Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2019 i Bicycling South Africa

WELCOME TO OUR NEW-LOOK BICYCLING MAGAZINE. BIGGER FORMAT, BIGGER PICTURES, AND MORE TO READ ABOUT THIS BEAUTIFUL SPORT. So why? In short, we weren’t giving cycling its due. This is about riding beautiful bikes in beautiful places, and there’s no better way to show that than in a bigger-format magazine. // AND WHAT BETTER WAY TO LAUNCH A NEW SIZE THAN WITH OUR ANNUAL BIKE BUYER’S GUIDE? Every year I say the same thing about the BBG: it’s bigger and better than ever! And this year it really is. // WE ALSO INTRODUCE OUR NEW GEAR EDITOR, JON MINSTER, WHO WE THREW IN THE DEEP END – WE TOLD HIM THAT HIS FIRST JOB WAS TO WRITE VIRTUALLY A WHOLE MAGAZINE FULL OF…

Quite simply, the Omata One cycling computer is one of the most beautiful cycling products we’ve ever seen. In an increasingly noisy world where numbers and data seem to dominate every pedal stroke, the Omata One may be the calm in the storm. Designed to function as a mechanical, sports-car-like speedometer, the Omata is still a fully-functional GPS that can download to your Strava after your ride. From the 6063 aluminium casing to the simple rotating bezel interface, it’s beautifully made, and every action has a solid, quality feel. The ‘big hand’ gives you speed, while the other hands show everything from total distance to average speed and battery level. It’s the head-turner accessory for your Sunday coffee ride. OMATA ONE CYCLING COMPUTER R8 100 OMATA.CO.ZA…

Pedigree! The Allez was the first road bike that California-based Specialized ever produced, back in 1981. It was designed by Tim Neenan, who also designed the other two bikes in the Specialized line-up at the time: the Sequoia, a touring bike, and the Stumpjumper, the first major production mountain bike in the world. These days, Specialized is a leviathan in the world of cycling, and there are hundreds of models to choose from. The Allez name has been retained for the entry-level road bikes, harking back to the brand’s core principles of value and quality.…

If you’re a bike nerd, you’ll have heard of Gérard Vroomen – the Dutch-born mechanical engineer who founded Cervélo and turned it into the largest triathlon bike maker in the world. After he left Cervélo, Vroomen co-founded Open Cycles with Andy Kessler, the former CEO of BMC. He’s also involved behind the scenes at 3T. [See the 3T Strada on p53 – Ed.] Vroomen is a visionary in the world of bike design, constantly pushing against the status quo and solving problems we didn’t know we had. Bravo, Gérard!…

David Mercer builds all sorts of custom steel-frame bikes in his workshop in Cape Town. If you can dream it up, he can build it, whether you want a gravel bike, a tourer, a classic 29er, a modern road bike or anything in-between. David designed the Hungry Monkey himself, and it’s one of his most popular frames. It’s a long travel 27.5-inch hardtail, based around a 140mm-160mm fork, and it’s happiest going full-tilt down a trail. Other ‘semi-production’ Mercer frames include the Lanky Lemur, a 29er hardtail for longer days in the saddle, and the King Dong, a rude, brash enduro hardtail with long, slack geometry. Whichever bike you choose, it’s made to order – usually fillet-brazed from Columbus tubing. The standard price includes a powder-coated finish, but custom paint…

Unlike other endurance events, in which – as a participant – you can take confidence from knowing the organisers have thought of every logistical contingency to make your race easier and safer, the South African Singlespeed Champs and the guys behind it have a slightly different agenda. That said, ‘slightly different’ would be an accurate descriptor for all things related to singlespeed mountain biking. ‘Completely bonkers’ is another phrase used – often by mountain bikers on conventional bikes, with multiple gear ratios. And suspension. Basically, a singlespeed mountain bike is as stripped down a bicycle as one could safely ride on a trail. It has a single chainring up front and a single cog at the back, often no front (and certainly no rear) suspension, and is generally made of…

THE FIRST TIME I tried a ‘gravel’ event was back in 2012 at D2R2, the Deerfield Dirt Road Randonnée. While the name suggests otherwise, it’s definitely a ‘gravel grinder’ by today’s standards. I’d heard a lot of buzz about how hard it is, and considering the 180km distance, I expected as much. But I shrugged off a friend’s recommendation to prep and pack extra food for the event. I’d done plenty of long, arduous stage races and single-day events – I knew how to suffer. But as I crawled glacially up the final, loose, double-track climb more than 10 hours into the ride, I accepted the hard-earned realisation that gravel events are challenging in ways I had not anticipated. Now gravel is exploding in popularity across the world (and South…

WHAT IS EMS CYCLING? EMS Cycling is an electrical muscular stimulation studio that uses the results of EMG testing to determine how activated your muscles are. This assessment determines which muscles are firing, and which ones are not, so you can improve your performance. A cycling programme will be designed for you, based on your assessment. WHAT IS EMG TESTING? Electromyography (EMG) is an electro-diagnostic medicine technique for evaluating and recording electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles. An electromyograph detects the electric potential generated by muscle cells when these cells are electrically or neurologically activated. EMS (Electro Muscle Stimulation) is then used to stimulate muscles not firing to balance up the cyclist’s body and recruit more muscle fibres. WHO IS IT FOR? EMS Cycling training programmes is for everyone who…

E 1885 Whippet safety bicycle with springs. 1991 Greg LeMond races Paris-Roubaix with a prototype RockShox suspension fork. People laugh. Then riders win three straight editions on it (’92-’94). E 1994 Bianchi prototype suspension is raced by Johan Museeuw at Paris-Roubaix. The bike breaks. Suspension (front and rear) disappears from the race – for now. 1996 Cannondale adds HeadShok front suspension to its Silk Road line. 1998 Moots first offers YBB rear suspension option for road. E 2012 Trek introduces Domane with rear IsoSpeed decoupler. E 2016 Specialized revamps the Roubaix with FutureShock front suspension. The same shock appears on the Diverge line of bikes.…

→ Tubeless-ready, carbon clincher wheels (depth: 42mm front, 65mm rear)→ Tubeless-ready tyres (25mm) → Integrated seat mast → Shimano Ultegra Di2 electronic shifting, with sprint shifters for when you’re in the drops → Giant Power Pro crank → Shimano Ultegra hydraulic disc brakes → Truncated airfoil tube shapes → Internal cable routing → Oversize 1.25-inch upper-steerer diameter → Giant RideSense wireless unit (connects Di2 to ANT+/Bluetooth devices) → Aerodynamically tuned carbon bar and stem → Thru-axles front (100x12mm) and rear (142x12mm) → Garmin out-in-front computer mount…

PINARELLO DOGMA K10-S DISK FROM R222 000 ASGSPORT.CO. ZA THIS IS NOT A GRAVEL BIKE, let’s get that straight. (Starting at a staggering R222 000 with Dura-Ace Di2 and Mavic Ksyrium Pro Disc wheels, taking this bike on gravel would be like rallying a Ferrari in the Paris-Dakar.) This is the successor to Pinarello’s K8-S Classics race bike, and a likely choice for Team Sky in this year’s events. An integral part of its race-focused speed and efficiency is its electronic suspension. Wait, what? That’s right: The DSS rear suspension that Pinarello first put on the K8-S in 2015 now has automatic electronic control. Called eDSS, the guts of the system are similar: an elastomer spring that, along with flexing chainstays, provides 11mm of travel. A small…

REASONS TO RIDE A HARDTAIL 1/ Less maintenance. Rear suspension is a complicated business, with pivots that need to be cared for and bearings galore. All you have to do with a hardtail is check the tyre pressure and lube the chain, and maybe top up the air in the front shock every now and then. 2/ You become a better rider. You can’t just hammer through obstacles on a hardtail – you need to choose your lines more carefully. This makes you more aware on the trail, and your skills improve as a result. 3/ Your money goes further. A lightweight hardtail with good components doesn’t cost as much as a small car. If you’re on a budget, you’ll get loads more bike for your buck.…

LET ME EXPLAIN (1) Ever had an inner tube explode in your face? I have. Use latex tubes... they’re just as fast. (2) Gotta do something to earn those croissants. (3) Look fast, go fast! (4) Unless your ride is preceded by a swim, and followed by a run, always wear long socks. Even in the case of the latter, at least try and wear long socks. (5) Legs are optional. Ever ridden a handbike? (6) No one can destroy the metal. (7) Been doing some much longer rides in recent months, and the rewards are much higher the further you go. (8) Potato? (9) Old-school, less maintenance. Airlines love bending rotors. (10) Grab your bike, and go and explore. The return on investment is huge in comparison to race…

The Venue This year, it was at the Garden Route Trail Park outside Sedgefield; but it moves to another location every year – last year it was in Nieu Bethesda. Search for ‘SA Singlespeed Champs’ on Facebook. The Bikes Old-school they may be, but that’s not to say they’re old or old-fashioned. These bikes feature the very latest frame geometry, tyres and brakes, and in skilled hands can handle everything a mountain bike trail can throw at them. Some have front suspension forks, but most are fully rigid. The Riders They only look like this once a year. The rest of the time they’re in their lycra jerseys and trail shorts, out riding with everyone else. Most of them are experienced and often very strong riders who’ve…

Dynaplug Racer, R669 Sidewall tears suck. And so does walking. This tubeless tyre-repair plug kit keeps you rolling over the most relentless terrain. Rondo RUUT Carbon R54 950 Whether you’re into gravel grinding, bike-packing, mixed-terrain road riding, or simply commuting, you can’t go wrong with this drop-bar, dropper-post-equipped workhorse. Canyon Grail SLX R49 000 With its innovative hover bar, this is the gravel bike disrupter that makes surviving the dirt roads a pleasure. Corrugations are smoothed, and you’ll never feel more in control when the stuff gets rough under your wheels. Trail Nuggets R40 Munchies for miles, and stuff you can eat all day long. Panaracer Gravel King R800 These smooth-rolling tubeless tyres blaze over all terrains, from peanut-butter mud to sketchy pea gravel and everything in between.…

I bought this bike because of an Instagram post. Emile Kruger from The Whippet Cycle Company in Brixton, Joburg, posted a pic of it about two years ago. I was at a kids’ birthday party surrounded by screaming, sticky toddlers, and my wife Jess couldn’t understand why I was glued to my phone and not helping her control the sugar-mad children. It was because I was busy doing an EFT. I’m a huge fan of classic steel-frame bikes, especially those built in South Africa during the bad old days when sanctions prevented the import of European frames. Homegrown heroes like Le Jeune, Peter Allan, Alpina, Hansom, Sancini… yes, they’re heavy compared to modern carbon bikes; but they have heritage, and they ride so smoothly and silently, it’s like the tar…

I’M GOING TO PUT MY HEAD ON THE BLOCK, AND SUGGEST THAT SOUTH AFRICA IS THE BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD FOR CYCLING. If you’re tired of maniac drivers on the roads, choose a different road. We’re spoiled for space: an hour out of any city, you’ll find empty district roads just waiting to be explored. You can ride in the Karoo for a week and see fewer than 10 vehicles. Believe me – I’ve done it! The gravel trend is huge – so much so that it’s influencing mainstream road bike design. Many of the latest frames can accommodate wider tubeless tyres. Disc brakes have become standard. Carbon-fibre technology has become so advanced that you get flex in all the right areas, making for a comfortable all-day ride. Steel…

SPECIALIZED ALLEZ SPORT R14 500 SPECIALIZED .COM FOR LOTS OF PEOPLE (MOST PEOPLE, ACTUALLY) THINKING OF WAYS TO SHAVE GRAMS OFF A BIKE DOESN’T KEEP THEM AWAKE AT NIGHT. What most cyclists want from a bike is to be able to take it off the wall, check the tyres and lube the chain, and go for a hassle-free ride. Maybe do the Cape Town Cycle Tour or the 947, and ride to work every now and then. The Allez Sport can do all that and more. It’s a slick-looking road bike that benefits from all the trickle-down technology typical of a big company like Specialized: it has a FACT carbon fork that improves handling and ride quality and saves on weight; it has rack and fender mounts,…

MERCER HUNGRY MONKEY R14 500 (FRAMESET) MERCERBIKES.CO.ZA A FEW YEARS AGO, I WANTED TO BUILD WHAT I THOUGHT WAS THE COOLEST MOUNTAIN BIKE EVER – a hardtail with 26-inch wheels, wide tyres, and a long-travel shock. But even as a bike-shop owner, I couldn’t find anything to do with 26; no decent wheels, or tyres, or anything. Then I saw that local Cape Town frame-builder David Mercer was building a similar kind of hardtail, but with 27.5-inch wheels. I ordered a frame, cobbled together the other parts, and we built it. Suddenly, from no bike, I had a bike that could do everything: it was light enough for cross-country, and it had the right angles and geometry to ride aggressive trails. I’ve done an enduro series on it,…

At the top end of the dual-sus market, the lines are becoming blurred between what constitutes a cross-country bike, a marathon bike, a trail bike and a ‘gravity’ bike – something that can handle serious bumps and jumps on a downhill or enduro course. When it comes to beginner bikes, however, there are still two distinct categories: cross-country bikes with suspension travel up to 100mm, and trail bikes with suspension of 120mm and more. A cross-country bike usually has a more race-focused geometry (shorter wheelbase, steeper head angle) for sharper handling; a trail bike has more relaxed geometry for stability on fast descents. A trail bike is often a bit heavier. If you want to have fun at your local bike park, and if the downhills are your favourite part…