KarooBurn 2022 - Advice & Tips

[Skubarra]

30 minutes ago, Wayne pudding Mol said:

this looks amazing

Sp whats the verdict, gravel bike or MTB?

My opinion if you want to win it - gravel bike (and a good dose of luck), if you want to enjoy it - mtb

We were a mtb team just faster than social pace. We finished with the fastest gravel bike teams although there were a number of solo gravel bikes way faster than us. If I had a penny for every time lean &fit looking okes on gravel bikes came flying past us only to pass them again 10km onwards while they are standing next to the road fixing some mechanical...

Also on an earlier question re choosing a 36T or 34T chainring, if you can't ride this race on a 36T then you are the type of rider who should never ride a 36T. Katbakkies is long but only short bits are actually steep & and there are no other long or steep climbs in the race.

[hboli4]

Did it on my mtb bike. Most of the guys battling with punctures and cuts looked like they were on gravelbikes.

Loves the event but it is one of those where the weather dictates a lot I reckon. Wind direction and strength was in our favour for the first 168km but changed after that. It was hot but not too hectic.

Waterpoints were spaced properly and the 05.00 start helped a lot. Anyone that has done a Dryland event will know that their waterpoints are top notch and had plenty to keep hydrated and topped up.

[Shebeen]

38 minutes ago, Wayne pudding Mol said:

this looks amazing

Sp whats the verdict, gravel bike or MTB?

Looks exactly like the sufferfest I expected it to be. plus those logistics.....glad those who did it enjoyed it, each to their own.

I've done some pretty silly events but this one holds no desire for me to enter. Only time I gone all the way to Calvinia was for the vleisfees, now that was worth it!

 

[peepeekaitjie]

16 minutes ago, Skubarra said:

 ...If I had a penny for every time lean &fit looking okes on gravel bikes came flying past us only to pass them again 10km onwards while they are standing next to the road fixing some mechanical...

 

It is like having an Alfa Romeo

[TyronLab]

19 minutes ago, hboli4 said:

Did it on my mtb bike. Most of the guys battling with punctures and cuts looked like they were on gravelbikes.

Loves the event but it is one of those where the weather dictates a lot I reckon. Wind direction and strength was in our favour for the first 168km but changed after that. It was hot but not too hectic.

Waterpoints were spaced properly and the 05.00 start helped a lot. Anyone that has done a Dryland event will know that their waterpoints are top notch and had plenty to keep hydrated and topped up.

I had that same issue in the Munga Grit, and I think it's a gravel specific issue. Due to tyre size you're very dependent on tyre pressure for comfort. At a pressure where the sharp impact of a bump is reduced its pretty easy to ding a rim or pinch a tyre on a rock.

Both my tyres lost pressure during the Grit. The sidewalls were so worn by the end that they were seeping sealant and I binned them (at least, I would have binned them if I didn't scrap the bike). 

For reference I was on 650B x 43 rear and 48 front GravelKing SKs, so pretty meaty. 

[Ispeed_V]

One to add to the bucket list

[peepeekaitjie]

38 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

Looks exactly like the sufferfest I expected it to be. plus those logistics.....glad those who did it enjoyed it, each to their own.

I've done some pretty silly events but this one holds no desire for me to enter. Only time I gone all the way to Calvinia was for the vleisfees, now that was worth it!

 

Logistics aren't that bad if you plan bugger all. Only had tickets I bought off the hub. Managed to borrow a vehicle the day before and someone to drive it to the finish two days prior. We slept in the siekeboeg at the hostel, a bargain at R160 each. At the finish we were too wrecked to drive so we chained our bikes to a tree and slept in the Caddy.

[capediver]

11 minutes ago, Ari SW said:

Logistics aren't that bad if you plan bugger all. Only had tickets I bought off the hub. Managed to borrow a vehicle the day before and someone to drive it to the finish two days prior. We slept in the siekeboeg at the hostel, a bargain at R160 each. At the finish we were too wrecked to drive so we chained our bikes to a tree and slept in the Caddy.

Sounds like a proper adventure!

[peepeekaitjie]

11 minutes ago, capediver said:

Sounds like a proper adventure!

If I ever do it again I will try plan a little better. A bed for the night and something to eat besides an overpriced, dry hotdog would have been golden. 

[hboli4]

17 minutes ago, Ari SW said:

If I ever do it again I will try plan a little better. A bed for the night and something to eat besides an overpriced, dry hotdog would have been golden. 

This was the one let-down for me, lack of food options at the finish. We booked the 'braai' beforehand in Calvinia and happy to do so, hopefully some income for the school.

 

The pre-book option at the finish was a bit pricey I reckon and we didn't book that, thinking that we will get something else as there was mention of burgers etc. for the supporters to purchase. Also ended up with the hotdog....did have a couple of beers though.

[peepeekaitjie]

10 minutes ago, hboli4 said:

This was the one let-down for me, lack of food options at the finish. We booked the 'braai' beforehand in Calvinia and happy to do so, hopefully some income for the school.

 

The pre-book option at the finish was a bit pricey I reckon and we didn't book that, thinking that we will get something else as there was mention of burgers etc. for the supporters to purchase. Also ended up with the hotdog....did have a couple of beers though.

Hell even if they had one of the water points at the end I would have been happy with a handful of potatoes and droewors.

[Skubarra]

1 hour ago, Shebeen said:

Looks exactly like the sufferfest I expected it to be. plus those logistics.....glad those who did it enjoyed it, each to their own.

I've done some pretty silly events but this one holds no desire for me to enter. Only time I gone all the way to Calvinia was for the vleisfees, now that was worth it!

 

With the caveat that we had a tailwind for the first 160km I wouldn't say this was a sufferfest at all compared to other 200km+ races I've done. I predict that this race will grow a lot in popularity going forward as its very doable for the average weekend warrior.

Big plus for me was the 5h00 start, by the time the heat starts picking up you are already 100km into the race. With the well-stocked waterpoints our team didn't even bother with the boxes you can forward to the waterpoints. If you manage an average of about 20km/h its a nice late afternoon finish, shower, beers and dinner before the sun sets and you are back home in Cape Town by bedtime.

[sias]

I should have taken the 34T.

[Beesrib]

Does sound like a great race.  Well done all.

[DieselnDust]

Its a very well organised event, well it's a Dryland Event so I guess that stands to reason.

We had a bit of a crappy ride. We were mixed Mtb team of 4 but our lady rider didn't get the memo to bring her MTb and thought a gravel bike may help her keep up with us guys a little easier.

On the long descent from 25 to 35km we got separated. Our lady suffered a puncture due to side wall tear. We were doing quite well up to this point. I wasn't aware of the team stopping so I got the bottom of the hill and found no one behind me. I probably waited 10 min. then headed back up the road to find them. This was to be the start of a trying 15hr ride fixing punctures in that gravel bikes rear wheel.

I climbed katbakkies quite fast with a 34T, never needing the 50T rear sprocket at all so yeah a 36T front ring could have worked for me.

At one point my shifter started feeling sticky. I've experienced this before when  trigger shifter gets clogged with fine dirt so asked the mechanic at one of the waterpoints for some silicone spray lube. I was told the shifter is toast. anway I found some lube and sprayed it in. Shifter has not missed a beat since but I do no have the excuse for AXS

[Iwan Kemp]

Does anyone know where or how I cab track the winner down?