Karoobaix - Hell of the South

[Loose cog]

All this talk about bikes....

 

I am personally more looking for the undertaking from the race organiser not to cancel if it gets a little too hot or too slippery.....

 

(*based upon their previous events, it seems they prefer hellish conditions, so maybe we are safe) 

Or there is a slight breeze or tyre burning along the route

[mokganjetsi]

Events that cant state entry fees.... like products saying POA.... nah thanks.

entry fees will be communicated once entries are open. it is a passion project; not commercialism & profit seeking. Tour of Ara breaks just about even - with great value for money for the riders. 

[Fat Boab]

entry fees will be communicated once entries are open. it is a passion project; not commercialism & profit seeking. Tour of Ara breaks just about even - with great value for money for the riders. 

 

I'm intrigued. May I ask what your involvement/role is, if any, with the event?

[mokganjetsi]

yass so many things to answer!

from the top:

i started this thread in my personal capacity. Stan is an artist and as authentic as it gets - we have to push him to push his vision for the experience. in his mind gunning for a 100 riders is going big.

I rode all three Tour of Ara's - he had more than 80 entries for 2016 and still kept the race at 40 to honor the vibe. thought about doing 2 groups back-to-back in 2017 but called it off after not reaching 80 entries - so we're back to 40. did i mention no profit was made on the race and entry fees are used to sponsor 5 riders from disadvantaged communities.

trust me when i say its not commercial; and the price not being fixed yet simply means all the sums haven't been done. i am however hoping Karoobaix will make a profit - huge amount of time & passion going into this. 

"Hell of the South" was my addition to draw some attention - apologies if I inadvertently stole it from another race.

Sarah Atmore rode the road from Calvinia to Ceres last year on her Tour of Ara bike; 17-hours on a  pre-99 steel frame racer with 28mms.

what else was there.....? oh, each to his own, but imho - no school like the old school

[mokganjetsi]

and, unfortunately, there were only 27 people IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY cool/hipster enough to ride.

nope - each year fully subscribed. but about 2/3rds finish. its about experiencing a lost era of cycling; not being hipster. R100 says you'll love it. 

[Fat Boab]

yass so many things to answer!

from the top:

i started this thread in my personal capacity. Stan is an artist and as authentic as it gets - we have to push him to push his vision for the experience. in his mind gunning for a 100 riders is going big.

I rode all three Tour of Ara's - he had more than 80 entries for 2016 and still kept the race at 40 to honor the vibe. thought about doing 2 groups back-to-back in 2017 but called it off after not reaching 80 entries - so we're back to 40. did i mention no profit was made on the race and entry fees are used to sponsor 5 riders from disadvantaged communities.

trust me when i say its not commercial; and the price not being fixed yet simply means all the sums haven't been done. i am however hoping Karoobaix will make a profit - huge amount of time & passion going into this. 

"Hell of the South" was my addition to draw some attention - apologies if I inadvertently stole it from another race.

Sarah Atmore rode the road from Calvinia to Ceres last year on her Tour of Ara bike; 17-hours on a  pre-99 steel frame racer with 28mms.

what else was there.....? oh, each to his own, but imho - no school like the old school

 

With respect, I still don't know what your role/involvement is?

 

Why am I intrigued? Because the content you're pitching is somewhat different from the official website's pitch. If these are your personal views - fair enough as you say you started this thread in a personal capacity - but if you are operating as a conduit to BikeHub, as well meaning as it may be, let's hope things don't start to get confused and complicated. Just a personal view.

[Shebeen]

It's just outside my backyard..!

 

I guess a Mercer tandem would cut it?

 

Nice to see an event like this.

maybe not... No tandems or recumbents.

[johannrissik]

Nope, not unless you take a hacksaw to it first.....

No need to. S&S couplers solved that.

[mokganjetsi]

With respect, I still don't know what your role/involvement is?

 

Why am I intrigued? Because the content you're pitching is somewhat different from the official website's pitch. If these are your personal views - fair enough as you say you started this thread in a personal capacity - but if you are operating as a conduit to BikeHub, as well meaning as it may be, let's hope things don't start to get confused and complicated. Just a personal view.

Fair enough.

No official involvement with Karoobaix - just punting the race / idea as a friend.

Sorry about any confusion! Take the info from the website and run with that; it is the official line.

I tried to highlight that a different philosophy drives this race compared to most modern racing - seems like trying too hard to explain is actually just muddying the waters. 

Sure however that it will be an awesome experience! 

[johannrissik]

maybe not... No tandems

or recumbents.

Oops, shoulda read the rules. OK, we'll just do it on our own then ????

I still like the " no rats on treadmills" approach.

[Yusran]

I'm hoping to do this event with my Mercer; this is what it was built for after all. Looking forward to see how it goes.

 

Also been wanting to meet Stan in person! He zoomed past me one day while I was walking to work - "I will never forget that bike..." I thought. Then I had my own one made

 

 

PS: Apologies that I've posted this pic a few times. I'll get out and get some new pics soon!

[Jewbacca]

I shall also be trying to get to the start line on my Mercer....

 

[Eppie]

I did the Tour of ara last year on my old Hansom, best experience ever. Doing the winter version on my Du Toit this year. My old Gary Fisher will be converted for the Karoobaix. And I am just an old dude with a few old bicycles

[Stan Engelbrecht]

some of you might be familiar with steel-frame aficionado Stan Engelbrecht's Tour of Ara (imho the best thing to happen to cycling, like, ever). 

Stan's new baby is something less vintage, no less poetic, more accessible and hopefully something that will continue to challenge the overblown commercialisation of cycling.

 

check it out.

 

do it. 

 

https://karoobaix.co.za/

 

and for interest

 

tourofara.co.za

Thanks for the very kind words mokganjetsi! 

[Stan Engelbrecht]

I looked at this yesterday, but (un)fortunately I am doing 2 day Berg and Bush and cannot get to Calvinia in time as it starts the next day.

Hi eddy, you might be in luck. The dates for KAROOBAIX 2017 have moved. Come race with us on 9 / 10 October. It'll be a great warmup for Berg and Bush.

[Stan Engelbrecht]

From the Karoobaix website:

".. no suspension of any form is allowed."

 

... does that mean the new Roubaix road bike is not allowed? 

Hi Hilton. The new Specialized Roubaix would not qualify as it cannot fir the minimum of 35c tyres. The new Diverge can fir up to 40c tyres, so it does qualify, but not with the new Future Shock suspension in the headset area. The lower end model do not have this Future Shock technology. However, the CG-R Carbon Seatpost is allowed since it only flexes and has no moving parts. Hope that explains it!