Race report: Dirtopia Delheim Enduro 2014
It was back to Delheim, just outside Stellenbosch for the annual Dirtopia Delheim Enduro this weekend. As per usual, the race consisted of 5 fun stages, some with freshly built, loose and slippery single track. The tree tunnels and hard packed gravel/clay surfaces on stages 2 and 3 meant full aero tucks and seriously impressive […]
Long term review: Five Ten Impact Low
Five Ten and their Impact Low flat pedal shoes need little introduction. They have been the benchmark flat pedal shoe since 2005, when the Impacts returned to the market. In the 9 years since then, they have expanded their line to include grippy sole shoes for just about any mountain bike application. The Impact Low […]
Review: 2014 Trek Superfly FS 9
Thanks to the friendly folk at Cycle Factory, the opportunity to ride Trek’s 2014 Superfly FS 9 came my way. I only had the bike for a week so what follows is a quick ride review. Frame The Superfly is by no means short on technology. It features Trek’s Active Braking Pivot (ABP), G2 Geometry, […]
Beijing Biking – Part 1: Order in the chaos
Having been in Beijing for about 2 months I have learned a lot about what biking can be like in a city. Here it’s a chaos that you couldn’t imagine until you experience it. And for everyone who is involved in the fight between bikes and cars, it is a perfect place to get some […]
Surviving a snowstorm in Nepal on a bike
I had a sinking feeling that if we tried to sleep under this tree; we’d never get up in the morning. Certainly a grave thought, but one that signaled the flip from a bike expedition in Nepal to an unexpected fight for survival in the Himalaya’s most lethal autumn snowstorm in living memory. We’d started […]
First ride: 2015 Giant Trance 2
There’s been much attention on our forums about the 2015 Giant Trance. We were lucky enough to get some time on the Trance 2 at the Africa Cycle Fair. Watch our mini-review of Giant’s R25,999 trail eater.
First ride: Haibike HardSeven SL pedal assist e-bike
The Haibike HardSeven SL makes use of a Yamaha electric motor to assist your pedal stroke. In all other respects, the bike is a normal mountain bike. But does it ride like a mountain bike? Watch our review to find out.
Race report: Western Province Gravity Enduro round 3 at Contermanskloof
A 5 month long break in racing, saw the Western Province Gravity Enduro host round 3 for the first time at the infamous Contermanskloof MTB trails. The wind-swept, barren and dry surroundings presented a different kind of beauty and the 3 special stages left the 87 riders wanting more, despite a nasty wind and soaring […]
Triathletes: Manipulating your session order could improve your recovery
In our article last week, we spoke about the proposed benefit of compression garments to enhance recovery following an intense cycling test. We are sticking to the recovery theme this week, but we are changing exercise modes and athletes. Triathletes are challenged to improve their performances in three different exercise modes. In order to achieve […]
Do compression garments enhance recovery for cyclists?
On Monday night, the Discovery High Performance Centre of the Sports Science Institute of South Africa held a workshop on “Recovery strategies to enhance performance”. One of the techniques discussed was the use of lower-leg compression garments to speed up recovery. In this week’s article we will dissect the findings of a recently published study, […]
The Taper: The ‘forgotten’ phase of training
Tapering is a training strategy that allows endurance athletes to achieve peak performance for major competitions. Manipulating both the volume and the intensity of the training during the taper allows the athletes to flush out any fatigue without losing training induced adaptations. There are an infinite number of methods used to structure tapers. In addition, […]
Training and racing at altitude
2014 presented South Africa’s top cyclists with a ‘new’ challenge as some of the major races took place at moderate altitudes. The first race of the 2014 MTN National MTB series took place in Dullstroom and one of the SA XCO Cup Series races took place at the Afriski resort. These two locations would have […]