MTBs SUCK!

[nigelhicks]

RIGHT NOW THAT I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION ... (sorry for the misleading headline)

 

I need some advise for the World Cup track and staging area at Cascades to stop it becoming a mud bath if it rains like it did this year at the Nationals!

 

As im sure you are all aware - the 2011 Nationals the week before the world cup was rained out as the tracks were literally unrideable!

 

The UCI has asked that we "surface" large portions of the XC and DH tracks to make them rideable in the wet JUST incare it Pisses Cats and Dogs again.

 

We had a proposed supplier of granite G6 aggregate who has just pulled out as it will be too expensive to supply the necessary amounts of material.

So we are looking for other alternatives .... one that came up are Eco-Bond soil stabilisers that are often used on dirt roads to stabilise the soil.

 

HOWEVER - if you've ever ridden at Cascades you'll know that the shales and clays of the Cascades area go like concrete anyway! So a stabiliser is not really needed! ...

WHAT IM LOOKING FOR is .... something similar to a spray on bitumen that will

1. GET RID OF THE GREASYNESS of the shales when they get wet - they become like an icerink!

2. BIND the clays so that when they are SUPER wet they dont just turn to clayey snot that sticks in your frame!

 

So i need advise ... any ideas on an ECO-spray thats similar to bitumen that will give us grip on the tracks in shitty conditions???

 

Your words of wisdom will be greatly appreciated

Cheers

Nige ... the DH World Cup Track Co-ordinator

Edited November 29, 2011 by nigelhicks

[Tiny K]

hahaha. Read the post earlier but have no advice. Just saw the topic and wondered what the gripe was about.

 

PM Eccentric1 - he is in civil engineering - think it was roads and stormwater... I may be wrong.

[nigelhicks]

cool thanks Tiny .... I'm sh1tting off trying to find something thats cheap and within budget but that will change the plasticity of the shales to something that is at least rideable in the wet!

 

BLOODY SHALE ... why cant we be riding on granite like at Tokai!! DAMN IT

[covie]

RIGHT NOW THAT I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION ... (sorry for the misleading headline)

 

I need some advise for the World Cup track and staging area at Cascades to stop it becoming a mud bath if it rains like it did this year at the Nationals!

 

As im sure you are all aware - the 2011 Nationals the week before the world cup was rained out as the tracks were literally unrideable!

 

The UCI has asked that we "surface" large portions of the XC and DH tracks to make them rideable in the wet JUST incare it Pisses Cats and Dogs again.

 

We had a proposed supplier of granite G6 aggregate who has just pulled out as it will be too expensive to supply the necessary amounts of material.

So we are looking for other alternatives .... one that came up are Eco-Bond soil stabilisers that are often used on dirt roads to stabilise the soil.

 

HOWEVER - if you've ever ridden at Cascades you'll know that the shales and clays of the Cascades area go like concrete anyway! So a stabiliser is not really needed! ...

WHAT IM LOOKING FOR is .... something similar to a spray on bitumen that will

1. GET RID OF THE GREASYNESS of the shales when they get wet - they become like an icerink!

2. BIND the clays so that when they are SUPER wet they dont just turn to clayey snot that sticks in your frame!

 

So i need advise ... any ideas on an ECO-spray thats similar to bitumen that will give us grip on the tracks in shitty conditions???

 

Your words of wisdom will be greatly appreciated

Cheers

Nige ... the DH World Cup Track Co-ordinator

 

speak to James Thornhill fisher from tygerberg MTB club or Meurant botha from dirtopia. Between those two a solution will exist, if they dont come up with the answer nobody will.

[PHIL BUYS SPORTS]

I sent you a PM.

[Pieterg]

Kumba mine in Kathu also use stuff they put down on the dirt roads try them

[DJR]

Hi Nigel

 

It almost sounds like they want the trail tarred.....for the 29ers perhaps?

[Guest Omega Man]

 

BLOODY SHALE ... why cant we be riding on granite like at Tokai!! DAMN IT

 

BLOODY SHALE ... why cant we be riding at Tokai!! DAMN IT

 

There. I fixed it for you.

[schmoose]

UWP consulting have offices in Cascades, those guys build roads all over africa, they'll know the deal. PM me if you want an email.

[nigelhicks]

BLOODY SHALE ... why cant we be riding at Tokai!! DAMN IT

 

There. I fixed it for you.

 

HAHAHA thanks OM ... but i think you should rather be doing some hill training so you can keep up next time im down there rather than changing my comments! hahaahaha

[kennyg]

Tell the guys to ride studded tyres in the wet...i.e. snow type tyres.

 

 

or

 

Not knowing the course and the ground condition that well, you can make a gravel cement matrix in the corners, this will need to be compacted in, 2-4 inches, and is not going to last forever but will provide some stability, but keep the challenge.

 

Its just a suggestion.

[Dustman]

HI Negle

What about fly ash ( i think that is what it is called) The ash left over from coal burning boliers. We used to use that to surface our roads in Mpumalanga, the red clay was just as hard and slippery there.I know the hospitals all have boilers.

maybe start there.

[The Drongo]

 

Is that Mountain Bikers Suck, or Mountainbikes Suck?

 

You spoken to Kaytech nige?

031 7172300

031 7020435

 

They have all sorts of fabrics.

 

The guys doing the tarring in Kloof central at the moment are using Thin Membrane Surface. Bitumen impregnated fabric which they 'stick' down before overlaying the tar surface. It might work if that was used in combo with dirt??

 

You are probably going to be better off with some sort of fabric and lime / cement combo though.

[Guest Omega Man]

HAHAHA thanks OM ... but i think you should rather be doing some hill training so you can keep up next time im down there rather than changing my comments! hahaahaha

I warned you that I was unfit. hehe.

[nigelhicks]

Shot for all the advise guys ...

 

Gonna try rotovator in some lime this week on the XC course and see how it holds up as it will change the Plasticity Index of the shales substantially! ... that may be the cheapest option.

 

But lets see! ... I can say we have probably organised a good couple of tons of free material from a nearby building site that we can use to make some new jumps ... so should be good - just need permission to build the stuff in NCT's newly planted forestry! Keep you fingers crossed.

[Puncher]

Nige,

 

How many sections do they want you to resurface, because you would struggle to get a better value material than a G6. You could stabalise the insitu material with cement or lime but its all very labour intensive.

If they do this to all the world cup tracks then Danny Harts wet run will go down as legendary. Having riden cascades this year it would be a shame to make it into a bmx track !