patham

Best helmet you can afford, full finger gloves. After that it all varies, with both personal preference and over time and to suit your riding styles. For example, I started on flat pedals and takkies, after about a year moved onto Shimano SPDs. Started with sunglasses, and after moving to an area where trails have forests have ditched them. Started with a water bottle, then to Camelbacks for the long Spruit rides, now back to a single bottle. if you do do long rides, I do concur with puncture kits, inflation gear and a multi-tool. I have snapped 2 chains in 9 years, so I would chuck a quick-link in the kit. I was awarded the red badge of courage multiple times when I started out (I.e. I fell over a lot). A clean handkerchief to wipe away the blood came in handy (another reason to carry enough water) and when I taught my son to ride I would carry a very small first aid kit (gauze, etc) in the Camelback for the scrapes and grazes. And a mobile to call Mom for a casevac if it was a crash that could not be walked off. This is an aspect of learning MTB that does not get talked about much, is that learning does not come without risk or some pain. The trick is to just crash slowly in the early days. But at least one person I know started out in MTB, got fed up with the learning curve, then went into road cycling. On that dour note, the rewards are immense, I am only a weekend amateur, but I can’t not imagine a world without a MTB in my life, and my son is even more attached to it than me. So enjoy!

For what it’s worth, my mtb-ing pathway was incremental based on increased enjoyment along the way. Step 1. Borrow an ancient ske-donk from a mate- so old it predated even front suspension- so today we would call it a classical gravel bike. Step 2. Purchase low end but good brand (GT) hard tail- XC. Step 3 . After about a year- bought a full sus XC bike near new on the Hub. Step 4. 6 or so years of tinkering with parts and minor upgrades. Step 5. Steady state now of new purchases every 5 years or so of mid level, good brand dual sus trail bikes as I have worked out what I like to ride. In a perfect world you’d know what you’d like to ride on day 1, but life isn’t that predictable. I’d probably do the same all over again rather than overcapitalising on an expensive bike on day 1.

The dirt rings on the Fox 36 150 mm are a bit like rings in a tree trunk, they show where and when I used my travel after getting caught out in a brief shower today.

Looks like you are right- a weed from South America. Thanks for the observation- I wonder why the South America plants like this colour (jacaranda tree being the other widespread example).

Ventured into the winch and plummet areas of the homebase trails today. The little blue flowers caught my eye whilst I was catching my breath.

How many cockatoos can you see in this pic from today’s dawn ride? Send your answers on the back of a postcard to…..

Seconds after taking my picture above and plunging into the single track, I realised my Magic Mary super trail had lost nearly all its air (silent burp?). I limped back home at a crawl on the fire roads, dismounting where too steep and fast. Very interesting ride when you hang your butt all the way back to put minimal weight on the front. Tyre gauge (the fancy digital one) at home said 3 psi!! Nice save Shwalbe in holding on, way outside the recommended pressure range.

The other start to the trails by me. And why are there bozo’s who illegally dump their rubbish out in nature ( the green plastic sheets that look like artificial turf used as a ballistic tub lining)?

The heavier duty Schwalbe MTB tyres have done me well for the last decade (Nobbies, Hans Dampfs & Magic Mary) with no sign of weeping. I’m a big fan.

Not too wet after Typhoon Yagi? Stay clear of the UXO!

Near perfect weather for a ride starting at sun-up. It just would be nice if I had some scenery like what some people share here.

First day back on the bike for a good number of weeks (wet weather, winter colds, work travel). Amazing how quick fitness and skills deteriorate.

Swanbank- Ipswich. The Springs of Brisbane. Don’t judge us all like that please. But as you drive there you might see my hills of my local trails on the right hand side of the M5 highway from the airport just as you exit the Legacy Way tunnel. I’ll be in the vineyards outside Adelaide for a work conference that week, so I can’t offer a 1 hour tour….

All I know is that you are going to get the last of the OG threads closed at this rate….

I see the CRC site is still up, I think they could be trading under administration or so. But they no longer have Hope as a searchable brand, so their ability to provide stuff in general might be much reduced from their heyday. Which was supported by vast proportions of my monthly salary back then. Titanium weight weenie QR skewers anyone? As a rabbit hole I just checked if Torpedo 7 might have Hope stuff for you, and saw that business got sold off for $1.00 a few months ago, so it must also be struggling. When I came to Aus, their Aussie operation was the bomb.