Hello from Wales, UK

[Umby]

Hey guys, thought I'd say hello and also ask a question about Australia that's got me a little stuck.

I'm currently in Wales where I was born and raised (and the only place I've ever mountain biked) but I'm moving to Victoria soon and have decided to buy a bike out in Aus rather than pay the generally awful moving costs for my bike (it'll cost basically what the bike is worth now).

I mainly prefer cross country/singletrack with a little bit of technical trail in there when I feel like it (nothing major) and I'm stuck between 27.5+ HT, 29er HT and 29er FS with lower spec. Due to my local climate in the UK I'm a big fan of 27.5+ HT because it's almost perpetually wet and muddy in some way year round and always snowy in winters but of course that will be a little (or maybe a lot) different in Aus. What would you suggest for getting the most out of XC/Light trail riding in the southern VIC region (I'll live in Geelong but don't mind travelling a bit further if the rides are worth it).

Cheers for any help!

 

[born-again-biker]

Hey guys, thought I'd say hello and also ask a question about Australia that's got me a little stuck.

I'm currently in Wales where I was born and raised (and the only place I've ever mountain biked) but I'm moving to Victoria soon and have decided to buy a bike out in Aus rather than pay the generally awful moving costs for my bike (it'll cost basically what the bike is worth now).

I mainly prefer cross country/singletrack with a little bit of technical trail in there when I feel like it (nothing major) and I'm stuck between 27.5+ HT, 29er HT and 29er FS with lower spec. Due to my local climate in the UK I'm a big fan of 27.5+ HT because it's almost perpetually wet and muddy in some way year round and always snowy in winters but of course that will be a little (or maybe a lot) different in Aus. What would you suggest for getting the most out of XC/Light trail riding in the southern VIC region (I'll live in Geelong but don't mind travelling a bit further if the rides are worth it).

Cheers for any help!

Something like this should be perfect for a bit of light XC in Oz mate.

Sent from my LG-H870DS using Tapatalk

 

[Nambra]

Here's my XC rig... I find it a bit wanting on the downs though.

Seriously though - welcome Umby, you're headed for some pretty nice riding in Victoria - not that I live there, but the Mexicans are spoilt for choice when it comes to places to ride and variety of trails. Probably a few RB folk from the Geelong area that will happily show you around a few of the local spots too.

Bike choice? Depends how serious you are - a short travel FS might be better suited to local conditions? You can bunny hop the drop bears more easily too.

 

[bikie]

The You Yangs will be the best place to ride which is about half hour from Geelong. It's not the best place in Victoria though.. with plenty of other places to go within a few hours drive. If your local will be the You Yangs, then a short travel or HT + plus will be perfect for XC loops. It's dry buckshot out there and rarely gets sloppy (drains well). I'd personally get a mid travel trail bike if you wanted to explore the rest of Victoria like Falls Creek, Mt Beauty, Bright, Buxton, Lysterfield etc.. There's also amazing riding just over the strait in Tasmania. You can get fairly cheap flights from Melbourne or take the car over on the ferry (about 10 hour boat ride though). You might re-think your move to Geelong after going down to Tassie..

 

[Umby]

The You Yangs will be the best place to ride which is about half hour from Geelong. It's not the best place in Victoria though.. with plenty of other places to go within a few hours drive. If your local will be the You Yangs, then a short travel or HT + plus will be perfect for XC loops. It's dry buckshot out there and rarely gets sloppy (drains well). I'd personally get a mid travel trail bike if you wanted to explore the rest of Victoria like Falls Creek, Mt Beauty, Bright, Buxton, Lysterfield etc.. There's also amazing riding just over the strait in Tasmania. You can get fairly cheap flights from Melbourne or take the car over on the ferry (about 10 hour boat ride though). You might re-think your move to Geelong after going down to Tassie..

Cheers both for the reply and the welcome! I have been looking a bit at the Tassie Trail which is definitely something I'd want to go do (and fairly conveniently placed). I think maybe a mid-travel HT plus bike might be the best shot from what I've been reading and what you've both said, though the more I look at what the rest of Aus outside the local area has to offer trail wise I think a shorter travel FS might open up some great rides further away while not really bringing many drawbacks (other than the obvious price increase but I can probably keep it in budget).

Speaking of flying what is it like with a bike domestically (or to NZ even) if I want to head to Tassie or to WA.

 

[hifiandmtb]

... but I can probably keep it in budget).

Buy used from this forum when you get here.

 

[Dales Cannon]

Love your avatar. Nothing useful to add...

 

[ualf]

Shwmae Umby

As someone has mentioned the You Yangs will be your local, Forrest is also close by.

My only suggestion is that unless you are sure you only want to ride XC stuff, you might want to consider a full squish bike instead. There are some nice trails (Stock Yards) at the Youies that would be punishing on a hard tail.

For a local mtb club you have http://www.youyangsmtbinc.com.au/ or http://gmbc.com.au/

 

[Umby]

Shwmae Umby

As someone has mentioned the You Yangs will be your local, Forrest is also close by.

My only suggestion is that unless you are sure you only want to ride XC stuff, you might want to consider a full squish bike instead. There are some nice trails (Stock Yards) at the Youies that would be punishing on a hard tail.

For a local mtb club you have http://www.youyangsmtbinc.com.au/ or http://gmbc.com.au/

Cheers for the links and the info. I think I am starting to gravitate toward a short travel FS now. While I doubt I'll be going on any double black diamond technical trails in the near future it would be nice to start giving tougher trails a go now I've seen what Aus had to offer. Luckily I have a few months before I'm in Aus so plenty of time to think and of course I'll be able to go explore for myself once I'm there.

 

[wkkie]

Depending on where you are going to be in Geelong either You Yangs or Anglesea will be your local.

Anglesea will be more like the riding you said you were used to.

The Youies are more varied than Anglesea trail train and technically wise and are rockier with a bit of everything from gentle xc to fill on downhill.

 

[The Reverend]

+1 on the FS light trail rig. You'll have a wonderful time here on them on the trails mentioned. Whilst the YY are local and pretty damned good you'll soon be travelling to some of the excellent trails located at Mount Beauty, Mount Buller, Buxton, Falls Creek, Lake Mountain. They're doable in a day trip with commitment and conviction.

The HT would be less maintenance but the fact is that it's simply not as cold, wet and miserable here compared to Wales so you'll be able to ride all year long without murdering your bike like you would back home.

 

[Umby]

Depending on where you are going to be in Geelong either You Yangs or Anglesea will be your local.

Anglesea will be more like the riding you said you were used to.

The Youies are more varied than Anglesea trail train and technically wise and are rockier with a bit of everything from gentle xc to fill on downhill.

I'll be south of Geelong. I was looking at Anglesea because it would be seemingly the best place to go without needing to take the car but I've been repeatedly asking myself the same question: How do I know if I can ride my mountain bike somewhere in Australia? Where I am currently is extremely rural and you can generally ride any trail on public land unless it's explicitly signposted no bikes (in which case it'll be walkers only). Unless I see a no biking sign will I be allowed to bike there in Aus or does it have to explicitly allow biking?

+1 on the FS light trail rig. You'll have a wonderful time here on them on the trails mentioned. Whilst the YY are local and pretty damned good you'll soon be travelling to some of the excellent trails located at Mount Beauty, Mount Buller, Buxton, Falls Creek, Lake Mountain. They're doable in a day trip with commitment and conviction.

The HT would be less maintenance but the fact is that it's simply not as cold, wet and miserable here compared to Wales so you'll be able to ride all year long without murdering your bike like you would back home.

Yeah maintenance and cost has been the biggest thing leading me to a HT, basically my budget seems to be on the edge of carbon HT and alu FS and the idea of a light weight XC bike is attractive. That said it's pretty overwhelming how much people suggest a short travel FS so that'll probably be my choice in the end.