A destroyed front wheel means a long walk ahead for this rider on stage 5 of the 2015 Absa Cape Epic - Sam Clark/Cape Epic/SPORTZPICS
The rugged nature of the Cape Epic means even the top guys need to contend with mechanicals. Here, eventual men's winners Karoslav Kulhavy and Christoph Sauser fix one of many flats - Nick Muzik/Cape Epic/SPORTZPICS
A big team at SRAM work long hours day after day. Still, riders are encouraged to find other technical support for daily tuning - David Rome / Immediate Media
Many riders call on the services of businesses that pay to be at the event. These are just a few of the private mechanics and bike stores that were servicing (read: rebuilding) bikes for their customers - David Rome / Immediate Media
The sheer heartbreak of missing the 10-hour time cut-off time by less than a minute. This is one tough event - David Rome / Immediate Media
Quite simply, if you don't carry spares - you're unlikely to finish the race. Pictured are just a few of the items Jose Antonia Hermida was carrying with him - David Rome / Immediate Media
A true test of suspension - the Cape Epic knows how to kill a fork (or test it to the very limits). In addition to SRAM, other suspension brands had mechanics at the event, DT Swiss included - David Rome / Immediate Media
Riders are forced to get creative with repairs. Tubeless tyre plugs first saw use in the Cape Epic, and other fixes are commonly called upon too - David Rome / Immediate Media
The daily pressure washing is a huge factor in why bearings just don't survive this race - David Rome / Immediate Media
South African brand Momsen is just one company to use the Cape Epic as testing grounds - David Rome / Immediate Media
Riding for SwiftCarbon, Charles Keey had seen better days on the bike. We're told the mechanic found blood inside the headset bearings. Five stitches and Charles finished the event - David Rome / Immediate Media
Every day the bikes are handed to the bike washing team. These guys wash bikes for over five hours straight - David Rome / Immediate Media
Silverback (SBC) had this prototype dual suspension in testing - David Rome / Immediate Media
An exploded rim of a privateer racer. There were plenty of others like this - David Rome / Immediate Media
The top riders have their bikes near stripped every evening. Here, a Bulls mechanic replaces frame pivot bearings after only two stages - David Rome / Immediate Media
Many mechanics bring with a full complement of tools, including large toolboxes, truing stands, air compressors and more - this has to be moved to each camp location every second or third day - David Rome / Immediate Media
We're told this Kashima coat Fox fork was perfect going into the race - this is what it looked like after the third stage - David Rome / Immediate Media
A pile of used and abused Specialized treads sits outside the Specialized race team's tent - David Rome / Immediate Media
Benches like this were a common sight as mechanics worked tirelessly to prepare bikes for the following day - David Rome / Immediate Media
Faster riders can choose to have bottles taken to feed stations for them. These were being loaded into a large truck - David Rome / Immediate Media
Event sponsor EVOC provides bags for all riders. Riders are required to use these bags which are taken from stage to stage for them - David Rome / Immediate Media
This is what the average bike looked like after a dry stage. On a wet stage you could see the tears of the bikes - David Rome / Immediate Media
Likely a blown air seal on this fork as it passes over the line some nine hours after starting - David Rome / Immediate Media
The 'second camp' at the event village plays host to not just bike stores, but physios too - David Rome / Immediate Media
A long day in the saddle awaits all but the fastest of riders - David Rome / Immediate Media
From sand to pea gravel, even the firetrails are not a time to relax... - David Rome / Immediate Media
...nor, sadly, are driveways into private wineries - David Rome / Immediate Media
Some of the faster riders scramble to get their bottles and food before speeding off again - David Rome / Immediate Media
All the stages pass through some stunning scenery, but it's likely most riders are unaware - David Rome / Immediate Media
The lead riders running across a river bed on stage three - David Rome / Immediate Media
Walking mechanical - David Rome / Immediate Media
Grinding up a climb, some drivetrains sounded like washing machines - David Rome / Immediate Media
Nearing the end of a stage, this rider pushes himself to the point of a moan - David Rome / Immediate Media
Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå is the world's most succesful female mountain biker. Despite losing her partner Kathrin Stirnemann due to illness, Gunn-Rita was all smiles - David Rome / Immediate Media
The red dust of the Cape Epic - David Rome / Immediate Media
Starting in Cape Town, the Prologue takes riders on the base of Table Mountain - David Rome / Immediate Media
Climbing up the Prologue course. This 20km 'sprint' was surely a sign of things to come for the riders - David Rome / Immediate Media
More scenery from the Prologue course - David Rome / Immediate Media
Top riders and teams can provide wheels and other spares to be taken to service zones - David Rome / Immediate Media
Tent village. Some riders stay in nearby accomodation, others in RVs - but the majority get their own two-person tent which is set up and pulled down for them - David Rome / Immediate Media
Exxaro is a local development team that helps underprivileged youth. It's impressive to see these young guys and gals ride such an event - David Rome / Immediate Media
Riders conquer the Groenlandberg on the first stage - a 9km climb with an average gradient of seven percent up sandy and rocky trails - David Rome / Immediate Media
Past the Groenlandberg, views continue to reward those riders who bother looking - David Rome / Immediate Media
It's common for locals to come out and cheer along the riders - David Rome / Immediate Media
Spares boxes and wheels are taken to food and service zones for the top riders. But first they have to make it there - David Rome / Immediate Media
At every feed station is neutral service and lube. The conditions are so extreme that even the top riders were having their chains sprayed with lube every 40 or so kilometers - David Rome / Immediate Media
Carbon wheels are hugely popular, but the Cape Epic proves that they aren't all perfect - David Rome / Immediate Media
With riders from all over the world, there were plenty of rare rides mixed in with the Specialized and other large brands - David Rome / Immediate Media
VeeRubber was testing new compounds at the Cape Epic - David Rome / Immediate Media
Christina Kollman suffered heat exhaustion during the high temperatures and relentless terrain of stage three - Ewalk Sadie/Cape Epic/SPORTZPICS
40km into the 113km first stage, this rider snapped a derailleur. He finished the stage - Damien Schumann/Cape Epic/SPORTZPICS
Long after riders have gone to sleep, the mechanics are still working away - Shaun Roy/Cape Epic/SPORTZPICS
Can't go very far without a chain. Even the pros were riding with spare chain connecting links - Damien Schumann/Cape Epic/SPORTZPICS
The Absa Cape Epic has long held a reputation for being a brutal test of endurance, both mental and physical. But wherever the rider goes, so must the bike. This eight-day stage race through the raw and rugged hills near Cape Town, South Africa has earned itself the reputation as a bike burial ground, with many repeating the mantra – “what survives the Epic, will likely survive anything”.
I had viewed this statement – as you may well do – with some suspicion. How can this one event be so brutal compared with other races, or more general riding? However, recently attending the Epic for the first time has opened my eyes to the true enormity and difficulty of this multi-day stage race – think Tour De France intensity, shorter, yet far dirtier.
I managed to get out on a stage myself with Day Trippers, a tour company that runs in conjunction with the race for riders not keen on sampling the full 'experience'. I only rode half of the 113km first stage, which saw 2,800m of ascent for those actually racing. Despite my lack of ‘giving it a go’, the combination of thick sand, endless dust and a heavy shower meant that my new SRAM XX1 drivetrain was soon throwing its chain from the narrow-wide chainring. Now consider riders who were pushing far harder than I, covering twice the distance and with another six days ahead of them – it's not hard to imagine their bikes being ready for the morgue in short order.
With this in mind, the pro riders each have their own mechanics working tirelessly every evening and night rebuilding bikes and replacing what needs to be replaced before the next day.
Many riders call on the services of businesses that pay to be at the event. these are just a few of the private mechanics and bike stores that were servicing (rebuilding) bikes for their customers: many riders call on the services of businesses that pay to be at the event. these are just a few of the private mechanics and bike stores that were servicing (rebuilding) bikes for their customers
Businesses can pay to be at the Epic – these are just a handful of the shops that were at the event all week. Private mechanics took a whole other section
Keen amateur riders call on privateer mechanics to look after their bikes each day. Shops across Cape Town move to the event with vast mobile setups, servicing paying rider bikes for the week. The demand for this service is another sign of how destructive the Epic really is.
We spoke with a variety of mechanics and brands at the Cape Epic in an effort to discover more about how the event is used for product development – and also just to get opinion on what equipment to bring.
Specialized no doubt has had plenty of feedback over the years with its ‘Epic’ range – a bike that’s used by approximately one-third of the event's 1,200 riders. At this race, Christoph Sauser had a 2016 suspension tune on trial.
A pile of used and abused specialized treads sits outside the specialized race team's tent: a pile of used and abused specialized treads sits outside the specialized race team's tent
Tyres don't last at the Cape Epic – punctures and tears are extremely common. Apparently, more than 98 percent of this year's riders went tubeless
According to the Specialized mechanics for Sauser and Jaroslav Julhavy, the bikes are mostly rebuilt every day, with tyres replaced if flatted during the stage. Dirty or overly hard stages usually call for new brake pads, chains and perhaps a suspension rebuild.
Martin Kirchner of SRAM Europe mentioned that the brand was testing seals in the RS-1 fork last year – directly, using rider and mechanic feedback. “However, our role here is mainly neutral service for any SRAM-equipped bikes, though single ring drivetrains have certainly taken some stress off our guys,” Kirchner said.
South african brand momsem is just one company to use the cape epic as testing grounds : south african brand momsem is just one company to use the cape epic as testing grounds
A bike designed around the dirt it races on (note the custom VeeRubber treads)
After the event, Victor Momsen of South African mountain bike brand Momsen gave us some insight into the firm's product development.
“The entire concept and design of the Momsen VIPA was done around producing a short travel, efficient stage-race bike for the many popular South African marathon events,” he said. “The Cape Epic represents a unique opportunity to have us race and test products on home soil.”
Momsen continued: “All our frames are tested to EN-standards as per the industry benchmark. However, real-world feedback in terms of frame stiffness, linkage durability and so on is something that is very hard to replicate without the bikes actually used in race conditions.
“We're constantly looking at ways to improve our bikes, and 2016 will see a new feature being added to the VIPA that is a direct result of rider feedback from events like the Cape-Epic,” he concluded.
SwiftCarbon is another local company that puts the Cape Epic to use – something we spoke with marketing manager Neil Gardiner about.
“The Cape Epic was and is the focal point of our Evil Twin (a bike I tested during the trip) project in many ways," Gardiner told BikeRadar. "It's the pinnacle of marathon and stage race mountain biking, and the high point of many riders’ seasons. It's also one of those rare high-level mass participation events. The trails are rugged and demanding and the equipment needs to be ready for it.
Riding for swiftcarbon, charles keey had seen better days on the bike. we're told the mechanic found blood inside the headset bearings. five stitches and charles finished the event: riding for swiftcarbon, charles keey had seen better days on the bike. we're told the mechanic found blood inside the headset bearings. five stitches and charles finished the event
Charles Keey of SwiftCarbon had seen better days. Apparently the mechanic had to replace the headset bearings as they were contaminated with blood
“We use the week of intense racing on very rugged trails to test the reliability of the frame. It is said that a week at the Epic will show up issues that could take up to a year to develop under ‘normal conditions’,” Gardiner added.
He continued: “It's a stretch to say that we made the Evil Twin specially for the Epic, but we consider it to be one of the most complete tests of equipment – gruelling racing at the highest level in some pretty extreme trail and weather conditions. For our first full suspension frame, reliability is critical, so we figured that if it's Epic-ready then it's anything-ready.”
Swiss-based brands Assos and Scott have both used the Cape Epic as testing grounds for cross-country products. Assos’ new mountain clothing range is proof of this, while Scott Bikes South Africa have stated that the current Spark cross-country dual suspension machine was heavily influenced by findings from the Cape Epic of two years ago.
Long after riders have gone to sleep, the mechanics are still working away : long after riders have gone to sleep, the mechanics are still working away
Mechanics hope for a dry stage – a wet one commonly means they'll work straight through the night
Speaking with co-owners of the Epic Bike Shop, Neville Cragg and Lance Stephenson, it quickly became apparent that mechanics can have as tough a time as the riders. While the riders are on their bikes for up to 10 hours of the day, the mechanics are working all the other hours.
“The average riders don’t have the same skills as the top guys and so are often harder on equipment," Stephenson explained. "With this, they throw money at their bikes so they can finish the event.”
Sending a rider out on a bike you've built is, added Stephenson, "very personal".
This is what the average bike looked like after a dry stage. on a wet stage you could see the tears of the bikes : this is what the average bike looked like after a dry stage. on a wet stage you could see the tears of the bikes
What an average bike looks like after an average dry stage. Rain means bike carnage
According to Cragg, the pre-event preparation is crucial to ensure bikes survive the Epic. Starting with a fresh drivetrain, new suspension seals and healthy bearings are all things that are a must. Even with a fully box-fresh setup though, Cragg went on, “nothing takes the shine off like the Cape Epic”.
We asked Cragg about componentry choices, with his opinion strongest on the use of single-ring drivetrains for simplicity and reliability. Given Shimano still doesn't offer such a wide gear range, the guys at the Epic Bike Shop are strong fans of SRAM.
Eugene Haley from Hullabaloo, the South African importer of Rocky Mountain, pointed out that it was the slower riders who often need the most detailed mechanical service. “These guys are spending so much time out there, shifting all the time. We’re effectively stripping these bikes every night and in poor conditions, we may end up replacing cables, bearings, brake pads, chains – the lot”.
For a closer look at the 2015 Absa Cape Epic event, see our photo gallery above.
