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I'd also look for a year old Scott Spark. There are often a few for sale in your price range.
How about this... Negotiate down a bit?
https://www.bikehub.co.za/classifieds/373101-gaint-anthem-29er-1/
Have ridden Pinotage a few times and it is pretty epic - there are flow section, tech sections and just general single track sections, also there are one or two detours you can take to do parts of Shiraz and they looked hear pumping enough for me to decide against going over them at my present skill level.
Definitely worth a visit.
Not sure about the drainage as I haven't been there around rainy days/weeks.
Awesome, thanks for the feedback. Sounds like a great place.
Glad to hear you enjoyed the Scouts Trail - it is quite some awesome riding and you need to be in good shape for this one, which we assume you are!
Apologies for the bit of confusion regarding Tygerberg members using the Scouts Trail - we did clarify this better on the www.wildboartrails.co.za website after your query. The Wild Boar Trails network starting at VDC and Welvanpas are all free for Tygerberg members.
The Scouts are a wonderful charity organisation and need all the funding they can get, so all our riders' money are going to a good cause there. We also provide pro bono trail maintenance to the Scouts re their trail.
So, happy riding!!
Awesome, thanks for the feedback. I love the Wild Boar Trails from VDC, but they can get quite muddy after rain - although it is still great fun, I wouldn't want to damage the trails. Is the Scout Trail a better option in the wet? I'm happy to support them with the trail fee.
Rode on Saturday - wouldn't say you need to download the map as it's well sign posted and snapscan payment option (was told that Tygerberg members need to pay R100). Lots of climbing but great riding. Remote and rugged up top with cool runnings as your reward on the way down.
Nice, might give it a try this weekend. I have just confirmed that this specific trail (Hawekwas Scout Adventure Centre Loop) is not free for Tygerberg members.
Anyone know if the Hawekwas Scout trail drains well, or if it will be super muddy after recent rains?
Does anyone have feedback on the Rhebokskloof trails - Pinotage (22km) or Shiraz (32km)? Seems like they have lots of single track. Are there any interesting technical bits to get the heart pumping?
Dose the trail drain well, or will it be a muddy mess after the recent rains?
Yep, those are fun!
I wonder how many folks know of the fairly decent jump line at the back of the "Yellow" line..?
I stumbled upon it quite by accident a while back.
You mean on the southern side of the dam loop?
Apparently the route is tough. Several climbs are technical and tiring. A friend was joking that the 700m of climbing felt like 1700m! He signed up for the 63km but ended doing the 37km.
Edit: Sorry I see you've done it before...
I have to go see a client out at 2pm in Wellington today and if I'm done early I have the option of checking out these trails for the first time, or doing a couple of runs at Paarl's Taal monument DH track.
Can anyone tell me, which of the trails is the best bang for time (I will probably only have 1hour30 or so. I like technical..
How long does the Porcupine loop take the average person?
Thanks!
Sorry, a bit late. We were riding Porcupine slowly (with friends of various fitness levels). Our moving time was 2h30.
Porcupine is just an extension of Hedgehog. So you can turn off at the end of the Hedgehog (after a leisurely 1h30), or continue for the reset of Porcupine.
I rode there way back in 2015. It was fun at the time. Rough and unmanicured yes, but that made it special. It was a mid-week afternoon, and I was alone. It was great. Wife and I spent the night at Old Macdaddy. At one stage I even came across a VERY fresh Cape Leopard spoor in the singe track. It had rained earlier in the day, and the trail was still muddy. I was rather nervous from there on, but made it in one piece. Overall it was a good ride. I liked the remoteness, the trees, the natural state of the trail, which gave the whole ride a feel of being off-piste. It was not overtly technical, but still challenging with some punchy climbs, but the rewards soon came in winding st lines through the pines.
Yep, it is still beautiful, but the ST isn't nearly as good as it was. The nice flowy ST wasn't maintained, and most of the trees are gone. Don't get me wrong, it is still worth riding, but could really do with some maintenance, and re-open the parts of the trail that are no longer accessible.
The 2F0 2.0 are just as bad. After 1 year going back to tried and trusted 5/10s Impact Pro; only problem is that these have been purchased at CRC and waiting on good old, NOT!, Skynet
2FOs are toast. No grip and sides have torn on the right side.
I think you may have been unlucky? I've had my 2FO 2.0 shoes for about a year, and they are still perfect.
Ah Lebanon... I have mixed feelings about it.
I used to ride there twice a week... now only once a month. The trails have always been quite raw, and signage wasn't great, but I got to know the trails very well. I rode mostly on the eastern side.
Unfortunately, it seems like there has only been minimal maintenance over the last 2 years. As far as I know, the land belongs to Forestry, and they chop down all the pine trees every few years. That was done about a year ago, and in the process parts of the trails were destroyed (Ode to Molini, Zambuc and Owls Roost), and the best single track parts near Houwteq (Watch Your Back), etc. Some sections of the trail are also very eroded and the gulleys are too deep to ride.
It is still a beautiful place to ride, but just be prepared for a rough, raw environment, without manicured berms, and wooden ramps/drop-offs, etc.
Definitely replace... it's not worth the frustration.
2
Cool, intetesting observations, but I didn't notice any understeer running mixed sizes. But there are just so many variables in the mix...I kept tothe same model, just put on a wider rear to match.
A DH bike has vastly different geometry and weight distribution, and necessarily so to cope with the gradient.. I'm talking about a MTB.
Crossmarks aren't known for good grip. I'd change to something like Ardent, in a 2.25 for a normal narrowish rim. Maybe wait till the current tyres are worn out?
Ok this is about to set the cat amongst the pigeons....
I don't buy the "go bigger front tyre" philosophy.
When I bought my new MTB 18 months ago it had asymmetric ie 2.1 rear and 2.25 up front.
I used to find I was understeering/the bike was slow to turn into a corner at any sort of speed...I considered the science for a bit and my belief is that the smaller rear will always turn inside the front to a greater extent than the same size rear would and this makes it slow to get the rear around the corner. In saloon car racing the idea was the get the car to oversteer so that its pointing in the "new" direction asap.
I went to same size and much better and you have to work hard to stay with my on fast twisties...
I vote got with same size (I use a Crossmark 2 rear and Ardent, not Ardent Race up front. Both 2.25)
I weight 108kg and with my nice wide rims I can run the front at 1,2 bar and the rear at 1,5 and NO risk of snakebite. In soft sand ala Namaqua I would drop to 1,1 bar and 1,3-4.
Find what you are comfortable with by experimenting and recording and comparing.
And yes, you MUST have tubeless.
Hmmm... So when you changed the tyre size, did you change the model too?
So the downhill guys running 29" front and 27.5" rear must be understeering terribly?
Yep, I agree - bike looks too small.
I'm 1.80m, and when I was looking for my 1st bike (new to the sport) I was told by a few bike shops that I could go medium or large (was looking at Giant Anthems).
I am very glad I went for a large! I think if in doubt (on the boundary), always choose the larger frame.
I love the fox ranger cargo (12"). They are an older model, so I searched online to find the exact same recently to replace.
Awesome! Gonna do my best to join!
Strange, when I recently bought my 6 year old son a new bike with grip shift, I was expecting to need to swop it out immediately for a trigger shifter... But my son has no issues at all with the grip shift.
Rode the Porcupine route last Saturday ~27km and 900m of climbing. Really enjoyed it! Will definitely be back - such a bonus that it is open to Tygerberg MTB club members 
Stunning scenery and the pizzas and beers were great!
We rode at 10 am - the trail centre was closed. Tried to sign in, but the book was too wet (due to rain).
Hero Adventure Trails - Rhebokskloof Wine Estate , Paarl
in Routes & Trails
Posted
Rode the 22km Red Pinotage trail on Friday. Had a great time. First time on the trials...
The surface of the trails was a bit soft due to the wet recent weather, so rolling was a bit slow. They will be great in summer.
We took all the black options along the route, which adds the technical bits - definitely include them, to keep things interesting.
There is loads of signage... almost every 50m
And also big warning signs for anything that could catch a beginner off guard.
We wanted to do the 32km Black Shiraz route, but somewhere we missed the turn. It was a bit confusing, since the black route shares all the red route segments, so most signs show red and black arrows. The split on the top of the hill (where the black route splits off) wasn't obvious, or I somehow missed it. So keep your eyes peeled. So in the end, we only figured this out much later (too late).
The downhill switchback run was good, and will be even better when dry. A few drop offs and jumps would be welcome though.