TransBaviaans 2025

[HdB]

4 hours ago, Koos Likkewaan 2 said:

hardtail friendly ? 

Just to add - there were some very rugged downhill sections where bottles could (and did) fall out, so check how well your bottles cages hold your bottles.
I still need to test some rubber bands or velcro straps to secure mine, especially for the rear bottle where I have to use a side-entry cage.

My saddle-bag also got ripped loose on the Bergplaas decent, so now I use an extra velcro strap on that as well.

[Mongoose!]

11 minutes ago, HdB said:

36T or 38T front then, and just crush the climbs at a 40 cadence

well i just ordered a 36 and a 38 from Richey here on Bikebub. Guess I will have to test them on Raderkop here in Bloem...😬

[HdB]

Just now, Mongoose! said:

well i just ordered a 36 and a 38 from Richey here on Bikebub. Guess I will have to test them on Raderkop here in Bloem...😬

...after about 130km gravel with Jean 🦾

[RobynE 🚵‍♀️]

You won’t be able to get a new freehub for your AMC wheel unless you find one second hand - so you’ll need to use what you’ve got, whether XD or HG. American Classic is no longer, as of 2018 I think, so any new parts will be new-old stock at shops or if you’re lucky someone has something sitting in their parts cupboard. 

In both XD and HG there are a few aftermarket cassette options. I’ve used Sunshine and Sunrace and enjoy them both. Your SRAM is GX, not GRX. GRX is Shimano’s gravel groupset. Just mentioning this as if you ask people for stuff for your SRAM GRX you’ll likely be met with a lot of confusion. Current SRAM GX is 12 speed. 

I have a AMC HG freehub if you’d like to use it, if you wanted to go Shimano. I was using it with a SLX/Sunshine 12 speed 1x setup. It’s not in perfect shape but it gets the job done. Only not being used as I cracked the rear rim (American Classic Tubeless Race 29) and ended up replacing with a new wheelset and now using an XD freehub on Hope hub. 

If you’re in Joburg @RobertWhitehead can sort out your conundrum. 

[RobynE 🚵‍♀️]

⬆️ Just to add, I had SRAM GX 11 speed on my bike and it served me well. With the right cassette and chain ring size you have plenty of range. I only went 12 speed because the feel of the 12 speed Shimano shifter really makes my heart pitter-patter 😂 

[Mamil]

Jeez ... All these real men making me and my 32 feel pretty small.

Anything over 9 per ent and I simply can't haul the mamil bulk up the bult on anything but the frailest of grannies

Edited Thursday at 05:49 PM by Mamil

[Mongoose!]

2 hours ago, RobynE 🚵‍♀️ said:

You won’t be able to get a new freehub for your AMC wheel unless you find one second hand - so you’ll need to use what you’ve got, whether XD or HG. American Classic is no longer, as of 2018 I think, so any new parts will be new-old stock at shops or if you’re lucky someone has something sitting in their parts cupboard. 

In both XD and HG there are a few aftermarket cassette options. I’ve used Sunshine and Sunrace and enjoy them both. Your SRAM is GX, not GRX. GRX is Shimano’s gravel groupset. Just mentioning this as if you ask people for stuff for your SRAM GRX you’ll likely be met with a lot of confusion. Current SRAM GX is 12 speed. 

I have a AMC HG freehub if you’d like to use it, if you wanted to go Shimano. I was using it with a SLX/Sunshine 12 speed 1x setup. It’s not in perfect shape but it gets the job done. Only not being used as I cracked the rear rim (American Classic Tubeless Race 29) and ended up replacing with a new wheelset and now using an XD freehub on Hope hub. 

If you’re in Joburg @RobertWhitehead can sort out your conundrum. 

Thanks for the reply.

 

Haha. Yes my Sram is GX 11 speed. Typo.... I have Grx on my gravel bike🤦‍♂️. 

Think my original post was maybe too long...

In short:

I have currently a Sunrace 11 - 42 cassette on my bike. ( HG free body) . Front a 34 oval ring. The groupset is GX 1 x11. 

I am going to spin out on the 11. 

If I go bigger at the front I may struggle with the climbs.

The price of a new 1 x 11 XD cassette is too close to a new SLX upgrade kit.

SLX upgrade kit will require a microspline hub. Not an option for my old wheels.

Thinking of going 2x10 with parts I have

42/28 front  and 36/11 rear

Or

Cheap Aliexpress 42 - 9 XD cassette- but worried about bad shifting. 

First world problems....lol

[Mongoose!]

2 hours ago, HdB said:

...after about 130km gravel with Jean 🦾

To Brandfort and back first ja...🤣

[Mongoose!]

2 hours ago, HdB said:

...after about 130km gravel with Jean 🦾

To Brandfort and back first ja...🤣

[RobynE 🚵‍♀️]

17 minutes ago, Mongoose! said:

Snip

You can get a Sunrace 11-50 locally, which will help with your climbs, if you wanted to stay 1x. There’s also a Sunshine 11-52. They both come in somewhere around R1500.00.

Almost every photo I’ve ever seen of the TB is people with 1x setups. 

I reckon if you train hills on your 1x setup with more choice at the top, you’ll soon know if it’s going to work out for you or not whether with the 34/36. Meanwhile 38 ring on a 42t makes my legs and lungs heave just thinking about it 😂 

 

[HdB]

What is the max size for your Sram derailleur? There are some suspiciously cheap 11 speed cassettes available on Takealot, for example:
https://www.takealot.com/kmc-cassette-11-speed-cs11s-11-50-hg-compatible/PLID94551798
https://www.takealot.com/sunshine-sz-11-speed-11-52t-silver-black-mtb-bicycle-cassette-hg/PLID93384887

But you would have to get one and test, and if it doesn't shift well then it's money wasted. If it does shift OK, then the bigger chainring will make up for the missing 10.

The 2x10 could work, Radarkop test to be sure. As long as it is not a muddy race?

[HdB]

2 hours ago, Mamil said:

Jeez ... All these real men making me and my 32 feel pretty small.

Anything over 9 per ent and I simply can't haul the mamil bulk up the bult on anything but the frailest of grannies

I rode pretty much the entire Bergplaas climb in my granny gear. Thank goodness for that 50T.

Which reminds me, I better start getting used to the energy drink now, to avoid 🤢🤮

[Mamil]

8 hours ago, HdB said:

I rode pretty much the entire Bergplaas climb in my granny gear. Thank goodness for that 50T.

Which reminds me, I better start getting used to the energy drink now, to avoid 🤢🤮

On my first TB I ate too much sosatie wors at the bottom and had a torrid bergplaas. 

[Skubarra]

Not to get into specifics as we all use different ratios, but I would say in principle make sure you have enough at the bottom-end to spin up MAC, its a big climb with some sections steep & with broken cement tracks + you hit it after 120km(?) so it helps if you can do it at a high cadence. If you are fit you possibly won't lose that much time on MAC on the wrong gear ratios but you are going to burn a bucket load of matches you likely going to miss on Neverender and the rest of the last 50km.

Also the first 100km may be easy going, flat & fast but for the most part the roads are not that good & there are rutted sections, so a massive chain ring is going to be off less help than you might imagine looking at the route profile, I would go for something mid-range and just find a nice bunch to slip in.