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agentgreen

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Everything posted by agentgreen

  1. Well before it goes further, let me eat some humble pie then. I apologize for not checking the date of this post. My bad. I apologize that English is not my first language, and I did not understand or misunderstood the writers use of new-comer category (he could have been referring to a lot of things to be fair). NO, I do not own one, but as a student in Germany had the chance to ride one, and it is without doubt one of the finest mountain bikes I have ever rode (they are very expensive- maybe one day). I do however stand by my assertion that, even though the bike in the article was from 2013 and thus, a mark3, the geometry and wheel sizes had not changed since the mark 1 and thus to state that time would tell if it works is a bit incorrect, but be that as it may. And, for the record, it is nothing like the 69er, I would refer you to the pink bike article provided in the original post, this will explain to you why it isn't much like a 69er.
  2. So? doesn't change the facts (other than we are then talking about mark3 instead of 4...
  3. https://www.bikehub.co.za/features/_/news/industry-news/interbike-enduro-everywhere-r974
  4. then remove the news feed and let it be a social media platform.. don't try to do news if you can't.
  5. I know this will annoy many people... but I don't really care. I came across this post on bikehub and sort of gasped as I read it... aren't you supposed to be doing cycle-journalism in your news section? if so this is a poor excuse for journalism... Firstly, if you don't know about Liteville, I can't fault you too much, but bike journo's should and if they don't...maybe do some research? (do you know what that is?) 1) This is not a new bike or as you put it "new-comer". The bike pictured, Liteville's 601 is in its 4th generation and the 601 is well known to big mountain and freeriders, all of whom would swap their wife or carbon framed bike to own one of these (they are highly sought after due to the immensely incredible design and quality- anyone familiar with syntace will know about this). The point is, though not a household name, cyclists who take their **** seriously know all about this bike, and this company and the fact that you dont probably has more to do with the spandex/multiday mentality od cyclists in this country. 2)"theoretically, its appealing, but only time will show if it works". the picture is of a 601 mk 4, that means the 4th generation of this bike. It does work very well, this has been proven consistently in mark 1, 2 and 3 so theoretically, you don't know what you are talking about... if you had read a review on this bike you would understand most of this...( https://www.pinkbike.com/news/liteville-601-mk-2-review-2015.html ). There isn't a bike on the market that can hold as much speed in a corner as this machine, but you are too lazy to actually do your job and be a journalist. 3) this is not an "enduro" bike. yeah, you can use it for that, but it's a little overkill unless you are on a seriously steep track. This bike is designed to ride in BIG mountains, where mistakes often lead to a rider plummeting hundreds of feet to his or her death. it is for freeride and park use, light DH too and though it will chew up and spit out a Santa Cruz Nomad (or any "enduro" machine for that matter) descending, it's not the most pedal friendly bike out there (though it can hold its own pretty well considering it comes stock with a Rockshox Vivid air). If you are going to run an article like this, do the research, or maybe focus on the Liteville 301 and 101, which are much more relevant to this countries bike market.
  6. So this race/event/trail festival has become something of a bucket list event, and it's in a bucket list place. I have been agitating on the hub intermittently for years promoting the riding in South America, so I've decided to put my money where my mouth is. I'll be going through next year (maybe to participate in the actual race, but mostly to enjoy the riding, atmosphere, and do some ground research for a project proposal I'm working on). My plan is to rent a house for a couple of weeks (one before, the week of the race/festival, and the week after). Dates for the racing are April 23-29th 2018. Will have about five lodging spaces available in the house but I have a number of contacts in the area who run hotels and B & B's so numbers aren't too much of an issue and most budgets can be accommodated I have lived in Ollantaytambo and guided most of the trails in the area (some still on my bucket list and I'll be checking them off this time). So if any of you South African hubbers are keen to explore, ride insane trails and have some adventure (will be doing some hiking and trekking too, and of corse a run to Machu Picchu is obvious) check out the link (note there is also a hardtail category so its not just for gravity nuts) and respond.cool beans. http://incaavalanche.com
  7. I want to address the skill set point you raised, I agree it's way easier to do Europe/USA and it may be comprisable in terms of Rand value. As a lower income hub member (grad student, self sustaining, who lived, studied and worked in South America) I'd never really had the opportunity to ride a DH bike before I went over so aside from road, xc and some street trials fun I also didn't really possess the skill set to deal with such a formidable mountain range, but going there and trying it improved my riding. I'm sure the same (or similar logic) applies when scouting for destinations elsewhere in the world (or not, maybe people just want a leaker, relaxing break from life). And to be fair, I guided a 65 and 69 year old American couple from Ohio, who were devout roadies and on a whim decided to try mountain biking in Peru on holiday down a gnarly-as-hell, technical and, in some places, downright dangerous trail (of their choice). It took in two major archeological sites they were keen to see, and despite our reservations and warnings, they were insistent and it took them about five hours longer than the slowest imaginable group. They took it very slowly but rode nearly all of it and had the time of their lives (even bought themselves mountain bikes upon returning to the USA). As for the climbs (roads or if your an xc guy) we gravity folk would taxi shuttle or hitchhike with produce trucks that traverse the many passes carrying goods, or in remote areas push and carry our bikes (great workout lugging a DH sled up thousands of meters of trail) but my point here was if climbing is an area you'd like to improve on, and that requires a little more time than is possible in a dollar or euro currency place (longer term), as @michaelbiker said, Peru is darn cheap, one can stay there and train well for long at low cost and you will come back a beast of a climber or overall rider.
  8. Flights are more expensive but food is a lot cheaper in local markets (restaurants can be expensive but thats the case everywhere there are tourists) and accommodation is also really reasonable if you don't expect luxury (you can get that too if you want to pay). Hard to say as a tourist, as I lived there, but three of us gringo's who worked as guides rented a three bedroom house for 500 sole a month (about 2500 rand). Some things are cheap (produce, beer) while imports and luxury items (and petrol) is not. One key difference is the trails are all free, no access passes or shuttles (but you have to pedal and push when it gets steep) or hire a taxi (mini bus like here, which you can do for a reasonable amount- 100 sole, and share the cost, getting you and your mates a driver and car for the day [figure is a couple of years old, may have inflated since]. Most of the good tourist and archeological sites in Peru are free (there are thousands EVERYWHERE) and the ones that charge can all be entered with one tourist ticket (except Machu Picchu). A rough estimate (including airfare) comes to about 35 000 for Peru. I recon for an extra 15 000 you could include Bolivia (La Paz, Oruro and Uyuni). I'd avoid Brazil and Chile, they are way too expensive and if you're going to ride Bolivia and Peru are far better options. Argentina is great too, but the economy is super-volitile, when I studied there it was cheap as hell, I lived so well off 300 pesos a week (600 Rand at the time) but when I returned a year later it was insane expensive, so it really depends on the political/economic climate at any moment...
  9. Third world Brazil and Argentine also pay their waiters (you still tip in Argentine though!?)
  10. speaking of trails, it the only old functioning DH trail that started by the entrance to the fort still ridable? Because that's too much of fun to give up to trail runners
  11. Just a question or two about bike travel. A quick scan of the travel forum (and related searches) seem to suggest that most members travel to Europe and the US/Canada for biking holidays, but with the Rand taking more dives than Louis Suarez how are you all affording this? Surely with the exchange rates so bad this sort of thing is just not viable anymore? So I'd like to know how much (in Randela terms) are these trips running you (if you feel like sharing). Also noted a rise in the amount of local travel topics (which is both great and probably related to said currency conundrums) but as an avid enthusiast it makes me curious as to why no one has mentioned South America? Its perfect for altitude conscious roadies (Serious altitude and ridiculous climbs), the mountain biking (though trails are a lot rougher) is unparalleled (truly some of the most spectacular riding imaginable), the currencies (though almost all better than the Rand) all convert far more favorably then Europe, the USA or Canada and although I'm sure most South Africans are (rightly) turned off by the language barrier most locals are much friendlier to South Africans than they are to Europeans or Yankees (as they are referred to). There's also the advantage of some amazing cultural tourism and fantastic hiking. So why aren't more of us using our feeble Randela's more wisely and really getting bang for the buck? (note I'm not including Chile in this as its far too first world and stupidly expensive)
  12. LOVE that...look's like a sick ride, all those who had nasty things to say about handbags and Intense bikes are just suffering from Yeti envy! If you cant say something nice, STFU!
  13. Also used to ride down the old Downhill track on my crusty old avalanche reflex...that was a cool bit of dirt!!! there was a newer DH course built for nationals a year or two ago...think it is still there and I used to see groups of car's and riders sessioning it Sunday's, don't know if that is a club or just a bunch of blokes organizing it or how often they go, but I'm coming back to P-town December and bringing my DH rig, so I'll be keen to session the hell out of klappies!!! who's with me?
  14. NICE!!! I take it you are a member of OREC: The Official Rules of the Euro Cyclist...LOVE that page!!! https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2258201150
  15. Urban Downhill, they have one in Valparaiso, Chile every year. first one in South America was a couple of years ago in Cuzco, Peru i think Matti Lehikoinen won that one on the G-cross Honda
  16. Personal preference win's it....whatever works for you! I'm running a 9 speed road cassette on my DH bike, gets you up to speed pretty quickly it does, but then so do the steep as hell Andes!
  17. SICK VID!!! Nice one. Keep it up! ^5
  18. Looks as if it's gonna have to be wetscreams for me...did a quick walk-by some bike shops in Buenos Aires this morning (uptown stores with top end bikes) and all I got was the usual blank stares, followed by the usual "de donde sos?" (where are you from) and the inevitable "porque no te negro?" (why are you not black?) when I told then I'm from South Africa...never a dull day in South America...So back to the tires, Schwalbe is South America is a Hell no...can look more but the further downtown you go the less likely you are to find what your looking for ,and I don't have the time to explore the outer city suburbia's where their is a slim chance I might find some but will probably have to swap a kidney for one as they will be priced out of the stratosphere...MAXXIS it is, easy to find, and WAY cheaper here than from Chainreaction!
  19. oop's...read the reply properly before you post! my bad (it's the idiot gene!) Actually got a question on tires, in anticipation of the rainy season I'm gonna pick up some wet weather tires but am having a hard time deciding which ones to get...the wetscream looks good to me, as we do have plenty of seriously muddy boggy sections in most of the track's in the area...but one trail especially, the near 20 km Abra Malaga, also has a K$KLOAD of wet rock...really, is some places the rainy season turns the trail into a flowing river over billions of little (and big) wet rocks, so how would the wetscream handle this? The Maxxis webpage suggests the swampthing for that sort of terrain, but if the wetscream can also give good traction over wet rock's, it would be a much better idea given the levels of mud... Any suggestions?
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