Grease_Monkey

Thanks for the reply, I will give them a call before I get there and hear when they ride!

So I am heading to Queenstown in the Eastern Cape for a week in November and then Morgan Bay for a week after that. I will be taking my mtb with Woohoo! Two weeks where I can ride on a daily basis! I have two questions: 1. Does anyone have a bit of info on the Longhill mtb route in Queenstown? I can find very little on Strava or online. 2. Does anyone have info on trails in Morgan Bay? Of course it would be awesome if some locals are keen to show me around or share their .gpx files with me! I will be in Queenstown from the 30th of October until the 5th of November, and in Morgan Bay from the 6th of November until the 12th of November.

^^This. For so long I just kept putting my seat up higher and higher to the point where I was rocking from side to side while pedalling but kept getting sore knees and feeling like I the seat is too low and I have no power at the top of my stroke. The move from 175mm crank to a 170mm crank immediately changed it for me.

Absolute Black 32t Oval Direct Mount GXP Chainrings pretty please!

I don't know how tall/short you are. But most bikes come out with 175mm cranks, if you are shorter than 178cm they may be too long for you. When your cranks are too long your knee bends too much on the upstroke in order for you to have the correct extensio and you end up with pain, especially over longer distances. Hopefully this is not the case - it's an expensive fix.

Just something to consider, especially coz your mate has back problems. The correct fit of bike is going to be mch more important than anything else in aleviating pain. Try go for the longest possible top tube. This may seem counter intuitive, but ever since I went from a Medium to a Large frame my back has been much better. So whatever bike you do decide on, just try get a propper fit done before you commit to make sure it can be fitted to his riding style. A large in one make is not necessarily the same as a large in another make.

I had used to have a vw golf, tried one of those strap racks and it endes up damaging the paint on my car quite badly. I ended up getting a towbar from Autobar (they are in Pretoria, but I'm sure if you hunt around you can find just as good a deal). Cost me R3000. And then another R600 for a Thule Express bike rack from a fellow hubber (would highly reccommend this rack if you have alu bikes). Worked like a bomb. Otherwise roof racks are great, and lockable if you get the right type. IMHO,whatever you do, stay away from strap racks. A quality bike rack setup is unfortunately not cheap, but it's an investment in protecting your pride and joy, well worth it I think.

I don't have any personal experience with it no. But I have friends who are very positive about it. I do however have a 2016 Giant Trance 2, and I love it. Personally have back issues (herniated discs, been struggling with it for 3 years now) and it is a very comfortable and fun bike. I recently bough a new bike so the Trance is for sale, but it is a medium so won't help your friend much.

Oh ja, completely agree with that. An e-bike does not make you superman uphill, and most definitely does not mean you are pathetic on the downhills...

How don't they work like that? You have someone that could previosly go up a hill at 10km/hr now going up at 15km/hr. Thus overtaking faster/more skilled riders who then want to overtake the guys on e-bikes on single track again. If you read above you will see I am a big supporter of ebikes, this is in my opinion the only potential issue at races. Edit: I have spent quite a bit of time on an ebike so I have a pretty good idea of how they work.

[quote name="Thor Buttox" post="2971490" But this thread isn't about that: there are two different questions A) is using an ebike 'competitively' still cycling B) is using an ebike for fun ok. Simple answers 1. No - unless you create a seperate grouping/category for these guys. 2. Of course

Fair enough... As far as I know most races do not allow it, and when they do you "opt out" of all official timing and any prizes. I completely agree that they have no place in races such as Sani2Sea or Berg and Bush, Epic, etc. I'd be pretty upset if I saw okes riding e-bikes in that format. On the other hand, couldn't be bothered less if they were riding in the mtb race organised by the local primary school. Anyway, the whole regulation of e-bikes at races do need some thought, otherwise you will have novices powering up hills and then as soon as there is any technical single track they form serious congestion - no one is keen for that.

^^Spot on^^ Just made one small edit

Deregulate them and the battery lasts all of 10mins! Trust me, you have to use it on like 10% power of you want it to last anywhere above 40 kilometers - and that is using a powerful battery.

It's true you don't really need it, but it does help allot. Let's just take Jonkershoek as an example. There is a 10km circle route which is really all my dad could manage (140kg+), whereas my mom goes out for regular 60km+ rides at a good pace of 20km/hr+. So the gap is massive to say the least. In order to bridge that gap would take a couple of years of riding on his own and allot of will power - This is possible, but very unlikely. Now all of a sudden he can go for a 3 hour ride, access all the nice routes at the top of the mountains in Stellenbosch, and do it with someone instead of on his own - something both the fit and unfit person benefits from. And on top of that overall cycling is a hell of allot of fun for him now (where previously he would hate every second). And... the biggest advantage of all - he is burning the same or more calories over a 3hr e-bike ride than he would have on a 1hr normal bike ride, difference being that he is itching to get back on the bike as soon as possible. So yeah, I'm not advocating that every guy that is a bit overweight go and get an e-bike (I'm over 100kg and I wouldn't even consider it), but they certainly do have their place, and can be a massive role-player in getting people fit, healthy, and into the sport. And to those worrying about your KOMs, seriously? If that is what makes you be "against" e-bikes you seriously need to reconsider how easily your egos are bruised. And just to everyone wondering, you cannot go up a mountain on an e-bike at 25km/hr with no effort, it's still a heavy workout, especially for the target market. My dad is still slower up the hills on his e-bike than my mom is on her normal bike! Like I have said before, the regulations of e-bikes at races is an issue and needs some thought, but let's just try make room for everyone in the sport, it can only be good for the mountain biking industry in South Africa!

As far as I know the Scale is hard tail. Have a look at the Scott Spark. The Scott Spark is in my opinion the best quality/value.

I have, they don't make you superman. The only place you are gonna really be faster is while pedaling on flats and hills. The motor stops working at 30km/hr. And they don't have a 'throttle' as such, you have to be pedaling for it the motor to add power. So if you are less experienced you are surely not going to be pedaling hard into technical bits, hence you won't be going any faster than usual (except for hills and flat bits really). At least that was my experience riding one...

They're opting out of prizes. Don't think you're gonna find the same breed of guys on EPO on e-bikes. Very different target market. As long as there are some well thought out rules with regards to where in the pack people on e-bikes start or something like limiting the races they can take part in I believe it is great as more people get into the sport - which can only be good for us in SA. Bigger market = lower prices = more trails built = more races. I'm not blind to the downsides such as unexperienced riders getting to the front of a race on hills and then clogging up single tracks, but I think the advantages of these e-bikes are enough to warrant exploring some ways to include this crowd into the sport as well.

Okes on e-bikes typically aren't the ones racing for prizes. They are fat guys who are just trying to lose a couple kg, or are just on the e-bike to be able to take part in the sport. I reckon if it gets unhealthy people into the sport and get then to change their lifestyle it's awesome. Just from personal experience - my dad has lost allot of weight and is all of a sudden able to rude with my very fit mom who he could not previously even dream of riding with. He has also been able to take part in a few stage races with her. All in all it has been a massively positive experience for me. But you make a good point - it relies on an honesty system by which everyone will not abide. BUT - even the most 'stealthy' ebikes are pretty easy to spot. So I don't think anyone is gonna be fooling their way onto the podium with one.

Hi, Yeah Spez has one. IMO they are great, gets my dad who previously did nothing out on the track. He has done a race on it, but you just opt out of all prizes or official timing if you are on an e-bike.

Spot on! Seems everyone would have gone for the 2017 bike with Guide and Pike if it were the same price, but the 20k difference has everyone leaning towards the 2016 model with 34s and XT brakes. So seems like I made the wise choice. And thanks for that brilliant idea of what to do with the extra 20k. I might just have to make work of such a holiday!

Ja, it's a sad day when you stand back, look at your bike and count up how much you have spent on carbon parts only to realise that your fat @$$ is the only thing weighing down your ride!

Lol, me too! But I guess the better solution to that is to lose 20kg hahaha

He does mention the whole CTD to OMF shift in the first bit of his post... "Fox ditched the CTD damping for a better Firm/Med/Open platform valving system that has the low speed compression adjustability in the Open mode (like Pike RCT). Most reviews of the newer version rate it as good as or slightly better than the Pike." But anyway, I don't think I will be getting rid of the 34s, from the reviews and comments I have read they will be plenty good enough for me. And like you said, not worth the extra 20k for a Pike - which was my main concern to start with...

Thanks for this. Was the type of info I was looking for!