Rapunzel

Carry sufficient spares (tube - even if tubeless, spare valve, plugs, multitool, smartlink, derailleur hanger, derailleur cable, cable ties). Take some food with you even though the water stations are awesome - munch on something before WP1 - don't get caught short. Take it easy for the first 20 odd km's - it appears to claim more crash and mechanical victims than the rest of the route. I also underestimated the last 40-50km's on my first Atta - the climbs are steep and relentless.

Interesting debate - just checked strava stats on 2 trips up the same rocky climb, 5 days apart. 29er carbon hardtail (about 10.5kg) 8min 27 26er aluminium ds (at least 12kg) 8min 39 I would have thought the difference would have been bigger as I'm a light weight, low power rider.

not sure if I'm going to take the risk on my carbon frame so I'm testing on the kevlar protector for my downtube. Took about 2 hours to remove the top coat of paint and just scrubbed and put on a second application to take off the next coat. Anybody tried this product on their whole carbon frame yet?

http://www.summitbikes.co.za/index.php/bike-components/wheelset-mtb

... will give it a try (when I have my bike back from repairs). I also temporarily used an old sram 9 speed link after breaking my chain a few months back - not sure if I'd use it as a permanent fix as the "fit" is quite loose.

Have you tried taking it off? I don't have strong hands but for the life of me, I couldn't get that thing undone. How did you do it?

Ditto for learning to push and carry your bike - even on some of those "rolling" hills after the spur burger stop. Include lots of climbing on your endurance training rides and make sure you're able to refuel while riding (it's a long day in the saddle and if you can't keep your energy stores up then it will hurt) Use the first Attakwas as a learning curve and break the ride into legs between each water point otherwise it's mentally daunting. The last downhill and the feeling when you cross the finish line makes the effort worthwhile.

almost collided into 3 youngsters (and their guitar) having a picnic in the Majik singletrack - I don't think fellow trail users realise just how fast we go. Common sense would say that runners should run opp direction to cyclists and give way on singletrack. There's so much trail that runners can use that cyclists can't (or aren't allowed to) that we should have right of way on purpose built singletrack. That said - a level of tolerance and friendliness and less sense of entitlement amongst all trail users would make life much more pleasant!

so many good km's of trail in wellington / stellenbosch / lourensford area - I think it's going to be awesome riding. There will also be far more spectators en route with these locations.

Nico Pfitzenmaier will be holding a clinic on 1 December. Pls pm me if interested and I'll give you all the details.

anybody tried running the EXC/3C version tubeless? (ie not the EXC/3C/EXO) I'm fairly light on tires (probably tempting fate - but no sidewall damage in the last 2 years riding rocky trails)

Did the 60(66)km mtb ride this morning. Well organised and well marked but not exactly an exciting route but it sure was fast! Question to the organisers: why no prizes / prize money on the mtb event if the entry fees are the same as the road event?

Thanks Johan - so contact adhesive will do the job?

My kevlar downtube protecter has come loose. What can I attach it with which is durable and won't harm my carbon frame?

I've tried the "ride 'til it's toast" and it's taken almost 2 years of heavy use. Now that it's toast, everything is needing replacing because the stretched chain has worn the casette and chainblades (and SRAM 3x10 blades are not available so whole crankset is probably going to have to be replaced). Cost of complete replacement is about R2000- R3000 whereas regular chain rotating would have probably worked out cheaper. If using high spec components, it definitely pays to swap the worn chain :-(

I broke the spring on my sram RD and my lbs managed to replace it (presume 2nd hand part) - cost a fraction of a replacement

hmmm - morbid fascination got me to open this thread? I normally have 1 gel with caffeine for the last 10km in a 60km race. I'll take in something solid (normally banana) at the 90min mark when the glycogen stores start running a bit low and also have a hypotonic solution in my water bottle (race with 1 bottle and refill en route). I tried using gels mid way through Attakwas once and started cramping very badly so haven't tried it since.

is the 57km route very similar to the Vigne a Vigne route?

I use the specialized bracket and cage. While it is sometimes a bit difficult to get the bottle out (especially if caked with dried mud) I've not had a problem with it popping out.

also had hectic wind, rain and cold (2 degrees) driving from JHB to CPT yesterday. Feel for the truck drivers who'd stopped on the side of the road after dark and ended up stranded when the road was closed.

a bit late off the mark in this thread - I have ztr crest on A2Z hubs on my hardtail 29er and american classics on my DS 26er. Both have now done about the same mileage and I've had to have my ZTR's trued about 4 times already (granted I ride them pretty hard, with low tire pressure but I'm less than 60kg). The American classics are still true as the day they were bought.

I'd recommend dual sus 26er - it's more comfortable and more forgiving on technical than a hardtail (have hardtail 29er for racing but my ds 26er is more fun and more comfortable for general riding).

I had the same problem so I've put an 80mm stem (inverted to get the bars lower) and my setup is quite similar to my 26er. I test rode the new Epic 29er this weekend past and the small size comes standard with an 80mm stem and the horizontal top tube length (554mm) is quite a bit shorter than my 16.5" hardtail (590mm). The Giant website doesn't indicate if the TT length is horizontal or effective but the small is 574mm. Before making any decisions, it would probably be best to do some research yourself as 29er geometry varies quite a bit and once you have a shortlist of makes, go to the bike shops that specialize in those makes and take some bikes for a test ride.

You're right Skubarra, the longest variation would be majik, nitida, hillcrest red, kliprug, lap of contermanskloof and then back out via kliprug, it would be between 3 and 4 hours but you can make it shorter. Please remember to put your R30 in both the hillcrest and Contermanskloof honesty boxes.

Pronutro bar is a perfect size and easy to chew but I prefer to avoid processed stuff so also try to stick to bananas and dates (the whole dried ones, not the compressed type you find at the supermarket)