers=0&unit_type=metric&map_mode=TERRAIN Got the link from: http://www.trailseekerseries.co.za/trailseekerseries/westerncape/trailseeker2 But going on past experience, we'll only really know on the day
Good question. We're going to select our favourite photos and captions. We won't be very strict but a bit of creativity will get you picked. We'll run a random draw from that list.
Ok, just called them to get this all straight. The bike as specced in the review: R65,000 Full bikesXR 529: R49,725XR 729 with electronic suspension: R85,150XR 929: R104,000 Frame only: Sorry, you will have to contact them for pricing.
It's available as a frame only option (so I was told). I tried to convey the feel of the bike more than spend the whole review detailing the outcome of every components choice. I hope to think it will be useful for someone looking to build their own XR 729 or considering a similar specification on this type of bike. Also, maybe it's just me, but I like to read and ride non-standard bikes every so often. The component choice on factory bikes is usually very formulaic and unimaginative. I enjoyed riding and writing about something different. For my style of mid pack racing, I found this to be the perfect XCO/Marathon bike. While lighter components would probably be better for skilled podium contenders, I feel the average rider would see improvements in their fun levels and race times by having a bike that also feels good on the downs.
It's a custom build the guys at Lapierre put together from parts they had. You won't find it on the shop floor like this. Don't the cranks used on the bike and 1x Shimano chainrings have different BCDs? Hence the aftermarket chainring.
The record breaking run happened last year and the video of it is at the end of the article I linked above. This weekend's run merely extended his existing record and you can watch it half way down the page on Red Bull here. Red Bull seem to be keeping it to themselves for now. But we'll share it once they start allowing the public to embed it.
You have seen Pure Darkness 3. Now check out the machines Matt MacDuff, Sam Reynolds, Andreu Lacondeguy, and Danny Pace used to launch themselves off the massive Garden Route Trail Park jumps. Photos by Eric Palmer. Click here to view the article
I had good intentions of an article but got distracted by other things. Admittedly a bit of a failure. Is it too late now? We did interview him last year as well as cover his record breaking win. He's won it 19 times now. It's not likes it doesn't happen often
The Lapierre XR 729 is the French manufacturer's cross country race offering. There is a option to have an electronically controlled shock, which is rather intriguing, but a story for another day as we tested the mechanical shock model. Checking out the stock component specification for the bike online, I expected a traditional lean and mean cross country bike. I was pleasantly surprised when the custom built bike arrived from Durban. Click here to view the article
Hold on to your wheelies! I'm still playing catch up after a wonderful weekend away without Internet. Just published some coverage of the enduro here: https://www.bikehub.co.za/features/_/news/mtb/sa-mtb/fourie-and-odendaal-fastest-at-sappi-karkloof-enduro-r4913
There is a rider in the Cape who has done a number of stage races on his e-bike. He pre-warns the organisers and then makes sure to act reasonably on the climbs so as to not annoy other riders.
But he's an anomaly for now, not sure how well this approach will work if the numbers grow.
The reason you add carbon rims to a bike is to increase the stiffness of the wheels. The Turbo Levo, like other bikes, can benefit from this. Is that what you were asking?
First Look Friday is an introduction to the products that we are currently testing for review. This week we're previewing the Silverback Sphere 1 plus bike, Verve Infocrank, and a SRAM NX upgrade. Click here to view the article
