Karoo 2 Coast - tyres

[Bub Marley]

What about a dual suspension vs a drop bar hardtail?

[eddy]

2 hours ago, Bub Marley said:

What about a dual suspension vs a drop bar hardtail?

I did one, and only one, on a rigid singlespeed. 2.1 Crossmarks. Can't think why I wasn't tempted again 😕 

[Jimmy 2.0]

2 hours ago, Bub Marley said:

What about a dual suspension vs a drop bar hardtail?

I rode a drop bar hardtail last time 2022/3

This year is my 7th K2C

Gonna be running a dual suspension drop bar. Giant anthem with a very frim rear shock. Running Onza Canis 2.3. farr aero drop bar with a bell to tell the slow pokes in A bach to move out of the way(im startingB) on the first climb out of town

Edited September 16, 2025 by Jimmy 2.0

[MORNE]

56 minutes ago, eddy said:

I did one, and only one, on a rigid singlespeed. 2.1 Crossmarks. Can't think why I wasn't tempted again 😕 

Because you have nothing left to prove😜

[Bub Marley]

33 minutes ago, Jimmy 2.0 said:

I rode a drop bar hardtail last time 2022/3

This year is my 7th K2C

Gonna be running a dual suspension drop bar. Giant anthem with a very frim rear shock. Running Onza Canis 2.3. farr aero drop bar with a bell to tell the slow pokes in A bach to move out of the way(im startingB) on the first climb out of town

How was the hardtail?

 

Honestly, my main reservation isn’t really comfort. I’m fine with sacrificing some comfort. I’m just concerned about the descending on drop bars vs flat bars. How technical/rough are the descents? I’d say my descending on the drops is okayish. I’m not terrible but clearly I would be faster on the flats. I’d say more of a concern is hand fatigue on the drops if the descents are super long. On the flats bars i can pretty much fly down. But how much time would I actually lose on a descent though vs what i would make up the rest of the course.

[Jimmy 2.0]

1 hour ago, Bub Marley said:

How was the hardtail?

 

Honestly, my main reservation isn’t really comfort. I’m fine with sacrificing some comfort. I’m just concerned about the descending on drop bars vs flat bars. How technical/rough are the descents? I’d say my descending on the drops is okayish. I’m not terrible but clearly I would be faster on the flats. I’d say more of a concern is hand fatigue on the drops if the descents are super long. On the flats bars i can pretty much fly down. But how much time would I actually lose on a descent though vs what i would make up the rest of the course.

Drop Bars on a mtb takes a bit of getting use to. It doesn't compare to road bike or gravel bike. the hardest part is actually bike setup as you'll need to run a super short stem or maybe even go down a frame size (like I did) as where your hands are on the hoods is about an extra 5-10cm more forward than where they would of been on a mtb. But ill only recommend this setup if you have ridden it a few times

Karoo to coast is mainly gravel roads with the 1st downhill and the one other descent in the last half being your most gnarly. 

Edited September 16, 2025 by Jimmy 2.0

[Robbie Stewart]

53 minutes ago, Bub Marley said:

How was the hardtail?

 

Honestly, my main reservation isn’t really comfort. I’m fine with sacrificing some comfort. I’m just concerned about the descending on drop bars vs flat bars. How technical/rough are the descents? I’d say my descending on the drops is okayish. I’m not terrible but clearly I would be faster on the flats. I’d say more of a concern is hand fatigue on the drops if the descents are super long. On the flats bars i can pretty much fly down. But how much time would I actually lose on a descent though vs what i would make up the rest of the course.

The descent towards Avontuur from the top of the first climb up Ou Wapad is nothing more than a very rough, rocky, rutted jeep track common for the area. Going fast down there on a MTB is challenging. Then the descent from the top of the Prince Alfred's pass to De Vlugt is a winding 14km that is usually fairly smooth for being a gravel road. Depends on the preceding winter, which this year was below average rainfall. The next descent is maybe half as long, but it is much rougher usually than the previous one, especially just before the bottom. The road is stony and rutted around that part usually. Take extra care on a gravel bike. From there it is pretty standard gravel fare until the entry to Kom se Pad, which is again morphing into forestry jeep track. The last drop into Gouna is steep, windy and loose marbles. Again, caution. The descent from Simola to Knysna is on tar down a pretty steep hill. Top speeds will be achieved there if you still have arms left.

[sias]

Anyone have an Epic Ride weather forecast or something? From YR and MSN weather, it looks like a cool-ish day with very slight wind from NE, no rain?

[Mike Bike]

my first K2C. gonna be running brand new carbon wheels with ground control grid 2.35 See you in A batch 

[HdB]

2 hours ago, sias said:

Anyone have an Epic Ride weather forecast or something? From YR and MSN weather, it looks like a cool-ish day with very slight wind from NE, no rain?

Temperature: 8.8°C to 20.3°C, feels like 9.4°C to 19.2°C
Wind: 2,9 to 13,4 km/h, with gusts up to 35,1 km/h
Probability of precipitation: 0%

Edited September 17, 2025 by HdB

[Anthem24]

I didn't see any post-ride reports of how the tyre and bike options panned out, but the Toyota Cadence 10-minute coverage of Karoo 2 Coast popped up on my YouTube, and it's well worth a watch for those who don't have DSTV.

The male and female winners were incredibly impressive for different reasons.