Mountain Biking with The Average Guy

Ritchey WCS Carbon Wheels

2009-10-09T08:23:00.000+02:00

I had a chance to take my new Ritchey Carbon wheels for a light spin this morning. Initial impressions are that they are super smooth! Even though it is probably not really possible, they seem to really damp trail chatter. The have an extremely quiet ride. I will update with a full review, as soon as I have done some miles on them.

2010 Fox Float RLC 150mm

2009-09-14T07:08:00.000+02:00

I have been lucky enough to be riding Fox’s new offering for about a month, and while I am still a hesitant Fox front suspension fan, I am really starting to like my new fork.
The fork works extremely well! So this is not so much a review, as some advice that I have picked up on the set-up of the fork. This is by no means my own discovery, but rather some advice that I read in the MB Action magazine. They had an expert from Fox answer a letter from a reader and he gives some advice on using the RLC forks.
It is at this point that I have to admit that I never really new what the low speed compression was for on the Fox forks. On my previous forks I used to dial in 3 clicks from full minus and then never touch it again. The advice given in the magazine; has changed my life forever.
The best way for me to explain what the compression adjuster does is to say that it is like having a shock pump with you on the trail. You can effectively increase the “pressure” in your fork.
So here is what I tried this weekend, and it worked really well. I have never run the recommended amount of sag on a Fox fork, I have always thought it made the fork feel too soft. So, for starters, I dialled the compression adjuster to full Minus (off) I then, using a shock pump dialled in 20% sag. Yes, the shock felt too soft, but by simply turning the compression adjuster you can make the shock harder.
So while riding, when things got ugly I turned the compression down and had the full advantage of the most plush travel you can imagine. And when I was climbing or on flat sections I turned it up for a pedal platform type feeling.
I hope you find this handy! I sure did!

MTN Blockhouse Marathon

2009-09-01T09:28:00.000+02:00

Despite trying to dedicate myself entirely to the freeride movement, I still find myself drawn to racing events. I found myself at the MTN National Marathon race at Blockhouse, south (very south) of Johannesburg this weekend.
After being freaked out by some very strange looking circus people at the start line, we set off with what looked like about 300 000 people! The dust was really something to behold! As I was only in training ride mode, I was happy to start at the back. There was a some really twisty single track to get away from the circus people which was pretty fun.
The course was extremely flat, which in my current form suited me perfectly. There was plenty of single track and even some rocky stuff to keep it exciting. The YETI handled the course brilliantly, as usual. My new 150mm Fox fork did not hold me back at all and I still managed a pretty fast average over the flat course.
Apart from the DUST it was a great race, whether it should be on the National calendar is debatable, but for me it was a great day out.
Thanks again to Regent Lighting Solutions for the support.

Trek Fuel EX - Friday bike pron from Chris

2009-08-28T11:58:00.000+02:00

Chris our resident Bike Pron expert is a regular supplier of the latest equipment news on the web. Today the new Trek Fuel for 2010

Check out the new Trek bikes. They look very cool. One day when I am all grown up I'll buy myself one of those fuel ex bikes...

http://www.mbaction.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=news&mod=News&mid=9A02E3B96F2A415ABC72CB5F516B4C10&tier=3&nid=A306472B9AFD49EDAA8D4C6A3EA4545E

And a budget khs that these reveiwers quite liked. I didn't even know khs still made bikes.

http://www.bikemagic.com/news/article/mps/uan/7225

Later dudes.

IBIS HD

2009-07-28T15:01:00.000+02:00

Big Ibis News
Mojo HD Hits the Slopes
It's time to let the "HD" out of the bag.
Over the last couple years, we've been working on a new 160mm travel big brother to the Mojo Carbon and Mojo SL (each with 140mm travel), we're temporarily calling it the "Mojo HD". And now we think it's about time to tell you about it.
Introducing the Ibis Mojo HD
Before we tell you about what nitty gritty details we're willing to divulge, we want to let you know that we've already been putting this bike through the paces, some of them rigorous.
Already a Race Winner
Brian Lopes spent the last week in Vars France, getting ready for and then competing in the Enduro Trophy des Nations. This is an enduro style race, becoming quite popular in Europe these days, where riders compete in a number of stages over a two day period with "beaucoup" downhill. This particular event had 10 stages over two days and featured over 10,000 M of descending. If you're bad at math (or don't like the metric system) that's 32,808.4 feet of descent. Or 6.21 MILES straight down, measured vertically! This race also had a bonus stage at 10PM on saturday night that didn't count for the overall time, but the winner got an extra 500 Euros of party money.Brian teamed up with WTB's Mark Weir and Jason Moescheler to form Team USA 1. Brian notched the first win for his prototype Mojo HD on its first day of racing by winning one of the stages on Saturday, propelling the team to second overall on Saturday night.
Brian is very happy with the bike, and told us a couple things in text messages received over the weekend.
"bike is awesome"
OK, we understand typing is not that easy on a Blackberry.
Brian's Sunday Night ReportSeriously though, here we we have an extra long Blackberry missive from Monsieur Lopes:
"The Enduro race was a lot harder than I expected. The toll it took on everything: wheels, tires, brakes, suspension, the body, and of course the frame were beyond what I imagined. The new "HD" Ibis never missed a beat. For only getting the frame one week ago & with only one ride on it before packing it up for this race, it couldn't have gone through any more of a test than the abusive one I gave it here in France. With 10 demanding races, 3 of which ended with flat tires, the French won all but one race (which I won!). It was hard to beat them on course they knew better than all the rest, basically they were on their home track at times, where knowing the course saved them time. It's hard to believe that this bike isn't much heavier than the standard mojo, as it was eating up courses that were worthy of full-on DH rigs. The added travel, stiffness, clearance for larger tires and a 8" rotor allow you to take on the toughest terrain you can throw at it, but it's still efficient and light enough to pedal up any hill. Another weapon is added to the ibis line up...
Wow, so there you go. The only non-French winner of any stage was Brian, and they ended second overall. We think that's pretty impressive. Without further fluff, here's a bit more about the bike.
Mojo "HD" Prototype Specifications
· Price and delivery date are both to be decided.
· 160mm of rear wheel travel.
· DW Link Suspension.
· 26" Wheels.
· Target weight for the frame and shock: 6.2-6.5 lbs. (we're not there yet but are fine-tuning the layup).
· 67 degree head angle with a 160mm fork (Brian was running a 170mm fork this weekend, you can also run a 180mm).
· Chain stay length: 17.125".
· Top tube lengths are the same as regular Mojos.
· 12 x 135mm Maxle rear axle.
· Post mount magnesium left dropout, carbon right dropout.
· Compatible with the new tapered steerer standard: 1 1/8th hidden upper, 1.5 traditional lower.
· Compatible with both Chris King InSet and Cane Creek Frustum headsets.
· If you want to run your current straight 1 1/8" fork, we've got you covered too. We will have an adapter available, and you will be able to use a King headset top and bottom.
· 2.35"-2.5" rear tire depending on brand and height of cornering knobs.
· Dual row angular contact bearings in the front of the lower link that have less play than standard sealed bearings. Preload adjustment is not necessary. Large 28mm x 15mm x 7mm radial bearings in the rear for stiffness and long wear.
· The leverage ratio, like the Mojo and Mojo SL is designed for air shocks. The Mojo HD comes with a 8.5" x 2.5" Fox RP23. A DHX air will work on all but the small size. A coil shock is not offered because the linkage rates weren't designed for it. We lowered the top tube to get slightly better standover than the regular mojo while having a higher BB because of the longer travel (we managed to retain the DHX air compatibility in 3 of the 4 sizes).
· The Bottom Bracket height is 13.8"-14" depending on tires.
· Chain guide development is well on its way, we'll announce compatible brands soon. The frame will not have ISCG mounts so it will not be Hammerschmidt compatible.
· The HD runs full cable housing. Rear brake and rear deraileur run on the down tube, with hidden swingarm housing for the rear derailleur.
· Front derailleur (if you use one) and adjustible seatpost housing (if you use one) run along the top tube.
· And once again, just to make sure you got it, price and delivery date are both yet to be decided.

Care of the IBIS newsletter.

Lezyne Alloy Drive M and Pen Guage – Review

2009-07-20T09:19:00.000+02:00

Over the years I have gone from pumps to bombs and back, probably 1000 times. Each time I see a new pump that looks cool, I buy it and turf the bomb idea, but I always come back again. On our recent trip to Mankele, I was reminded of the value of a good pump. I got a small cut in my tyre and lost a bit of pressure before it sealed up. I had no other choice but to use a bomb. 25 bucks, just to top up the pressure! It was time for a pump.
I have had my eye on the Lezyne pumps for a while, they just simply look cool! And when the colours were launched here I decided that I could wait no longer!
After getting the pump, I actually spend some minutes just looking at it! It is a beautifully constructed piece of equipment! The entire pump is CNC machined. Holding it in your hands you get the feeling that you will have this pump for the rest of your life. It is super solid! The system it uses, takes me back to my school days, when we had racing bikes with the two brackets under the top tube that would hold your long white sks pump. Inside the pump was a little hose that you had to screw onto the pump and onto the valve to inflate your tyre.
The Lezyne Alloy drive works exactly the same. I hit a rock and burped my tyre on my weekend riding and it was my first opportunity to use my new pump on the trail. It takes a few moments to attach the valve hose, but I am sure that once you have this a few times, it will become quick and easy. I bought the pen gauge as an extra to the pump. This features a nifty, integrated pressure gauge. When I screwed the valve onto my presta valve, I realised the advantages of checking your equipment before you attach it to your bike and ride off because the pressure gauge had unscrewed itself and pumping had no effect. 2 seconds later I had tightened everything up, and the pump worked, well like a bomb! It took about 8 strokes to get the tyre to my favourite (secret) pressure. And the visual confirmation from the integrated gauge is a treat!
You may think that attaching the valve hose is a hassle, but to be honest, I have bent and broken so many valves using pumps that attach directly to your valve that I am more than happy to take a second to attach everything. You can pump with all the vigour you need and not risk damaging your valve. One tip I can suggest it first attach the hose to the valve on your bike, then screw the pump on. This way you can’t inadvertently unscrew any of the pump parts when attaching to the valve.
I think this is a great product! And it seems that I will have it for MANY years to come!

Mountainbiking singletrack video at Mankele

2009-07-06T07:06:00.000+02:00

Check out this cool mountain bike video we made on the Mankele singletrack.

See the other posts below for the review of the mtb trip or watch the video below

What it the opposite of 5"?

2009-06-29T09:42:00.001+02:00

This weekend the 5” experiment took a total 180 degree turnaround! On Saturday afternoon I assisted a friend in building up his Niner S.I.R 9 frame. This is a Reynolds 853 steel frame that is designed specifically for singlespeed use. It has regular drop-outs but features an eccentric bottom bracket for tensioning the chain. It was super easy to build up!

The frame is simply beautiful! The welding is perfection and the root beer colour sparkles in the sun! Having said all this, I did think that you would have to be absolutely crazy to ride one of these things! Since I am now a converted big travel, one bike guy, the idea of a fully rigid singlespeed is preposterous!

And then I rode it...

Big wheels really do roll over trail obstacles easier. On my short, but eventful test, I simply loved the bike! I rode it up a steep hill, which proved that you need some serious lung capacity to pilot a machine like this! We fitted a 32 front chainring with 16 teeth at the back. This seemed good ratio for the Groenkloof and your average Pretoria hacking.

Then I got to take it on some cool singletrack. It was a blast! The 29 inch wheels love to keep going once you have them up to speed and you find yourself pushing harder and harder, it is extremely tiring but great fun!

I am hoping to get my hands on the bike for some more extensive testing, but Matt loves his new bike so much, I am not sure it will be really soon. Watch this space!

Induna and Mankele

2009-06-17T19:38:00.001+02:00

I am just back from taking the 5” experiment to Mpumalanga. We took a long weekend and did the MTN Big Induna race in Hazyview and then spent 2 days staying and riding at Mankele. South Africa’s own MTB park.

The race was a challenge, as usual. Anyone who underestimates the second half of the 75km Marathon is in for some pain and suffering. Some wet weather left slight muddy patches, but nothing that could not be ridden. The Yeti again, performed amazingly well. For the first time I found myself using the pro-pedal on some of the smoother tracks. After the hard riding of Magaliesberg and Rooiberg, the tracks at Hazyview seemed like groomed super tubes! The first 45km is fast and fun and the second 30km will leave you exhausted if you pushed too hard in the beginning. Again, the bike did not disappoint, and I found that I was riding the final quad trails faster than ever before.

We spent the next 2 days riding at Mankele. We also stayed in the 3 bedroom chalet, and I must say that this is really awesome accommodation. The facilities are clean and really first class. The establishment also has a bike wash area with hoses. All an MTB’er could ask for.

The riding is unbelievable! We only managed to take in the XC course and the singletrack around the huts. This was all challenging and great fun. I had dialled a bit more sag into the YETI 575 giving it a more supple feel. I then set the pro-pedal to the number 1 setting, giving a firm but comfortable ride when it was on. This allowed me to bomb through the rocky technical sections and still allowed me to climb the 30% inclines with great ease.

Be sure to take some spare with you, they don’t have anything that I could see in the shop and I did cut a tyre on the last run on the last day. The Bush Tunnel is one of the greatest pieces of singletrack that I have ever ridden and it begs to be ridden multiple times, so make sure you are fit but the time you make your booking to get the most out of the riding.

This weekend, I will be riding a local race in the east of Pretoria. Tygervalley. It is part of a new Nissan series. See you all there!

Mankele Pictures

2009-06-15T07:54:00.000+02:00

Rooiberg EcoRide

2009-06-08T09:02:00.001+02:00

This weekend saw the continuation of the 5” experiment on the rocky slopes of Rooiberg. The relatively new 2 day stage race is held just outside Warmbaths near the now ghost town of Rooiberg.

I must thank my sponsor; Regent Lighting Solutions for making it possible for me to attend the event.

It seems that my last 2 outings; at the Magalies Monster and now at Rooiberg, the YETI 575 was the perfect bike. Day 1 is a hugely rough ride! There are plenty of rocks in the area, and the route was probably 85% single track, sometimes over some very cool off-camber sections and traversing big rocks and rocky dry river beds. For me it was a blast! The bike performed like I would have expected it to. I never lost momentum no matter how rough the track was. The great thing about the 575 is that you can stay seated and power through the hardest sections on the trail.

The day’s highlight was definitely a section called “Donga” I only wished I could have gone back and ridden it again! For some riders day 1 would be slightly disappointing, as a rather large fire broke out along the route. Meaning that most of the mid to back pack had to get re-routed. I was lucky enough to make it through before the fire became an angry beast, forcing riders to turn away and re-route.

Day 2 is a far more flowing affair. After averaging only 16.6km/h on day 1 the fast jeep track of day 2 was very welcome. Here again the YETI surprised me. On the long flat sections the bike still pedalled extremely well. I was also never aware that I was riding over 12kgs of bike. And when things turned rough again near the end of the day, the 575 simply danced over the rocks and gained me a few positions in the last kilometres, notably over very exhausted looking hard tail riders.

So far the 5” experiment has been a huge success for me. We now move to the Big Induna and some playing at Mankele this weekend.

It would be remiss of me not to mention Grant Usher at this point. While I am moving swiftly towards a 5 inch bike as my bike of choice for all riding along comes Mr. Usher. Cool Heat built his fully rigid Niner single speed on Friday Night before the event. He then proceeded to beat most of the field on what can really only be described as one of the hardest courses in the country over 2 days. So if you feel that the 5” revolution is not for you, have a hat to Grant next time you bump into him. He loves telling you about how happy he is with his new bike!

The 5 inch Experiment.

2009-05-31T14:16:00.001+02:00

The hard tail is dead to me! Somewhere between old age and bad form I decided that I was not able to ride the hard tail format any longer. I recently revived the machine that I had done the TransBaviaans on last year, and for one weekend I suffered behind my mates, feeling every bump in the trail, and vowing that it was the last time I would ever ride a rigid rear again!

In fact, I believe that the 4 inch bike’s days are also numbered for me. I started riding an old 125mm rear bike with a 130mm front end more and more. I started noticing that I was having much more fun on my rides, and to my amazement, I was not really getting left behind by the group. There were things that I was not entirely happy with on this bike, and I started searching for a 5 inch bike that would suit my needs.

I settled on the YETI 575. True, this is almost a 6 inch bike and with my 130mm fork it is a little under-utilised, but man! Does it ride sweetly! I have not had it long, so watch out for a full review, but I decided to go and ride the Magalies Monster on the YETI this weekend. I had my reservations; after all. I do have a svelte 4 inch carbon race bike in the garage that weighs 11.2kgs. The YETI tips the scales at 12.5 kgs! Needless to say I was nervous that the bike would be too much for me and I would suffer on the climbs.

I can honestly say that I was not sorry for 1 minute that I chose the 575. I certainly would have been no faster on the 4 inch race bike. The terrain is so rough that I was literally floating over all the rocks and boulders. My body was much less fatigued at the end, except for the bruises sustained from 2 crashes. (It was only my second ride on the new frame, and we were still getting to know each other.)

I have some more races coming up and I believe that I will choose the big travel bike again. I will let you know how it works out. I am not sure that a 12kg + bike is on the cards for most of the skinny race snakes out there, but for a big guy like me, I really believe the extra travel to be an advantage. Obviously when you are 93kgs the weight of your bike matter a little less, but I truly believe that there is benefit for me in the extra travel.

More Radar Love

2008-12-03T14:19:00.001+02:00

In this modern world of blogs, it can be very easy to forget that people
actually read these things! I wrote a review on my Oakley Radars some time
ago and I had pretty much forgotten about it. Then a few weeks ago we
received a query from our website. It was from the good people at Oakley.
Keep in mind that we do not receive anything for running this website, it is
merely the love of Mountain biking that keeps it going. So when we review
products it is stuff that we have actually bought. In a way it keeps things
honest. We certainly would not rate something because we were paid to do so.
Anyway, back to the mail. The people at Oakley were very happy with the
review that I gave the radars and they wanted me to test some of the lenses
that they provide. They supplied me with the lenses for early morning use
and late afternoon use. Initially I was sceptical as to the value of "time"
specific lenses. But having used, particularly, the early morning lenses I
can say that they really do wonders! They simply enhance the available light
to make early morning rides a pleasure! If you have some Radars, have a look
into lenses they offer, they really can make a difference.
I have also recently seen that Oakley will bring their Transitions
technology to the Radar lens format, meaning that the lenses will adjust
automatically to the available light. From what I have read, it is no easy
feat to use this technology on such a big lens, so well done to the boffins
at Oakley for making this happen.

Thanks to Oakley SA for sending the lenses, it is greatly appreciated.

Polar RS800CX Bike

2008-11-19T10:29:00.001+02:00

I am sure that many of you are wondering about the unit from Polar. I have
been testing the new unit and I must say that it is an unbelievable training
tool.

Let me just start by saying that if you have no interest in finding your
real heart rate zones, or you simply want to see how fast you are going, or
if you do not have the time and patience to figure out how a device like
this works. Then please look elsewhere. There are plenty of good cheap bike
computers on the market that can tell you everything you need to know about
how fast you are going. If you are serious about training and improving your
performance, then you have come to the right place.

In the box.

The bike version ships with the following;

1 X RS800CX Watch unit
1 X W.I.N.D Speed sensor and magnet
1 X WEAR Link Chest strap.
1 X Infrared USB Dongle
1 X Bike mount bracket for unit

Polar Protrainer 5 software CD
CD with drivers for the Infrared USB Dongle.
Several Cable ties.

The new wrist unit is extremely attractive. Think of the old 625X/725X as
Kathy Bates and the RS800CX as Cameron Diaz. You will really want to wear
this as your watch everyday. It looks like it just landed here from space.

For the most part the features are pretty much the same as on the previous
units. I am not going to explore each feature, you can log on to
www.polar.fi for a full list of features. I am going to concentrate on the
new bits.

The display has 3 sections, this is much the same as before, but now, these
are 100% customizable using either the unit itself or, even easier, using
the Protrainer 5 software. You have 5 screens that you can scroll through
and you can see any configuration of data that your heart desires. Some of
the cool things are the graphics that show your heart rate. And possibly the
greatest improvement for me is that you can now see how much time you have
spent in zone, while you are training! For me this is invaluable. I have
very limited time to train and I have to be effective while I am out there.
This new feature really helps me to make my training goals for every
session.

And speaking of training goals. The new unit can actually hold your daily
training program and you can see graphically, each day how you are
performing against the program. You might be unfamiliar with the new
Protrainer 5 Software but you are able to use it to actually plan the
details of an exercise, all the way down to how much time in each zone, or
even intervals can be followed for a session.
What is not so cool?

This is a very short list. I am not mad about the side buttons for
scrolling, they are difficult to push. Having said that, they look so cool,
I don't care.

In summary; I am a huge fan of this unit! Everything that I did not like
about the previous models has now been totally sorted by the new unit! In
conjunction with the comprehensive software, it is in my opinion the
complete training system.

Eurobike Highlights

2008-09-07T08:45:00.001+02:00

Eurobike has come and gone. And for me the highlight of the show was the new SCOTT Genius. Not only is it a great advance on the previous model. But it is the lightest 150mm travel frame and shock available. And for me, it rides really great!

On the second day of the show, the guys from SCOTT added an absolute showstopper to the stand. A genius that weighed 8.92kgs! The bike features hydraulic gear shifters, which actually seemed to work!

Eurobike 2008 Day 1 Pictures

2008-09-05T07:57:00.001+02:00

Eurobike 2008 Day 1

2008-09-05T07:57:00.000+02:00

This year Eurobike is once again dominated by lightweight parts. It seems all the innovation is going into making parts super light. On the bike front, I found some interesting suspension designs from Corratec.

The Trek lineup looks really hot for 2009 and my feeling is that some manufacturers are taking a step back. The new Epic from Specialized does not excite me at all. The rear shock is really tiny in real life, and I can only wonder what it rides like since I did not get a chance to ride it at the demo day. Giant must win the award for the most boring bikes of 2009! Then to make things worse, it seems that Rocky Mountain has an exact copy of the Giant.

Enjoy the pictures!

Eurobike Demo Day

2008-09-03T18:29:00.001+02:00

I have just come back from the demo day where I managed to ride 7 bikes. And pretty much, tire myself out! What you have to remember at these events is that if you want to ride lots of bikes you need to be pretty fit.

I started out riding the Scott Spark 20. This is really a great bike. it is very XC biased and seems pretty fast. The 120mm travel up front seems to work well and the bike still climbs very well. The rear with 110mm is very good and the tracloc lever on the handlebar helps you to keep everything in control.

I them moved to the new Scott Genius, and for me this was the best bike of the day. The tracloc lever adjusts travel from 150mm to 93mm to locked out and to match, up front there is a Fox Talas, with 3 adjustable travel settings. The bike rides really light, and the question I kept on asking myself was; with no weight penalty at all, why wouldn’t you want this as your do it all bike. I am pretty sure this bike can be raced, and you can have a stack of fun on it!

Then I rode the Trek EX. This was a very good bike too. Full carbon and very active. The only issue I seemed to have was that my heel kept on clipping the seat stay.

The worst bike of the day was next, the Marin Wolf Ridge, for me, the bike just didn’t work. The XL was way too small and the rear suspension seems to not really reach its full potential.

I rode the Merida 96 for about 500m then took it back. It was too small and the rear suspension felt much like my hardtail. The bike is way to firm in the beginning of the stroke.

The Specialized Stumpjumper, rode very well. The futureshock was a problem for me. I could not get the rebound right and when I tried to wheelie it made big cluncking noises! When I hit the first roots on the technical downhill the bike nearly three me off! I guess I just needed some help to get the set up right?

Then on to the Cannondale Scalpel. This bike, is like a road bike! it has super aggressive angles that make you feel like you are riding downhill all the time, the lefty worked pretty well, to my surprise. But the rear is terrible! I found that the bike worked the best when it was locked out at the back. Can you believe that?

Tomorrow the show starts, so watch this space for more updates on what is hot in MTB!

Eurobike Demo Day

2008-09-03T18:17:00.001+02:00

Cape Epic 2009 - the innovation continues

2008-08-05T18:42:00.002+02:00

The Cape Epic was just a figment of imagination in Kevin Vermaak’s mind 5 years ago. Since then it has become world famous and spawned a whole multi day stage racing culture in South Africa. It is the benchmark that people have come to know and trust. They have also come to know what to expect which is exactly the reason why it has to change again.

So of course when the organisers announced that the race will no longer start in Knysna and the prologue will take place in Cape Town, there were more and enough sceptics and I told you sos. Oh no they must be in trouble or they are just tying to make more money, is it now tour de winelands, and so on. Lets not forget that when the epic came along there were just as many sceptics out there with their theories on why it would not work, how expensive it was etc.

If there is one thing you can be sure of at the Epic then it is that it will challenge your limits, it will be well organised and it will keep you guessing with new innovations. That is after all what the epic is all about, pushing the boundaries and stretching your limits. That is exactly what they are doing again and hopefully will continue to do as the dream lives on.

Riding the Stellenbosch MTB Challenge this weekend I was reminded of just how difficult a shorter route with lots of climbing and lots of singletrack can be. So if the 2009 Epic is to be shorter stages with more climbing and more technical riding with shorter distances then don’t think it will be any easier. One thing is for sure, it will be way more interesting riding and that has always been an area for improvement at the Epic.

So bringing the race to the people may not be such a bad thing after all. Just have a little faith. Somehow they always seem to know what we want before most of us even realise it. Isn’t that what you would expect from a world class brand?

Read about the new 2009 route.

Raleigh 2009 Marathon Bikes

2008-07-29T08:06:00.005+02:00

The guys at Raleigh have been hard at work through the winter sorting out the new 2009 marathon mountain bikes. We got a sneak preview of their latest models. These pics are straight from the photo studio, some of them not even touched up yet. A completely new frame design has been adopted.

For the last 3 years these bikes have been single pivot systems and now they have gone the 4 bar linkage route. This frame design has been well tested at the Cape Epic with 3 of these new frames finishing the toughest Cape Epic yet. David George raved about this prototype frame as it helped him stick with the world champs on the downhills and powered him into 3rd place on the podium. The average guys were also on these frames and loved them, in fact rumour has it that they never want to ride anything else. The comfy suspension with full lock out and the space for two bottle cages make this an ideal marathon race bike.

Expect these bikes to offer great value again as Raleigh brings European frame design and a top range component mix to provide great bikes. If you want top of the range then look at the Marathon LTD model with XTR groupset, but its going to cost you.

I reckon the pick of the bunch is going to be the XT spec Marathon 9

All in all great looking bikes with an equally impressive suspension system.

Sweet trails, new trails and old trails

2008-05-28T14:44:00.004+02:00

I am continually amazed at how new trails seem to pop up and old trails re-invent themselves. With winter hitting the Western Cape and the epic slog a fading memory, it is time to find and ride some new trails. I spend the winter months riding less frequently but trying to keep it interesting by exploring some new routes and mixing some of the old ones up a bit.

Thanks to some motorcross bikes, not often that I say that, we have a new little piece of sweet singletrack. Its got everything, short steep sections, corners, rolling bumps, rocks, fast sweeping turns and drop offs. Yesterday we rode 25km odd, that took us almost 2 hours to do. It was quite different from the normal 40km 2hr riding routes.

It is more like a cross country course and made me remember how much fun those types of courses are. With marathon riding having become so popular the lost art of technical track riding needed to be revisited. It is a welcome change and it is a great way to vary your riding. Being so different to the normal riding it is great variation and excellent for spicing up a training routine, really windy days, or to improve technical riding skills. My roadie friend has seen a marked improvement after just 2 or 3 weeks of riding this route regularly.

So don't think there is nowhere to ride, there always is, it is just a matter of mixing it up andding in some variation. Now I just need to get that helmet cam so that I can show you what I mean

Cape Epic Day 8 - Team BBb nightmare

2008-04-08T10:25:00.001+02:00

After a great start to Cape Epic 2008 we finished day 8 and the end of the race with a real downer. My cold got very bad at the end of Day 7 so I woke up to Day 8 feeling half dead. Normally the last day is great fun as you give you last bit of energy, suck up the atmosphere and arrive at the finish feeling a great sense of achievement. But this time around it was very different for us as I struggled strainght off the start line.

There was no chance of not riding, so off we went. By day 7 we had moved upto 56 GC, but it quickly became evident that there would be no improvement to that, instead it would be all damage control. The route was great again with alot of climbing to make up the 1700m ascent over 62km. Albert was feeling good so he was able to pull me over most of the big climbs. Halfway through the day at the first water point most of the major climbs were over and I had a little bit more power so we managed to maintain our position in the field and ride into the finish without loosing more time. It was one of the longest and hardest 4 hours on a bike ever for me, I am glad and lucky to have made it. But am now paying the price with a long slow receovery period.

The dinner at Spier was great and it was nice to spend more time with our lovelly wives and start the re-integration process back to normality after yet another Cape Hectic.

We also got our customary winners photo with the Team Cannondal winners Raul and Jakob

Epic Day 8 pics

2008-04-08T09:56:00.000+02:00

Cape epic day 7 - Team BBB shorter but harder

2008-04-04T20:33:00.001+02:00

Day 7 was average for us, we started well but I was completely exhausted at the finish. I struggled to eat and had no power in my legs. I also had a mini sense of humour failure with riding my third epic with a cold again. We still managed to finish in the 60's and actually moved up a few spots in the gc into the 50's. So all was not lost.

The route was great with some nice scenic climbs ans many kilometres of singletrack. One more day to end off a hard epic, I will have to see how I feel tomorrow.