Hoogekraal Cobra - rant

[V12man]

Easiest solution is to ride faster man, the faster you go the more technical the trail becomes.

Trail stays the same - you just fall harder.... #justsaying....

[Thermophage]

Trail stays the same - you just fall harder.... #justsaying....

Agreed, it does nothing to actually make the trail more technical. Harder and more dangerous yes, but not more technical.

[MTBeer]

Are you referring to those little rollers and doubles just before the style?

Next time try doing a wheelie over them and then add some speed

no before that. Tightish left/right just before the the dip at the dam. Going to fast and front wheel washed out. Just after some guy stopped to let me past. Very embarrassing.

[Eddy Gordo]

well, going faster means you wont be rolling over the smaller stuff, instead you will be flying over it.

['Dale]

Okay - full disclosure now. I've just had another look at the IMBA rating, and thanks to the average trail grade and the single unavoidable drop, the trail rating is officially a blue. 

 

In order to be a green, the maximum trail grade at any point needs to be 15% or less. 

 

 

So ja, I concede. It's a blue. 

 

Great chart

Very useful

 

Bring on the double black 

[popcorn_skollie]

well, going faster means you wont be rolling over the smaller stuff, instead you will be flying over it.

 

True. But what you're saying also reminds me of Gspot. The way its built. The jumps. Small and big next to each other. I was sessioning the small one before the road gap while he did some trail maintenance. He told me that I should be able to do the big one with the same amount of speed as I was hitting the the small one. That what I needed wasn't more speed. It was the confidence and experience to hit bigger stuff and to get comfortable being in the air a little longer. I still think that more speed would help but what he said kinda made sense. Seeing one of the Tsongo DH kids hitting that big jump also sealed the theory. He wasn't even going that fast but man did he get some airtime. The big jump is way bigger than anything I think I could feel comfortable with so I won't test the theory myself. I guess its down to how the course is designed. 

[Thermophage]

True. But what you're saying also reminds me of Gspot. The way its built. The jumps. Small and big next to each other. I was sessioning the small one before the road gap while he did some trail maintenance. He told me that I should be able to do the big one with the same amount of speed as I was hitting the the small one. That what I needed wasn't more speed. It was the confidence and experience to hit bigger stuff and to get comfortable being in the air a little longer. I still think that more speed would help but what he said kinda made sense. Seeing one of the Tsongo DH kids hitting that big jump also sealed the theory. He wasn't even going that fast but man did he get some airtime. The big jump is way bigger than anything I think I could feel comfortable with so I won't test the theory myself. I guess its down to how the course is designed. 

Also..none of that counts if there is no bigger obstacle to try

[Hairy]

Well if we're gonna do it that way then I need to start advocating for a black trail again instead of just asking them to properly grade the existing ones 

It's just bloody frustrating riding trails that are SUPPOSED to have technical features but which don't and for which my HT is even overkill 

so make it a rigid SS........

[Thermophage]

Hahahaha, Daniel has already said he rode Conties black on his rigid SS without problem

['Dale]

Welvanpas is graded by distance, which is a fallacy adopted in SA for some reason. No basis in trail features.

Oh that's interesting

Strange ????

[NicoBoshoff]

Oh that's interesting

Strange

Yip, I mean the most technical trails are actually on the white and blue (the rocky chute near the equestrian area).  There's nothing on the black that you can't ride easily on a CX bike.  It's just a sh*t ton of climbing.

[Thermophage]

Yip, I mean the most technical trails are actually on the white and blue (the rocky chute near the equestrian area).  There's nothing on the black that you can't ride easily on a CX bike.  It's just a sh*t ton of climbing.

Are the white n blue worthwhile doing? Always only ever done the black...

Wonder if it's worth it doing the black with something else on Sunday...if I can convince ppl to try that

[MTBeer]

Are the white n blue worthwhile doing? Always only ever done the black...

Wonder if it's worth it doing the black with something else on Sunday...if I can convince ppl to try that

the Black is definitely the most fun, but if you haven't done the others it's worth a go. Nothing really technical, but quite varied and not as manicured as local trails

[Meezo]

the Black is definitely the most fun, but if you haven't done the others it's worth a go. Nothing really technical, but quite varied and not as manicured as local trails

 

white more technical that black I'd say, doesn't necessarily make it "technical" as such but yes, more than black.

 

as you said, its definitely worth going to do if you've done the black multiple times

[NicoBoshoff]

Are the white n blue worthwhile doing? Always only ever done the black...

Wonder if it's worth it doing the black with something else on Sunday...if I can convince ppl to try that

The white has some awesome long descents and also has an adventure feel to it. It's good

[Thermophage]

Shot okes, will try convince the peeps

Maybe ride Black then Blue. Last time on the black a portion of the ST had been re-routed (the part past the shaded streams etc). 

Anyone ridden it in the last month or so and found the same?