Posts Tagged ‘specialized epic’
Customizing your Specialized Epic for mud.
Caveman style, of course!
Problem: The sticky Vermont mud clogged up my Specialized Epic’s rear triangle. The sticky tires then picked up dead leaves and really stuffed it tightly between wheel and frame. This was taken in training 2 days before the race.
Caveman solution:
Take a 1 liter water bottle, cut it to bits and zip tie it to the frame. It fills the space and helps the mud slide off the bike. I sprayed WD 40 (or cooking oil) on the plastic and frame to stop the mud from sticking. I dont know of anyone whos made this cool mud guard before. See, I didnt need University math to become an engineer!
The busy insects of Africa & other snippets
What happens in Africa when you leave your bike stationary for too long. (Wont say how long, but not long at all!)
It is a kind of wasp that made a nest and probably laid some eggs in the suspension pivot of my Specialized Epic.
NO kidding. A perfect little wasp home. This guy is quite some engineer. On the farm the frogs also like getting into your shoes and sports bags- (I think they like the climate in there) and I have had a frog fly South African Airlines to
Stoltz Racing’s 1st XTERRA training camp…
“It was a dark and stormy night…”
No, just kidding!
“It was a bright and sparkly morning… Six of us – all friends and family- got together for a little informal XTERRA training camp on our farm near Lydenburg, Mpumalanga. Uh, thats South Africa.
These guys are all relative newbies to sport. Sorry Gustav- rugby (even provincial rugby) is still a “game”:) Over the past few months while I was in the US I have been peppered with training questions, equipment questions, diet questions, I instructed on converting tires to tubeless and I even ferreted some Suunto t6 watches out from the US. These guys had a thirst for knowledge even the Encyclopedia Britannica couldnt quench. So once I landed on the farm they were onto me, and we had this fun impromptu training camp. It went so well, we’ll have some more in the future. (MTB camp end of Feb 09) Check www.StoltzRacing.com shortly
L to R: Gert Stoltz (aka Tarzan)- also my dad. Werner van der Merwe, Johan Pieterse, me (aka Caveman), Shelly van der Nest, Gustav Klingbiel.
I did quick bike fits, suspension tune ups, lectured on tires (a dangerous topic!) and helped one person put their
Bobby Behan visits our farm
Bobby in our driveway.
XTERRA World Champs 2008 pictures
Before the start- calm, smiley AND READY TO KICK ASS! Photo by Nils Nilsen
