Training is a journey

Mountain bike training is a journey, just like a travelling journey it is something that can have various outcomes depending on when, where, how and why. A journey has no defined rules but rather a set of guidelines depending on the circumstances and the traveler. That is why there is not just one training plan, they all exist to address some specific needs of the traveler and to reach the desired destination. The most important part of a training plan is to know why you are doing it, how you are going to get there and where you would like to arrive. The training journey is made up of many many trips, each one of them plays a part to get you to your ultimate destination. Sometimes you get lost, sometimes you stop and rest for a while, but at the end of the day you must continue on that long journey. 

Keep looking at the map or GPS and keep on moving, its the only way that you will get there. Once you think you have arrived you will see more hills in the distance and realise that this really is a journey 

Share your views by commenting at our blog or leaving a comment on MTBOnline Facebook.

New XT groupset out now

Coming to a mountain bike near you is the all new XT groupset from Shimano. The Deore XT groupset is a favorite amongst the majority of serious mountain bikers. It has always offered great technology and durability at a reasonable cost. The first XT groupset was born in 1982 and the last major XT upgrade was in 2008.

The trickle down effect of technology is evident with the new XT benefiting from the last upgrades to the XTR race groupset. The new XT groupset is now and features a 2x10 crankset, xt servo-wave brakes and new xt wheelsets for xc and trail riding.

Share your views by commenting at our blog or leaving a comment on MTBOnline Facebook.

Dawn Patrol MTB

The early morning mountain bike ride has to be one of the best things about riding MTB. Its hard to get up sometimes when it is still dark and cold but the feeling of achievement once you return in the warm sunlight after a great ride makes it worth it every time. It is the reason that we do it over and over again. Check out our Dawn Patrol Video and get an idea what it is like to catch the first light of the day as it creeps over the hills.

Share your views by commenting at our blog or leaving a comment on MTBOnline Facebook.

Stay MTB focused and ride more

Staying focused on your MTB is a lot easier than you may think. All you have to do is stay involved and you will keep your motivation up. How do you do that you may ask? Well reading this is a good start so well done there. In the old days all you could so was join a club or buy magazines or find some riding friends or go to events but now days you can do a whole lot more. Now you can subscribe to useful newsletters and websites, you can join mtb facebook groups and you can follow interesting people on twitter. Following some pros on twitter, or your favorite bike brand or some of the training gurus will help to keep your MTB levels of interest up and keep you motivated for riding. So get more involved and stay informed and you will find yourself wanting to spend more time on your bike.

Share your views by commenting at our blog or leaving a comment on MTBOnline Facebook.

Keep warm with winter racing

Stay warm and in shape with some MTB races this winter. Its the best way to stay motivated keep fit and stay on your bike. The Nissan trailseeker series is an excellent race series that runs through the winter in Gauteng. There are a variety of distances to suit all levels with the first event coming up at Hazeldean next weekend. In the Cape there are also races almost every weekend as the winter is when most of the MTBs get dusted off. So get out there and soak up that winter sun.

Share your views by commenting at our blog or leaving a comment on MTBOnline Facebook.

The state of the bike industry ......

Our part time engineer, single track lover and general wise guy Christie had some pearls of wisdom recently about the state of the bike industry and its future

I wonder when the bike industry will start thinking outside the box (or should I say circle??) and come up with some real improvements??

 

I suggest they look at the following:

 

1. Make bikes cheaper by offering less options 

2. Design rear suspension bearings to last longer than the frame, improved suspension seals to increase service intervals... 

3. Standardize on frame interfaces such as seat post diameter, bb, headset, axles, brake mounts...

 

but instead of looking at above mentioned improvements to cut cost and survive hard economical times, and at the same time making it more affordable for the less afluant riders, they rather re-invent the wheel and come out with 29'ers, 3 different rear wheel axle options, 3 different front axle options, 10 models of each tire, numerous tapered headset sizes.... to name a few... and these all just inflate costs instead of reducing....

 

I'm all for improvements and using space age technology on bikes, but I would really like to see some standardization on certain things....

 

I mean, do we really need 3 different wheel sizes!!!??? nevermind all the other things like 5 different seatpost sizes....

 

The bike industry currently goes against conventional wisdom and in tough times, instead of consolidating and aim to be more cost effective, it re-invents the wheel (literally..) and brings out yet another specie, which just drives up cost further... it will be interesting see if it will mean the survival or demise of the bike industry over the next 10 years....

 

Share your views by commenting at our blog or leaving a comment on MTBOnline Facebook.

Mates on Bikes Pics

Riding MTB with your mates is really what mountain biking is all about. Doing it by yourself is only half the fun. So you must have plenty of stories and pics about the places you ride and the people who you ride with. Thats why we started the Mates on Bikes photo album on our Facebook page. You can go there and upload a pic of you and your mates riding your favorite trails or even some new trails. Tell us where you rode, who was riding with you and what it was like.

Share your views by commenting at our blog or leaving a comment on MTBOnline Facebook.

Less training and more speed

We have just completed a successful experiment and proved to ourselves that with less training you can go faster. Sound too good to be true? Well you better believe it, its true.

But there is a catch, you have to train harder. It is just a piece of the training puzzle, but a very valuable piece. It is not a new concept and has been covered by many coaches including guru Joe Friel in his book The Mountain bikers training bible. Bottom line is that if you want to race hard and go fast then you must train hard and train fast. But it must be high intensity, when it feels like torture then you will know that you are doing it right. This is where the less comes in, because you do such high intensity you need to do fewer hours, to allow for recovery and then be able to put in the hard work when you need to. Training is the art of knowing your body mixed with the science of sound training principles. Learn the principles from a decent coach or read some mtb training books. The art will come from experience.

Share your views by commenting at our blog or leaving a comment on MTBOnline Facebook.

Sani2c chilly but dry

Sani2c has all the ingredients for awesome mountain biking. It is always
going to be good, but when the sun is shining and all you can see is blue
sky then you can't beat it.

The riders come for the singletrack but they get so much more. Cool
clothing, tons of food and drink, great hospitality and if you own a Subaru
you can get even more. Thanks to all the farmers and organisers involved -
great job!

Joberg2C and Sani2C - its all happening in May

The mountain bike racing feast carries on and KZN continues to catch the mountain biking spotlight. Its all about getting to the sea on your bike down those pristine singletracks that Farmer Glen and his crew have organised. It has to be one of the coolest riding experiences in South Africa, in fact in May its probably going to be a bit of a freezing experience. The Underberg supermarkets must be coining it with all these hungry travelers passing through their sleepy hollow. 

The MTBOnline crew will be riding again as team Snackwells BATSEAL. We will be powered by Snackwells Chips, who are also an official supplier to Subaru Sani2C this year, so look out for those crisps to refuel your tired body. Then of course the tubeless wheels will be filled with BATSEAL tire sealant, our only choice for puncture protection. Bikes will be a full suspension Morewood Zula and a GT Zaskar 29er, both bikes fitted with Shimano groupsets and Ritchey components.

If you are riding Sani2C then good luck and see you on the trail, if not then check out this sani2c video of Day 2 and see what you will be missing out on. 

Share your views by commenting at our blog or leaving a comment on MTBOnline Facebook.

Downhill finals video from UCI World Cup

The UCI World Cup in Pietermaritzburg has come and gone. Here is our final update on this event. It is a video of the downhill finals that went down to the wire with Greg Minnaar doing us proud. The video features snippets all the way down the track of most of the woman's and men's finalists, including several up and coming South Africans and all the big names including Peat, Atherton, Garcia, Minnaar and Neetling. Greg missed the top step by less than a quarter of a second to USA rider Aaron Gwin. The vibe and crowd noise on Greg's final run was something special. If you want to get exercise and watch sport at the same time then get out and support downhill MTB races, even the qualifying rounds, its the most fun you will have off your bike.

Share your views by commenting at our blog or leaving a comment on MTBOnline Facebook.

Video from the XCO World Cup in Pietermatizburg

The MTB World Cup in Pietmermritzburg delivered some awesome racing. If you missed out on the action checkout our mtb world cup video of the mens final. Burry Stander had a bad day at the office with two wipe outs and a major mechanical to his derailleur that saw him pushing up the steep climb with no gears. His second wipeout in the notorious rock garden was spectacular. Looks like those big 29er wheels don't roll over everything after all.

Share your views by commenting at our blog or leaving a comment on MTBOnline Facebook.

KZN is SA mecca of MTB?

Is KZN the mecca of mountain biking in South Africa? If not then they are rapidly on their way there, lets see how it stacks up. To be the mecca you would need at least some world class events, some local world champions and enough world class trails.

Well this weekend sees the MTB world cup in Pietermaritzburg and it is here for the second time so you can tick off the first requirement. Then competing in this event with realistic chances of winning will be two local world Champions in Burry Stander from the south coast and Greg Minnaar from the maritzburg area, so you can tick off the second requirement. Then lets talk about MTB trails, well without thinking too much you can quickly tick off Giba Gorge and Hola trails, two world class facilities. Having spent the last week in the Howick area I would also add in the Howick MTB trail network, an incredible network of awesome trails right on the doorstep of Howick.

So don't think of KZN midlands as the sleepy hollow but rather the rising giant of MTB in South Africa.

Share your views by commenting at our blog or leaving a comment on MTBOnline Facebook.

Giant Week of Riding

This weekend sees the 15th edition of the Giants Castle MTB Challenge being held in the drakensberg. This is one of the original, oldest and longest running MTB races in the country. It is one of those special events that gives MTB riders access to really remote trails that are not available at any other time. Its a race of extremes, starting off with a blistering fast 80km/h dash downhill on tar from the Giants Castle Reserve, to the compulsory portage up the Ntondolo ridge to get to some of the best mountain top single track, then its the legendary Giants downhill that defines this race and you end off with a brutal climb back up to the finish area. This race should be on your MTB bucket list. Entries open at the end of each year and are usually taken up quickly by the returning faithful in search of their personal number boards. So mark it down for next year April and take part in some SA MTB history and make a significant contribution to wildlife conservation in South Africa.

If you are still suffering from an Epic hangover after the feast of pro MTB racing that we had during this years epic then we have got just the cure for you. Take a few shots of UCI MTB World Cup racing next week from 22-24 April in Pietermaritzburg. Round up some mates and head to the trail side to the worlds best riders and to support our local hero's Burry and Greg as they gun for victory in the first round of MTB world cup for 2011.

Share your views by commenting at our blog or leaving a comment on MTBOnline Facebook.

29er or not To9er

29er bikes are all the rage at the moment thanks to many pro teams at the recent ABSA Cape Epic. The 29er is seen by many as the ultimate solution to providing a smoother ride and getting over difficult obstacles more easily. The main difference between a 29inch and a 26inch is the wheel size with the 29er having a larger wheel diameter. On paper it all looks good, but how that translates on the trail is still quite debatable and there are pros and cons. So the best is to get some bikes and test ride them for yourself. That is what we did, checkout the Turner Sultan 29er review thanks to Dion. If you have ridden a 29er and have views then please share so that we can learn

Share your views by commenting at our blog or leaving a comment on MTBOnline Facebook.