The Absa Cape Epic is seen globally as the ultimate test in mountain bike stage racing. A combination of the world’s best racers, the potential for extreme weather conditions, rugged terrain and the high pressure that comes with a UCI HC race ranking, the annual eight day South African race is also seen as the ultimate testing ground for bicycles. In Part 3 of our annual TREAD Absa Cape Epic Survey, presented by Rush Sports and Maxxis Tyres, we look at the average bike value, most popular bike brands and more bike-related insight.
Of the 1 344 riders that entered the 2018 Cape Epic, a total of 1 223 took the rider survey. That’s 91%, which is an exceptionally large sample size. Here’s how their bike stats looked as well as some historical analysis…
Average bike value
Year |
Rand value |
% increase over previous year |
Cost of US $1 on 31 March that year |
2018 |
R97 145 |
3.03% |
R11.84 |
2017 |
R94 286 |
23.97% |
R13.29 |
2016 |
R76 052 |
25.18% |
R14.71 |
2015 |
R60 752 |
35.19% |
R12.12 |
2014 |
R44 937 |
6.37% |
R10.58 |
2013 |
R42 244 |
4.69% |
R9.24 |
2012 |
R40 349 |
7.56% |
R7.69 |
2011 |
R37 510 |
4.49% |
R6.84 |
2010 |
R35 898 |
4.91% |
R7.39 |
2009 |
R34 215 |
11.59% |
R9.72 |
2008 |
R30 659 |
R8.19 |
We include the Rand=US Dollar rate at 31 March for each year (the Cape Epic month) to add some perspective.
While the average bike value edged closer to R100 000 for 2018, the increase is the lowest it’s been since the event began recording this statistic in 2008. It’s worth noting that the weakest the Rand has ever been against the Dollar was in January 2016 at 16.84.
Breakdown of bike value
Price bracket |
2017 |
2018 |
Under R30 000 |
0% |
0% |
R30 000-R40 000 |
4% |
3% |
R40 000-R50 000 |
6% |
5% |
R50 000-R60 000 |
7% |
7% |
R60 000-R70 000 |
10% |
8% |
R70 000-R80 000 |
9% |
11% |
R80 000-R90 000 |
10% |
10% |
R90 000-R100 000 |
11% |
10% |
R100 000-R110 000 |
10% |
10% |
R110 000-R120 000 |
7% |
7% |
R120 000-R130 000 |
9% |
12% |
Over R130 000 |
17% |
17% |
A total of 46% paid R100 000 or more for their bicycle. That’s slightly up from 43% in 2017. Of the total entrants, 54% bought a new bike in the 12 months leading up to the Cape Epic. The split in this number (54%) is 23% South African, 31% International.
New bike purchase in previous 12 months
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
65% |
59% |
52% |
54% |
Most popular brands – history
Specialized |
SCOTT |
Cannondale |
TREK |
Giant |
Santa Cruz |
BMC |
Merida |
Rocky Mountain |
Momsen |
Silverback |
Pyga |
|
2008 SA |
17% |
8% |
5% |
4% |
24% |
3% |
— |
— |
2% |
— |
— |
— |
2008 Total |
17% |
10% |
5% |
4% |
18% |
2% |
— |
— |
1% |
— |
— |
— |
2009 SA |
18% |
12% |
4% |
3% |
20% |
2% |
1% |
9% |
1% |
— |
— |
— |
2009 Total |
18% |
12% |
6% |
4% |
15% |
2% |
1% |
8% |
1% |
— |
— |
— |
2010 SA |
19% |
8% |
4% |
5% |
17% |
3% |
0% |
10% |
1% |
— |
— |
— |
2010 Total |
19% |
10% |
6% |
5% |
12% |
3% |
1% |
8% |
1% |
— |
— |
— |
2011 SA |
17% |
11% |
5% |
6% |
16% |
3% |
1% |
10% |
0% |
— |
— |
— |
2011 Total |
18% |
11% |
6% |
7% |
11% |
3% |
1% |
8% |
1% |
— |
— |
— |
2012 SA |
21% |
12% |
7% |
6% |
11% |
5% |
1% |
6% |
1% |
— |
— |
— |
2012 Total |
23% |
11% |
7% |
7% |
13% |
5% |
1% |
5% |
1% |
— |
— |
— |
2013 SA |
23% |
12% |
7% |
8% |
13% |
5% |
1% |
4% |
1% |
— |
— |
— |
2013 Total |
23% |
11% |
7% |
7% |
11% |
5% |
1% |
5% |
1% |
— |
— |
— |
2014 SA |
30% |
17% |
10% |
6% |
7% |
3% |
1% |
5% |
2% |
4% |
— |
— |
2014 Total |
29% |
15% |
10% |
5% |
6% |
4% |
3% |
4% |
2% |
3% |
— |
— |
2015 SA |
40% |
14% |
7% |
3% |
6% |
6% |
2% |
3% |
3% |
3% |
— |
— |
2015 Total |
36% |
14% |
9% |
4% |
4% |
4% |
3% |
3% |
2% |
2% |
— |
— |
2016 SA |
35% |
12% |
11% |
3% |
5% |
7% |
3% |
1% |
3% |
4% |
— |
— |
2016 Total |
36% |
12% |
10% |
4% |
4% |
5% |
3% |
1% |
2% |
3% |
— |
— |
2017 SA |
33% |
12% |
13% |
5% |
4% |
7% |
3% |
3% |
3% |
1% |
— |
1% |
2017 Total |
32% |
14% |
12% |
6% |
4% |
4% |
3% |
2% |
2% |
<1% |
— |
<1% |
2018 SA |
33% |
14% |
14% |
6% |
4% |
4% |
2% |
3% |
1% |
2% |
2% |
2% |
2018 Total |
33% |
15% |
12% |
6% |
3% |
3% |
2% |
2% |
2% |
2% |
1% |
2% |
It’s remarkable how successful Specialized has become as the most popular bike brand at the Cape Epic. Perhaps more impressive is how it’s remained there with such consistency. From 2010, Specialized has topped the South African and Total rankings, reaching its peak at 40% and 36% respectively in 2015.
SCOTT and Cannondale comfortably continue to hold second and third spots respectively, but are well behind Specialized in terms of market share within the Cape Epic.
After initially being the dominant brand in 2008 and 2009, Giant has seen a steady decline to just 2% of the total in 2018. This is surely due to the brand not committing fully to 29-inch wheels until last year when it launched its new Anthem. Giant currently shares a minority percentage with other long-term top-10 international brands, BMC, Rocky Mountain, Merida and Santa Cruz, while TREK holds firm to fourth place on 6%.
South African brands, Pyga, Momsen and Silverback make up 5% between them.
From a South African participant perspective, Cannondale has enjoyed a steady climb from 7% to 14% over the past three years, while SCOTT and TREK have seen small increases too.
Most popular last five years (total)
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
|||||
Specialized |
29% |
Specialized |
36% |
Specialized |
36% |
Specialized |
32% |
Specialized |
33% |
SCOTT |
15% |
SCOTT |
13% |
SCOTT |
12% |
SCOTT |
14% |
SCOTT |
15% |
Cannondale |
10% |
Cannondale |
9% |
Cannondale |
10% |
Cannondale |
12% |
Cannondale |
12% |
Giant |
6% |
TREK |
4% |
Santa Cruz |
5% |
TREK |
6% |
TREK |
6% |
TREK |
5% |
Santa Cruz |
4% |
TREK |
4% |
Santa Cruz |
4% |
Santa Cruz |
3% |
Santa Cruz |
4% |
Giant |
4% |
Giant |
4% |
Giant |
4% |
Giant |
3% |
Merida |
4% |
Merida |
3% |
BMC |
3% |
BMC |
3% |
BMC |
2% |
BMC |
3% |
BMC |
3% |
Momsen |
3% |
Rocky Mountain |
2% |
Rocky Mountain |
2% |
Rocky Mountain |
2% |
Rocky Mountain |
2% |
Rocky Mountain |
2% |
Merida |
2% |
Merida |
2% |
Momsen |
2% |
Merida |
1% |
Cube |
1% |
Pyga |
2% |
||
Bianchi |
1% |
Momsen |
2% |
||||||
Silverback |
1% |
||||||||
Cube |
1% |
||||||||
Bianchi |
1% |
||||||||
Other |
15% |
Hardtail vs Full suspension
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
|
Hardtail |
30% |
26% |
23% |
20% |
22% |
31% |
24% |
21% |
14% |
7% |
10% |
6% |
Full sus |
69% |
74% |
77% |
80% |
77% |
69% |
75% |
79% |
85% |
93% |
90% |
94% |
It’s now rare to tackle the Absa Cape Epic on a hardtail, but it’s interesting to see that the full-sus trend dipped in 2011/2012 (when 29er wheels first became mainstream) and again last year, the reason for which we aren’t quite sure…
Wheel size
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017/2018 |
|
26 inch |
78% |
36% |
17% |
8% |
6% |
5.3% |
No data |
29 inch |
22% |
64% |
82% |
90% |
91% |
92% |
No data |
27.5 inch (650b) |
0% |
0% |
1% |
2% |
3% |
2.4% |
No data |
Fat bike |
0.3% |
No data |
The Cape Epic asked about wheel size from 2011 until 2016. They decided that since most ride with 29-inch wheels, it wasn’t worth asking any more. For the record, here’s the data.
Bike brands of final GC top 10 2018:
1st Specialized (2 stage wins)
2nd Canyon (1 stage win)
3rd Cannondale (2 stage wins)
4th SCOTT
5th Centurion (2 stage wins)
6th TREK (1 stage win)
7th Bulls
8th Bianchi
9th SCOTT
10th Bulls
