How can I learn to do maintenance on my bike?

You don't need to be a mechanical guru to do most of your own bike maintenance but you do need to know what to do and how to do it.

The best way here is by trial and error, but you should get some guidance to help you along. If your local bike shop is any good they will be will to advise and help you, if they don't then ask yourself if the are the right bike shop for you. They will also be able to sell you your tools that you need. Checkout our maintenance guide for an idea on what tools you would need and how to use them. The other ideal resource is to get some mtb maintenance books, they will provide a good overview on how to maintain things. For specific details on certain parts you can find most info online at the manufacturers website in their online manuals. Start small with the things that you do on your bike regularly with the basic tools then move onto the more involved maintenance.

With the right tools and practice you should be able to do everything except shock servicing and brake bleeding.

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Where can I go and ride?

Okay so this week we are back to our Newbies guide. One of the biggest questions that people starting out have is where can I go ride that is safe and not too difficult?

There are many places to go and ride your mountain bike. The safest and most enjoyable to start with will be to visit one of the many mountain bike parks or trail centres that now exist. Many of these are in beautiful locations that are secure to ride. They usually also have some facilities and have marked routes of different difficulty and distance. Our recommended rides are Groenkloof in Pretoria, Northern farm or MTN bike park in Joberg, Giba Gorge in KZN and Koeberg or Dirtopia in Western Cape. Checkout our trails section for details of some of these riding locations and their access times and fees.

 

The other option is also to go to some events to ride as they will have routes and destinations that are not accessible at other times and there are medical and support people to assist if there is a problem while out on the trail. Don't be scared of "races" because its not all about racing, its mainly the few front guys who race, for the majority its all about the riding and there is no real rush.

 

Then once you have your confidence and riding buddies the world will open up to you and you can start exploring the variety of other informal riding locations and discover some new trails.

 

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What is the South African way?

I came across this video of The American Way on IBIS and Ritchey two iconic American bike brands. This is a great video and tells the story of how Ibis started and continues today as one of the coolest mountain bikes you can buy. The second part is an interview with Tom Ritchey and he explains how he built an iconic MTB brand and how he continues to live the mountain bike dream. Besides these videos being really cool and having some great content and shots, it got me thinking about what the South African way would be.

 

So far our industry is filled with more traders, dealers and agents than inventors and pioneers. Most probably because of our obsession with everything European and American and not having the confidence in what we have in our own backyard. Silverback was born in South Africa but it seems like the lure of "German Engineering" has seen this brand shrug off its South African roots to become another wannabee European brand. Our best story is probably Morewood Bikes, born and bred in South Africa and despite changing ownership recently, the built in South Africa logo is still in tact. Momsen is the most recent brand to emerge from South Africa and calls itself "an SA bike company" although everything is made in the east. Only time will tell if in 10 years time we are still only traders or have actually created something more sustainable and memorable. If we want the latter then we better start living up to our dream of being the leading mountain bike destination in the world and start inventing some cool stuff in addition to our cool races. 

 

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Team South Africa MTB at Olympics

We take a break from our Newbies guide to MTB and take a look at the other end of the scale, to riders who clearly know what they are doing, our pros at the Olympics. We are in with a real shot at the medals in the mens MTB cross country race.

Burry Stander is ranked at no 2 in the world so he is a clear favorite to win the race. However it will be tough because unlike the world cup races where you can win some and loose some, you only get a one in four year shot at the olympics so the pressure is on everyone for a win. Follow Burry on @africanmtbkid for updates. Phillip Buys is also riding the mens race and he will be hoping for a top ten finish after his excellent 15th place result at the Windham event. Phillip runs a cool blog with pics documenting life in the olympic village and life on the world cup circuit. The mens race is on Sunday 12 August at 13h30.

Dont forget about the ladies because SA has a rising star in Candice Neethling in the womans race on Saturday 11 August 13h30. Candice has been steadily improving on the junior world cup circuit and finished 3rd in the U23 race at Windham. She continues to learn at these races and writes in her blog "The World Cup journey so far has been all about understanding and learning how to win. You cannot win if you don't know how. And the only way to learn, is through experience". Follow Candice on twitter for updates.

 

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How can I get into riding if I don’t want to join a club?

Today with the internet, online groups, twitter and facebook there are many other virtual ways to get in touch with people to ride with.

 

The first is to get out to some events or races. Just because they are called races does not mean that you have to be a racer, you can participate in a variety of distances and ride at your own pace. Most of these events are more like gatherings and group rides and you will find it easy to fit in. You can also ask at your local bike shop as many of them also organise rides and have ride groups

 

The other way is to find some ride groups or "clubs" on the facebook where you can interact get info and meet up for some rides. Email or online groups are also easy to join and find out information on where to ride and join in with some group. The most active groups for this is thehubsa, or checkout our facebook page.

 

Share your tips and experiences at our blog or leaving a comment on MTBOnline Facebook. 

www.mtbonline.co.za