Moving to Townsville, need advice.

[1307]

Hey all, I'm moving to Townsville from the West Island in late July and I'm looking at getting some knowledge from some locals (or anyone who knows much about the area really) about the mountain biking there.

My questions:
- What one style of bike would be best for the general riding in Townsville? 160mm enduro? 180mm trail monster? 140mm heavy duty xc? 120mm xc bike?

- What is the riding like in Townsville? Rocky, dusty, pumicey, steep, mild, easy, hard, long short or a bit of everything?

- What sites are best for second hand bikes in Aus? And what sites are best for new equipment in Aus?

- What do I need to know about mountain biking in general in Australia? I'm used to it being between -4 and +23 degrees where I live so I'm not used to the heat at all, I'll probably the biggest hydration pack I can find so I don't die before I get out of the carpark... But is there rules about when/what/where to ride that someone coming to Aus should know?

(unrelated to mountain biking but...) What other sports are best in Townsville? Where I live currently I do allot of skiing as well as mountain biking, but looking at some climate charts Townsville doesn't exactly look it'd see much snow... So I'd probably pick up another sport if I could, I'm not a team sport person nor do I get any fun out of kicking a ball around in a paddock haha so any suggestions would be sweet as.

Any help would be great, thanks in advance.

 

[g-fish]

Only been to Townsville once, but I think it's the best city in Australia. Big enough that there's a little bit of culture/interest.. but not too large. Everyone is incredibly active (it looks like there's a triathlon being run every morning along the beach). Really great place.

But I don't have much else to contribute. I'd take up sea kayaking if I lived there..

 

[1307]

Only been to Townsville once, but I think it's the best city in Australia. Big enough that there's a little bit of culture/interest.. but not too large. Everyone is incredibly active (it looks like there's a triathlon being run every morning along the beach). Really great place.

But I don't have much else to contribute. I'd take up sea kayaking if I lived there..

Thanks for the input. Yeah I'd be keen to give Sea-Kayaking a proper go, I had a quick shot at it a while ago and I found it quite interesting but I was busy with other hobbies so didn't have enough time to pursue it. I'd want to go on a training course and learn to eskimo roll first though I think, I will have a look into it though.

 

[fatboyonabike]

i went to townsville once, the main sports up there are :
stealin stuff, killin stuff and sweating.
there is a big kick ass mountain right in the middle, should have some good riding around it.
There is also a very large Army base in townsville, maybe a good place to pick up a 2nd hand bike from some army muppet who thought he was Johnny Rambo on 2 wheels.

 

[morgastst]

hey mate I lived and rode up in Townsville for a few years there heaps of different shit
try this rockwheelers into google it will show u everything that's the club up there

 

[outtacontrol]

The riding scene is very big in Townsville. Actually has the second biggest MTB club in Australia. The trails are technical and rocky, based on decomposed granite. Makes for a sketchy loose surface, great if you like getting it loose

The local club is Townsville Rockwheelers. We have a very comprehensive website and active forum. Check out the website and join the forum. We have 4 separate downhill tracks all built next to a public bitumen road, making for the easiest shuttles in Australia.
We have 3 different venues for XC/ trail riding which total about 60kms, ranging from easy green trails, to black diamond super fun stuff. Ideal bike for Townsville trail riding would be 150mm dually. 29ner duallies are also pretty good at dealing with the rocks.

You have picked a great time to move here, as the whole region is going off. Cairns (4 hours north) has just been announced to be holding 2 World Cup rounds and Atherton (about the same distance) is getting a $200,00 trail build and has just announced another $500,00 has been awarded to add to the trails.

Townsville is pleasant in Winter (May-August) and hot the rest of the time (30 degrees and high humidity), which is probably why water sports are very popular here as well. Hope that helps

Make sure you join the forum and make yourself known. People will fall over themselves to show you around. Shoot me a PM if you want when you get here..

 

[indica]

FNQ is the best place in the country. No question.
Have not got my arse to Brownsville yet but have ridden with many of the crew. Between the Ville, ATown and Cairns you have the best riding with more to come over the next few years.
My bike of choice is 160mm travel, 66 degree HA and a dropper post.

WOOT!

 

[indica]

Second hand bikes - this site.
Weather? Hot, up here in Atherton it is cold ATM and generally cool at night in the summer. Townsville - I lived there for a few months is hot in the summer, but 2 years and you will be used to it. Think 35 degree days... Love riding in the heat.

 

[outtacontrol]

Second hand bikes - this site.
Weather? Hot, up here in Atherton it is cold ATM and generally cool at night in the summer. Townsville - I lived there for a few months is hot in the summer, but 2 years and you will be used to it. Think 35 degree days... Love riding in the heat.

Possibly why night riding is so popular

 

[Xavo.au]

You're really going to feel the heat in summer and in winter. The winter you're used to is now gone, Townsville gets like 2-3 weeks of jumper weather and then it's gone.
Torrential rains usually sometime between January and March.
Buy a bloody big lock and/or don't let your bike out of your sight

 

[knob scortcher]

You're really going to feel the heat in summer and in winter. The winter you're used to is now gone, Townsville gets like 2-3 weeks of jumper weather and then it's gone.
Torrential rains usually sometime between January and March.
Buy a bloody big lock and/or don't let your bike out of your sight

yea I would avoid riding your good bike/s to the shops or anywhere public here, and keep them out of sight even if there in your yard.

 

[1307]

The riding scene is very big in Townsville. Actually has the second biggest MTB club in Australia. The trails are technical and rocky, based on decomposed granite. Makes for a sketchy loose surface, great if you like getting it loose

The local club is Townsville Rockwheelers. We have a very comprehensive website and active forum. Check out the website and join the forum. We have 4 separate downhill tracks all built next to a public bitumen road, making for the easiest shuttles in Australia.
We have 3 different venues for XC/ trail riding which total about 60kms, ranging from easy green trails, to black diamond super fun stuff. Ideal bike for Townsville trail riding would be 150mm dually. 29ner duallies are also pretty good at dealing with the rocks.

You have picked a great time to move here, as the whole region is going off. Cairns (4 hours north) has just been announced to be holding 2 World Cup rounds and Atherton (about the same distance) is getting a $200,00 trail build and has just announced another $500,00 has been awarded to add to the trails.

Townsville is pleasant in Winter (May-August) and hot the rest of the time (30 degrees and high humidity), which is probably why water sports are very popular here as well. Hope that helps

Make sure you join the forum and make yourself known. People will fall over themselves to show you around. Shoot me a PM if you want when you get here..

Thanks heaps for the post mate, yeah I'll definitely get onto joining the Rockwheelers forum. Climate sounds like it's going to be one hell of a change haha. I have to say, the riding scene there looks allot better than I initially anticipated, which is a bloody good thing.

Yeah the trails here are pumice based forest trails that get extremely dry, and only hold the rain for about 24 hours so I'm used to pretty dusty trails now, definitely prefer them over muddy trails because I don't really bother cleaning the bike afterwards..

If a 150mm dually is where it's at it looks like I might just get a GT Force again haha.

 

[indica]

If a 150mm dually is where it's at it looks like I might just get a GT Force again haha.

I have a Sanction and prefer that over the Force. outtacontrol rides a Slayer... the stiffer front ends and slacker angles seem to be the go.

 

[callum1]

they call them rockwheelers for good reason...lots of bloody rocks. i was reading a mag that said they got a decent grant recently, so trails will be nice. btw, winter is the nicest season up here, and best for riding. summer is usually wet, and f-ing hot. fyi - good riding at cairns (4.5 hrs from townsville) and atherton (about 4hrs i think) you tend to start driving long distances for menial things in FNQ.

 

[1307]

Ahh. Basically no rocks around here so I'm guessing I'll have to get used to them.

And yeah I might go 160 rather than 150 as I do prefer the downhill more than the ups haha.

 

[jarrod839]

Townsville

i lived in townsville for 3 years and its got a really good MTB community and a really good downhill course on MT stuart.

awesome shop there too called Cranked cycles for all your downhill needs.

like everyone else has said watch ya bike and make sure its locked and inside.

the heat in summer can get brutal and the non stop rain for weeks on end can get frustrating, but the winters are some of the best weather ever.

Hope u have some work lined up there, as there is hardly any work there at the moment, as the mines feed work to the town. its been downhill there since gillard bought in the mining tax, its a reason why i,m back in melbourne.

but some of the best places are in and around townsville and cairns is just up the road, i sure miss the place and hope it all works there for ya

 

[4dabush]

Buy a camelbak - you'll need plenty of water... Townsville tracks are awesome...but bite hard if you put a wheel wrong...Rockwheelers are a well organised club and very active. Agree that a 6 inch thereabouts dually is a great start...
Awesome friendly rivalry between the Cairns and Townsville crews, both XC and DH. We both tend to support each others events.
Welcome to Oz...

 

[1307]

i lived in townsville for 3 years and its got a really good MTB community and a really good downhill course on MT stuart.

awesome shop there too called Cranked cycles for all your downhill needs.

like everyone else has said watch ya bike and make sure its locked and inside.

the heat in summer can get brutal and the non stop rain for weeks on end can get frustrating, but the winters are some of the best weather ever.

Hope u have some work lined up there, as there is hardly any work there at the moment, as the mines feed work to the town. its been downhill there since gillard bought in the mining tax, its a reason why i,m back in melbourne.

but some of the best places are in and around townsville and cairns is just up the road, i sure miss the place and hope it all works there for ya

Yeah thanks for the info mate. I'll have to get used to locking the bike up quickly, haven't had to worry about that before but I guess going from a town into a city what can you expect.

And job wise both my parents have jobs outside of the mining industry (education & healthcare) but for me I'm up for pretty much anything, I've worked part time in customer service and I'm currently working part time as a waiter outside of school, but I'm up for anything really.

Yeah I'll probably need to pick up a watersport for summer because it'll take me a while to get adjusted to the heat. Is it worth picking up surfing/sea-kayaking/kitesurfing etc? What does everyone else do in Summer? Haha.

 

[outtacontrol]

Yeah I'll probably need to pick up a watersport for summer because it'll take me a while to get adjusted to the heat. Is it worth picking up surfing/sea-kayaking/kitesurfing etc? What does everyone else do in Summer? Haha.

No surf up here thanks to the Barrier Reef. There is a big adventure race scene too, with kayaking so maybe something to think about. Kite surfing is also popular.
I wouldn't get too worked up about worrying about the climate too much. Most people just make sure they keep out of the sun in the middle of the day. When are you moving over??

 

[1307]

No surf up here thanks to the Barrier Reef. There is a big adventure race scene too, with kayaking so maybe something to think about. Kite surfing is also popular.
I wouldn't get too worked up about worrying about the climate too much. Most people just make sure they keep out of the sun in the middle of the day. When are you moving over??

Will be moving over mid-late July. Even with watersports do people try stay out of the mid-day sun?