REEDS have 6 entries for the Wine 2 Whales – 2 x Race Entries and 4 x Adventure Races.
They would like to give one away via a lucky draw. In order to qualify mnt bikers must come through to a Reeds branch and test drive the new Captive or Orlando before the 15th September 2011. The draw will be done independently, and the winner announced on the 16th Sep 2011. ·They will then auction off 5 of the entries with the proceeds going to 5 various charities, namely
§ Tsongo.info
§ Amy Biehl Foundation
§ James House Bicycle Club – Hout Bay
§ Arise Children’s Ministry – Auction
§ Tygerberg Mountain Bike Club
Click on the Banner image above for details and to take part in the online auction
NB – Riders can start visiting any Reeds/ ITC branch in the mean time to start test –driving the new Captiva or Orlando!!!
Mike Powell
Reeds Tygervalley
Tel: 021 910 7660
Fax: 021 910 7676
Cell: 083 656 9940
mikep@reeds.co.za
Members Corner...
JUNIOR GRAVEL TRAVEL:
Some of us from Tygerberg MTB Juniors Club took part in the Gravel Travel out in Wellington last weekend and well done to all our Junior podium positions!
Tiaan Swart 2nd Nipper Boy 20km
Carla Hollander 1st Nipper Girl 20km
Trent Sivertsen 3rd Sprog Boy 20km
Anja Louw 2nd Sprog Girls 20k
Morne Hollander 1st Sub Junior Boy 20km
Manie Lubbe 2nd Sub Junior Boy 20km
Sybrand Strauss 2nd Youth Men 40km
Anja Louw 3rd Overall Ladies 20km
Morne Hollander 2nd Overall Mens 20km
See pictures of the group on Facebook!
SPUR HIGH SCHOOLS LEAGUE - This coming Saturday 3rd of September at Delvera. www.dirtopia.co.za
SPUR TYGERBERG INTERSCHOOLS CHALLENGE - The Second Race in the series will be taking place on Friday 16 September at Meerendal. Entry R30. Registration 3pm, Race for 45min from 4pm. All schools in the Tygerberg Area Welcome. Certificates for the first week will be distributed this week to the respective schools. Results are on the website.
GRAVEL TRAVEL
Lorraine Uys from Reeds who recently joined the club came 1st in the 20km women’s category on Sunday at the Gravel Travel.
Please Note : Nitida and Hillcrest will be closed on Sunday 4th September during the morning for a race
As of today 1st September 2011, the permit fees for Meerendal, Hillcrest, Contermanskloof and Nitida will be R30 a day. Please tell all your non-member friends, and ensure they join The Club immediately!
Club Rides...
Social Rides
Denzil Bart
Hi Tygers, Michael Klopper and I are heading to Tokai on Sunday ready to ride @ 08:00 for an easy trail ride if any of you would like to ride along.
Neville
We are going to do a social 60 to 80 k social ride from durbanville over countermans and then via klipheuvel silo's, slent road , through the farms and back to Meerendal for late breakfast. Leaving rose garden at 7h30. Sunday morn 4th September. Some climbing some flat easy. Av about 17 to 19 km/h: Please let whoever is interested know, meet families at Meerendal for late morning breakfast.
Regards
Neville 0832257339
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Slowcoach
Heya SlowCoaches
Well, I am feeling so revved up after the awesome weekend of Slaloming that I reckon some training (& weight loss) is well in order! Saturday - Slowcoach goes training (& huffing)
SO, on Saturday, I will do a welcome SPRING ride from 11am to about 13h30; I think starting at Meerendal and ride across Green Corridor to Kliprug and maybe up Conterman's back to and including red route Meerendal. All to make the most of getting into Beach Body Shape for summer. Sunny weather & 16 degrees (*-*)
Sunday will be the usual Meerendal Slowcoach ride starting at 9am doing Red/Green routes.
Non-members welcome BUT remember to bring R30 permit fee PER TRAIL. (Sat = Meerendal + Contermans) (Sun = Meerendal)
Definitely make sure your tyres are Slimed (check our website for our own South African product) and bring water and a energy something (boiled baby potato or energy bar for the less health conscious)
Contact slowcoach@tygerbergmtb.co.za Alwyn 0836788180 for more info
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Ride
THURSDAY NIGHT RIDE AT MEERENDAL, the ONLY official night ride allowed on our trails. Meet in the car park ready to ride at 19.00, bring lights (remember, point down slightly and use a less powerful setting on the road) and R30 if not a Club member. Contact james@tygerbergmtb.co.za 0824238735 for more info
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Juniors ride
Mondays and Wednesdays 4.30pm - 5.30pm starting at the Jip de Jager entrance to Majik Forest. Theresa (8 – 12 year group) and Gary (13 – 18 year group)
For more information, or to sign up, please contact: Theresa 083 271 2563 or juniors@tygerbergmtb.co.za
If you've reached a level in your mountain biking where you're riding the same old trails in the same old way? Why not let MTB Guru help you to move to the next level? With one of my mountain bike training and skills courses I can help you improve every aspect of your trail riding.
Click here to find out more
Basic Fundamentals of Gear Selection
Now you know the basics of shifters and derailleurs, so let’s move on to choosing which gears to use.
The most important thing here is that there is no such thing as the “right” gear. Choosing a gear depends on numerous factors, not the least of which is comfort. Really, gearing is personal preference, so you and your friends will probably ride in different gears, even if you are going the same speed on the same road.
However, one thing to consider is your cadence. Cadence is another word for your pedaling speed (basically, how fast your legs spin in circles.) This is measured in RPM, or “revolutions per minute.”
Cadence is important because it directly impacts your comfort level. Pedaling at a slow cadence usually means you are using too hard of a gear, and your leg muscles will tire out quickly. It can also hurt your knees. A good rule of thumb is to keep your cadence fairly high, usually in the range of 75-90 RPM. Aim for 80RPM.
But aside from comfort and cadence, the middle of your gear range is a good starting point. Say you’re starting out on a flat road at an easy to moderate pace (on the “27 speed” bike.) You should be in your middle ring (2) up front, and roughly your fifth largest cog (5) in the rear.
(A good moderate gear is pictured to the above.)
To make
small adjustments to your speed, you will want to shift the rear derailleur. If you need to go a little faster, shift to a smaller cog ( 6,7, 8 or 9.) If you want to ease up on the pace, shift to a bigger cog (1, 2, 3, or 4.)
But if you come to a steep hill climb, or a long downhill, you will want to make a
big jump in your gearing. So instead of shifting the rear derailleur, you’ll shift the front derailleur first.
An Example of Proper Shifting
Here is an example of how you might shift gears while out on a bike ride. At the start, you are currently in the middle ring and one of the middle cogs. Then…
Let’s say you’re coming up to a steep hill climb. You will shift to the small chainring (1) up front. If that gear isn’t easy enough,
then you will shift the rear derailleur to a big cog (1, 2, or 3.)
Once you hit the top of the hill and the trail flattens, you can go ahead and shift the rear derailleur back to a slightly smaller cog, getting to number 3 or 4. Then it’s time to shift the front derailleur back to the middle ring (2.) If the trail remains flat, you could stay in that gear or shift the rear derailleur once again, going to 5, 6 or even 7.
But then when you hit the downhill, you need a big change in gears, so you’ll shift the front derailleur up to the big ring (3.) That should give you a good gear. If you need a harder gear though, you can shift the rear derailleur to the smallest cogs, 8 and 9.
As the trail changes, keep repeating the process.
Just remember:
Shifting the left shifter makes a big impact, and
shifting the right shifter is to fine tune your gear selection. You will shift the right shifter (for the rear derailleur) much more often than the left shifter.
What to Watch Out For
If you followed along through that
gradual shifting process, you might have noticed we only ran through about 17 different gear combinations, when the bike actually offers 27.
Why?
Well, your “27 speed” bike isn’t meant to use all the gears. Certain gear combinations are very rough and sometimes dangerous.
(cross chaining pictured above)
See,
you need to keep your chain running in a straight line for the bike to ride smoothly. You do that by using certain combinations of gears and avoiding others. (A straight chain line is pictured above.)
For example, when you are in the small chainring in front, you will want to use the biggest five cogs at the back, numbers 1-5. When you are in the middle chainring in front, you can use most of the cogs, but I would stick to numbers 1-7. When you are in the big chainring, you should stick with the smallest cogs, 4-9. This will keep your chain in a fairly straight line.
If you use extreme gear combinations, such as the small ring and the smallest cog or the big ring and the biggest cog, that’s called
cross chaining. This puts the chain at too much of an angle, which makes the chain wear out extra fast. (You’ll usually hear some sort of grinding noise coming from the chain if you do this.) It also makes it more likely that the chain will fall off the bike.
Next Week: When to shift & Proper shifting technique
Planning to ride a multi-day event this year or just want to know how to do most trail-side repairs on your mountain bike?
In the MTB Guru's popular, professionally presented workshop you will learn how to deal with the most common trail-side problems and how to fix them:
You will learn how to fix and deal with...
- Rear derailleur damage
- Brake pad replacement
- Single speed conversion
- Tubeless puncture repairs
- brake and gear cable failure
- Tyre choice and correct pressure
- Guidance on nutrition and hydration
- Trail-side bush repairs and temporary fixes
- Which tools and spares to carry and where to store them
When: Wednesday 14th September 2011 @ 19:30 til 22:30
Where: Kenridge Scout Hall, van der Stel Avenue, Kenridge Click here for Google Map
How much: R940 for 3 people Normally R470 per person
Includes: Coffee and Rusks
For more information go to: MTB GURU Trail-side Bike Repairs
To book online for Wednesday evening 14th September 2011
Individual
3 for price of two
Special offer R940 gets you 3 for the price of 2 !!! Click here to register
That's a R470 saving
TYGERBERG MTB CLUB DUAL SLALOM NR2
