SSCC

That's what I would buy if I were you. The first thing I would do is donate those tyres to someone in need and put on 2.1 or 2.2 XC tyres. It will transform the ride. That crank is fine and does the job. You can always replace it down the line after a year or two. I have the 2025 carbon Revolt with 2.2's and it's a fantastic bike.

Nah don’t do it. Full suspension is not the way. If you want to build one buy an older carbon hardtail frame that can fit at least a 38 or 40 front chainring.

Buy 2nd hand. The entry level bikes for under R30k are not great. Rather buy a bike that was closer to R50k new on the 2nd hand market. If you are coming off an MTb and haven’t done a gravel race before it’s hard to overstate how rough it can be. A cheaper alloy frame and skinny tyres is a jarring experience. The most fun you will have is to build up a monster cross with a suspension fork. That’s entirely within your budget. And yes on gravel it’s just as fast.

Do they not publish race results for SA gravel Champs?

The Shimano BH90 hose is R600 to R700. There are aftermarket ones for R200 or less. Anyone have any experience with aftermarket hydro brake hoses?

I think it’s your reading and comprehension skills that are lacking rather than his writing skills. You completely misunderstood his point about JHB riders. He makes lots of good points backed up by stats.

Do you own one? Oh boy where to start. The 66 degree head tube angle sounds cool but doesn't work for drop bars. Wheel flop and understeer to the max. When you build a bike to take a 170mm dropper you have to make the seat tube and seat stay junction very stiff. Add a dropper and it's a super harsh ride. The same on the from end. Massively stiff and harsh front end. Then they make the max tire clearance 50mm. So it's designed like a mountain bike but don't take MTB tires. They add 7 water bottle cage mounts and say it's designed for all day epic rides. It's such a stiff harsh ride it would be horrible as an adventure or all day ride bike. The designer is a mountain biker and designs awesome mountain bikes but he had no clue how to design a good gravel bike. Not hating on Evil at all as I really love their mountain bikes and the owner and guys I met at their HQ are really cool people.

It’s the worst bike I’ve ever ridden. I wanted to love it because Evil is awesome and the bike looks rad but it’s an absolute **** show of a bike.

Ripped? If you are referring to the cost of a bike in SA vs the States then this simply is not true of all brands. It is true of Santa Cruz which is a giant rip-off in SA. You can buy a Giant Revolt advanced with the carbon frame for the same price (Inc vat) as it would cost you in the States. Cube is another brand with very competitive local pricing.

That’s a very entertaining, thoughtful write up. Congrats on finishing another one. The early years of most events are the best. As the “formula” gets polished they often become worse experiences. Care to share what you did for on bike nutrition this time around? Like you, I see a lot of people hammering a carbs per hour number without considering temperature, intensity, how many days an event is etc.

Yeah no reason to stay in the winelands. Loads of people drive from CT to the start every day. The cost of an Air BnB in Durbanville is a fraction of the total Epic cost.

I don’t understand why anyone would stay in a tent in the race village. There is lots of accommodation in CT or the towns close by. It’s the same every year. Who wants to be in a tent with no shade in Paarl in summer?

You mean the multiple times USA XC national champion? That guy? I think people forget that he’s first and foremost a mountain biker.

Super easy to set it in the long position and just leave it. Zero failures in this area of the bike. Frame comfortably fits 2.2 mountain bike tyres.

Google Profile design aerobars. They sell them with 50mm or even 60mm risers. Some guys get custom risers made that are even higher. But you don’t want to go too high as it’s crap for handling and somewhat defeats the saddle pressure benefit you get from aerobars.