Escapee.. Posted November 5, 2019 Share I think there is still scope for some events but there definitely seems to be an "over supply". The appeal of an organised event is there but it doesn't always feel like the money adds up. Paying R7000 to R8000 for three days with craft beer and gourmet burgers (if you are lucky) is a lot of money. I'd like the option of being able to pitch my own (bigger) tent and make my own food/supply my own beer. Granted, not all events/venues would allow for it but there is some events where a cheaper option could work. I'd still like to do Wines2Whales and the U, luckily I ticked BC Bike Race off my bucketlist this year. We did Berg and Bush this year with the self camping option. Would definitely recommend. BigDL, hansolo, nonky and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenty Posted November 5, 2019 Share Thats why I am just a FREE RIDER....look forward each year to our Funtrax 100 miler event and the rest of the time bomb around all our lovely trails we have here...I no pro , hell , at worst I am an amateur,s amateur...BUT...do read and look at the beaut pics of all the MTB events on offer in our Sunny SA....boy OH boy...across the board they are pricey!!!.... The humble bicycle has come a long way ....the MTB is a legend in its own right and within the MTB broad spectrum you have mini "cult" formings/followings....like downhill , which has die hard fans/followers and more so the actual riders AND then the mind blowing free riders , Red Bull rampage etc etc....Soooo...my thought...these "cults"as I call them in the MTB fraternity are here to stay ...BUT I , myself , foresee the mainstream MTBing , becoming , shall I say thinned out.... As for me ...I just LOVE riding my Alice on the trails... I read somewhere....Driving in your car , its like you watching a movie through the windows...BUT..on your bicycle you are actually IN the movie....interesting... Vaalhaai, arendoog, JAVSA02 and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
River Rat Posted November 5, 2019 Share The question raised my eyebrows somewhat, you have a drop of 20-30% and you ask whether the bubble has burst, really? For me it is quite simple my skill level has advanced ahead of my speed and I find the frustration of hanging behind a slightly fitter rider on a technical descent is what puts me off most events. This is where Enduro and trail riding are becoming more attractive, for me at least. The other thing to consider is the two man team thing it no longer makes any sense to me. Edited November 5, 2019 by River Rat JohanDiv, PhilipV, BigDL and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenty Posted November 5, 2019 Share The question raised my eyebrows somewhat, you have a drop of 20-30% and you ask whether the bubble has burst, really? For me it is quite simple my skill level has advanced ahead of my speed and I find the frustration of hanging behind a slightly fitter rider on a technical descent is what puts me off most events. This is where Enduro and trail rding are becoming more attractive, for me at least. The other thing to consider is the two man team thing it no longer makes any sense to me.Agreed....trail riding is where its at...for me at least...well said indeed... Jako De Wet and Christie 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDL Posted November 5, 2019 Share I’ve just entered a five day event in Italy in may/June next year. 400 odd euros all in, including a hotel room, not sharing, breakfast and dinner each day (pasta party at night) and some incredible looking trails. I will still try and travel to SA to do the odd event, but I am also encouraging mates from SA to look at European stage races, which seem to offer far more value for money in some cases. Christie, nonky, BuffsVintageBikes and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne pudding Mol Posted November 5, 2019 Share The bubble is indeed about to burst for the stage races that are busy pricing themselves out of the market. However I still believe the "value the money" events will be supported going forward. Most of my cycling friendship circle have settled on organizing our own long weekends away near popular mtb trails and it works out at a fraction of the cost of these multi stage events. The bonus is we get to stay in fairly luxury accommodation and dine like Kings every day.e.g. a recent trip to the Groot Vadersbos reserve cost us R3000 each for 4 days (all in), including the transport and it offered some of the best trails and gravel roads I've ridden in ages.This is where it's at and you can take the family along, all have a great time, do the miles and still have change Kenty 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headshot Posted November 5, 2019 Share Demand became so high organizers flocked to create events and popular events morphed into three eg S2C and W2W. There is a decline in the number of entries so perhaps some of the extra events will fall away as will the not so popular races. Maybe the entry fees will actually become affordable again. The cheaper grass roots events will gain popularity. DieselnDust and Kenty 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted November 5, 2019 Share Distance is a % of the numbers in the grey from 0 to 1200 Just got frustrated - a bad survey setup - and dumped itShows my lack of attention to detail when completing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieselnDust Posted November 5, 2019 Share The question raised my eyebrows somewhat, you have a drop of 20-30% and you ask whether the bubble has burst, really? For me it is quite simple my skill level has advanced ahead of my speed and I find the frustration of hanging behind a slightly fitter rider on a technical descent is what puts me off most events. This is where Enduro and trail riding are becoming more attractive, for me at least. The other thing to consider is the two man team thing it no longer makes any sense to me.Yeah the skill levels at the stage races is pretty low as is the etiquette. More experienced riders are opting to go enduro and XCM or xco where the racing is better and the courses are more challenging.I asked JK about next years w2w switchback, if they would use the Epic route and he laughed. Said it would be murder for most of the field. That's a sad truth.But skilled riders opting for other events doesn't account for the big drop off in numbers at stage races. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DIPSLICK Posted November 6, 2019 Share Yeah the skill levels at the stage races is pretty low as is the etiquette. More experienced riders are opting to go enduro and XCM or xco where the racing is better and the courses are more challenging.I asked JK about next years w2w switchback, if they would use the Epic route and he laughed. Said it would be murder for most of the field. That's a sad truth.But skilled riders opting for other events doesn't account for the big drop off in numbers at stage races.ahhh the age old discussion of unskilled riders IN FRONT OF you downhill beastsyip they qualified for better seeding or they fitter climbing up, or grinding flats better so Qualify for better seeding, learn to grind gravel roads, get up the hill faster,,,,essentially all you guys with big steel balls are saying is "my one specialized aspect of riding ,,,,,is bettererrr than ALL YOURS" GOT IT piotter, aiyaaz, slickjay007 and 13 others 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaGearA Posted November 6, 2019 Share ahhh the age old discussion of unskilled riders IN FRONT OF you downhill beastsyip they qualified for better seeding or they fitter climbing up, or grinding flats better so Qualify for better seeding, learn to grind gravel roads, get up the hill faster,,,,essentially all you guys with big steel balls are saying is "my one specialized aspect of riding ,,,,,is bettererrr than ALL YOURS" GOT IT truth bombs left and right Underachiever, Kenty and DIPSLICK 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W Smith Posted November 6, 2019 Share truth bombs left and right ahhh the age old discussion of unskilled riders IN FRONT OF you downhill beastsyip they qualified for better seeding or they fitter climbing up, or grinding flats better so Qualify for better seeding, learn to grind gravel roads, get up the hill faster,,,,essentially all you guys with big steel balls are saying is "my one specialized aspect of riding ,,,,,is bettererrr than ALL YOURS" GOT IT Brilliant comment ! nonky, Kenty and DIPSLICK 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamil Posted November 6, 2019 Share That questionnaire is all but unintelligible I tried to fill it out but ... DieselnDust, slickjay007 and Kenty 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shebeen Posted November 6, 2019 Share Shows my lack of attention to detail when completing it.confused me too.so if you ride 100km per week. then you need to put in % of 1200km, which is about 8% right? I would have added in age/sex/lsm(salary) to add context to the questionsAlso, do you do more or less events than say 5years ago? good luck making conclusions from this data JohanDiv, Frosty and deonkretch 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTBeer Posted November 6, 2019 Share ahhh the age old discussion of unskilled riders IN FRONT OF you downhill beastsyip they qualified for better seeding or they fitter climbing up, or grinding flats better so Qualify for better seeding, learn to grind gravel roads, get up the hill faster,,,,essentially all you guys with big steel balls are saying is "my one specialized aspect of riding ,,,,,is bettererrr than ALL YOURS" GOT IT It's less time consuming to up your skill level. Not everybody has loads of free hours every week to get fitter, but it takes 1 hour on the weekend to improve your skill a moer of a lot. Unfortunately the super fit gravel grinders who clearly have time on their hands aren't interested in upping their skill levels. DieselnDust 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieselnDust Posted November 6, 2019 Share ahhh the age old discussion of unskilled riders IN FRONT OF you downhill beastsyip they qualified for better seeding or they fitter climbing up, or grinding flats better so Qualify for better seeding, learn to grind gravel roads, get up the hill faster,,,,essentially all you guys with big steel balls are saying is "my one specialized aspect of riding ,,,,,is bettererrr than ALL YOURS" GOT IT Hilarious! If only you knew what you were talking about Edited November 6, 2019 by DieselnDust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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