New Zealand - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

[Slowbee]

Thanks Guys.

 

Looks like the choice is reality is going to be money regret or emotional regret. But no matter how we look at this, there is going to be some regret and spilt milk. But once the milk is gone, just let it go.

 

So lets talk some real stuff!!!
Spez Epic Evo 2020 model, so still new (but not Hub new) is it suited for NZ or do we take the knock and sell?
Remember like most of you we will find new things to do. If the bikes are only suited to 50% of the trails and we can ride the dirt roads the other 50% then that would be great.

I am also bringing the gravel bike and road bike and Mrs Slowbee bike's. My daughter has firmly put her foot down and told us to sell her blue pony, since she wants to ride a NZ bike in NZ. She does not want to ride a bike that will be different from the ones at the school she will be going to. Not that we know what school. But Miss Slowbee Junior, is like her mother. When the foot foot is put down, not even an open spending credit card will move that foot!

 

 

[patham]

18 hours ago, Slowbee said:

So lets talk some real stuff!!!
Spez Epic Evo 2020 model, so still new (but not Hub new) is it suited for NZ or do we take the knock and sell?
Remember like most of you we will find new things to do. If the bikes are only suited to 50% of the trails and we can ride the dirt roads the other 50% then that would be great.

 

Slowbee, all I know is that NZ trails are typically one or two levels up (in terms of technicality) from what I ride here in Aus, which is a level up from Gauteng.

My answer is that I used my 100 mm full sus XC bike for 2 years here, but I lost confidence after an OTB and a suspected dislocated jaw (PS - no-one tell the wife - that was an unreported injury). I then moved to 140 mm travel and slacker geometry trail bikes which I think are better suited. My son has had enough of 140 mm, and is waiting for the next batch of 160 mm Jeffsy's to arrive,, but I think I am at my gnarly comfort level.

Having said that - it depends where you are on the [skills/ability/confidence vs nominal bike capability] matrix. There is one dude I see on my trails on a custom built zero-suspension touring bike (relies on thick tyres and a flexy truss -shaped front fork to absorb the knocks), and he seems to do fine. He said after doing many, many thousands of km on that bike, it just feels natural to him and he can't consider changing. And there are one or two XC  hardtail race snakes who zoom past me (twice- because they do laps!), and they just have the skills to handle the terrain with the bike they know.

So in short - the Epic probably not ideal, but you could make it work on selected rides. I do think you will be able to sell it in Spez & marathon mad SA for far more than if you sold it in NZ.

 

[patches]

On 8/6/2021 at 9:04 PM, Slowbee said:

Thanks Guys.

 

Looks like the choice is reality is going to be money regret or emotional regret. But no matter how we look at this, there is going to be some regret and spilt milk. But once the milk is gone, just let it go.

 

So lets talk some real stuff!!!
Spez Epic Evo 2020 model, so still new (but not Hub new) is it suited for NZ or do we take the knock and sell?
Remember like most of you we will find new things to do. If the bikes are only suited to 50% of the trails and we can ride the dirt roads the other 50% then that would be great.

I am also bringing the gravel bike and road bike and Mrs Slowbee bike's. My daughter has firmly put her foot down and told us to sell her blue pony, since she wants to ride a NZ bike in NZ. She does not want to ride a bike that will be different from the ones at the school she will be going to. Not that we know what school. But Miss Slowbee Junior, is like her mother. When the foot foot is put down, not even an open spending credit card will move that foot!

 

 

Hmm that's a tough one, I'd be inclined to sell and go for a 130-140mm trail bike, but in reality if you still want to ride XCM type rides, you can find them.

XC bike in the Chch

Christchurch itself is flat. I mean pancake flat. And the City Council has been spending a lot of time and money into developing the cycleways. So commuting could very much be on the cards. However, I know it's unlikely you'll plan to use that Spez Epic for commuting, so consider a commuter an n+1 you may want to acquire this end. Loads of new options available, and many also find joy in reviving 20yr old hardtail MTB's (like Giant Boulders) to kit out for commuting.

Hagley park is another factor. There are some awesome walking and cycling paths in the 165 hectare park. Great place to spend time with the family. A hardcore XC bike is an overkill for that too, but it is somewhere one could clock up miles if they wanted to do laps.

The Outskirts

The surrounds of Christchurch are less flat... as in not at all. The Port Hills, (within 5km of the CBD) have some amazing trails. There's Victoria Park and the Christchurch Adventure Park, which have the more adrenaline inducing tech trails.

Then there's the Crater Rim, which is where an XC bike would probably make the most sense, although the majority of riders do this on 130 - 160mm bikes.

There's also Bottle Lake Forest and McLean's Island. These too would cater well to XC bikes, but no real advantage to having one there unless you're strava hunting.

Further Afield 

The Canterbury Plains share a similar topography to Christchurch and there are no shortage of dirt roads in the region. These are relatively featureless though and gravel/cyclocross bikes will do the job.

Hamner Springs is a great day/overnight/weekend trip (approx 1hr45 from Chch). Plenty of trails in the forestry blocks there. Some big climbs, too! Another place an XC bike could shine. Some of the descending trails are rather technical though, so an extra 30-40mm travel may be appreciated there.

Then there are trips to the MTB mecca's like Nelson, Rotorua and Queenstown. For these, I'd say 140mm+. Majority of riders will be on 150-160mm bikes.

Multi-Day Adventures

The Alps to Ocean is a very popular cycle trail a and one I regret not doing when living on the South Island. It's basically a gravel path running from Mt Cook to Oamaru. Perfect for XC bike.

Paparoa track is one of the newest Great Walks, within half a days drive form Chch. This Great Walk is bike friendly and with an estimated 2day trip (one way). They do however grade it a "4: Advanced". That'll be conservative, but when I was camping in the region, all the rioders I saw completing it were on Trail/Enduro type bikes.

Summary 

In conclusion you can ride whatever you want to ride wherever. That's the beauty of it! It's about what you enjoy and what you want to get out of it. However, there are some realities, such as:

• General level of trail technicality is above that of SA
• Market for used XC bikes here is WAY smaller than SA, so if you do decide to sell, you'll have better luck before you leave.
• NZ seems less event focused (or maybe I'm just not aware). But things like Nissan trail Seekers aren't a thing (or big thing) so people ride mostly for fun and ride fun bikes.
• Your daughter has some good insight there... do you really want to ride a bike that's different from the other kids? ???? (there's a reason the majority ride trail bikes)

But hey, definitely take my ramblings with a pinch of salt. I did Sani2C on a 160mm enduro bike with flat pedals, so I'm not always the smartest ????

[davetapson]

And we haven't even mentioned the elephant in the room for this discussion... eBikes...

 

[IceCreamMan]

On 8/5/2021 at 7:58 AM, davetapson said:

They did a lot of processing in Beijing. My parents visa got cocked up there and then they (INZ Beijing) just disappeared, citing some virus.   Haven't heard anything since.

But for a week my parents would still be riding out covid here rather then there. I'll tell you which they'd prefer.

Applied for Permanent Residence on 7 July, heard nothing so far.

A couple of pics from Countdown half an hour ago, just to give you Saffas a heart attack...

 

 

Those prices are eye watering even for here in the UK. 

 

Veggies and fruit really well priced here as is most food really.... only red meat and lamb is expensive relative to ZA but i daresay its better quality for hte most part. And yes, i appreciate that may be controversial. 

[Slowbee]

13 hours ago, davetapson said:

And we haven't even mentioned the elephant in the room for this discussion... eBikes...

 

Apparently e bikes are a big deal in NZ.

 

 

[patches]

15 hours ago, davetapson said:

And we haven't even mentioned the elephant in the room for this discussion... eBikes...

 

2 hours ago, Slowbee said:

Apparently e bikes are a big deal in NZ.

Definitely growing! With the majority of riders leaning heavily towards trail riding, and having eBike categories available on enduro races for those that are competitive, there's definitely a market.

Retailers have responded by making many options available. Recently Torpedo7 (large adventure sports and camping retail chain) even started selling Intense MTBs (typically considered a "boutique brand"), and they are pushing the Intense eBIke range. Many retailers couldn't keep up with eBike demand last year, with much of the incoming stock being sold/accounted for before it even arrived.

Plenty of eBikes to be seen on the trails at Woodhill. I envy them as I hear that electric whirr-and whine come past me on the long winding climbs.

I won't lie, I wouldn't mind a Trek Rail 9 or the like, but at over $11,000 they're still too rich for my blood.

[davetapson]

eBikes are awesome.

Have a buddy who is a pretty competitive MTB rider and he was forced to go eBike to keep up with his less competitive buddies  who were out cycling him on eBikes (this is over a two year or so period...) 

He reckons he's probably 20% fitter since going eBike - something about being able to keep going longer that gives you an edge over normal bikes.  When you're finished on normal bike you stop, on eBike you just flick the energy input from motor up a notch and carry on.

[davetapson]

And the extra weight, momentum and power mean that you can crash around a cross country course with panache and abandon.

At some stage you got to wonder when it stops being MTB and starts being Motocross...

[davetapson]

19 hours ago, IceCreamMan said:

 

Those prices are eye watering even for here in the UK. 

 

Veggies and fruit really well priced here as is most food really.... only red meat and lamb is expensive relative to ZA but i daresay its better quality for hte most part. And yes, i appreciate that may be controversial. 

Yep, proper butchers who care about meat.  Veg imported from places that have sun, in volume, so economies of scale.

I've had some pretty awesome meat - rumps and fillets from there, and when buying by the 1" thick or whole fillet, was not as expensive as I thought it'd be.  Not sure why pommies eat such minimal pieces of meat and call them steaks.

Salt-marsh lamb... mmm, mm.

Edited August 11, 2021 by davetapson

[Slowbee]

What bike racks do you guys use ?

 

We have a thule 3 way. But should we ship (and wait 6 months) or buy something second hand ? Yes it does mean a car with tow bar.

Rather sell and get one of those ones that sits on the boot of a hatch ?

 

[davetapson]

10 hours ago, Slowbee said:

What bike racks do you guys use ?

 

We have a thule 3 way. But should we ship (and wait 6 months) or buy something second hand ? Yes it does mean a car with tow bar.

Rather sell and get one of those ones that sits on the boot of a hatch ?

 

I use a Thule that I brought with me.  Thule stuff is so good it needs to be handed down like family heirlooms...

Personally I prefer tow hitch mounted things because they are less fiddly and damage the car less (says he who's dropped a kayak on the current car's roof, punched a trailer tow bar through the rear valence and closed the garage door onto the bonnet, not to mention sundry other abuses that the missus and daughter learning to drive have heaped on it.)

You buy a 10 yo car from Japan, it looks brand new.  In six months, it looks 10 yo.  The original owner would weep.

[patches]

10 hours ago, Slowbee said:

What bike racks do you guys use ?

 

We have a thule 3 way. But should we ship (and wait 6 months) or buy something second hand ? Yes it does mean a car with tow bar.

Rather sell and get one of those ones that sits on the boot of a hatch ?

 

When I first moved over I went all out and got a Thule setup with a Sidearm XT rack, as I liked the idea of having a rack that only makes contact with the tyres. Considering at the time I lived in the Port Hills (so trails were a 2km ride away) and was massively distracted by riding dirt bikes, it was an overkill and waste of money ????

Nowadays I don't even have a car (share my wife's little VW Polo) so I just have a simple little boot clip-on from Torpedo 7 . Mostly use it with 1 - 2 big bikes on it. Have used it with 3, but gets a bit cluttered.

 

 

These are the most popular types of rack in IN for those with towbars

Been on 4hr drives, 3 bikes up on one of those, simply held on with some EZ grip bungies and no problems.

 

Edited August 11, 2021 by patches

[patham]

11 hours ago, Slowbee said:

What bike racks do you guys use ?

 

We have a thule 3 way. But should we ship (and wait 6 months) or buy something second hand ? Yes it does mean a car with tow bar.

Rather sell and get one of those ones that sits on the boot of a hatch ?

 

I use a Thule Easy-fold XT3. Back in SA I had a Thule hatch hanger-on style and I really didn't trust it for long trips or heavy loads (more than 1 bike). As I now carry 3 x dual-suss, I don't want that load on the sheet metal.

The in-thing now in Aus looking at the trail head car-parks is to buy an expensive 4x4 dual cab, and put a tailgate pad on !

 

[patham]

1 hour ago, patches said:

boot clip-on from Torpedo 7 . 

 

I miss old Torpedo 7, they were my go-to online shop here, just a shame they decided to pull out of Aus. 

[Wayne Potgieter]

13 hours ago, Slowbee said:

What bike racks do you guys use ?

 

We have a thule 3 way. But should we ship (and wait 6 months) or buy something second hand ? Yes it does mean a car with tow bar.

Rather sell and get one of those ones that sits on the boot of a hatch ?

 

I sold my Thule to a mate in RSA before leaving. Arrived here and went through two different racks and hated both. Managed to Convince HAyley to bring back my Thule rack in her container when she moved here and bought my rack back from my mate.