MORNE

Those ‘performance line’ ones without the color stripe also have literally 0 protection against punctures. Just a polite warning 😊 they sell them at sportmans warehouse too for reference. Should be fine for road use though, just don't think about doing any XC-duro’s on them though. You’ll destroy them on the liaison to the first stage….

Here’s my weather prediction. (Ill remind you again that ive gotten it right now for the past 3y😅, no garentees though, ill just come here on the 11th and be smug about it. It will be windy, but a lot more for everyone starting around 9. You better be past Simonstown before then i guess🤷🏻‍♂️ Other than that, sunny and mild. See you at the start - on this beast. (42/19) 🤘🤘🤘

I have No skin in this here game… i’m just here to tell you that you better have been klapping zone 2 for 4-hours a week by now and that you also made space on your 20” bike for old wives cramp remedies like ENO and rennie too…

https://www.summitbikes.co.za/index.php?id_product=1740&controller=product grab em while they are hot. Garenteed to be the cheapest set you’ll find in store😅 Quite a substantial set of things though. If you consider the rotors around 1k each and you get 4 in the box, including adaptors etc, i guess the price isn't too hectic. At least not Dominic’s. You’ll pay 5k more at other stores soon lol. Pitty it’s the pikey red though.

If that cockpit (saddle height, stem length) is set up where you feel comfy, that bike is NOT a size too big for you imo. then, what makes you say 100mm travel is not enough for 78kg? 78kg is light in my books, especially if you are riding an XL bike and are most likely tall. Are you blowing through the travel too easily? That suggests a fork setup issue more than anything else. anyway, those are internally adjustable to 120mm from what i read. I dont think it will change the feel of the cockpit too much…as with more travel comes less air pressure and more sag too. Think around 10mm probably.

What is this?? Thats not an e-bike?

Started clear, ended wet. Still got a PR in that🤘Loved it. Reminded me of being a kid and riding in the rain/dark. Felt like you were breaking the rules somehow😅. IMG_0957.mov

Plus ceramic pistons are now common, which also help isolate heat to the rotor/pad interface. I was breaking in a new set of pads a while back and after a few loops of riding, braking hard, letting off, rinse repeat i squirted some of my water on the pads and it sizzled and steamed like I was frying eggs lol. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to feel how hot the calliper gets and it was barely noticable. anyway, this is now a few years old already, but i keep referring back to this as it was a substantial lab test. There were not a lot of DOT filled systems at the top of the pile when it came to pure braking power. https://enduro-mtb.com/en/best-mtb-disc-brake-can-buy/ Also, objectively the most powerful bicycle brakes you can buy (Trickstuff) uses Bionol now (sunflower oil lol) as fluid. Need to try some, apparently it can be used in any mineral oil system: if the color of the bottle hints at the color of the oil, then we know what sram now uses in their ‘mineral oil’ brakes. “Hydraulic disc brakes typically use either mineral oil or DOT fluid, but the Maxima brakes are filled with something a little different – sunflower oil, or Bionol to be more specific. Created by Danico, the initial boiling point of Bionol is said to be 300-degrees Celcius, which is higher than mineral oil and DOT 5.1. It's not only for Trickstuff brakes, though; Bionol will also work in any mineral-oil operated brake”

Kindof like electric cars right?😅

Bonus being the ‘cheaper’ ones actually look nicer tgan the pikey top spec ones😅

I would be one but my gut tells me we are probably looking at R10K + lol. And that makes it a hard no for me.

It does for me lol. I exclusively buy mineral oil systems. Im a home spanner and i hate DOT fluid. Has nothing to do with how it performs or why. Its just terrible caustic and generally nasty stuff to work with around anything with a surface you want to look nice for a long time. Unless you live in the northern hemisphere winters you basically also don't have a reason to use it, its primary advantage is useless down here on a bicycle. And then the stuff is hygroscopic too… Al wat ek se is, bicycles for the most part don't NEED to use junk like DOT fluid to achieve high performance braking systems and Im glad a major player in the industry seems to be moving along from that view too. It’s a bicycle, not a superbike.

finally a reason to consider SRAM brakes...no more DOT brake fluid. I guess half of this could be marketing BS. You obviously then don't NEED brake fluid to make a powerful and consistent brakes. Mineral oil much better for your health, your paint, the environment etc.

Spykers is a climb in normal circumstances so you wont be able to ride it before the day. as indicated above, ‘front DH’ is Snake rattle Roll - the trail that runs parallel to the Hammer. do the full! Its only 17km or something. Thats about half of what a full at jonkers is, and all the trails at hoogekraal are ‘bumpy’ xc at best. Edit: ill most likely do this on my hardtail.

Don't forget the OMO foam for wet rides edit: @BikeGenie, it’s a cyclist thing🤣

https://benky-rides.com/products/copy-of-curve-kevin-of-steel-the-go-anywhere-do-anything-gravel-bike?variant=40516199547048 don't forget the curves, from the man himself.

All roads lead to a PK….

The gravel one (ekar?) didn't really gain traction? I mean, unless it can rival sram and shimano offerings with some sort of mind blowing new way of doing things ( imagine they came with T-type), it’s a sizeable investment into R&D for something that maybe only the die hard loyal roadie snakes who also XCO would really play with. Since we are talking about ignoring the world stage or elite competition….the average mountainbiker doesn't want pretty carbon cages and lightweight pretty stuff, they want bombproof and reliable stuff that can get smashed against rocks and keep going.

Took me a second to realise he’s carrying a tandem😅. First i was like why does he have clipless shoes when he clearly has straps on the pedals. One would think the two sets of cranks and handlebars would be a dead give away….but NO, instead my brain went straight for the thing that looked the most out of place🤣 Anyway, this man didnt want his backseat diesel engine going anywhere…so he strapped it/them to the pedals. The horsepower is what broke that wheel….😎

Meh, they’ve not stayed relevant and are basically fighting sunrace/ltwoo/sensah for best of the rest these days. ( and they will lose) Ill butcher their name all i want thanks😅 Someone more knowledgable will correct me if im wrong but i read somewhere that almost nobody uses campy stuff anymore where the big boys play. The sun rises in the east, water is wet, the mighty eventually fall from grace.

This was my 5th one and it has always been an event where you feel you got value for your money. Thanks and keep it up @NicholasH The Trilogy seemed popular. Might try it next year. I started later with a friend in one of the gravel groups and we rode together up to the split at Fisantekraal. I also dont mind the last bit through D’urbanvale. The finish up Odendaal is part of what makes it unique, although it used to go to the top. The gees there is great. You’ll lose that finishing in Adderley.

I sit on that offramp in traffic every morning. Some mornings s taxi stops, door opens, the genie guides traffic around and the guys down the bank run up and load things into the taxi. Ive not seen things resembling bicycles….but it looks super dodge anyway

Jonkershoek. As jy by Armageddon 8 kom, kyk op en keep going lol. Af was lekker though. Jy kan van daai spot af al die pad via armageddon tot by hek ry. Dis n goeie 15-20min se descending.

All the way to the top…