Id suggest checking out the trails behind the Zoo. They are quite fun with not too much climbing.South-Central end of Canberra, such that Pine Island, the Murrumbidgee and Lake Tuggeranong are all within a 15 minute lazy pedal for me. There are some nice dirt riding trails in all those reserves nearby and I’ve got a real good connectivity to the bike paths from my place.
Ha, I wasn't game to bring a bike to the opening. There was a big 'kid' popping some impressive manuals.Also for some basic skills practice have you seen the new nature park at Farrer?
It's attached to a new playground, so it's really more for the local kids. Probably not worth a special effort unless you're in the area.Might have to go check Farrer!
Hell yeah!Longest single ride to date. 22.1km from home along the Murrumbidgee and back to home.
Feeling pretty good about it.
Don’t sell the Merida when the times comes for the next bike. You’ll have a special place for it in your heart after it got you back into cycling.
Well done.
Coke off a hookers ass is cheaper then this sport but not half as much fun.
Riding in winter is all about clothing layers. I'm fortunate that it doesn't rain all that much where I am, but it gets down to sub-zero for a couple of weeks around here.I keep it up during winter then we can talk about new bikes....
Nah.Will have to find a decent bike mechanic down my end of town who’s happy to just sort some of my basic stuff out (like fitting my new forks including cutting the steering down etc) and give them a once over service/check every now and then.
As @T-Rex said YouTube is your best friend. If you have any mechanical ability then you will be fine. If you have any questions or want some help feel free to send me a message I'm in inner North Canberra and do most of my own bike work so happy to help where I can. If your looking for a LBS Monkey Wrench Cycles in Hackett are the best in Canberra.I’ve got a few parts now to chuck on the bike and my stack I to the bush full of bees will be a distant memory.
Decided to buy a TL-LR11 Shimano lock ring tool because although my Bikehand tool kit has the giant wrench for the older style Shimano lock rings it really sucks to use and doesn’t engage well enough to loosen the damn things without slipping. As both my bike and the wife’s bike use the same style I figure $20 on the right tool isn’t a bad investment.
This comes back to me wanting my front and rear wheels to match, so I need to chuck the cassette and rotor (as well as tyre) onto the new MT500 wheel sitting in the garage.
I was originally not going to service/fix the bikes myself - I’m reasonably competent on the tools with cars but bikes are all new - then I had the front derailleur issue and worked out I’m no worse at fixing stuff than my LBS.
But then I was on BikeBug ordering up the TL-LR11 and thought maybe I could pick up a slightly better cassette at the same time. The CS-HG200 isn’t bad but maybe there’s a lighter or smoother option. Cue the CS-HG400. A full 76g lighter! It’s also a little more bling and will mean that for an extra $32 I will have a fully built up rear wheel as a spare for when inevitably I break my fancy new one.
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My wife bought a 2020 Crossway 100, it’s a nice thing but again my LBS faith has been hit hard, it’s got basically no rear brake, and hasn’t since new. I thought the lever was a bit soft but thought bedding in would occur, but nope. Doesn’t inspire her confidence riding. So that goes back to them in a week or so for a service and it had better come back with two functioning brakes!
Will have to find a decent bike mechanic down my end of town who’s happy to just sort some of my basic stuff out (like fitting my new forks including cutting the steering down etc) and give them a once over service/check every now and then.