Amabubesi. It’s a word you won’t find in most mountain bike jargon guides but it’s worth knowing. 

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An Amabubesi is someone who has finished the Cape Epic three times – the word means "pride of lions" in Zulu. That notoriously harsh but inspiring weeklong mountain bike stage race is hosted each March in South Africa’s Western Cape mountains. Featuring hors catégorie off-road climbs, extreme heat, dramatic scenery, and tyre-shredding terrain, the Cape Epic humbles all. Earning Amabubesi status is an elite achievement for endurance mountain bikers. 

South Africa’s Reuben van Niekerk is an Amabubesi – and more. A five-time Cape Epic finisher, Reuben is attempting a sixth finisher’s medal this year. What makes his Cape Epic palmares so notable, is that he does it with one leg. And his teammate at this year’s Cape Epic, Dane Wilson, has only one arm. If you want insights about endurance and trail mountain biking, with the challenges of being an amputee, few know more than Reuben and Dane. 

2025 amp cape epic 1.JPG, by Liam Mercer

Reuben’s life changed dramatically one afternoon back in 2008. While journeying on his motorcycle back home in South Africa, a truck crashed into him, resulting in a right leg amputation below the knee. 

A keen rider since his teens, Reuben got back on the bike a year later and completed his first Cape Epic in 2014. His teammate, Dane, finished the Cape Epic in 2009. They are team ‘Driepoot’, which means ‘tripod’ in Afrikaans because they have only three legs between them…

Real riders – on a mission

All amputee cyclists are remarkable in their own way and wildly committed to their training, but Reuben and Dane love riding. 

From debating the merits of steel road bikes to whether a Ritchey bullmoose handlebar is retro-done-right or a worthy ergonomic cockpit upgrade, Reuben is a deeply immersed rider. He's tall, too. Very tall for a mountain biker at 6’5 (1.96m). This makes Reuben's endurance mountain biking wisdom invaluable for other amputee riders who are way beyond average height. 

His Cape Epic team Driepoot partner Dane is a left-arm amputee and excellent multi-discipline rider: track, road, and mountain. Dane is a Paralympian and potent track rider. Still, like most South Africans, he leverages the country’s excellent year-round weather and trail network for many, many miles of mountain biking.  

2025 amp cape epix 4.jpeg, by Liam Mercer

Reuben and Dane are riding for a relatable and personal cause at the Cape Epic – the Jumping Kids charity. Being amputees, the team Driepoot riders know that losing a limb doesn’t make you any different cognitively. The Jumping Kids charity helps young South African amputees get the prosthetics and attachments they need. This enables them to attend mainstream schools accessing the best possible education and skills development journey, regardless of their amputation status. 

Fit is everything

With their extensive combined experience of upper- and lower-body amputee cycling, Reuben and Dane speak with tremendous authority on what mountain bikers with disabilities need.  

Reuben and Dane use specific prosthetics and attachments for riding. Icelandic prosthetics specialist Össur is one of the team supporters, and Reuben has been on their technology for years. 

2025 amp cape epic 5.JPG, by Liam Mercer

Sourcing a skilled specialist to mould the attachment cups with precision is crucial, especially if you are riding technical terrain and rocky, rooty, trails. Dane has several arm attachments. ‘I have six or seven. For track riding. Group road riding. Mountain biking. It’s very custom. The better that moulding is, the comfier you’ll be, especially at a gruelling event like the Cape Epic.’ 

Reuben also cautions amputee riders to manage their weight. ‘When your attachment cup is perfectly moulded, you must stay at that riding weight. You’ll have a comfort, fit and chafing problem if you gain weight.”

Hope to the rescue

Both riders agree that developments in prosthetics and cycling technology have made it much better for an amputee rider now, compared to a decade and a half ago. 
Dane remembers his first Cape Epic in 2009 with a 2x drivetrain and conventional brakes. ‘I had a combined grip and trigger shift system. It was a nightmare to try and control everything with one hand. AXS wireless shifting has been a breakthrough for an arm amputee rider like me.’

The other enabler for Dane is Hope’s Tech 3 Duo brakes, which have a single master cylinder and two adjustable levers on the right side of his handlebar. ‘They’re just brilliant. If you are a serious trail rider, you know Hope brakes. And the dual-lever set-up they do, for amputee riders like me, is terrific.’ 

Wireless is everything

Reuben is an advocate for AXS and lower limb amputees. He believes the shifting accuracy and gear-changing speed of the SRAM wireless drivetrains are a significant benefit for amputee riders, especially those pedalling with a prosthetic leg. 

‘Remember, you can’t stand and pedal. If you are marginally in the wrong gear, climbing rocky technical single- or jeep track, you are stuck and need to dismount, and with a prosthetic leg, that’s not easy. With AXS and the wide range cassettes, the shifting is so rapid and accurate that I can confidently roll into those technical Cape Epic climbs at the ideal seated cadence. And if I need to do an emergency shift with AXS, it happens immediately.’

Several of Reuben’s Cape Epics have been on Santa Cruz Tallboys. His current ride is an XL Blur, which he finds ideal for his 6’5 size. ‘The kinematics and efficiency are excellent on the Blur. With that shock locked out, in my experience, the Blur feels like a hardtail, with no pedal-bop on climbs.’

‘You can’t help each other’

There are many iconic images of Cape Epic teammates carrying each other’s bikes. A stronger partner supporting a suffering one up brutal Western Cape mountain trails, on those deliberately unrideable sections that race organisers include to break riders' resolve. 

2025 amp cape epic 2.jpg, by Liam Mercer

For team Driepoot, the physical buddy-buddy support system is not a possibility. Dane knows this. ‘I can’t help him, and he can’t help me when we are dismounted. We can’t split the portage burden into those rough sections, where you must walk and hike-a-bike.’
Reuben has a proven strategy for those unavoidable hike-a-bike sections at the Cape Epic. ‘I’ve learned to use my bike as a crutch. I modulate the brakes for stability and work my way up and over those unrideable sections.’

Team Driepoot averaged 14-hour training weeks for their Cape Epic build-up. That included a lot of cross-functional strength training, incorporating Pilates and CrossFit. Despite all the training, the real disadvantages of being an amputee rider at the Cape Epic are inescapable. 

Testing amputees

For Dane, the issue during any extreme mountain bike event is shoulder and hand compensation. ‘The Cape Epic is a week of extreme endurance riding. It’s much longer than most stage races, which are only three days. I struggle with my right shoulder because I’m pulling a lot more with the one side – whether I’m climbing or stabilising the handlebars on a descent.’

The other problem for Dane is the lack of variation in hand position. Experienced endurance mountain bikers know that on a flat bar, you must vary hand positions to reduce fatigue and back strain. 

Dane is limited to a one-hand position, optimised for handlebar control. ‘Grip strength can become a fatigue issue because I can’t move my right hand around as much as an able-bodied rider could. During a week’s riding on demanding off-road terrain, those tiny hand position changes throughout the day take a lot of strain off your back.’

Reuben’s challenge is being unable to stand and climb, or easily unclip his right leg from the pedal. ‘I can’t stand and power up-and-over roots or small rocks if it’s really steep and technical. My amputation was traumatic, so I don’t have great leverage on my leg and its socket. At an event like the Cape Epic, chafing also becomes a thing for me.’

The Cape Epic is an extreme event. It routes unforgiving terrain for 376 miles across a terrifying 54,133 ft climbing profile. It’s the truest test of endurance riders and mountain bike components. Any component choice, bike set-up or rider advice that works at the Cape Epic, has the potential to enhance your weekend big mileage adventure ride. 
You might never ride the Cape Epic, or become an Amabubesi like Reuben, but you can benefit from their knowledge. If you are an amputee rider seeking inspiration, Reuben and Dane prove that with clever component choices and knowledgeable prosthetics specialists, you can have an unlimited mountain bike experience. 

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