RIP - Trailwolf Cycles

[Trackz]

Sad news. Ride there once or twice a week. Lately the park has become "over run" by hikers, whom off course are as entitled as anyone to enjoy the trails. As has been mentioned on weekends I estimate over a thousand visitors with parking flowing out into the street, we go early or not at all to miss the traffic. In summer it's going to explode. Whist the trails are superb, the venue has become a general outdoor and entertainment venue and the bike shop and cycling, which used to be the primary attractions, have faded into a secondary attraction. The chaps had a passion for the trails, not sure who will nurture them now. Hope it works out for all parties, they created a jewel in the suburbs.

Edited July 31, 2020 by Trackz

[arendoog]

Trailwolf is separate from the trails .The shop helped out with the trail tickets .They have their reasons and the servicing part was always very busy .Shaun mentioned a principle issue ?Any way ,they will be missed .They rest of wolwespruit will carry on as always or become a squatter camp ?The land is owned in a private  trust that does not allow housing development apparently .Any feet on site can only be a good thing .Customers = income = security = viability .I still think a cycling shop will work there if the rent is reasonable .Or a Tammy Taylor nails  franchise ?       

Edited August 3, 2020 by arendoog

[Vetplant]

Heard via the grapevine that it is due to the landlord changing his mind.

 

Apparently the vibe was all civil and they were given grace till October or some time to get back on their feet, even considered reducing the shop size as it was way too big for them anyways and then the rent could be adjusted accordingly.

 

And then out of nowhere, in the middle of last week it all broke down, thus forcing them to close up shop with minimal notice.

 

Tough times.

 

I think the trails and restaurant will continue as-is. Which sucks in a sense, because as far as I understood it was the guys from Trailwolf Cycles themselves that developed the trails in the first place to set up the vibe.

[arendoog]

Heard via the grapevine that it is due to the landlord changing his mind.

 

Apparently the vibe was all civil and they were given grace till October or some time to get back on their feet, even considered reducing the shop size as it was way too big for them anyways and then the rent could be adjusted accordingly.

 

And then out of nowhere, in the middle of last week it all broke down, thus forcing them to close up shop with minimal notice.

 

Tough times.

 

I think the trails and restaurant will continue as-is. Which sucks in a sense, because as far as I understood it was the guys from Trailwolf Cycles themselves that developed the trails in the first place to set up the vibe.

This is shortsighted from the landlord .This place has picked up a lot this year .Everybody has taken a knock .The shop was an integral part of the whole place .The whole cycling industry ,shops,events ext is struggling 

[Myth]

Ag this sucks...they are a good crowd at the shop...

[CAAD4]

Damn shame. Always bad to hear of a lbs closing. Has a trailside bike shop ever lasted? Busy on the weekends, but during the week?

[Enduro newbie]

Heard via the grapevine that it is due to the landlord changing his mind.

 

Apparently the vibe was all civil and they were given grace till October or some time to get back on their feet, even considered reducing the shop size as it was way too big for them anyways and then the rent could be adjusted accordingly.

 

And then out of nowhere, in the middle of last week it all broke down, thus forcing them to close up shop with minimal notice.

 

Tough times.

 

I think the trails and restaurant will continue as-is. Which sucks in a sense, because as far as I understood it was the guys from Trailwolf Cycles themselves that developed the trails in the first place to set up the vibe.

I can believe the grapevine talk, 

 

The landlords family, who is the facility manager is useless in maintaining the place, we have asked and told him we can help but with ZERO feedback and has a plain sh!t attitude. They spent allot of money last year to build one flow line, and NEVER maintained it since then, it has literally gone down the drain. The standard excuse is that they are waiting for the rain but the rain is what caused the issue in the first place. I was riding there after the rainstorm and saw the damage to the trails and flow line, while the sand was still soft it could have been fixed but it just got left to get ridden out.

 

Honestly the main focus of the whole park has shifted from cyclists to runners, hikers, dogs crapping everywhere. Also the new building is a coffee shop, and a gym. Also heard they are planning a wedding venue which will pretty much screw it up for everyone, read park closed during weddings, ie weekends.

So basically Trail Wolf was bound to fail, due to interest change, landlord issues and the park management not catering for cyclists anymore.

 

Due to the unkept trails it isn't fit for a beginner really, terrain aside, its fine for the more experienced riders but the new people find it way too hard and super tech, which unfortunately becomes an issue when trying to get new faces on bikes. A bit of care and clean up, which we have offered, will go a long way. I am not saying make it a tar road but really there are berms that haven't seen maintenance since beginning 2019, rocks are getting exposed everywhere and corners are being ridden out wider and wider. 

 

If the facility manager had any interest in the place for cyclists he would use our help, which has been offered on numerous occasions, to make it more fun for cyclists. Just add some bumps, jumps and new features, that goes a long way.

 

This has also added to less cyclists coming back, as a comparison look at Rosemary Hill and Cow house, super flat and easy (terrain is more forgiving that WS), lots of people coming back. RH and CH is way out of the way for allot of frequent visitors but they keep coming back so that says allot, Wolwespruit is smack in the middle of a built up area, super accessible, massive possible clients and should be a goldmine. it has become a goldmine for every other activity other than cycling due to sh!tty maintenance. Trail Wolf suffered directly due to this. 

 

 

Sorry rant over but I have seen this coming for about 6 months pre covid, covid only sped up the process.

 

I do however wish all the guys from Trailwolf the best, that are all super nice people and always willing to help. May it go well with them on their future plans.

[Hello Ruan]

Well, this is very bad news.

Still waiting for my 2020 Wolf Pack trail jersey I paid for with my membership at the begining of the year, guess I am really not getting it now... haha

[Malduik]

What a loss

[Zama7]

Heard a few stories through the grapevine not sure what is true. Heard they are changing it to a Solomon shop to focus on trail running. There has been a wedding or two but doubt they would make it a full wedding venue although I might be wrong. Ultimately I think the tough economic market, covid and only selling Pyga bikes was their downfall. Sucks but I did enjoy the shop and hope they start something similar elsewhere in Gautneg  as there is definitely demand for a similar scheme. 

[Escapee..]

Some good news...

 

We are now providing professional servicing under the African MTB Team brand. The technicians are Andre and Pressmore from Trailwolf, and Ruan from Team PYGA Eurosteel. Currently we are working out of a temporary space while we are looking for the right location. Pickups available in Pta East, or contact us to arrange for dropping off your bike.

 

Bookings for services and pickups can be made through Hubtiger on the app, or by following the link below.

 

https://www.africanmtbteam.com/professional-workshop.html

[peetwindhoek]

Some good news...

 

We are now providing professional servicing under the African MTB Team brand. The technicians are Andre and Pressmore from Trailwolf, and Ruan from Team PYGA Eurosteel. Currently we are working out of a temporary space while we are looking for the right location. Pickups available in Pta East, or contact us to arrange for dropping off your bike.

 

Bookings for services and pickups can be made through Hubtiger on the app, or by following the link below.

 

https://www.africanmtbteam.com/professional-workshop.html

 

This is great news! Lekker for Andre, wish them the best. 

[peetwindhoek]

They are up and running (with the pick up and service thing) and will be setting up shop close by. Not sure of Shaun’s involvement though, but André, Ruan and Pressmore are kapping it flou!

[PieterJvR]

They are up and running (with the pick up and service thing) and will be setting up shop close by. Not sure of Shaun’s involvement though, but André, Ruan and Pressmore are kapping it flou!

 

Link to new contact details, etc?  Their facebook page don't have anything new

[peetwindhoek]

Link to new contact details, etc?  Their facebook page don't have anything new

 

https://www.africanmtbteam.com/professional-workshop.html

[T_Boss]

I see a TREK "Concept Store" has now opened in the space.

 

Bit of a *** one, I know trailwolf was a giant reseller and had something on with PYGA, but I liked the idea of an unafiliated store that still had the pro vibe to it. 

 

Seems that single marque concept stores are the way all bike shops are going though.