Contego Segment Hunter #4: Bartinney Skyfall
In Episode 4 of Contego Segment Hunter Adriaan Louw seeks to best Gert Heyn’s record on the scenic Bartinney Skyfall trail. https://www.strava.com/segments/13164991 How do I ride this segment? The Bartinney Skyfall trail is on the Bartinney Estate wine farm just off Helshoogte Road and forms part of the Banhoek Conservancy trail network. On a bike, […]
First Look Friday: Evil The Wreckoning, Mavic Cosmic Pro, and Morewood Mamba
First Look Friday is an introduction to the gear that we are currently testing for review. This week we’ve got Evil’s The Wreckoning; Mavic Cosmic Pro Carbon SL C road wheels, and a Morewood Mamba dropper seatpost. Evil The Wreckoning Big travel 29 inch bikes are nothing new but bike manufacturers seem to be growing […]
Bike Check: Johann Rabie’s Merida Ninety-Six Team
Johann Rabie does it all. He’s a former road professional, now riding as mountain biker for Team Telkom, and in between being a pro he owns a successful bike shop in Malmesbury. There is much we could talk to Johann about but for this feature it’s all about his bike, a Merida Ninety-Six Team. The […]
Review: Pyga Stage
In April 2015, we huddled excitedly around a mysterious cloaked bike from Pyga Industries. We knew that under the black cloth sat an all new carbon marathon machine. As the craft beers flowed speculation grew wilder and the stories taller until Patrick Morewood unveiled the Pyga Stage to us, and the world. The Stage is […]
Review: Rocky Mountain Trailhead 940
Rocky Mountain make an aluminium hardtail with a modest specification. Yes, it came as a surprise to me too. Departing from the image of their mid to high end performance bikes, the Trailhead seeks to bring the Rocky Mountain brand to a wider market. The bike The Rocky Mountain Trailhead 940 is build around a […]
Lesotho Sky Diaries Day 6: Semonkong Loop
The final stage of Lesotho Sky 2016 took place at Semonkong Lodge, nestled next to the Maletsunyane River high in the Maluti mountains. The drive to the start of the stage was an experience of its own: nearly an hour of the most incredible winding passes. You could almost feel the air getting thinner as […]
Trail Daze | Boschendal – Searching for Sugar Bowl
Crossing the Helshoogte Pass into the incredibly scenic Franschhoek valley, we stopped off at the more-than-300-year-old Boschendal wine farm, to see what the Boschendal team and master trail builder, Bennet Nel have put together. Still a very young trail, having only been established in 2015, it already features six different riding options, with the 33 […]
Lesotho Sky Diaries Day 5: Ramabanta Loop
Today made the preceding stages of Lesotho Sky look like a picnic in the park. It was not our lucky day. The legs were feeling a bit better, morale was high, and we were looking forward to a slightly shorter ride, keeping things in our comfort zone. All went according to plan until after the […]
Lesotho Sky Diaries Day 4: Roma to Ramabanta
Day 4 of Lesotho Sky saw us tackle another hefty stage, riding 78 kilometres from Roma to Ramabanta Trading post via Bushman’s Pass and the infamous Three Witches. It was another day of digging deep for us. I had forgotten to pack my legs and had to be dragged up every single incline, gasping like […]
Lesotho Sky Diaries Day 3: Malealea to Roma
Today’s stage saw us ride 87 kilometres from Malealea Lodge to Roma with what ended up measuring around 1900 metres of vertical ascent. It is the longest stage of the race and took us into a very dark place. The route starts with a gradual climb through the Gates of Paradise Pass before dropping down […]
Trail Daze | Photobook Volume 1
Order your copy of the Trail Daze Photobook | Volume 1 // R280.00 – limited offer The Trail Daze photobook is the perfect addition to your coffee table, at home or work, or a great gift for any mountain biking enthusiast. It documents some of the finest MTB trails in South Africa in 60 full […]
Lesotho Sky Diaries Day 2: Malealea Loop
Day 2 of Lesotho Sky saw us take on the infamous Malealea Monster in a 55km loop from Malealea Lodge with 1,430 metres of ascent. This was probably my favourite day from last year, featuring beast climbs followed by incredible, fun, and sketchy descents, keeping the climbing to reward ratio high. The Malealea Loop did […]