Review: Giant Reign Advanced 27.5 1
When the new 650b Giant Reign was announced, its “out there” geometry had me intrigued. Giant certainly didn’t hold back and I was very eager to see how this bike performed out on the trails. The Frame The new Reign and Reign Advanced fully embrace longer, lower and slacker geometry. Doing some research, I discovered […]
Trail Daze: Cascade Country Manor
Following our previous episode featuring trails requiring longer travel mountain bikes, we headed off to Cascade Country Manor just outside Paarl, to see if the rumours were true. Nestled between the lower slopes of the majestic towering peaks of the Du Toitskloof Pass, the 4-star boutique hotel serves as base and starting point for the […]
The EzelEnduro: Enduro on the next level
In an attempt to push trail riding to the next level and introduce riders to properly tough and technical trails, Daniel Dobinson and his team put together an Enduro event not yet seen in South Africa. Five long and relentlessly rocky stages awaited the 47 strong field over the past weekend. Testing and pushing their […]
Review: Truvativ Jerome Clementz BlackBox handlebar
Handlebars can be a touchy subject. These days, everyone’s on the “wider is most definitely better” bandwagon, with even marathon riders being advised to ditch their long stems and narrow bars for setups which sit as close as possible to the steerer and create as much leverage as possible to (man)handle the front wheel. With […]
Pedalling for Life
Life weaves its magic in mysterious ways. It is only once you’ve had something taken away from you, something that you took for granted, that you realise its value to you. Think of your carefree days at school, your favourite tennis racket, your hand-me-down first car… And your health. Cycling is a fantastic sport. A […]
Review: FLR F-75 mountain bike shoes
The FLR F-75 is a cross-country mountain bike shoe designed for everyday riding and racing. Knowing nothing about FLR and their shoes, we were interested to see how they would hold up after a couple thousand kilometres of mountain biking. The F-75 shoes feature a lightweight leather upper with nylon mesh patches to assist breathing. […]
Review: Mercer Bikes Hungry Monkey II
The Hungry Monkey 2 is a semi-production mountain bike from Mercer Bikes. Made by hand in the Mercer Bikes workshop in Cape Town, it is available in three sizes – M, L and XL. The Hungry Monkey is a relatively lightweight but long travel 650b trail bike based around a 140 – 160mm travel fork. […]
Review: POC Octal AVIP helmet
POC is a Swedish helmet manufacturer, specializing in protective equipment for gravity sports. The clean lines and bold colouring of POC helmets tend to elicit strong reactions from onlookers- it’s either love or hate at first sight. I sit firmly on the love side of the fence, so I jumped at the chance to test […]
Review: 2015 Momsen VIPA AC
We’ve had a Momsen VIPA AC in the office for a little while now. Since my own carbon VIPA XT has been sitting in pieces pending a rebuild it was a perfect time to put in some testing. Before we get stuck into the review let me clarify that this is the 2015 spec. Although […]
Review: Thule Touring S
Thule’s Touring range of roof boxes is available in five sizes and two colour options to fit every need. The full range comes loaded with features and have been shaped with minimal wind resistance and noise in mind. The Touring S (or 100) is the smallest in the range, but can still swallow a healthy […]
Review: Niner Jet 9 Carbon
The Jet 9 Carbon is Niner’s cross-country offering featuring 100mm of rear wheel travel. Although it boasts the same front triangle as its R.D.O (Race Day Optimized) bigger brother, the “Carbon” version as tested has an alloy rear triangle to keep costs in check. The Frame The Jet 9 Carbon features a carbon front triangle […]
First Look Friday: Scott Genius Plus 720, Brunox Deo, Versus Socks
First Look Friday is an introduction to the products that we are currently testing for review. This week we’re featuring the Scott Genius Plus 720, Brunox Deo, and Versus Socks. Scott Genius Plus 720 Scott was one of the first big players to launch “Plus” bikes in both Scale (Hardtail) and Genius (Dual Suspension) platforms. […]