mokganjetsi

Stolen: Mongoose Meteore 2017 When: 8 April 2020 Where: Cape Town (Newlands) The bike was found in my neighbour's property (Newlands Village). We are looking for the rightful owner. Not sure about the year (model). Security cameras picked up a vagrant entering the premises at 02:30am on Thursday 09 April; upon inspection my neighbours found the vagrant fled but left the bike and a teddy bear (presumably stolen the same night). Please contact me with more details regarding the bike if you want to claim it. We have contacted ADT (local security) and SAPS to find out if any cases were lodged. Get further details about the incident in the Stolen Bikes section

Fair enough. No official involvement with Karoobaix - just punting the race / idea as a friend. Sorry about any confusion! Take the info from the website and run with that; it is the official line. I tried to highlight that a different philosophy drives this race compared to most modern racing - seems like trying too hard to explain is actually just muddying the waters. Sure however that it will be an awesome experience!

nope - each year fully subscribed. but about 2/3rds finish. its about experiencing a lost era of cycling; not being hipster. R100 says you'll love it.

yass so many things to answer! from the top: i started this thread in my personal capacity. Stan is an artist and as authentic as it gets - we have to push him to push his vision for the experience. in his mind gunning for a 100 riders is going big. I rode all three Tour of Ara's - he had more than 80 entries for 2016 and still kept the race at 40 to honor the vibe. thought about doing 2 groups back-to-back in 2017 but called it off after not reaching 80 entries - so we're back to 40. did i mention no profit was made on the race and entry fees are used to sponsor 5 riders from disadvantaged communities. trust me when i say its not commercial; and the price not being fixed yet simply means all the sums haven't been done. i am however hoping Karoobaix will make a profit - huge amount of time & passion going into this. "Hell of the South" was my addition to draw some attention - apologies if I inadvertently stole it from another race. Sarah Atmore rode the road from Calvinia to Ceres last year on her Tour of Ara bike; 17-hours on a pre-99 steel frame racer with 28mms. what else was there.....? oh, each to his own, but imho - no school like the old school

entry fees will be communicated once entries are open. it is a passion project; not commercialism & profit seeking. Tour of Ara breaks just about even - with great value for money for the riders.

thanks for raising the questions guys! i will speak to Stan and see what his take is on this. in general, the focus of the ride is simplicity & aesthetic; dealing with the difficulty of the road is primarily on the rider - not technology. where exactly that line lies is the question.

some of you might be familiar with steel-frame aficionado Stan Engelbrecht's Tour of Ara (imho the best thing to happen to cycling, like, ever). Stan's new baby is something less vintage, no less poetic, more accessible and hopefully something that will continue to challenge the overblown commercialisation of cycling. check it out. do it. https://karoobaix.co.za/ and for interest tourofara.co.za

after a long wait the Green Dragon came home. high five to revolution Cycles in Cape Town for advice, the build and great service. XT groupset, Revelation Fork & American Classic All Mountain wheelset (the rest pretty standard). So stoked !

Hey guys Lost an oldish pair of Rudy Project riding glasses in Tokai on Wed 1 Oct (late afernoon / early evening). Hanged them off the chest strap of my Camelback during a brief stop and only realised I did not put them back on an hour later. Back tracked but did not find them; there were quite a lot of riders around. Will be much appreciated if they are returned. Thanks Willem

man there's so much "misery of choice" here if i had to rank it at the moment: #1 Pyga OneTen; Santa Cruz Tallboy; Spez Camber - the Pyga still has my heart because it's local, world class and probably the best value-for-money. if i can find a good second hand deal on the others i will certainly consider it. #2 Giant Anthem - hear only good things about it and it seems like really good value! i'm just not sold on the "look" of it. shot for all the advice guys!

a 2009 Cube AMS 125 26'er. a sweet all-mountain bike and have done the Cape Pioneer on it. but it's time for the dream bike now....

thanks for the replies guys and keep the ideas coming! love the Spez Camber but think i will get better bang for my buck on the Pyga. and it's proudly Saffa! the santa cruz tallboy looks sick! seems like there's a good second hand deal or two around. mmmm.... somehow the scotties & silverbacks & meridas does not inspire me. sure they're fine bikes and really good value for money, but if i spend R40k+ i'm gunning for a bike with some proper x-factor. giant a bit of the above; maybe a bit more "x" but ultimately i can build a pretty decent Pyga for the same price. and damn there are so many of them around. bike snob in the making

hey guys. finally managed to get my head around the idea of planting R40-50k on my dream ride. i spend most of my time climbing hills and then flying down the single track; do the odd multi-day stage race (Cape Pioneer in 17-days yeah) and have ambitions to ride the Freedom Challenge 2015/16. not worried about the podium but very much so about having a good time! the question is: which is the one bike to rule them all? currently my heart is set on a pyga oneten29 with full xt & some premium bits to keep the weight down. since there's no stock at the moment i have the luxury to continue to play around the myriad of possible choices. i'm 1.88m in my socks and crunch the scale at 95kgs. please let me hear your opinions thanks! mok

tankman, methinks the right prevention will not delay pain & sores indefinitely - ride long enough and some level of repairs will be needed. i just got hold of the climb on! chamois cream and skin repair bars. amped to try it out!

you're gonna fork out a few gRand to enter a stage race; don't skimp on the R160 a tubbie of assos is going to cost you! 3-days should be fine without bum cream unless you spend hours & hours in the saddle, but prevention better than cure. some other tips: your tjommie will love preparation-H. used for piles but really helps to lubricate and sooth the ouchy part inside. rock climbers swear by a product called "climb on!" to heal skin on their hands after heavy bouts of climbing. i've not used it but reviewers claim it speeds up healing of any skin abbrasions massively. all natural product (no chemicals)and can be used for many many things. they have a cream designed for cycling - methinks it could be a great addition for repair before you whap on the bum cream the next day again. http://www.climbonproducts.com/