2025 Absa Cape Epic Route Announced

[ikerarri]

4 hours ago, Daniel “Edward” de Villiers said:

Craig Colesky (a local) has ridden the Epic a few times. In one of his videos on preparing for the Epic in 2025 he mentioned that this year the most common tyre was the Maxxis Rekon Race: 

 

Thanks Daniel, nice video and good advice! Much appreciated. 

[DieselnDust]

6 hours ago, ikerarri said:

What tire choice would you recommend for 2025 Cape Epic route?

I was thinking in 2.35 - 2.4 XC fast rolling tires (MAXXIS REKON RACE for example),... but I wonder if there is any need for larger knobs or more protection/robust tires .... 

Local expertise is much appreciated 😉

 

31 minutes ago, ikerarri said:

Thanks Daniel, nice video and good advice! Much appreciated. 

 

I've ridden all the trails that will be used. Much of the trails will be hardpack and it will be slow going for 50% of the field. The routes features lots of tight but flowy singletrack. 

What you need to consider is ;

1. your all up weight inclu bike kit etc
2. weather conditions
3. what sort of average speed you will be riding

Your all up weight:

Iv you're heavy you may want to consider a light trail tyre like the pirelli Scorpion XC M on the front and XC H on the back or XC H front and back.

If you're light you can get away with the XC RC with Prowall for some sidewall protection (will come in handy from Day 3 onwards. Other XC race tyres from Bontrager/Trek, Continental and Specialized will also be popular choices incl the Maxxis Rekon Race in this category.

The weather:

We get rain here in March and that means mud and slippery clay. You don't want fat floaty tyres in clay mud but rather a 2.1 or 2.2 with fairly aggressive tread like a Conti Cross King.

If dry and hot all week then we're back to the choices related to your weight and riding style.

Racer or Just wanna finish?:

If just finishing is the objective, we're backto the light trail tyre over the terrain for Epic 2025. If racing you'll want to consider ease of rolling and plugging. Some high TPI tyre casngs are hard to plug and plug reliably. Some cheaper tyres actualy fair better and roll quite well like the Chaoyang Hornet or Phantom dry for fast rolling.

 

So its reeally over to you to tell us more about your experience and objectives for the epic to be able to better advise you

[ikerarri]

20 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

 

 

I've ridden all the trails that will be used. Much of the trails will be hardpack and it will be slow going for 50% of the field. The routes features lots of tight but flowy singletrack. 

What you need to consider is ;

1. your all up weight inclu bike kit etc
2. weather conditions
3. what sort of average speed you will be riding

Your all up weight:

Iv you're heavy you may want to consider a light trail tyre like the pirelli Scorpion XC M on the front and XC H on the back or XC H front and back.

If you're light you can get away with the XC RC with Prowall for some sidewall protection (will come in handy from Day 3 onwards. Other XC race tyres from Bontrager/Trek, Continental and Specialized will also be popular choices incl the Maxxis Rekon Race in this category.

The weather:

We get rain here in March and that means mud and slippery clay. You don't want fat floaty tyres in clay mud but rather a 2.1 or 2.2 with fairly aggressive tread like a Conti Cross King.

If dry and hot all week then we're back to the choices related to your weight and riding style.

Racer or Just wanna finish?:

If just finishing is the objective, we're backto the light trail tyre over the terrain for Epic 2025. If racing you'll want to consider ease of rolling and plugging. Some high TPI tyre casngs are hard to plug and plug reliably. Some cheaper tyres actualy fair better and roll quite well like the Chaoyang Hornet or Phantom dry for fast rolling.

 

So its reeally over to you to tell us more about your experience and objectives for the epic to be able to better advise you

Wow @DieselnDust,… that is very helpful from your side.

I did the Epic 2021 (the one in October), on Maxxis Forekaster 2.35 front and Ikon 2.35 rear. No inserts. Exo protection. We had some rocky days around Witzenger Valley and Tulbagh,… and smoother later around Wellington.  Average speed was around 13-14 kph incl rests, … which is around the “75% back” if I can say that way.  Happy with that tire choice but Maxxis has now destroyed the Forekaster putting more weight on it and making it a trail tire. 
 

Finisher is the main goal but, of course, everybody wants to overtake riders 😉 

so I was considering a Rekon Race combination front/rear or maybe something a little bit more grippy in the front. I am now riding Vittoria Barzo/Mezcal 2.35 but do not have enough mileage to judge them well on performance (and reliability). 
 

If it gets clay muddy 2.35 or 2.40s will be too big, but we will have to bet one tire combo as travelling with tires and changing them while in race in tubeless setup is a bit complicated. 
 

Thanks for the very valuable information!

[DieselnDust]

If maxxis is your brand of choice then a rekon on the front and rekon race rear is a good compromise combo