Karoo to Coast

[Chingy182]

52 minutes ago, eddy said:

I did it rigid, SS some years ago, the worst for me was the death by a thousand cuts as you went into the forest after the climb at 58km. At speed every small imperfection, and there are lots,  stones, dips, ruts, roots, etc. were much worse than the wapad or the long descent and just sitting and putting down some power whiles trying to hang onto the bars took a lot.

I do recall the descent after the 58km waterpoint going into the forest being a bit bumpy and some potholes or even the occasional stormwater speedbump in place.

I can imagine attempting to hold onto some wheels in front and negotiating this at the same time being quite difficult.

Would you do it on a rigid again?

I understand I am sacrificing comfort and a lot of probable wrist/elbow pain, but ultimately I probably need to decide if I can make up the time on a gravel bike on the flats and climbs especially if I'm necessitated to take it easy on these techy areas. 

[Chingy182]

3 minutes ago, Skubarra said:

I guess it depends on what you want to get out of the race? Barring mechanicals the gravel bike will be much faster than your enduro bike, but the body is going to take much more punishment & some sections will be sketchy. If you are worried maybe go for wider tyres on the gravel bike which should help somewhat?

Perhaps a consideration and see if my frame would allow some 2.1" mtb tyres.

[Chingy182]

3 minutes ago, JohanDiv said:

 

I started in Batch A last year on a MTB surrounded by a bunch of gravel bikes. I finished in just over 4 hours.. the only place where I overtook gravelbikes was down Ou Wapad (I think 4 or 5 of them that punctured down there).. they never caught up again. The rest of them finished well ahead of me, so I assume they didn't have any serious issues the rest of the way.. comfort is a different story

I've had a similar issue happen to me coming down Silvermine reserve on the road around the dam - there are a few speedbumps and ditches for water draining where I hit one with some force and my tyre was toast.

There I learnt not to over-inflate gravel bike tyres when going offroad.

[MORNE]

I did my first one on a rigid mtb…that year when half the field went home in space blankets.

sure, the avarage mtb will pass you down the long descents….they did me to on my rigid, but on the rest you will murder them. 

i have one, i ride it a lot. It has 50c tyres on it that i can run under 2bar. I’d do that race on a gravel bike for sure. I also have an enduro bike…and i would not drag that hunk of lead across that road…even if it means i could fly down the hills. It would suck on the rest. Too heavy, too squishy. That 5-7kg delta in weight, less rolling resistance, gearing makes a huge difference over 100km on the brown stuff.

I didn't know they are allowing gravel bikes again this year…thats why I havent done one again. Might just get me an entry if thats the case.

There is nothing on that road that gravel bike and a bit of common sense wont achieve. Ask @Wayne pudding Mol, he probably rides it more than anyone on here. You’ll lose a minute or two on the long descents but you can laugh at them on the bits that matter later. 

[Prince Albert Cycles]

Lots of advice based on personal experience here for the OP to consider..mtb vs gravel bike . From my personal experience living in the Karoo and doing small tours as a rider/ organiser I would say postpone your final decision to closer to race date . One heavy rain storm can change the character and surface of a road in just a few hours . I guided a group 2 weeks ago on a trip that included Uniondale to Knysna , excluding Ou Wapad . The surface of the Prince Alfred Pass down to De Vlucht was super super smooth . Riding it at this moment will need some restraint at the corners so nice it is . Then after De Vlucht the surface is bad with lots of ruts and loose stones and rocks. But who knows what it will look like in September ? Am doing that route again next week and early September. Can give an update then.

[Wyatt Earp]

On 4/29/2022 at 8:32 AM, Robbie Stewart said:

 

I've ridden this event 3 times now and I have yet to come across a drop-off. Where are these elusive features that may cause me to reconsider entering this ride again?

Have to say, wondering this myself 🤷🏻

[Robbie Stewart]

6 hours ago, Prince Albert Cycles said:

Lots of advice based on personal experience here for the OP to consider..mtb vs gravel bike . From my personal experience living in the Karoo and doing small tours as a rider/ organiser I would say postpone your final decision to closer to race date . One heavy rain storm can change the character and surface of a road in just a few hours . I guided a group 2 weeks ago on a trip that included Uniondale to Knysna , excluding Ou Wapad . The surface of the Prince Alfred Pass down to De Vlucht was super super smooth . Riding it at this moment will need some restraint at the corners so nice it is . Then after De Vlucht the surface is bad with lots of ruts and loose stones and rocks. But who knows what it will look like in September ? Am doing that route again next week and early September. Can give an update then.

From experience, the Eden District Municipality is unlikely to grade that road any time soon if it has recently been done, judging from the conditions you state here. But then, unless it rains a tremendous amount as you suggest, the road should hold up.

[Chingy182]

16 hours ago, MORNE said:

I didn't know they are allowing gravel bikes again this year…thats why I havent done one again. Might just get me an entry if thats the case.

 

Might have to get cracking then on that entry...

Lions Karoo to Coast Embraces E and Gravel Bikes in 2023

A hot debate was sparked in 2022 when the K2C had an unofficial E and Gravel bike contingency participating. Events owners, the Lions of Uniondale and Knysna have recently made a decision to embrace an official E Bike category and this has been welcomed by the riders.

[Chingy182]

7 hours ago, Prince Albert Cycles said:

Lots of advice based on personal experience here for the OP to consider..mtb vs gravel bike . From my personal experience living in the Karoo and doing small tours as a rider/ organiser I would say postpone your final decision to closer to race date . One heavy rain storm can change the character and surface of a road in just a few hours . I guided a group 2 weeks ago on a trip that included Uniondale to Knysna , excluding Ou Wapad . The surface of the Prince Alfred Pass down to De Vlucht was super super smooth . Riding it at this moment will need some restraint at the corners so nice it is . Then after De Vlucht the surface is bad with lots of ruts and loose stones and rocks. But who knows what it will look like in September ? Am doing that route again next week and early September. Can give an update then.

Thanks @Prince Albert Cycles, your advise is definitely worth holding off until the last moment to commit to what bike to suite the terrain on the day.

It would be invaluable if you could post a final update around your last trip in early September through the area.

[JohanDiv]

Did you guys decide yet what bikes you are taking this year? 

@Prince Albert Cycles any idea what the roads look like at the moment?

K2C is a B-race for me this year, so I'm afraid I probably won't be getting that elusive sub-4 this time around.. but if conditions are good for gravel bikes, you never know.

[JohanDiv]

Ride forecast for 24 Sept 2023 at 07:30:

Temperature: 9.4°C to 18.4°C, feels like 7.4°C to 17.9°C
Wind: 12,4 to 26,5 km/h, with gusts up to 57,1 km/h
Probability of precipitation: 0%

 

Gonna be a windy one!!

 

[HdB]

39 minutes ago, JohanDiv said:

Gonna be a windy one!!

 

I prefer your weather prediction to what YR and accuweather are showing so far. No rain sounds quite nice.

[JohanDiv]

8 hours ago, HdB said:

I prefer your weather prediction to what YR and accuweather are showing so far. No rain sounds quite nice.

YR shows the rain only coming in the afternoon..hopefully it stays away during the race! 

[Chingy182]

4 hours ago, JohanDiv said:

YR shows the rain only coming in the afternoon..hopefully it stays away during the race! 

Looks quite windy and never in a supporting way from behind...
I hope that the AccuWeather predictions for Rain on Saturday and Sunday doesn't make it too problematic as I am still 99% set on doing this with the Gravel bike.

Seeding seems a bit odd though.
Very happy/surprised to have been seeded in A Batch

Then the missus who did Argus in around 5 hours chilled ride also gets seeded into A ?

Then, finally, I'm not quite sure what Uniondale Pub is gonna look like around 21h00 on Saturday night. Methinks 'n paar van ons gaan moeilik opstaan Sondag oggend.

 

[JohanDiv]

1 hour ago, Chingy182 said:

Seeding seems a bit odd though.
Very happy/surprised to have been seeded in A Batch

I never understood K2C seeding.. As a rookie in 2018 I got seeded in A with only a few kerk bazaar races that happened to use Racetec as timing partners. Rode a 5:45 that year. Whole day long people were overtaking me..it was demoralizing to be honest. Definitely ended last of Batch A. And since then I still get seeded in A every time.. at least now I think I can kinda keep up with the back of the A bunchers.

Skipping the pub again this year. We stayed in Vleesbaai last year and drove through at 4:15 for the race. Worked quite well as a long weekend away at the beach with a quick race thrown in on the Sunday morning. Doing that again this year. 

[Chingy182]

30 minutes ago, JohanDiv said:

 

Skipping the pub again this year. We stayed in Vleesbaai last year and drove through at 4:15 for the race. Worked quite well as a long weekend away at the beach with a quick race thrown in on the Sunday morning. Doing that again this year. 

I hear the coast around Mosselbaai area is very nice at the moment 🤪