LazyTrailRider Posted June 16, 2011 Share Deal! Better start saving for the trip. And to be clear, Cape Town's XC / Trails will scare the bejeebers out of you. No need to do XC k's to burn the lungs. Pedal to the top of Cobra then bomb it down and you'll wish you rubbed some bum cream all over! Oh, and based on the Top Gear Top Travelling Tip it'd be best to book your flights now already. Eldron, I think you may be in trouble... I grew up racing in Gauteng in the 90s and then moved down to the Cape at the turn of the century (as lame as that sounds, haha), unfortunately scary technical stuff is not something Vaalies in general are accustomed to. I learnt very quickly to adapt when living in Knysna and then Stellenbosch I'm all for tourism of any kind! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capricorn Posted June 16, 2011 Share omw.. i think this deserves it's own thread : Eldron Earns His Bum Cream (and Nappy)..where's my popcorn... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grb285 Posted June 16, 2011 Share lol crow. i see a war of words brewing between north and south as to who has the gnarliest track worthy of bum cream...I think our trails down here will win that one on any day, and to show how hardcore we are we do them 'creamless' omw.. i think this deserves it's own thread : Eldron Earns His Bum Cream (and Nappy)..where's my popcorn...Hahahahaha classic. Seriously though Eldron, you don't have to wait 'til next year to come down and ride the lovely trails here. Jump on a plane and come enjoy. Some of the best riding in SA here in the Cape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Omega Man Posted June 17, 2011 Share @ Martin. You left out Jill Kitner dude. She is a HONEY. And she is deff heterosexual. Yum. @ Eldron. Hey dude. By the sounds of your posts you think that 29ers are the best thing in cycling and may well cure cancer. That's cool, but a 29er DH bike will not win a World Cup race in 2012. Like I said previously. The only 29er DH bike being ridden by a pro currently is the 2951 being ridden by JD Swanguen in selected events. So Conceivably IF someone was to race a 29er at a World Cup race in 2012 it would be an Intense rider. None of the current Intense riders are consistent podium threats. In fact I think the last male rider to win on an Intense was Kovarik in 2006 at MSA. (could well be wrong here) The UCI released the schedule for next year a few days ago and it was the usual list of bike and rider wreckers. The only race we MIGHT see a 29er in is the first round in PMB. But I doubt that. And IF someone does ride one he/she won't be a podium threat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldron Posted June 17, 2011 Share I think our trails down here will win that one on any day, and to show how hardcore we are we do them 'creamless' Hahahahaha classic. Seriously though Eldron, you don't have to wait 'til next year to come down and ride the lovely trails here. Jump on a plane and come enjoy. Some of the best riding in SA here in the Cape. Wow - where to start... Why I think a 29er will win a DH round in 2012:Advantages of 29ers:Better high speed stability - a plus in DH racing.Better bump absorption (bigger wheel = smaller effective bumps) - a plus in DH racing.Better grip - a plus.Bigger air volume = better "mouldability" of tyre over bumps - a plus. Disadvantages:Additional ~700-1000g weight - not really a factor in DH racing.Not as agile - in XCO with really tight hairpins this is a problem - in DH with wider, banked turns this is less of an issue.Line changing - 29ers don't like to change lines - a disadvantage if you end up off your line of choice on a DH run.Weakness of wheels - this I don't understand - people bang on about weak 29er wheels. The wheel radius is only 38mm (11.5%) longer - no biggy - most wheel manufacturers use the same number and type of spokes in both 26 and 29er wheels. Spokes pulling out of the rim is no different - same spokes, nipples and rim material. The only real difference is the lever effect with the longer spokes and again it's only 11.5%... In silly terms there is a 6.46cm space between spokes on a 26" 32 spokes rim and 7.23cm on a 29" 32 spoke rim. An extra 7.4mm between spokes...I don't really see that as a problem. I think the advantages of 29ers on DH bikes outweigh the disadvantages...feel free to disagree. The only reason I see a 29er not winning in 2012 is lack of interest by manufacturers. Perhaps they are still busy with perfecting XCO bikes and haven't turned their skills to DH/Free ride bikes yet. Who knows. One thing I do find weird in the 26 vs 29 debate is the polarization - a bit like Armstrong - you're either a completely naive believer that prays at the church of 29erville and think they can cure cancer (thanks Omega Man) or a head in the sand luddite who clings to his small wheels like a umbilical cord. Personally I think a 29er has a place in the mtb world - oddly I thought that place was more marathon than XCO but I see Kulhavy cracked that notion (on a duallie no less!) As for the trails in Cape Town - I've said before that I think a 26er is better suited to tight XCO type racing and that I've probably race a 26" duallie or HT rather than a 29er down south. That said my bike of choice for the Saarsveld National XCO course would be a tight call between 26 and 29 - the course is not that technical. Sadly 90% of the riding I've done in the cape kicks our gauteng course's collective ass for scenery and thorough mtb heaven. Gauteng is more fire road, animal trail and rocky marathon style racing then "real" mountain biking. I only have one question when I come to ride more cape trails...is the correct etiquette to yell "track" or simply ride straight over you DH riders when I twist the throttle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grb285 Posted June 17, 2011 Share I only have one question when I come to ride more cape trails...is the correct etiquette to yell "track" or simply ride straight over you DH riders when I twist the throttle We don't expect etiquette from guys up North It's going to be hard to shout anything with the amount of dust that you'll be munching on! oi, and leave the creams at home mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldron Posted June 17, 2011 Share It seems people smarter than us have already asked the question: http://www.bikerumor.com/2009/07/13/why-doesnt-anyone-make-a-29er-downhill-bike/ The answer seems to be a combination of no parts available, front end too high on a 29er, difficulties in getting 8" of travel without having too long a wheelbase and general lack of interest by manufacturers... I'm still gonna stick with my forecast - even if it only to increase my interest in DH racing. Viva 29" viva Edit: doh! just saw OliG's post.... Edited June 17, 2011 by Eldron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldron Posted June 17, 2011 Share We don't expect etiquette from guys up North It's going to be hard to shout anything with the amount of dust that you'll be munching on! oi, and leave the creams at home mate. I really should give downhilling a go - between jumping cars/people/dust bins/trees on my old jump bike, the long but less technical downhills in stage racing and my mx bike I reckon I should have the skills/balls to enjoy it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grb285 Posted June 17, 2011 Share I really should give downhilling a go - between jumping cars/people/dust bins/trees on my old jump bike, the long but less technical downhills in stage racing and my mx bike I reckon I should have the skills/balls to enjoy it...Careful now, it's addictive. You'll have your 29er up on Gumtree before long (since they don't do 29er DH rigs 'cos theyre kuk ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iwan Kemp Posted October 4, 2012 Share I stand by my statement that a 29er DH bike will win gold at one of the rounds of the 2012 DH world cup. If not I'll head over to Cape Town and you can scare the bejeebers out of me on your DH courses. If it does you need to head up to Jhb so I can make you puke a lung in the thin air on some of our XCO courses with only a styrefoam cap and bum cream as protection. Deal? How are your travelling plans looking? Captain Fastbastard Mayhem 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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