Western Cape Enduro 2023

[Heinrich Hattingh]

8 minutes ago, Headshot said:

Why - it says "JH Enduro" - that's the comparison. The JH DH track is less technical than at least three of the stages on the JH enduro. Paarl is not very technical at all and Zevenwacht requires good jumping skills rather than an ability to ride rocks and tech.  

Agh okay, makes sense now, read WC DH tracks as World Cup not Western Cape. Yeah, Western Cape DH tracks are def tamer than the Plummer. 

 

[PhilipV]

19 hours ago, Headshot said:

Not really of you value rear braking grip. There is a reason why semi-slick tyres have fallen by the wayside.

It’s not a tyre for careful people. 

On 2/18/2023 at 5:39 PM, MORNE said:

also…time to finally dig out that maxxis minion SS I have. Perfect rear tire for that. Mach 3 enabled👀

I like my minion SS on the back. I also like going sideways and the SS can break away without touching the brake. 
For a pedally day on mild trails it’s a no-brainer. 
Beware though, it make make you believe that you can do scandi flicks all day. 

Edited February 21, 2023 by PhilipV

[MORNE]

7 hours ago, PhilipV said:

It’s not a tyre for careful people. 

I like my minion SS on the back. I also like going sideways and the SS can brake away without touching the brake. 
For a pedally day on mild trails it’s a no-brainer. 
Beware though, it make make you believe that you can do scandi flicks all day. 

I rode it (the SS)there this weekend. Crazy how fast it rolls and picks up speed. Im sure if you don’t pair it with a boat anker like an Assegai it will feel even faster. It almost feels like the panaracers on my gravel bike rolling along. Rode a schwalbe rock razor on my hardtail too back then (schwalbes semi slick). And loved it.

I don’t think semi slicks are that bad around here. Yes it wont work everywhere,  and it’s a good incentive to stop using the coward levers so much on lose stuff for sure. They stop just fine on hardpack stuff. It also isn't infinitely worse, you adapt pretty quickly. A minion SS still makes a recon race or the rest of those  ‘cape epic’ crop of tyres look like gravel tires. And those lot havent died yet.They work nicely on these flowey trails.  

Edited February 20, 2023 by MORNE

[Headshot]

15 hours ago, MORNE said:

I rode it (the SS)there this weekend. Crazy how fast it rolls and picks up speed. Im sure if you don’t pair it with a boat anker like an Assegai it will feel even faster. It almost feels like the panaracers on my gravel bike rolling along. Rode a schwalbe rock razor on my hardtail too back then (schwalbes semi slick). And loved it.

I don’t think semi slicks are that bad around here. Yes it wont work everywhere,  and it’s a good incentive to stop using the coward levers so much on lose stuff for sure. They stop just fine on hardpack stuff. It also isn't infinitely worse, you adapt pretty quickly. A minion SS still makes a recon race or the rest of those  ‘cape epic’ crop of tyres look like gravel tires. And those lot havent died yet.They work nicely on these flowey trails.  

I eventually found that the Rock Razor I used became so poor under braking and always had poor climbing traction so I got rid of it. I even tried it on the front for a bit in search of low rolling resistance with some cornering grip. I think a tyre like an Aggressor is way better than any semi-slick. I currently run one at the back and it rolls super fast on its hard rubber center knobs and has great cornering and climbing grip. If you ride a reasonably slack bike a grippy tyre like an assegai or Magic Mary up front doesn't roll too bad. Out back a different story. 

[Jewbacca]

1 hour ago, Headshot said:

I eventually found that the Rock Razor I used became so poor under braking and always had poor climbing traction so I got rid of it. I even tried it on the front for a bit in search of low rolling resistance with some cornering grip. I think a tyre like an Aggressor is way better than any semi-slick. I currently run one at the back and it rolls super fast on its hard rubber center knobs and has great cornering and climbing grip. If you ride a reasonably slack bike a grippy tyre like an assegai or Magic Mary up front doesn't roll too bad. Out back a different story. 

I'm with you on this.

The Aggressor is hands down the best rear tire I have ever run.

I find the semi slick with side knobs variants don't roll or transition as well as a tire with a high centre line tread with some bite once leant off centre.

I currently have the Version 2 Butcher on the front and a Purgatory on the rear. I like the Purgatory. But the Aggressor has a slightly better transition.

These days though, my skills have deteriorated to the point where I won't be testing the ability of any tires. I will run out of ability land up in the bushes long before I push the extremes of any tire, even Aspens.

[MORNE]

5 hours ago, Jewbacca said:

I'm with you on this.

The Aggressor is hands down the best rear tire I have ever run.

I find the semi slick with side knobs variants don't roll or transition as well as a tire with a high centre line tread with some bite once leant off centre.

I currently have the Version 2 Butcher on the front and a Purgatory on the rear. I like the Purgatory. But the Aggressor has a slightly better transition.

These days though, my skills have deteriorated to the point where I won't be testing the ability of any tires. I will run out of ability land up in the bushes long before I push the extremes of any tire, even Aspens.

Then ill try one. This SS is/was new old stock and was before bike tires cost more tgan car tires….so im not precious. All I know is Dissectors are POS tires…just because ive had pencil erasers on the back of pencils that lasted longer. Total dud that for maxxis. And im not even an aggro rider, still tearing off side knobs like mielies 

Edited February 21, 2023 by MORNE

[MORNE]

….But im not hating how the SS feels, since I frequent tygerburm, it might live there till it dies….or I do🤪

[Headshot]

16 hours ago, MORNE said:

Then ill try one. This SS is/was new old stock and was before bike tires cost more tgan car tires….so im not precious. All I know is Dissectors are POS tires…just because ive had pencil erasers on the back of pencils that lasted longer. Total dud that for maxxis. And im not even an aggro rider, still tearing off side knobs like mielies 

Good luck trying to get one in SA - I was told quite a while back they aren't being imported anymore.

[MORNE]

Weather not looking great for this….

Edit: scratch that, that rain just got blown to witfontein.

now we are probably in for hot and humid instead😅

The day I rode there it was also relative calm in terms of wind. Paarl is just a pizza oven though.

Edited March 2, 2023 by MORNE

[MORNE]

Bump

[MORNE]

That was fun, but also super tough. This was way harder than Paarl imo. This was a day for the e-bikes for sure.
That huge amount of rain just before the start made the trails so grippy. Pinecone was so much fun. Unlimited grip, that was the closest I think ive ever come to forgetting about my brake levers. You could just turn and hold on.

My attempts to place somewhere around the middle got thwarted though when I ran out of talent around mid stage 4 in that fast section through the rocks and trees.

I knew I was going down 10m before it happened haha. Connected with my bar/grip at speed and went OTB down the hill.  Got winded real bad and spent the next few minutes heaving like a 2 year  old in the bushes.

When i finally caught my breath i got up and saw both my watch as well as the timing tag were missing from my bloody forearm.

Im assuming my watch strap/pin is what cut me open. Started looking for them down the embankment. Found the tag since it’s red. Watch was gifted to the trail fairies i think. Couldn't find it. Thanks to the peeps asking if I was ok. Had to manhandle my bars back into place and limped home. Managed to finish in the end.

All in all, thanks for a fun day!

Edited March 4, 2023 by MORNE

[Robbie Stewart]

3 hours ago, MORNE said:

That was fun, but also super tough. This was way harder than Paarl imo. This was a day for the e-bikes for sure.
That huge amount of rain just before the start made the trails so grippy. Pinecone was so much fun. Unlimited grip, that was the closest I think ive ever come to forgetting about my brake levers. You could just turn and hold on.

My attempts to place somewhere around the middle got thwarted though when I ran out of talent around mid stage 4 in that fast section through the rocks and trees.

I knew I was going down 10m before it happened haha. Connected with my bar/grip at speed and went OTB down the hill.  Got winded real bad and spent the next few minutes heaving like a 2 year  old in the bushes.

When i finally caught my breath i got up and saw both my watch as well as the timing tag were missing from my bloody forearm.

Im assuming my watch strap/pin is what cut me open. Started looking for them down the embankment. Found the tag since it’s red. Watch was gifted to the trail fairies i think. Couldn't find it. Thanks to the peeps asking if I was ok. Had to manhandle my bars back into place and limped home. Managed to finish in the end.

All in all, thanks for a fun day!

Ouch, at least you're okay. Seems like crashing is in the air lately. I was having serious FOMO today but even just doing a sedate ride along the West Coast cycle path was troubling for my wrist and ribs.

[MORNE]

8 hours ago, Robbie Stewart said:

Ouch, at least you're okay. Seems like crashing is in the air lately. I was having serious FOMO today but even just doing a sedate ride along the West Coast cycle path was troubling for my wrist and ribs.

Thanks.

yea I was probably due one haha. When I finally got to take all my kit off last night at around 9pm, it was 100% clear from the bruising that I took some handlebars in the ribs. Guess thats what knocked the wind out of me.

it was good fun in the end.. at around d 1pm when people were scattering to find any form of shelter from the rain, I must say i almost decided to go home. Im not keen on messing up my bikes in the mud. Also, was convinced my tyre selection was going to be a disaster.

As it turned out, the soil was so dry, that amount of rain just ended up making it all super tacky. Loved the minion SS on the back, it was amazing…like a slick on a rubbered in racetrack. 

The event was not without its flaws though. Biggest one being imo the single water table….and only on the way to stage 4. This was such a lazy box-move from the organisers imo. Cleary did not feel like going to the owloon side of the mountain to have a much needed point there. They could have put it at the start of pinecone even after that monstrous climb ub the valley if access was an issue. 
The trail markings on the way to stage 1 were a mess. The whole group ended up doing the start of the xc/marathon route before they realised we were going the wrong way haha. So we just aimed for the tower and took whatever tracks led there.

What happened to warning of impending stage finish around 20m to go? You’ll come around a corner and overshoot the timing computer at mach 3, just to throw your bike down and run back to tag out. I think these niggles made it clear that the enduro was a last minute addition to the event. Mostly minor ones though, unless you ran out of water before the climb up to stage 3. There were plenty of kids resorting to picking unripened fruit off trees to get some sort of moisture in their bodies on that side of the mountain.

 

 

 

Edited March 5, 2023 by MORNE

[Robbie Stewart]

3 hours ago, MORNE said:

Thanks.

yea I was probably due one haha. When I finally got to take all my kit off last night at around 9pm, it was 100% clear from the bruising that I took some handlebars in the ribs. Guess thats what knocked the wind out of me.

it was good fun in the end.. at around d 1pm when people were scattering to find any form of shelter from the rain, I must say i almost decided to go home. Im not keen on messing up my bikes in the mud. Also, was convinced my tyre selection was going to be a disaster.

As it turned out, the soil was so dry, that amount of rain just ended up making it all super tacky. Loved the minion SS on the back, it was amazing…like a slick on a rubbered in racetrack. 

The event was not without its flaws though. Biggest one being imo the single water table….and only on the way to stage 4. This was such a lazy box-move from the organisers imo. Cleary did not feel like going to the owloon side of the mountain to have a much needed point there. They could have put it at the start of pinecone even after that monstrous climb ub the valley if access was an issue. 
The trail markings on the way to stage 1 were a mess. The whole group ended up doing the start of the xc/marathon route before they realised we were going the wrong way haha. So we just aimed for the tower and took whatever tracks led there.

What happened to warning of impending stage finish around 20m to go? You’ll come around a corner and overshoot the timing computer at mach 3, just to throw your bike down and run back to tag out. I think these niggles made it clear that the enduro was a last minute addition to the event. Mostly minor ones though, unless you ran out of water before the climb up to stage 3. There were plenty of kids resorting to picking unripened fruit off trees to get some sort of moisture in their bodies on that side of the mountain.

 

 

 

Ja, logistics planning forms a big part of any event, and the water table, or rather lack thereof speaks volumes. I get that the costs are relativity high in relation to the low amount of entries and this means expecting a water table every 500m filled with gourmet snacks is unrealistic, but also on the flipside, these are the small things (lack of water at key points)  that end up being the death of these types of events especially when the aim of this event was to draw new crowds. Lucky for the cooler weather then, cause if Paarl did it's best impersonation of Hell as it does this time of the year, then folks would be tapping out sooner. 

Also, your comment about yesterday being better suited to e-bikes spoke volumes. Is this the direction these events are going in future? Are the e-bike enabled people now planning for e-events at the exclusion of the traditional riders on analogue bikes?

Mmmmm.

[Jewbacca]

5 hours ago, MORNE said:

Thanks.

yea I was probably due one haha. When I finally got to take all my kit off last night at around 9pm, it was 100% clear from the bruising that I took some handlebars in the ribs. Guess thats what knocked the wind out of me.

it was good fun in the end.. at around d 1pm when people were scattering to find any form of shelter from the rain, I must say i almost decided to go home. Im not keen on messing up my bikes in the mud. Also, was convinced my tyre selection was going to be a disaster.

As it turned out, the soil was so dry, that amount of rain just ended up making it all super tacky. Loved the minion SS on the back, it was amazing…like a slick on a rubbered in racetrack. 

The event was not without its flaws though. Biggest one being imo the single water table….and only on the way to stage 4. This was such a lazy box-move from the organisers imo. Cleary did not feel like going to the owloon side of the mountain to have a much needed point there. They could have put it at the start of pinecone even after that monstrous climb ub the valley if access was an issue. 
The trail markings on the way to stage 1 were a mess. The whole group ended up doing the start of the xc/marathon route before they realised we were going the wrong way haha. So we just aimed for the tower and took whatever tracks led there.

What happened to warning of impending stage finish around 20m to go? You’ll come around a corner and overshoot the timing computer at mach 3, just to throw your bike down and run back to tag out. I think these niggles made it clear that the enduro was a last minute addition to the event. Mostly minor ones though, unless you ran out of water before the climb up to stage 3. There were plenty of kids resorting to picking unripened fruit off trees to get some sort of moisture in their bodies on that side of the mountain.

 

 

 

Just an FYI 

MOST of the Enduro events I did between 2012 and COVID didn't have water points. 

I'm talking Ezelenduro, the Jonkers days, even SA champs. We carried a pack with water and snacks.

It was part of the racing, working out how much to pack and what to carry.

1 waterpoint is 1 waterpoint more than I would expect at a 25km Enduro race.

[MORNE]

1 hour ago, Jewbacca said:

Just an FYI 

MOST of the Enduro events I did between 2012 and COVID didn't have water points. 

I'm talking Ezelenduro, the Jonkers days, even SA champs. We carried a pack with water and snacks.

It was part of the racing, working out how much to pack and what to carry.

1 waterpoint is 1 waterpoint more than I would expect at a 25km Enduro race.

I get that. But if the enduro was for arguments sake, 30km, the first 2 stages and the liaison to 3 covered 20-25km lol.
I Carried 1.5L. Wasn't enough.

And not everyone is an endurance biltong like you😅

Edited March 5, 2023 by MORNE