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

[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.

[IceCreamMan]

I see NZ borders to remain closed to end of 2021. 

How does that affect you guys in NZ?

[patches]

12 hours ago, IceCreamMan said:

I see NZ borders to remain closed to end of 2021. 

How does that affect you guys in NZ?

Potentially just messes with our usual December Sydney trip. Didn't have any other big adventures planned.

This morning on the breakfast show they were interviewing a kiwi woman on a long holiday in Italy (and other parts of Europe) who was complaining about the MIQ process to the point that she has engaged the services of a human rights lawyer to help file a case against the NZ government.

She whinges on about MIQ denying her the right to return to her country of citizenship. Whilst spots are limited and the booking system does have flaws, she is not denied the right to return, and touting the phrase "violation of human rights" is a pretty serious allegation.

I'm not sure what her objective was but she just came across as entitled and selfish.

[davetapson]

On 8/12/2021 at 7:18 PM, IceCreamMan said:

I see NZ borders to remain closed to end of 2021. 

How does that affect you guys in NZ?

What it's doing is keeping vast amounts of cash sloshing around the local economy.

I don't think anyone quite realised how much Kiwis spend on finding some sunshine.  And cheap food and booze. 

[GrahamS2]

On 8/12/2021 at 8:16 AM, patham said:

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 !

 

???? Too true!

[Slowbee]

How you guys feeling about the country wide lockdown for 1, yes 1 case ?

 

What is the general sentiment ?

 

[IceCreamMan]

5 minutes ago, Slowbee said:

How you guys feeling about the country wide lockdown for 1, yes 1 case ?

 

What is the general sentiment ?

 

Read that on the BBC. Wait n see if it is the correct path and open after all have been vaccinated.