crasher

You do see quite a few bike casualties on this race esp chains and derailures etc I lost a derailure hanger etc 2 years back only managed 11km then Had a trouble free ride last year but it is quite a hard race but a must do

Monster took me 40 minutes more than Lionman

The monster last year was 67.12 km and 1464m of climbing The Lionman was 77.86 km but in that is a bit of a detour as we missed a turning and rode around a while looking for the right way so real distance was prob about 76.5 or so and 1186 m of climbing Sections of the descent on this Lionman were more difficult that any descent on the monster last year (in my opinion) I took much more strain in the Monster and found it definately harder than the Lionman. Cant wait for the Monster

That first climb was pretty harsh there were a few places I had to push and a few where I just carried on pushing because speed I could climb at was about a km faster than pushing I loved the race I stayed at Mabalingwe just got home now so had no hassles rode down from unit on saturday and was trouble free. Got a A batch seeding dont know how as I am usually seeded C or D but what a pleasure never got held up once anywhere except a little bit of congestion at a couple places on first climb. Man did I push Buys and Justice and co hard for that first km down the runway then they just managed to drop me along with most of the other A batch riders There were a couple of downhill sections that were pretty hectic I rode everything although at times had one foot uncleated and was just sliding but really got the adrenalin pumping. Vodacom climb was tame after the first one and nice descent to finish My first Lionman and thought it was great

Solomans in Woodmead had the bombs 5 for 50 bucks last time I was there

We did a nice ride on Monday to I think its called Kingskloof what a great trail its 15km from little falls go over the Krugersdorp highway and its on the left before you turn right for the cradle/caves. It has a 22km black route which has some stiff climbs and great descents really a very nice place to ride. I think there are also easier routes very unspoilt and beautifull trails. Gave us a 53km ride with about 875 meters of climbing. Its 30 rand to ride there well worth it

Great pic of Gwin

I was also pretty mystified as to SLX being borderline junk?

Nice clean Foam washer that has been pre soaked in 10 weight fluid

Serviced my fork today Fox F32 100RL This fork is only 6 months old. I take great care to clean and maintain the stanchions etc after each ride. Take a look at this photo oil still very clean except the last 20 ml or so which was black you can see it in the jug it stands out clearly amongst the cleaner oil (right side) The 20 ml from left leg still clean (on tile) Take a look at foam wipers Bottom line maintain your fork dont leave it for years

Yes 3 months on the seals Oh well looks pretty easy so will do it myself

Mine started leaking oil badly this weekend so dont have a choice will have to do it this week will call Solomons to see if they have kits

I noticed on Tuesday after riding that right side stanchion of fork had a bit of excess oil on it compared to normal Went out today to ride and had to come home early so only rode just over 20km's on arriving home right side stanchion is soaked with oil dust seal wet and a drip running down fork so the oil is leaking up past the dust seal in a major way. When I say right side its as you sit on bike so the side with the lock out and damper adjustment not the air side. What goes wrong inside to cause the oil to push out like this? I would imagine a seal on the damper unit? Fork still works perfect at the moment. Fork is only about 7 months old so would this be covered by warranty ? I am more worried about time to get this fixed as I have quite a few rides coming up starting first day or so of May so dont have much time.

Quite interesting route this I spent a couple of hours with David on Friday whilst the Amarok got its service wish I could of joined him for this http://www.spineofthedragon.co.za/

Where is the best place to buy a service kit seals foam rings and oil etc from for a F100 32RL as its about time mine got a service?

Only if you want to weigh things I ordered the scale as an extra as I was busy investigating tyres weights and needed an accurate scale for comparisons. I must say its come in handy and I use it quite a bit but the basic stand comes without it

I have this one which I think is the same one Chris has works like a charm very happy with it. https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/97428-topeak-stand/page__p__1317100#entry1317100 I also got it from CRC no hassles and no duty just paid the vat

Second day was tough mainly due to lots of mud and some steep climbs We rode most of the tufty grass on day 3 of route 69 about a month ago was still unpleasant but a bit better than last year hopefully it has been further improved in last month I am hoping for no mud this year

last year the tufty grass was a pain but apart from that great event nice food after ride on both days nice shirt and cap good organisation was well worth the money last year If they have sorted the tufty grass out as advertised then you get 2 days great riding 2 meals after your rides Decent T shirt and other goodies Seems like a good deal if you consider 150 to 170 rand for some races with nothing else. I personally like the events these guys put on but no one is forced to do it like people say there are enough events for you to pick the ones that you want or consider to be good value.

Hi Mel No I didnt get to ride today had a hectic weekend managed to sneak a ride Saturday afternoon but that was it for the weekend. Hoping to get away early from meeting on Tuesday this week so would be keen to ride from about 15-00 on Tuesday afternoon if anyone is keen as could get a 3 hour ride in before dark. I am keen to do a day night ride once a week if we could get a group maybe on a Wed leave about 5 or so depending on group and ride untill about 20-00 Cheers

I thought it was good clever marketing before the event...but wow did I get fed up of those adds once the Epic started

They all raced hard Merida were only 10 minutes behind after 7 days of racing I think they are fully entitled to go "full gas" on the last day to try get those 10 minutes back.

I have a brand new set of Racing Ralpf UST's I tried for 3 days to get them to fit and eventually gave up there is no way they will fit my Crest's not even close Some tyres just wont fit the Crest's Coti race/mountain king Ust's are quite a tight fit as were my Hutchinsons but the Ralphs seem as though they are the wrong size that is how bad the mismatch is

30 mins less 10 min recap on day before less adverts maybe 15 minutes But its still coverage and we get it everyday and the day 1 live was excellent with a full 5 hours so I am still happy to be seeing the highlights each day wish it was a bit earlier though

I ride the area at least twice a week sometimes alone as well and must say always thought it was safe. This is terrible news hope Alec makes a speedy full recovery will keep a lookout for his bike.