Newbie Questions from a madman

"The Real Andy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Every few years I have the urge to do something really stupid. This
time next year I am going to be riding to Cairns from Brisbane. Why, i
dont know, it just sounded like a good idea at the time.

SO I decided that the best way to acheive this would be to buy a
mountain bike and stick non-knobbly tyres on it. Of course i need to
strap on some carrying device so I can put my camping gear in. The
thought of spending 2 weeks riding with the trusty MacPac hiking pack
probably wont cut it. But thats another story.

ANyhow, I have seen in anaconda a range of bikes ranging from $200
upto $5000 dollars and have no idea what to get. The first question is
are the Anaconda bikes any good? The brands are fluid and Kona (i
think)?

The second question is how much do I spend on a bike that will do very
little (if none) off road work? I really dont want to spend more than
$1000, but if there are serious benefits then I will probably stretch
that figure.

What other questions do i need to ask?

Andy.

You would probably do well to look at actual touring type bikes. They look
at first glance like road bikes but the difference in proportions mean that
they're a more relaxed proposition to ride. They also specifically cater for
mounting pannier racks and tyres that, while skinny enough to roll easily
are wide enough to deal with the odd dodgy surface and provide a some
isolation from road vibration. While I doubt that it would fall into your
price range, something like the Surly Long Haul Trucker would work a treat.
If it's available in Australia, this sort of thing would work a treat:
http://tinyurl.com/2c794

Resound said:

"The Real Andy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Every few years I have the urge to do something really stupid. This
time next year I am going to be riding to Cairns from Brisbane. Why, i
dont know, it just sounded like a good idea at the time.

<SNIP>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The second question is how much do I spend on a bike that will do very
little (if none) off road work? I really dont want to spend more than
$1000, but if there are serious benefits then I will probably stretch
that figure.

What other questions do i need to ask?

Andy.

You would probably do well to look at actual touring type bikes. They look
at first glance like road bikes but the difference in proportions mean that
they're a more relaxed proposition to ride. They also specifically cater for
mounting pannier racks and tyres that, while skinny enough to roll easily
are wide enough to deal with the odd dodgy surface and provide a some
isolation from road vibration. While I doubt that it would fall into your
price range, something like the Surly Long Haul Trucker would work a treat.
If it's available in Australia, this sort of thing would work a treat:
http://tinyurl.com/2c794

Hey that's my bike!

I can recomend the Fuji Touring, great bike once you put a real seat on
it (it comes with a gel-filled numb-bum wonder seat) IIRC it goes for about
$1500 and should last you forever.

If you want to spend less a Mongoose Randoneur will be about $1000, but
you will need to replace the suspension seat post and the numb-bum
wonder seat before you do any reasonable distances.

Cheers

Joel

You'll be better off riding from Brisbane to Cairns, as you're much more
likely to have tailwinds going that way. The SE trade winds will blow you up
the coast. We rode from Toowoomba to Cairns a few years back and had a good
tailwind almost every day. In fact I can only recall one day of headwind in
the 15 or so days that it took us to get to Cairns.

As for a bike, look at touring bikes rather than an MTB with slicks. Both
Trek and Cannondale have a touring bike in their range, with the Cannondale
(IMO) being more sensibly geared, and Surly sell a good and reasonably
priced touring frame that I've seen built up as a tourer in quite a number
of bike shops.

Nick

"The Real Andy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Every few years I have the urge to do something really stupid. This
time next year I am going to be riding to Cairns from Brisbane. Why, i
dont know, it just sounded like a good idea at the time.

Nick Payne said:

You'll be better off riding from Brisbane to Cairns, as you're much more
likely to have tailwinds going that way. The SE trade winds will blow you up
the coast. We rode from Toowoomba to Cairns a few years back and had a good
tailwind almost every day. In fact I can only recall one day of headwind in
the 15 or so days that it took us to get to Cairns.

As for a bike, look at touring bikes rather than an MTB with slicks. Both
Trek and Cannondale have a touring bike in their range, with the Cannondale
(IMO) being more sensibly geared, and Surly sell a good and reasonably
priced touring frame that I've seen built up as a tourer in quite a number
of bike shops.

I'd second that, and also, the new ('07) Trek 520 isn;t as good a bike
as the '06 Trek 520, they buggered it for this year!

Quoted message said:

Nick

"The Real Andy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Every few years I have the urge to do something really stupid. This
time next year I am going to be riding to Cairns from Brisbane. Why, i
dont know, it just sounded like a good idea at the time.

On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 17:35:06 +1000, "Nick Payne" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

You'll be better off riding from Brisbane to Cairns, as you're much more
likely to have tailwinds going that way. The SE trade winds will blow you up
the coast. We rode from Toowoomba to Cairns a few years back and had a good
tailwind almost every day. In fact I can only recall one day of headwind in
the 15 or so days that it took us to get to Cairns.

That was my poor typing. I said I was going to ride to cairns from
Brisbane where as most normal people would say Brisbane to cairns!!

Nice story though, may I ask what your average daily distance was? I
am a hiker, so I do everything on foot. 30km/day with a 30kg pack for
a few weeks is my best effort, so I need all the advice I can get.

Quoted message said:

As for a bike, look at touring bikes rather than an MTB with slicks. Both
Trek and Cannondale have a touring bike in their range, with the Cannondale
(IMO) being more sensibly geared, and Surly sell a good and reasonably
priced touring frame that I've seen built up as a tourer in quite a number
of bike shops.

This is the general consensus. I bought a $50 buck road bike today to
start training. I intend to replace it in the next month or so. Based
on most opinion looks like I will be spending up to $1500, but I can
handle that.

Quoted message said:

Nick

"The Real Andy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Every few years I have the urge to do something really stupid. This
time next year I am going to be riding to Cairns from Brisbane. Why, i
dont know, it just sounded like a good idea at the time.

A mountain bike with slicks would work, assuming that you will eventually
use it off-road. Otherwise, as suggested by other posters, get a touring
bike. Either way, make sure you get the ergonomics right before you set
off: sizing and bike fit, saddle fit, grips, bar-ends (if you go the MTB
option). I'd suggest a day's trial run before you set off. A rack on the
back - OK. Small panniers - good. Get a bento box or small handlebar bag
to put your camera and munchies in. Maybe a [censored] bag or hydration pack.
More than that? Well, more storage means you'll be carting more [censored]
around. As they say, carefully lay out all the things you can't possibly
live without - they leave half of it behind. For instance, carry perhaps 5l
of water, then if it runs out between stops produce an improvised sign that
says 'WATER' and beg. That'll weigh less than actually carrying 20l, and
you'll meet more people.

The Real Andy said:

Every few years I have the urge to do something really stupid. This
time next year I am going to be riding to Cairns from Brisbane. Why, i
dont know, it just sounded like a good idea at the time.

This is not stupid unless you just dray up highway one.

If you are really going to do it in two weeks, i gather this is a credit
card tour, where any road bike will do and your luggage is just a credit
card, inwhich case a handlebar bar will suffice.

Otherwise, as otrher have suggested, look at touring bikes, if you can
find them. Usually they had a longer rake on the front wheel which means
they are less twitchy.

You will probably not need a MTB or fat tyres unless you are
cuddly/built for comfort and/or like spending time on rough gravel
roads, and/or are going to carry full kit is tent, etc, etc.

Quoted message said:

The second question is how much do I spend on a bike that will do very
little (if none) off road work? I really dont want to spend more than
$1000, but if there are serious benefits then I will probably stretch
that figure.

Probably get away with $1,000 in total, $500 for bicycle and $500 for
racks and panniers. To myself, the quality of the racks and panniers are
important because if they are too cheap, they cause troubler and will
wag the bike.

At minimum, for full kit, you will want a good rear rack (Mtn Design, ??
others??) and a couple of pannier.

some peeps recommend a front rack and front panniers simply to balance
the bicycle better and/or spreads the load over both wheels. Low riders
are better than standard,unless you are going bush.

Quoted message said:

What other questions do i need to ask?

If you tell us a big about your plans, you might get further guidance.
It really is a bit hard to help otherwise.

Quoted message said:

This is the general consensus. I bought a $50 buck road bike today to
start training. I intend to replace it in the next month or so. Based
on most opinion looks like I will be spending up to $1500, but I can
handle that.

$1500 worth of bike will give you years of use of course. I've got a couple
of years of commuting out of a $1000 Giant OCR3 so far and expect several
more. It's already paid for itself as far as I'm concerned.

Had some guys from Cairns drop into a bikeshop in Brisbane I was working in a few years ago to say hi to one of the guys.

They had ridden from Cairns to Brisbane for training K's and were then riding back.

They were both roadies and had spares stuck to their bikes with electrical tape and had one backpack between them. Everynight they would stop in a motel and wash their riding gear for the next morning.

That is what I call light packing.

ALso

You could consider a good quality bike trailer. They come with a big waterproof bag and all the weight is kept low. I have only test ridden one around the local streets (full of bricks) and got used to it very quickly. I believe that you will pay up to $500 for a good quality one.

Southside RATS MTB Club (Brisbane) had one available for hire a few years ago. I believe it was somewhere in the vicinity of $10/day.

The Real Andy said:

ANyhow, I have seen in anaconda a range of bikes ranging from $200
upto $5000 dollars and have no idea what to get. The first question is
are the Anaconda bikes any good? The brands are fluid and Kona (i
think)?

The Kona bikes are NICE, if you want to ride offroad.
Anaconda has some very nice prices on them, and you can get
finance too. However, my local store hasn't got their
workshop fully set up yet, so it's best for people who know
how to set up and service their bikes.

Tam

The Real Andy said:

Every few years I have the urge to do something really stupid. This
time next year I am going to be riding to Cairns from Brisbane. Why, i
dont know, it just sounded like a good idea at the time.

SO I decided that the best way to acheive this would be to buy a
mountain bike and stick non-knobbly tyres on it. Of course i need to
strap on some carrying device so I can put my camping gear in. The
thought of spending 2 weeks riding with the trusty MacPac hiking pack
probably wont cut it. But thats another story.

have you thought about using a trailer to carry your stuff in? something
like a BoB Yak Plus trailer, less load on the bike compared to panniers,
you can still carry the essentials in a small bag on the handlebars.

http://www.deanwoods.com.au/store/prod321.htm

zog said:

The Real Andy said:

Every few years I have the urge to do something really stupid. This
time next year I am going to be riding to Cairns from Brisbane. Why, i
dont know, it just sounded like a good idea at the time.

SO I decided that the best way to acheive this would be to buy a
mountain bike and stick non-knobbly tyres on it. Of course i need to
strap on some carrying device so I can put my camping gear in. The
thought of spending 2 weeks riding with the trusty MacPac hiking pack
probably wont cut it. But thats another story.

have you thought about using a trailer to carry your stuff in? something
like a BoB Yak Plus trailer, less load on the bike compared to panniers,
you can still carry the essentials in a small bag on the handlebars.

http://www.deanwoods.com.au/store/prod321.htm

It's my dream that I'll be able to afford one of these one
day...

Tam

In aus.bicycle on Mon, 16 Oct 2006 10:44:47 +1000

zog said:

have you thought about using a trailer to carry your stuff in? something
like a BoB Yak Plus trailer, less load on the bike compared to panniers,
you can still carry the essentials in a small bag on the handlebars.

http://www.deanwoods.com.au/store/prod321.htm

Or the cheaper copy from flyingfurniture.com.au

Zebee

zog said:

have you thought about using a trailer to carry your stuff in? something
like a BoB Yak Plus trailer, less load on the bike compared to panniers,
you can still carry the essentials in a small bag on the handlebars.

deanwoods.com.auprod321.htmOpen ↗

Yeah thats it. A Bob.

My price wasn't very far off either.

Paulie-AU said:

zog said:

have you thought about using a trailer to carry your stuff in?
something
like a BoB Yak Plus trailer, less load on the bike compared to
panniers,
you can still carry the essentials in a small bag on the handlebars.

http://www.deanwoods.com.au/store/prod321.htm

Yeah thats it. A Bob.

My price wasn't very far off either.

Thanks for the info peoples. I now have some direction in where to
look.

I think I will skip the trailer part, bit big. I can do a week
completely isolated in the bush with only a 65litre pack, so I reckon
this would be even easier. I doubt I would be away from some source of
water/food for more than a few days. I also have water purification
gear so I will research all the fresh water ponds/rivers on the way.

After talking to many people the only answer I get is to go with the
tourer (some call it a hybrid). And it looks like I will be spending
upto or slightly beyond the 1500$ mark.

Stay tuned all, I shall no doubt be back with more questions before i
head off!

Thanks:

Andy.

BTW, I started training today on an old $50 road bike (temporary till
I know what I want) and it just about killed me! I did 35kms at a
reasonable pace, but not quick by any means. This stuff is much much
harder than walking 30kms/day through the mountains!!

The Real Andy said:

Paulie-AU said:

zog said:

have you thought about using a trailer to carry your stuff in?
something
like a BoB Yak Plus trailer, less load on the bike compared to
panniers,
you can still carry the essentials in a small bag on the handlebars.

http://www.deanwoods.com.au/store/prod321.htm

Yeah thats it. A Bob.

My price wasn't very far off either.

Thanks for the info peoples. I now have some direction in where to
look.

I think I will skip the trailer part, bit big. I can do a week
completely isolated in the bush with only a 65litre pack, so I reckon
this would be even easier. I doubt I would be away from some source of
water/food for more than a few days. I also have water purification
gear so I will research all the fresh water ponds/rivers on the way.

After talking to many people the only answer I get is to go with the
tourer (some call it a hybrid).

A tourer is a distinct type of roadbike, it is not a hybrid.

Quoted message said:

And it looks like I will be spending
upto or slightly beyond the 1500$ mark.

That will get you a semidecent tourer, yes.

Quoted message said:

Stay tuned all, I shall no doubt be back with more questions before i
head off!

Thanks:

Andy.

BTW, I started training today on an old $50 road bike (temporary till
I know what I want) and it just about killed me! I did 35kms at a
reasonable pace, but not quick by any means. This stuff is much much
harder than walking 30kms/day through the mountains!!

It's not much harder, it's just different. Remember to spin, not grind
(turn the pedals fast, rather than slowly and pushing hard) and
gradually increase the workload, and have rest days.

We were riding a tandem on that trip. I think average daily distance was
around 120km, with the longest day being about 160 and the shortest about
80. With the tailwinds we had most days we usually got to where we were
heading around lunchtime, and spent the afternoons wandering around whatever
town we had arrived at. There was no substantial climbing that I can recall
except the climbs up to Ravenshoe and Mt Molloy.

Nick

"The Real Andy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Nice story though, may I ask what your average daily distance was? I
am a hiker, so I do everything on foot. 30km/day with a 30kg pack for
a few weeks is my best effort, so I need all the advice I can get.

On 16 Oct 2006 04:20:14 -0700, "Bleve" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

The Real Andy wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

BTW, I started training today on an old $50 road bike (temporary till
I know what I want) and it just about killed me! I did 35kms at a
reasonable pace, but not quick by any means. This stuff is much much
harder than walking 30kms/day through the mountains!!

It's not much harder, it's just different. Remember to spin, not grind
(turn the pedals fast, rather than slowly and pushing hard) and
gradually increase the workload, and have rest days.

Ahh, nice tip. I shall keep that in mind. My initial plan is to ride
every second day, with the day inbetween for my typcial 2 hours of up
and down hill walking + weights with Sunday reserved for beer
drinking!

Hopefully a few months in and I should be able to ride to work every
day (about 12km each way). There is a good bike track near me that you
can do about 40kms on without meeting the road, so that will be me
every second day including the ride to work everyday.

The Real Andy said:

On 16 Oct 2006 04:20:14 -0700, "Bleve" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

The Real Andy wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

BTW, I started training today on an old $50 road bike (temporary till
I know what I want) and it just about killed me! I did 35kms at a
reasonable pace, but not quick by any means. This stuff is much much
harder than walking 30kms/day through the mountains!!

It's not much harder, it's just different. Remember to spin, not grind
(turn the pedals fast, rather than slowly and pushing hard) and
gradually increase the workload, and have rest days.

Ahh, nice tip. I shall keep that in mind. My initial plan is to ride
every second day, with the day inbetween for my typcial 2 hours of up
and down hill walking + weights with Sunday reserved for beer
drinking!

Hopefully a few months in and I should be able to ride to work every
day (about 12km each way).

That won't take months, 12km is only a 30 min ride. You'll be doing
that in a week.