To club or not to club

MTB Clubs are popular but not for everyone. Ask a couple of mountain bikers and you will find very divergent views on MTB clubs.

All MTB clubs are not made equal, you need to check them out to be sure that they will offer you what you want. Some riders are looking for ride buddies, others are looking for any old club where they can get their racing licenses and there are those looking for a club that is actually doing something useful with all the subs. Bigger is not always better so be sure to join on some of the club rides first to see if you fit in with the crowd.

If you are a trail riding MTB type then we can definitely recommend AMARIDER. This is not a formal club as such but rather a mountain bike advocacy group (African Mountain Bike Association) who offer some club benefits like license registration, rides and trail building days. There are various levels of membership and you can be guaranteed that your cash will be contributing to building and maintaining more mountain bike trails.

Check out our clubs section for other MTB clubs

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You ride MTB because ....

We all got into this MTB thing somehow, and I'm sure there are some really interesting stories to tell. The legend goes that some guys in California literally started bombing down hill sides on modified bomber bikes in the late '70s. But that's up for debate as the Europeans will tell you.

 

Here in SA you will find some of the first guys who took up the challenge in the late ,80s and '90s, with some war stories of their own. They will tell about how they rode rigid bikes and debated the pros and cons of front suspension. Those were the days before tubeless, disc brakes and lockout.

 

What we ride continues to change, but why we ride? Well that hasn't changed much, its just a bunch of friends out having fun isn't it?

 

So what was it that got you to ride? Tell us and your friends at our Facebook poll and leave a comment if you want to explain.

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World MTB Champs - Burry and Greg Bronze it!

South African mountain bikers were flying the flag high at Mont-Sainte-Anne in Canada this weekend.  There was a pretty solid group of contenders with juniors, women and the elite men. The two biggest names Burry and Greg did themselves proud with both of them getting onto the podium.

Burry Stander showed again that he has what it takes to beat the best in the world. This year he set himself two ambitious goals. On his blog he writes "i wanted to win a medal at both the marathon world championships and the xco world champs a month later." Thats exactly what he did when he took third place on Sunday after getting a bronze medal a month earlier at the marathon world champs.

Riding his Specialized 29er Burry blogged "for bike setup this week i went for a single ring in the front.a 34tooth rotor ring mounted to a specialized carbon road spider did the job perfectly.i was again aboard my 2010 stumpjumper 29er.i ran a new prototype mud tire on the front dubbed "winston" by the team.on the rear i ha my fast rolling renegade setup.sram hooked us up with some new xx world cup edition black box brake last week which rounds of the package superbly.the bike weighed in at 8.2kg and handled the rough and technical track like a dream."

Greg Minnaar summed up his 3rd place performance on Sunday with this tweet "Podium champagne smells good on ur cloths when you win. But when the winner's champagne gets on ur cloths, it really doesn't smell that good".

Follow these guys at www.burrystander.co.za and www.gmfanclub.com. Also go and support them at the World Cup in Pietermaritzburg next year April.

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Eurobike 2010 Images

Ride before you buy

Mountain bikes can offer a confusing selection and combination of options, so how do you know what to buy? Well that's why Bicycling Magazine introduced ride before you buy events where you can test ride bikes before you lay down your hard earned cash.

There are so many options of bikes with different geometries and fitted with all sorts of combinations of equipment. The only way to really know if this bike is for you, is to take it on a decent test ride, more than just a cruise around the parking lot. The good bike shops should also be able to offer you a test bike to try out for a day or two, ask them about this.

Bike demo days may be new to South Africa but have always been a big favorite at Eurobike and Interbike shows. Average guy was at Eurobike demo day and rode the new Giant Anthem, Lapiere Spicy and carbon Specialized Epic, check out his views on these bikes and SRAM XX.

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Eurobike Demo Day

The show starts tomorrow and I was at the Eurobike demo day today. The weather ruined it a bit so I only got to ride 3 bikes. Unfortunately no 29ers. Ques were too long and 29ers were by far the most popular choice.

I rode a Giant Anthem. I have to admit that I was very impressed by the bike. It feels fast!! It was very solid. It has a tapered head tube and a thru axle. Felt light. Also was running XT dyna-sys 10 speed. Now worries there.  Worked very well.
I hate to admit it, but I liked the bike!!

I then rode the Lapierre Spicy 160mm travel that rides like a 5 inch bike. The course was quite technical and very muddy but the bike cruised. Not my choice of every day bike but definitely one for Christie to consider at Megavelanche. It clmbed surprisingly well. I rode it with a standard triple and not the double and bash.

Then for the dud of the day. The top of the line new carbon Specialized epic. Brain front and back. SRAM XX double 10 speed. My first shift on the double front got the chain jammed. I had to stop to fix it and adjust the shifter. Then it was ok, but not great. The course had a serious climb and once again I was left questioning whether I can ride a double. I made it to the top but it worked my legs.
The brain is bad again. Very notchy front and back. And the tyres on the spaz nearly killed me!!!

All in all a good day. Pity about the weather. And just by the way.  When it rains here it is worse than any wet course I have ridden in sa. In places the mud on the single track was axle deep!!

Did I mention how bad XX brakes are?....