Neilos

All the event details can be found on FB at the Uplands MTB Classic events page...

Event Name: Uplands MTB Classic Presented By Valencia/Caltex When: 1 June 2014 Where: Uplands College, White River, MPU., Mpumulanga Category: MTB The Uplands MTB Classic is in its fourth year and offers and exciting weekend away in the Lowveld for the biking family. Shows, entertainment and live music on the school campus leads into a fun Sunday morning on the MTB's. A distance for everyone. The routes highlight serene forest and lake shore rides with some fun technical sections to test skills. Go to Event Page

So...12000km with both the new Bryton products Rider 50/35 through the Alps and in African conditions. This is after having ridden with my trusty G705 since it first came out..... The Bryton case withstood the weather and battering that a navigation/training unit like this is normally subjected to over time and fared well. Great battery life as promised bright highly customisable display, but im afraid that's where it ends.... Within 6 months both heart rate monitor transmitters failed. One was replaced successfully the other went to meet its maker.. The real downside though for us Africans is its web interfaced dependancy. If u are away from any data(GSM) network on an MTB tour or rural training camp you aint gonna be able to analyse NADA .. Bryton are constantly releasing software updates which are humblingly painful before you can even download data.. The altitude algorithim (press alti) showed a continual 18 - 20% overread compared to my and 2 other G705's on several occasions. I contacted the Bryton agents about this before Jason took the over and am still awaiting feedback.... At this point I just went back to old reliable G705 and matched with www.gpsies.com, the combination is un conquerable...MMM looking for an 800 now...Cheers hope this helps...

Bought both, rode both, sold one.....will never go back to small wheels... Good luck..

If sub 10.5kg is ure constraint u gonna have to loosen your money belt first up. I just been transalp 600km on my trek superfly elite (HT), conclusion, if it could cook I would marry it. Best handling big wheel ever ridden with stiff chassy and a long range cruiser feel to it. Would check out the new scott range 29'ers awesome bang for the buck and light too.Carbon version +- R25k Ill never ride 26" wheels again just sold mine. good luck.

Hey dudes horses for courses. Max and BS ran UST crossmarks at the back at the three towers mankele this year.Last year they suffered with numerous punctures and stoppages. Results 2010 speak for themselves, not to mention the Cape Pioneer, 6 days with a total race time similar to the 9 day epic race time. All tyres can be converted to a tubeless system we run all our bikes on a homemade conversion i.e. tape and tubeless valves smothered in Stans. Depends on your tyre requirement. We ride mostly rocky forest and singletrack with increased risk for sidewall damage..thus reinforced sidewalls. If its transAlp schotter(gravel), foldables are probably a good bet. Appropriate behaviour dudes...Most of the currently available 29'er tyres look good enough to run tubeless, no doubt the future will yield lighter, LUST versions...Goodluck....

Hi Fritz, thanks for your candid and honest response regarding the issues raised on the series. We look forward to the improvements in the next race and the remainder of the series....

Here is some constructive feedback ....<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> We have been avid supporters of the National MTB series for some years now and have the following concerns : 1. Since Sabie race this year sub-juniors (13-14yrs) were instructed by the race commissaries that they were not able to participate in half-marathon events as the minimum age requirement (UCI) is fifteen years (i.e. Youth Cat and older). This is entirely acceptable based on sports medicine research and UCI ruling. My question then is where are the timed events (Marathon 15-25km) for the sub-junior and sprog category? Surely in the interests of growing the sport we need to address this issue.(XC) has a timed sub-junior category. 2. TIMING?.I?m sure remains a thorn in anyones side but for three consecutive events now (Barberton, Sabie and Clarens 2010) the timing and results have been inaccurate and late to say the least. This is 2010 when formula 1 cars get timed into 1000th split seconds. The KZN race organizers send you an SMS with your result within 30 min of finishing the race. 3. General organization. The registration, seeding and start batches appeared to have improved a lot since implementation at the Barberton race. At Clarens there were no maps or profiles of the different routes and distances. The PA system was inadequate in the start chutes and most riders were unable to hear the rider briefings. 4. Where are the series points standings ? Surely these should be published after two races and every race thereafter ? This is our national MTB series and understandably certain challenges arise for the event organizers from time to time but for the same issues to be glaringly obvious at each event surely we?ve had sufficient years of experience to get the basics right. The series covers some awesome events and venues this year come on guys and girls lets lift the bar.......

Maxxis Monorails are the most popular choice down here in the lowveld. They excel on Sabie Experience rocks, Sabie classic climbs and Mankele XC singletrack. Theyre great mud shedders and roll superbly on hardpack, monorail pretty much covers the handling aspect, slightly heavier than their cousins but with LUST sidewalls its tough to beat these great allrounders..

Ive lost count of the destroyed sidewalls and ripped tyres let alone punctures in the epic. Surely the pro's should trade time lost on tyre repairs for negligable weight gain from running LUST tyres.. Can anyone enlighten me....