Tale of two rides

Adora cafe

On Friday I borrowed a camera for Fridays ride to Bronti for a ride to watch the sun rise. Some would wonder why anyone would bother getting up at 4.00am to watch the sun rise. However watching the sun rise over the sea can be a pleasure. I got up at 4.00am and rode Black Magic down to Bronti.

The traffic at 04.30 was quite good. I was able to ride all the way down Unwins Bridge Road and then rode most of the way up King Street. I was able to turn into Wilson street and rode all the way to Little Everleigh street with out any traffic. I was quite fast and it was a bit surreal riding through King Street Newtown.

When I got to Redfern I was able to ride all the way up Redfern Street and followed the Saturday Slowies route to Centennial Park. The thing that struck me about riding at this time was the number of other cyclists out and about at that time. I was followed from Wilson Street through to Redfern Street by a roadie and I met other commuters at Centennial Park.

When I got to Centennial Park I found myself riding to Bronti along the road that goes up from the TAFE opposite the park. I made it up the hill and then rolled through the streets of Waverly. I rode into Bronti after I got lost looking for Gaerloch street. I found myself near Tamarama. I found the spot where I had last watched the sunrise and got myself set up I took some before photos. Yes they are almost useless with the sky still dark. But when considered with the other photos things became interesting. I waited and waited and watched the sky turn from black to grey and then clearing to a beautiful azure.

The running track behind the place where I had set up became busier and I noticed an increase in the traffic on the streets near where I was waiting. Eventually the sun began to rise and I took the photos of Bronti, Tamarama and Bondi. Eventually things got to the point where I packed up and rode to work. I rode through Tama, to Bronti and then went through Charring Cross and Waverly to Centennial Park.

As I got closer to Centennial Park the idiot level of driving grew. I rode into work, through Newtown, Marrickville and used the Cooks River Cycle path to make right into work. I was amazed at the number of riders out and about early on a cool spring morning in Sydney.

In contrast yesterdays ride was interesting ride. I as a prologue I did the Saturday Slowies ride with Dulwich Hill Bicycle Club as I usually do.While I was waiting for the ride to begin I met Simon Sharwood, who told me Mike had decided to have a go at the hands free record. I asked if this would be the world, Australian or club record but was told it was a record. Eventually more riders turned up and we were joined by many a new face. This included a couple who were Audax riders. They were a lovely couple but the reminded me of a power couple for some reason.

We took off for Centennial with just over twenty riders. We broke the group into two bunches. I rode with the last bunch. We had a few riders who were obviously new and in one case was using new cleated pedals which they were not used to. Mike joined us and we stuck at the back after the guy with the new pedals almost came off.  We had to shepherd the riders at the rear when the bunch broke up. However we got the bunch to Centennial Park.  We all went about doing what we normally do but eventually I caught up with Mike and Weiyun opposite the cafe.

Mike took off on his fixie with his hands either by his side or on his hips. I went off to follow him as a witness if required and he dropped me riding on his fixie. Mike made the record or so I am told and he got some photos done. I don’t know if it is official but I would say that it is pretty much up there.

When we got back to the Marrickville Road Cafe we had the usual coffee and raisin toast and other goodies. We also had our good old chat. I found the power couple charming. I was still confronted with what to do for the rest of the day.

 I did not have anywhere to go afterward so I contemplated my options. I had thought about riding to Penrith. It was one of my favourite rides when I began riding but some uncertainty over the diversions to the prospect reservoir ruled it out.

I decided I would go to Olympic Park and have a look at the Newington Armory. I needed a second bidon cage and went to Cell Bikes in Stanmore to get it. I rode to the shop in Stanmore and found myself eying up a pair of shy shorts which I could use for commuting in Canberra. I picked up a bidon cage and went to pay for them and found that I had left my wallet back at home. With the radio story of a female cyclist being struck by an idiotic P plater ringing in my ears I rode back home to pick it up.

I returned to Cell Bikes and completed the purchase. I got lunch at Subway in Stanmore and then headed off to the Cooks River Cycleway, via some of the streets in Hurlstone Park. I took the photo of the Hurlstone Park war memorial after the smoke had cleared from a car hoon’s doughnuts. I then rode on to the Cooks River and rode up to Olympic Park.

When I got to Olympic Park I met a guy who had been cycle touring. He had is bike panniers loaded and was going to head back to Queensland as soon as he could. I rode to the lookout area and took the photos of the surrounding wetlands and how the urban growth encroaches on them. I then rode on to the Newington Armory which is an old munitions depot near Olympic Park. It is now a museum and art space. I took some photos there.

While I was at the armory it turned out that there was an art exhibition on. I decided I would go and have a look at the exhibition after I had a look around. I have been on Army bases before and took some photos of the armory because some of it is extremely old. Some of the buildings were built in the 19th century. I was on my way to the art exhibition when I came off after my wheels got stuck in the tracks. I landed heavily on my right side and have bruised my right thigh and my right shoulder. I was helped up by a couple walking close by.

I went to the exhibition after I had sorted myself out. It was quite interesting. There was an installation and one of the oddest treatments of a drawing I have ever seen. There was a room hived off with black curtains. On the curtains was pinned a sign saying “This exhibition contains material that may offend. Viewing recommended only for those over the age of 15”. Curious I went into the room and found it only contained a large drawing of the female pubic area. In my opinion there are few people who would be offended and many people over the age of 15 have seen this time and again. There was a video installation of a cover of Bette Middler’s “Industry”, which was set in the armory grounds. It was a good exhibition.

I got myself together and rode to Olympic Park which was being set up for the Bledisloe Cup match that evening. I had an iced coffee and headed off. I got back home and got myself together to catch up with Ruth.

Bicycle tyres and the Internet conclusion

This week I finished my quest for the best deal on tyres. I checked the price of tyres at most Local Bike Shops (LBS). None of them could compete with Probikekit. As Paul who commented on last weeks post mentioned that the postage was now set at $9.95 and when I came across a couple of Michelin Speedium 2 tyres for $19.00, it meant that I had been able to get a set of tyres for just under $50.00. Many thanks to Paul and Probikekit.

However on the issue of LBS, I found myself at a loose end on Monday so I took myself to Stanmore. I went to the Cell Bikes Shop on Parramatta Road. They do stock Conti and Maxxis but found that there was nothing under $35.00.

Walked up to Stanmore Cycles and had a look there. I didn’t get any tyres at Stanmore Cycles. What I did get though was a lecture from the guy who owns/manages the shop. He pointed out rightfully that the tyres are the contact point between the road and the bike.  He also told me more than he intended when he said that he commuted on a $10000.00 road bike. For the record Stanmore Cycles sells tyres for $45 – $100.00. The tyres they were selling could be bought cheaper at other shops.

I then went to a couple of LBS I know that are near Centennial Park. I went to Centennial Park Cycles and found very little of interest. They appear to cater to the recreational market. Evidence of this was in the amount of mountain and hybrid bikes in the shop.

I then went to the Cheeky Monkey Multisport just up the road. Cheeky Monkey Multisport cater to serious road cyclists and triathletes. Their shop is pretty much wall to wall Cerevelos and Pinnerellos. They had some good tyres from Vittoria that were close to the price range and some Continental tyres.

I went to King Street Cycles in Newtown and found that the range there was similar to their repair depot Bike Repairs in Marrickville.  They kept Vittoria and Maxxis and very little else on hand. The girl at the counter did a good job of trying to sell me an expensive set of folding tyres which had carbon in their bead. They were $119 each and well and truly out of my league.

I also asked at the new Bike Depot shop on Enmore Road and found that they have very little in the way of tyres. None within my price range and mostly costly folding tyres. It seemed that the Local Bike Shops were well and truly understocked compared to the Internet.

I was still surprised at the lack of tyres in the stocks of the Local Bike Shops in Sydney’s Inner West. Yesterday on my way to visit family and friends in the Blue Mountains I went to Kingswood Cycles near Penrith and found they carried very little in the way of road bike tyres. I also found they carry only 3 road bikes per year (apparently from Gitane and Felt) and mainly cater to the local recreational riders. The guy working there was more than helpful. He suggested visiting Panther Cycles in Penrith, which are a road bike specialist.

I visited Panther cycles and found they carried little in the way of tyres. It was almost similar to Cheeky Monkey Multisport. They have quite a large number of road and triathlon bikes with a few MTBs and hybrids.

On the way to Panther Cycles I dropped in at Lifecycles near the Penrith Plaza. They mainly had Maxxis and Vitoria tyres. I have to admit that I have chosen the transition period for most bike shops.  The 2008-09 bicycles are now being sold off and the 2009-10 bikes are now being brought in. Some riders are replacing the cheap tyres that come as stock standard on their new bikes with better tyres. This may limit stock.

I also checked Blackman Cycles out and found that there were just folding tyres on display. I found they did have some folding tyres but these were on the expensive side.

Based on my research, I can conclusively say that the Internet based bike shops and wholesalers do stock a wide range of bike parts. You can get some very good stuff ranging from tyres and tubes to saddles and even wheel sets. Like most things sold on the Internet there are reputable suppliers such as Probikekit, Wiggle, Torpedo7 and Probikekit. Some LBS are now getting into Internet sales and I found a number of bike shops on the north side of Sydney getting into Internet sales.

What does this mean for cyclists? The Internet bike shops will benefit cyclists. They will have a greater opportunity to get quality components delivered right to their door. This will help cyclists in the outer suburbs and country towns get tyres, wheels, group sets and other components their city based cousins have open access to. Like everyone else they will have to be aware of the usual pitfalls of buying goods off the Internet and also the issue of returns and refunds.

What does it mean that the LBS? In my opinion the LBS will not hold much in the way of stock. If you want tyres for your bike now or even ASAP, you will have to put up with the what the LBS has on offer. It will not kill off the LBS. Cyclists will still get bikes serviced and repaired. I would not recommend purchasing a bicycle from the internet. Furthermore there is the issue of duty and GST if goods are purchased from overseas based bike shops. Goods that are valued in excess of $1000 have to be formally entered for Customs purposes and Duty and GST paid. Goods under $1000 are will be considered too small for duty. Some cyclists I know are ordering goods as a group to minimise postage and should be aware of the $1000 threshold for Duty and GST. Local based Internet sales will include GST in their costs.  I have noticed that some LBS in Western NSW use Internet based shops to get special orders in, but beyond that there is very little in the way of co-operation between the two groups.

I am now eagerly awaiting my new tyres and lookforward to letting you know how they go.

Bicycle tyres and the internet.

This week I found I have worn the tyres out on the Shogun Katana. They are old tyres. They came with a wheel set that I got from another bike that I bought off ebay and found did not fit me anymore.  They are Michilin Brand tyres and are quite good. They have stood up to on and off wear for about 2 years. Lindsay from Dulwich Hill Bicycle Club noticed the issue and identified the fault. The casing had going in the rear tyre meaning that we had a bulge that made the tyre unstable.

Lindsay recommended Continental Gator Skins. I have had some experiance with Continental tyres before and found them to be reasonable. I ran a Contential Ultra Sport on the back of the Red Hybrid for a number of years and found it to be reasonable. The only drawback to Continental tyres is cost. The thing with good tyres is that they need to have some form of puncture resistance. This is usually in the form of the casing or the bead which on good tyres is usually kevlar similar to that used in flack jackets.

A couple of months ago I found I wore the rear tyre out on the Green Trek, I bought another Schwable tyre from Cheeky Monkey at about $50. With this in mind, I decided to see what I could save on road bike tyres for the Katana by taking a look on the Internet. I would then compare them to local bicycle shops and work out if I am going to get a good bargain. I dencided to limit the amount I would pay for the set of tyres to $75.oo.

Starting with www.torpedo7.com.au  I had a look at the tyres available. They are selling Continental Ultra Sports for $29.95, the Michelin Erilium2 at $32.95 and the Michelin Speedium 2 at $29.99. Theydo not have the Continental Gator Skin. I ordered some stuff of Torpedo7 before and it took about a week to get to me. They are based in New Zealand but do have a presence here.  Postage is set at $9.00, so this will have to be factored in when ording.

Next on the list was Dean Woods Direct (www.deanwoods.com), which is run out of a bike shop in Wangaratta in Victoria. It is owned and run by Dean Woods a former champion track cyclist. They have the Continental Ultra Sports at $59.00 and the Continental Gatorskin Ultra at $75.00. They also offer a Michelin Lithion tyre and Tube combo for $89.00. I have found Dean Woods to be reasonable with the timing of their deliveries although you will pay more to get their gear quicker. However in the words of Ned Kelly such is life.

My next stop was www.cellbikes.com.au which are a site run from a shop in Stanmore in Sydney. I am likely to visit this shop sometime soon and will upgrade the post when I do. They list the Continental Gator Skin at $65 a pop. They also list the Continental Ultra sport foldable road bike tyres at $45 and the Maxxis Detonator road bike tyre at $34.95. I have dealt with Cellbikes before and found them to be reliable. I would also contrast the prices for tyres etc on their website with those in store. Occasionally they have been known to have extra stuff they do not list on their website in store.

The next stop is a new site Probike Kit. This is a site mostly based in the UK that has an Australian offshoot and Australian Prices. Nothing really exciting here, though they do have the Continental Gator Skin folding tyres at $31.14, the Michelin Speedium at $20.41 and Vittoria Zaffiro pro slick tyres at $23.91. I haven’t had much to do with Probikekit but I do know people who have. They are based in the UK and charge a flat rate of 12 pounds. Depending on the exchange rate used it is likely to put the price of the goods up significantly.

Pedals Plus – a website run by a chain of bikeshops in Bondi Junction, Mona Vale and St Ives has Vittoria Zafferos at $29.00. They state they will deliver the goods to anywhere in Australia for $9.95.

I then went to Woolys Wheels which is run by a bikeshop in Paddington. There was nothing exciting here either. I suspect that the sites run by bike shops actually would prefer customers actually come into the shop as opposed to buying on line.

All of this leads me to the my visits to bikeshops in Sydney. Yesterday Ivisited Innercity Cycles at Glebe and found I can get a Specialised road bike tyre for $35.00. I have replaced the front tyre on the Red Hybrid with one of these. It seems that they are just as good as the Continental tyres. 

I have also visited bikerepairs.com.au which are the repair depot for the King Street Cyclery. I found the Vittoria Zaffiros there on sale for $29.95. I am inclined to try the actual King Street Cyclery to see if they do have any more tyres available as the number of tyres there were limited.

The other bike shop I visited was CheekyMonkey/Cheeky Transport in Newtown. They have Schwable tyres there for $40.00 a pop. They are reliable and having used them on the Green Trek I would normally recommend them but they can be problematic.

My position on ordering gear on line is that it has to be compared with actually purchasing gear from the bike shop. The internet has given consumers in general greater choice however it does have some dangerous pit falls related to quality and price. You can get burned on line in the same way as you can get burned in a normal shop. Thre are some people who have some ethical hang ups with purchasing on line putting the Local Bike Shop in jeopardy. However as with all the other parts of the economy the openess to trading online can save you some money and some hassels if you actually do some research. As I have also pointed out the reach of some of the Local Bike Shops has been extended by the internet.

Getting ready for the Gong ride

With the Gong Ride coming up I will move the training up a notch. The good thing is I got the green Trek serviced at Woolys Wheels on Friday. I rode there and got there at 8. As they open at 10 (why do all bike shops in Sydney open late) I did a few laps around Centennial.

The Green Trek made it down to Wollongong two years ago when I did the ride. I may need a new seat but however given that I have only been using the single speed for training for quite a while it may be a case of me getting used to riding the Green Trek all over again.

When I got back to Woollys I found we were in for more than just a $89 service, I had a feeling we would be in for a new chain but a new cassette was also in the mix to. Further more the bike is going to need new chain rings very soon. I didn’t get them this time round but I will next service. It was a very expensive excursion to Paddo – all of $250 blown on the Trek. I will hopefully be able to use it until it is dead (frame is in perfect nick – almost!) but that will be a while.

I also scored some new shoes and a couple of jerseys at the Netti sale. I found that the jerseys were from the same group. But at least I scored the shoes. I saw heaps of people I know at the Netti Sale. Fiona Campbell took the bike bus to the sale from Marrickville. There was a guy I worked with when I was at Clyde and who lives up the Mountains. He came down to score some goodies. I put cleats on the new shoes yesterday so it will be curious to see how things go.

I also had trouble with the Fearless Gearless. The wheel is chewing up spokes quickly. I have come to the conclusion that I will need a new wheel. I spoke to the guys at Cheeky Monkey and they have come up with a single speed wheel with BMX cog etc for $380 or there abouts. I will probably have to go with that, although I may ask the guys at Bike Repairs what they can do. In short the Fearless Gearless isn’t working all that well. The only good news from it is that the slicks work well – really well.

If my legs are good and the wind doing the right thing (still or even better still behind me) the fearless gearless can go as fast as 31 or 32 km/h. I have been able to use it for general commuting and for the occasional shopping trip. She can also do well as a MTB but for general use. I like the fearless gearless enough to think of it as a good ride. Once she gets a new rear wheel I will start looking at the other modifications I am looking at doing to her up even further with riser bars and maybe even some fancy handle bar grips.

Yesterday I went to the Saturday Slowies ride with the Green Trek and enjoyed riding it around Centennial. I am getting stronger as a rider (at least that is what I think. I know that I have been able to do most of the stuff I used to do with the granny gear with just the upper 2 chain rings. This is good in someways because it means I am becoming fitter.  It was an interesting ride in more than one way.

I noticed a guy with a bike with bull horn handle bars similar to the Kat. The Shogun Katana or Kat as I call it has the bull horn handlebars previously used by triathletes, time-trials and more recently messengers and couriers who want the rest of the world to think they are messengers. The difference between the Kat and the other bike was the other bike was a Pinerello and was pretty much in good shape. The Kat has been lingering in my bedroom with some issues with the old wheels.

I am going to do it up. I have a set of wheels from an old road bike that doesn’t fit me. They are 700 wheels but the Kat’s brakes will need to be adjusted for them to work with the new wheels. Further more the Kat will need the cables repaired and a new chain and a good old fashioned strip down service. I will have to get the bike ready soon for the summer season of rides. It may be a good step in case of the Green Trek or the Fearless Gearless going bung.

I also got a bit of sageous advice from Lindsay yesterday. We were at the cafe after the Saturday Ride. We were discussing bikes and he mentioned that a really good investment would be a good road bike. Something in the vacinity of $2000. Something from Giant, Trek, Avanti? or a similar brand. NOT CELL or any other dodgy brothers brand. I like the idea quite a lot. If I am going to be a serious rider I am going to need a serious bike. I am considering something like a top of the range Cell but that has changed. As I had yesterday off from the Rocks Markets I went out to Parra to checkout the bike shops there. I operate on the suspicion that everything is cheaper out west for a reason. They don’t use bike for commuting all that often (serious roadies live out there somewhere but by and large the bicycle is regarded as a leisure vehicle).

When I got to Parra I was checked out Blackman cycles. They also have a shop in Penrith that I have visited before but there is always the possibility of cheaper things elsewhere. I didn’t see much except the Giant Bowery that is cheaper than it is in town. I went to Universe cycles and saw where most of the bikes advertised on Ebay go. There were more bikes that were 2nd/umpteenth hand there than anywhere else. I asked about how much they cost. It turned out that they buy ’em up cheap and sell ’em of dear!

I also went to the Parramatta Bike Barn and saw what has to be the last remaining Masi single speed in the country. There are some good deals from trek and Giant but the usual story from Apollo et al. I will still keep my options open though.

The week that was – shit happens to good people (including me)

Well it looks like this week has been one of those weeks where anything that could go wrong did go wrong. I had a relatively easy week commuting. I was able to get an early mark at work on Thursday. I went to Ashfield Cycles where I had dropped the Red Hybrid off for a service. I was able to made it on time and collected the bike. The price of the service had grown due to the number of parts that were needed (Mainly brake pads and a bidon cage). I got the bike back and took off to the Cooks River Cycleway.

Unfortunately I missed the park where I was able to get on to the cycleway and wound up going through the streets of Ashfield, Campsie and Canterbury, until I found a point were I was able to join the cycleway. When I got back I wound up going to Tempe Velodromefor the spin session with Dulwich Hill Bicycle Club – my club. I rode to the velodrome only to have the chain snap at Tempe station. I lost half the removable link.  I searched desperately but could not find it.

I met another guy on his way to the velodrome who suggested I continue on to the velodrome where someone would be able to help me. I went to the velodromeand caught up with Lindsay Munks who sorted out the chain issue. He had the tools and was able to get the chain linked together. It was strongly recommended that I see the guys at Ashfield Cycles and find out what went wrong. It was also recommended that I get a new chain as the chain was too tight.

On Friday I rang the guys at Ashfield Cycles and was told that they did not remove the chain for the service. I get the feeling that things were not going to get any easier despite the dead chain. On Saturday I got up and prepared for Slowies only to find that the rain was going to put the kybosh on the event.

I went out to Coles in Monterey for a Birthday present for a friend of mine and a carton of UHT Skim milk. I took the fearless gear-less to see how it would handle the path. There has been some changes but the fearless gear-less handled everything quite well. I got the milk but did not get the present as it was not in stock. As I went back to Tempe my rear tyre blew out. I cursed and swore and got the bike to a shelter used for picnics. I took the rear wheel off using a spanner from my multitool. I found that the tyre was worn out at the side rim, with the tyre coming away from the bead. I replaced the tube with a thorn proof tube. I intended to get back to Tempe pushing the bike but wound up riding it.  Towards the end the issues with the tyre became problematic. I copped the fishtailing as I turned and wound up slowing down. I got the bike in and changed the tyre. I will now be running WTB slicks from the Iguana.

I will write back with details of how the Fearless Gearless preforms with Slicks.

The other issue was major. On Sunday I was still in Sydney for some overtime. I decided to go to Waterfall with DHBC and had prepared myself for the event. It would have been my first Waterfall and I got myself down to Mick Mazza cycles at 06:30 after getting a new chain from Mick I headed off. The drive train seized up with on the way which was the reason for the new chain. After the Club President gave his speech outlining the risks of cycling and stressing that we accepted the risks if we rode with the club that morning, we headed off. We headed down Warren Rd and went through to Gannon Street. We got on to the highway and went past a RBT station and were going down Marsh Street when the rear derailleur came off.

Geoff said it was the end of my ride and I concurred with him. I walked the bike back to Tempe and met a guy who left the peleton due to concerns about rain. He said that the bike may be dead because the hanger is bent and may be elongated as the derailleur bolt has been sheared off. However he reckoned it would be repairable. I got the bike back and put it into the car for the trip to Bike Minded in Wentworth Falls. I took the Green Trek out for a ride. Woolys Wheels was open but it is booked out till the 18th. I dropped into the Addison St Markets at Marrickville after checking out Cell bikes and Stanmore Cycles (both closed due to the long weekend). After the week end I went back to Lithgow.

This morning I took the Red Hybrid to Bike Minded in Wentworth Falls. They reckon it may be dead but it will be wait and see. They will try to get the bolt out and then straighten the drop out. If all is well there will be a new derailleur and everything realigned. If not I may either make the Red Hybrid a single speed or take it and stip it for parts to be put onto a frame either from Europa Cycles or Peter Bundy in Riverwood. In short it was not a good week. God has had an ear bashing from me and I am not a happy boy. But there is always next time. I will also be willing to get out and give everything a go when the Red Hybrid – or it’s replacement is ready to roll.