Wolfberg mountain bike singletrack Cederberg - Video

Shop to ride this XMAS

Its unheard of that we advocate anything but riding your bike. However it is the festive (shopping) season so you need to get with it. But don't get sucked into those overcrowded malls and dodgy discount stores. Rather go online and get it done quick and easy so that you can get out and ride your bike while the rest of the plebs stand in cues.

As far as mountain biking goes we have got you covered with a shopping list to make you smile

Mountain bike books on trails, skills, training and maintenance

MTB Sunglasses from Oakley and Adidas

Garmin GPS for your bike

Olympus Tough Camera to take on rides

Ipod Nano for tunes

Some rocking tunes 

Have a great festive season and remember if you eat and drink lots its ok, just means that you need to ride more.

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Ride your bike and loose the behind

Just five minutes of riding a bicycle each day can help a younger woman keep the pounds off, the team at the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston reported.

"Small daily increments in bicycling helped women control their weight. But the more time women spent bicycling, the better," said Harvard's Rania Mekary, who worked on the study.

Mekary's team studied 18,414 healthy women who had not yet gone through menopause taking part in the Brigham and Women's Hospital-based Nurses' Health Study, an ongoing study of women's health over time.

On average, the nurses gained about 20 pounds (9.3 kilograms) over the 16-year period.

The women who did not bicycle in 1989 who had started by 2005 were a quarter less likely to have gained weight, even if they rode for just five minutes a day, the researchers said.

"Unlike discretionary gym time, bicycling could replace time spent in a car for necessary travel of some distance to work, shops or school as activities of daily living," the researchers wrote.

"Bicycling could then be an unconscious form of exercise because the trip's destination, and not the exercise, could be the goal." - Reuters


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Track your rides online for free

I recently came across this really cool and free online GPS tracking software called Endomondo. What is great about this system is that all you need is to register on the site to download the app to your GPS mobile device and off you go, its really as easy as that.

Endomondo is a sports community based on free real-time GPS tracking of running, cycling, etc. It has live tracking so your loved ones and friends can track your progress in events or when you are out on that monster ride in the middle of nowhere. 

It works with all the major phone brands and operating systems as well as Garmin and Polar wear link. You can share your rides and routes with others through facebook, twitter etc and build your own ride network and set up your privacy settings. If you are using it or want to share routes then drop us a line at our Facebook page

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Top 10 mistakes of self coached athletes

Joe Friel is a guru when it comes to endurance training and has written bestseller books like "The mountain bikers training bible" on mountain bike training. Here are his top 10 mistakes made by self coached athletes 

#10 Too much emphasis on miles/kilometers. The key to race success is appropriate intensity

#9 Too much emphasis on heart rate. Your engine is muscle.

#8 Set goals much too high to motivate greatness. Does opposite. Goals must be just out of reach.

#7 Haphazard training. High goals require a purpose for every workout.

#6 Inconsistent training. High goals? Don't miss workouts. Ever.

#5 Too little rest, not enough race intensity before race. Rehearse race every 72hrs for 1-3 wks prior.

#4 Workouts too intense. Increasingly train at intensity you intend to race in last 12 weeks.

#3 Base—start Build period too early. Develop endurance, force & skills before race intensity.

#2 Too many hard days. Not enough easy days. To go truly hard you must be ready.

#1 Poor ability to pace properly. Learn to negative split workouts, intervals & races.

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Suspension makes all the difference

I was reminded again today just how much of a difference suspension has made to mountain biking. At a time when rigid single speeds and hardtail 29ers are in fashion, don't be fooled into thinking that suspension is just another gimmick.

On my morning ride I locked our my front fork and forgot to unlock before doing one of my favorite singletrack sections. Its a route that I ride almost everyday and it took just one little stone to send me off coarse and nearly miss out a whole section of track. I couldn't workout what had happened till I realised that my fork was still locked out.

The suspension takes care of a lot of small bumps that you would never even know about unless of course you did't have any suspension. Another dead giveaway is when you have a rider on a hardtail trying to follow the same line as someone on a full suspension on a technical downhill. Even with exceptional skills its unlikely that the hardtail will be able to follow right behind the full suspension.

So if you don't have suspension, then think about getting it. If you do have it, make sure that it is on firstly and tuned properly and working the way it should.

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Where was my bike made?

Some bike companies have a few secrets. And one of those secrets is where your bike is made or who actually made it. The bike companies like it that way because many of them rely upon the same factories to build their bikes!

The big picture is pretty clear: around 95% of the bikes sold in the U.S. are made in China or Taiwan by a handful of manufacturers of which Giant is the largest.

Generally speaking, low to mid level bikes are made in China and mid to high level bikes are made inTaiwan. The exception is carbon; many manufacturers use Chinese manufacturers to make their carbon frames – even their high-end racing frames.

More here

MTB riding is the best in SA

South Africa must have the best mountain bike riding in the world. Why does nobody know about it you may ask? Well that's probably because the majority of it is undiscovered.

 

Every new mtb trail that opens and every new mtb race that hits the already bulging calendar is exposing the vast selection of riding that we have metre by metre.

 

As more people become aware of the excitement of mountain biking and more property owners realize the eco tourism potential of trails we get more and more places to ride. So make it you mission to discover new places to ride and take someone along with you and share the joy.

 

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An Epic race love it or hate it

The Absa Cape Epic - 800km long and 15000m of vertical ascent in 8 days. Love it or hate it, its the ultimate challenge. Believe it or not there are races longer and harder but there is only one Epic.

If you don't think you can do it, then you are not alone because for the majority of first timers it seems like an insurmountable challenge. But some how you manage to do it, pedal stroke by pedal stroke, kilometre by kilometre, water point by water point, day by day, eventually finish PA becomes a booming voice and sea of smiling faces as you cross the line and wonder how you got there.

You may hate the entrance price but you will love the vibe, you may hate Dr Evil but you will love the route, your family may hate you for all the training, but they will love you for finishing. No matter how you feel you can't miss it or deny it.

Last week they announced the 2011 route and so the challenge has been set, its up to you to make it happen.

Check out our Epic resources if you need inspiration or info.

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Old School MTB

Here is a blast from the past, if you are into retro bikes then this is for you.

The Old World MTB Championships is an annual event organised by and for enthusiasts of pre-1996 mountain bikes. This year's event was held on North Wales and provided great riding challenges and crazy games to decide the prize winners and overall champion, all in the beautiful surroundings of Snowdonia. The first event was held in 2009 in Holland. Check out their website at www.owmtbc.org

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BATSEAL back again with I am a BAT man - revisited video

Well here is the follow up movie to the I am a BAT man video from BATSEAL Tubeless Tyre Sealant. Its got a different ending and a few different shots.

Tubeless sealant goes skinny

Tubeless tyre sealant is not just for MTB tyres and tubes you know. It also works very well in those skinny 700C road tubes. We have used it very successfully in our road wheels.

So if you have a road bike that you use for secret training then squeeze some sealant in through the valve using a syringe and plastic pipe.

You will be able to stop those pesky little wimp thorns that normally flatten your skinny wheel faster than you can say eish! www.batseal.co.za

 

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Puncture protection - get it right

Punctures and flats have been a part of mountain biking and cycling from the very beginning. Fixing flat tyres and punctures is not difficult but can be an irritation and a waste of valuable riding time and worst case can end your ride in a long walk home. 

So prevention is generally better than cure, all you need to do is avoid sticks, stones thorns and sharp rocks. Thats ok if you are on the road, but what about a mountain bike? 

You can choose from many options including tubeless tyre sealant, tubes with sealant, tyre liners and thorn resistant tubes. Its a balance between cost, weight and puncture resistance, you need to make a choice and choose the best puncture prevention option for your area, riding style and conditions.  

Make sure you are prepared because last thing you need is to be caught out like the poor dude in the BATSEAL - I am A BAT man video

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I am a BAT man campaign launches

BATSEAL tubeless tyre sealant released their new movie to promote the launch of the new BATSEAL 500ml bottle. Its a fun movie showing how BATSEAL is developed in South Africa to cope with our tough conditions out on the trail.



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New is not always better

The mountain bike innovation curve can't be far off the digital innovation curve. Mountain bikers are the gadget junkies of the fitness world. Every year radical new bike stuff hits the market forcing us to upgrade to get the better, lighter, faster, stronger component.

But beware the bike hype, sift out the "new is just new" from the "new is actually better". If you can't understand or workout the benefit, then is it really a benefit for you? Also a benefit for one is not always a benefit for all, especially when it comes to pro riders.

If in doubt wait, if it is still there tomorrow then think about it. In the meantime take pride in riding your clunker and beating guys with lighter better bikes.

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