ByronH

Hello. Coming back to SA for a visit in Jan 2025. I'm keen to ride Van Gaalens in the Magaliesburg. Are there any bicycle rentals which you would recommend closeby? Byron

Hi all. A little rant. I feel like my love for mountain biking has slowly died here in Auckland. I felt like biking was just way more fun and accessible in SA, even Johannesburg where I lived. Yes crime was a real bummer... but I loved my mtbing, whether it be a formal trail like Van Gaalens, or doing the Spruit with some buds, or commuting to work along sidewalks and little green cut through. It just seems Bleh here... had a bike stolen at the bus station, was taken out by a mom steaming out her driveway to fetch her kids. On my 3rd bike here in 1.5 years... Sure, I enjoy the occasional ride at Woodhill when I get out there. And Riverhead, and Long Bay, has become a staple ride. But there is a loathing of people on bicycles here, pretty much no sense of community for riding, and I ride alone. Also no events to train for (or I just don't feel like it)... so pretty hard to actually be motivated. In SA I would train for stage races and even short 30 to 40km events like trailseeker, Magalies, Amohela etc.. I got down to Rotorua once in the past year, and enjoyed my ride at the redwoods. But that's like an ultra special occasion... 4 hours away from where I live. Sorry, I'm not looking for sympathy, just felt the need to put it out there and see if anyone has a tip for staying motivated and possibly enjoying mountain biking again.

Thank you I will do so!

Hey there Dave. I'm pretty keen to try a ride around this Puhoi area. Would you have any gpx files, previous rides which i can follow? Or even a road name? Thank so much, Byron

Hi all. So I have been exploring and scouting about the North Shore for some time now... A few little decent MTB gems, but nothing very substantial. Suppose I'll need to drive to Woodhill, and Riverhead for that. I have ridden (or tried to ride). Unsworth (decent, but short) Kauri Glen Park (frustrating, lots of steps, and flipping "dieback fences") Onepoto/Onewa domain, Tuff Crater, Lake road (lekker ride, but short), Centennial Park (only the outer loops, the inner loops are stair ridden) I have also planned to ride Eskdale Reserve (but I am sure it is "closed off due to dieback") Le Boys Bush Reserve My last visit to Riverhead scared me off because of the wet and ruts, but I will try a different route next time (if anyone has some decent advice or gpx files out there?). I have upgraded to Trailforks Pro in the hope of getting some decent MTB riding on the North Shore. For those interested, I have uploaded some gpx files, or you can check out my Strava profile to see my successful/and not so successful, exploring. https://www.strava.com/athletes/4620187 Penguin to Okura.gpx centennial park.gpx Little Shoal Eskdale.gpx Unsworth.gpx Riverhead Blue 18.5.gpx Riverhead Blue 15.8.gpx

Hi Steven. Yes I arrived there at 0810 to catch the Northern Express to work. I arrived back at the bus station at 1500 after work to no bike 😑 It was chained up with my Giant Cable lock... I have recently learnt via YouTube videos, that bicycle cable locks are notoriously easy to steal... in fact there are videos that 'show' how to break and pick bicycle locks... and it takes less than a minute in most cases. Unless your bike lock is rated as Gold or Silver by Sold Safe. I think I was naive to think that my lock wouldn't have been tampered with, because it's NZ and not SA, and because the bike stands are in plain sight... on the pedestrian crossing going into the station... it's not like they tucked away or anything 🤔 The police and the bus station people then indicated it happens fairly regularly! So I'm curious to see the outcomes of the CCTV footage investigation which they have embarked on. But that takes 10 working days... I'm flipping livid because I customized the bike a lot, with a lot of quality SA parts. Anyways, my eyes have been opened to the rampant world of bike theft and actually how easy it is to break a bike lock unfortunately. My next bike lock will be Gold or Diamond secure at a minimum because that buys a few minutes, and the thief needs pretty big or noisy tools to break it. And I'll carry my front wheel with me on the bus.

Please note my black Specialized Chisel MTB was stolen today between 0900 ans 1450 at the Constellation bus station, North Shore. Please be on the lookout for my baby. At the police station at the moment. Byron 20220928_122954.pdf

Please note my black Specialized Chisel MTB was stolen today between 0900 ans 1450 at the Constellation bus station, North Shore. Please be on the lookout for my baby. At the police station at the moment. Byron

Hi all. I want to try Riverhead in Auckland tomorrow... does anyone have a XC oriented gpx route file which I can follow please?

Thanks all for the friendly offers. I am going to be visiting Jason at Gear Head Workshop in Rosedale tomorrow to put my bike together Exciting! First trip will be to a quickie to the birkenhead ferry, and then onto town. But very very keen to join RSA groups doing rides... like Woodhill, etc... please keep me in the loop and I will stat glued to this forum. General query about riding etiquette here. I fully understand the cycling lanes... but where it gets a bit blurry is these "shared paths"... is it frowned upon for us to ride on them? Also, is it frowned upon here to ride on grass? I would assume so as its not demarcated "trail"... I only ask because 90% of my MTB'ing in JNB, South Africa was informal walking paths on the side of the road 😁

Hello all. We moved to Auckland literally a few days ago... We are currently staying on the North Shore near Glenfield/Birkenhead. I brought my MTB over, its in its box. Which LBS would be recommended to build it up again? ANd what kind of cost should I be looking at? Byron

If you doing MTB, then you can visit the Beaver Creek coffee farm trails... Up the road from you.

Thanks... gonna check out those OneUp droppers!... they dont have the price on their website but will try give the number a call

Hi all So I'm doing some research to buy a dropper seatpost. I like this one from BikeInn (international dealer)... https://www.bikeinn.com/bike/crankbrothers-highline-3-telescopic-seatpost/137380974/p?_gl=1*g52pfw*_up*MQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiAxJSPBhAoEiwAeO_fP6DndK7surt8nXkyRrW9iASregxeZJXJDi_3bmgmxOg9eCGqfQfkdhoCy6cQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds I see that DHL delivery (not doing PostOffice 😅) is R675... So when DHL drop it off... are they going to expect me to pay further VAT, custom duties etc... to them? or is that included in their 'delivery fee'?

Hi all. Does anyone have the latest green/blue route (intermediate) map/gpx for Thaba Trails. I dont want to try tackle the hectic blue expert trails, as last time it simply wasnt enjoyable for me.