The Braamfontuin Spruit is a well know and much enjoyed riding spot in Johannesburg. This video shows some of the awesome jumps some of the local riders built for their fellow riders to enjoy.

My buddy Toby Groenewald who runs Salvo BMX has had his bike stolen in Cape Town. The bike is a prototype (similar to photo above) and if anyone has any information on where it could be please drop me an email. Here is what Toby had to say about the theft: “My bike was STOLEN off the roof rack in Obs last night at around a 8pm. In all my years of being involved with bicycles I have never had a bike stolen from me. This is a very special bike and a one of a kind. Its like a baby being kidnapped from you. Your creation gone. So please look out for a Salvo. Its green with white parts as well as a very distinctive noisy Profile wheel set. Thanks- Toby”

The 3D trend continues in this abysmal attempt at a documentry…

I had high expectations for X Games 3D since ESPN’s last effort (Ultimate X) some years ago for IMAX was breathtaking. In the first minute of the film I wanted my money back as the aspect ratio was not setup correctly which left almost everyones heads chopped off. At R60 a ticket to watch this crap that is a problem. Things got worse as the film progressed and I realized that you could watch almost any of the film on YouTube or on ESPN re-runs. An unassuming narrator (Emile Hirsh) mumbled on about how extreme everything was mixed in with inane comments made from the ESPN crew. Anyone listening to Sal Masekela trying to bro down with the whole planet will have them wishing to be struck deaf.

The entire thing is also not in 3D. When they get the 3D right it looked very impressive and what I wanted to see however several times I could have sworn it was post production 3D. Post production 3D is not proper 3D but thrown on afterwards as a sales gimmick to get people to what sub standard movies. The quality is awful and you constantly feel like your eyes are shifting out of focus. Just compare Avatar (correct stereoscopic 3D) to Alice In Wonderland (post produced 3D).

The action segments are joined together by athlete interviews which are dull and lack any insight. Danny Ways jump over the Wall of China caught my attention when it was mentioned that a Mountain Biker had tried the jump previously and died during the attempt. I looked it up because I had never heard of this before and his name was Wang Jiaxiong. I’m not finished taking this film apart either. Filming: could have been better. Watching the tracking and the composition on several shots I got the impression whoever was behind the lens, they had not shot much footage of that particular sport before. The guy in the street wont notice this at all, but to us we can pick it up. Something which bugs me personally is their morbid fixation on people crashing and hurting themselves. Some might find it entertaining but from my side some of these guys have families watching and money on the line when they hit the ground. I want to see a guy conquer the odds with style and be entertained, not breaking his ankles and failure.

Nothing new here. Uninspired cash-in crap that Ster Kinekor and their clueless projectionist should pay me R60 just to watch. Save your money and visit Clay Porters Vimeo page for free instead.

All this done brakeless! Back in the day Kevin used to race BMX but now spends all his time looking for rails to hit.

Its the first round of the series live on Allisports here. Grant Langston (Yamaha #8) and Tyla Rattray (Kawasaki #28) from South Africa will both be racing.

This project is run by 2 local cyclists and their goal is to create a photo book about the South African and their bikes. They have a cool video up with their pledge site to give you a feeling of the final product.

My buddy Bart from Fatbmx was at the national and sent some photos over. Take a look at the results to see how fast the new MX GP kid Jeffrey Herlings is…

I believe Herlings is barely 16 and already he is putting the hurt on the field. I’m putting him down for at least one moto win at the next GP at Valkenswaard this weekend. South African rider Gareth Swanepoel is also in the photos. Have a look at the new Aprilia which Josh Coppins is aiming to get on the podium this year.

Results heat 1,  MX1:
1 Guarneri
2 de Reuver
3 Tanel Leok
4 Soderstrom
5 Roos
6 Martens
7 Coppins
8 v Vijfeijken
9 Verhoeven
10 Kras
11 Swanepoel
12 Strijbos

Resutls heat 2, MX1:
1 Strijbos
2 Guarneri
3 Tanel Leok
4 de Reuver
5 Verhoeven
6 Soderstrom
7 Coppins
8 van Daele
10 v Vijfeijken

First heat MX2:
1 Herlings
2 Simpson
3 Roelants
4 Kullas
5 Frossard
6 Triest
7 Alletru
8 Verbruggen
9 van Rooij
10 van den Berg

Second heat MX2:
1 Herlings (lapped up until 6th place)
2 Simpson
3 Roelants
4 Kullas
5 Klein Kromhof
6 Verbruggen
7 Van Wezel
8 Triest
9 van den Bogaert
10 van Rooij

All images courtesy of Bart DeJong / Fatbmx

Marc DeReuver

Josh Coppins and Gareth Swanepoel

Coppins Aprilia

Steven Frossard

Herlings KTM

Jeffrey Herlings

Tanel Leok

If you are looking for people to follow, here is a list of various Downhill racers and cycle industry people that are of interest…

Andrew Neethling

http://twitter.com/andrewneethling

Lance Armstrong

http://twitter.com/lancearmstrong

Ian Hylands – photographer

http://twitter.com/ianhylands

Greg Minnaar

http://twitter.com/gregminnaar

Cedric Gracia

http://twitter.com/CedricGracia

Josh Bryceland

http://twitter.com/Ratboy_Bryce

Martijn Scherpen – BMX

https://twitter.com/martijnscherpen

Bryn Atkinson

http://twitter.com/BrynAtkinson

Cam McCaul

http://twitter.com/CamMcCaul

Rob Warner – Freecaster

http://twitter.com/robwarner970

Colin Loudon – BMX

https://twitter.com/glamourkillface

Bas De Bever

http://twitter.com/BasdeBever

Anne Chausson

http://twitter.com/chausson

Jill Kintner

http://twitter.com/Jillkintner

Rachel Atherton

http://twitter.com/rachelatherton

James Stewart – MX

https://twitter.com/js7

Gee Atherton

http://twitter.com/gee_atherton

Steve Peat

http://twitter.com/StevePeat

Tyla Rattray – MX

https://twitter.com/tylarattray

Brian Lopes

http://twitter.com/BrianLopes

Anthill Films

https://twitter.com/anthillfilms

Sam Willoughby – BMX

https://twitter.com/SW91

Clay Porter

https://twitter.com/clayporterrules

]]> http://www.nsrmtb.co.za/downhillers-twitter-accounts/feed/ 0 http://www.nsrmtb.co.za/new-yeti-cycles-site/ http://www.nsrmtb.co.za/new-yeti-cycles-site/#comments Thu, 08 Apr 2010 07:09:44 +0000 Lloyd http://www.nsrmtb.co.za/?p=3761

Yeti Cyles always have really high quality media and their new site is no different.

Well known DH racer John Tomac’s son Eli is about to turn pro entering the AMA Motocross series. He will make his debut with John as his coach at the season opener at the Hangtown track in Sacramento. Vurbmoto has an interview with Eli here