Canberra - Which bike?

[JTmofo]

Howdy all,

I'm off to canberra for the weekend for the first time, for a Saturday and Sunday of riding.
Looking at riding Kowen and Stromlo, I've have checked out the loops in other threads on Rotorburn so have the rides pretty much sorted.

Next question is which bike to bring?
I have a 150mm travel Spitfire (dually) and a 120mm Paradox (HT).

Want to get the most out of the weekend, and looking at some YouTube footage I'm finding it hard to decide which would be better to bring?

Any recommendations?

 

[doihoi]

Go the dualie!

 

[J3$$3]

Hey mate,
Hope you have some form of lock-out on the duallie, otherwise your climbs and general spin will be a touch sluggish, but definitely the way to go!!! Trunk climb to the top of Stromlo then either Pork-barrel and Double Diss, or Skyline to Luge

 

[Knuckles]

..........?

 

[JTmofo]

..........?

That's what I'm thinking......

Think I'll throw both on the rack.

 

[Knuckles]

That's what I'm thinking......

Think I'll throw both on the rack.

If you're looking for a nice crusiey day two, the paradox round the centennial trail should be relatively relaxing. Bonus, traffic should not be a problem, with two mint banshees swinging off the back, mother fuckers will part like the Red Sea :thumb:

 

[Haakon]

Stromlo is what made me finally buy a dually... Although its better these days now they have sanitised the rock gardens a bit. You'll still have a ball on a hard tail, but you'll wish you brought a dually.

Sparrow is hard tail friendly.

 

[al3k]

Duallie all the way

 

[ninjananna]

Hardtail for most of it - you have to ride up Stromlo at least once so I'd use the hardtail for that run.

Then if you can swing it bring the duallie for a shuttle run or 2 from the top of Stromlo - there's the DH section as well if that's your thing.

 

[DMan]

I think you should leave both behind and take your roadie. But then I've just watched Road Bike Party 2 sorry....

 

[stinkytodamax]

The bike you want is the one you dont have. 100-120mm Dually is great for Canberra trails.

Stromlo
Hardtail - Will be good at Stromlo if you dont mind a slightly rougher descent. Good if you want to head and down more than twice.
Dually - Take your time and cruise up the hill, bomb down. Fun factor is better especially if you're only doing 15-20kms of riding.

Sparrow
Hardtail - Some eroded sections of track will be rough on the posterior. Hardtail will be faster around there
Dually - Its XC/trail riding in there so 150mm seems like an overkill. If you're not in a rush it will be a lot more comfortable. I've found riding the hardtail at Sparrow works you reasonably hard in the tail.

Take both bikes.

 

[Ev]

Take the spitty.

It rocks at stromlo, as long as you don't mind being a little slower on the ups, but really, you're only there for the downs anyway..

As for sparrow, if it anything like kowen, which I think it is, the spitty is more bike than you really need, but I'd rather have a bit of squish out back....

 

[richie_gt]

I'm not sure what riding you're into but if you're into DH/Freeride/AM go to Tuggernong Pines!

We all had AM rigs for Stromlo and Pines and had a ball!

 

[Justforfun]

Dually is the go for Stromlo, the ride up to the top is not that hard really and if you do loops 4/6 you will appreciate the extra comfort.

 

[johnny]

Dually is fine for Canboring, I do multiple loops of Stromlo on my Remedy, which is 150mm.

Bruce Ridge is also fine on an HT but I do prefer the dually there as well.

 

[swatto90]

I have the spitfire and the paradox and they are both great at stromlo I ride there every week. But the spitfire might be a bit more fun

 

[iconic]

Rather than start a new thread, is there a place in Canberra that I could rent a decent dually from? I'll be heading down next weekend and wouldn't mind a ride at stromlo. Wouldn't mind meeting up with others too...

 

[microRobbie]

If you don't care too much about uphill speed then a dual suspension is the way to go.

In Canberra I only use my hardtail when I'm trying to keep up with guys who are faster than me on hillier rides. So I tend to use it a fair bit.

 

[JTmofo]

Update on this, I brought the Spitfire in the end. Weather turned bad so only got in a couple of laps of Stromlo.

Climb is a bastard for a fatty like me, but didn't mind it once I was pointed down hill. .

As previously mentioned, dually is more fun (at stromlo anyway)

 

[11highlights]

Rather than start a new thread, is there a place in Canberra that I could rent a decent dually from? I'll be heading down next weekend and wouldn't mind a ride at stromlo. Wouldn't mind meeting up with others too...

You could try demoing a bike from pushys in Fyshwick. Be warned though there is a bike race on at stromlo all day on the Sat. They usually take up the whole park and sunday will be quite dusty and loose thanks to the near 2000 riders.