Sabie 2010

Kevin Evans is once again in the national colours for marathon racing. Yolande Speedy won the ladies title. And the average guy finished.

The route was very tough for someone carrying a bit of extra weight, with 1700m climbing. I took it pretty easy and made it to the end feeling comfortable. It has been a few years since I rode Sabie and they have added very cool bits of singletrack. The Zula loved it! I had no problems navigating the steep singletrack. The roots were an issue but the Morewood was built for this kind of thing and I managed to ride everything and stay upright.

Well done to the organisers. The route was awesome and the weather less of a factor than I expected.

Sabie - pre race

My return to Sabie is going to be WET. The race this year is also our national title race.
Looking out the window this morning I get the feeling that the title will come down to equipment choice.
I will be riding the Morewood and just trying to survive.

More updates later.

Riding the Zula

The Zula and I continue to get better acquainted and I am struggling to find any weak points on the bike. It really rides very well. It is possibly not as supple over small stuff like many multi-pivot bikes but this is hardly noticeable when you are travelling the dirt roads of sunny South Africa at warp speed.

I had the chance to take the bike over some more challenging terrain this weekend, at Groenkloof and Fountains and I must say that this is where the bike really comes alive. I had forgotten how much fun a fast, light, manoeuvrable bike is in tight singletrack. My choice of a 120mm Reba XX is paying off, as the bike feels pretty stable and I feel that a 100mm race fork might have made the bike slightly more twitchy.

I also rode a 4,5 hour epic ride and I had no discomfort. The bike is the perfect length for me and my recurring shoulder pain seems to have disappeared aboard this bike.

The set up of the bike is as follows;

Fork: Rock Shox Reba XX 120mm

Shock: Fox RP23 BV shock

Handlebar: Ritchey WCS carbon low rise

Stem: 110mm Ritchey Matrix Carbon/Alloy

Seatpost: Ritchey Superlogic 30.9mm

Saddle: Ritchey WCS Streem Biomax

Wheelset: Ritchey WCS Carbon

Brakes: Shimano XT

Shifters: Shimano XTR

Grips: Ritchey WCS Foam

Front Derailleur: Shimano XTR

Crank: Shimano XTR (featuring crankskins)

Rear Derailleur: Shimano XTR Shadow.

 

Zula Pic

New bike

Despite the fact that I have been extremely satisfied with the way my 5 inch experiment has gone, I simply could not resist the chance to ride the new Morewood Zula.

The good people from Morewood were kind enough to send me a frame. I then used every contact I have in the business to build it up with the EXACT spec that I wanted.

I have only done 2 rides with the bike, so you will need to wait a bit longer for a full review. But initial impressions are very good. So much so, that I will be racing the bike next week in Sabie.

It is by far the best single pivot I have had the pleasure of riding and the downhill pedigree of Morewood shines through when this XC racer is pointed downhill.

Thanks to Morewood, Ritchey and Shimano for making this bike happen.