[Closed] Roll call: Western Australians

I found a proper shop just north of the river from Fremantle, probably best option to find someone there. Goat Farm springs to mind from my last visit

Wembley?

Hmm not looking forward to cleaning both bikes to the nth degree. I'm sure no matter how clean I think they are, the customs dirt scanners will find dirt 🙁

My brother is in Perth. He rides a MTB. I'll send this thread to him.

Hey, the cafe and cake culture in freo does have some benefits :p They have put a lot of work into the kalamunda/perth hills trails recently. Iv only just started exploring the riding recently but they seem pretty good. Goat farm is actually pretty fun, the skill area is a laugh. And also the only trails you can ride without a car. Also place called Forsyths mill about 40 km out has a short but really fun trail. Theres a book with all the trails in WA in most of the shops i think.

I'm still gettign to grips with the pea gravel though, quite possibly the most terrifying loose trail surface ever.......

Dave

My stuff arrives here a few weeks ago (Vic) and incredibly AQUIS only opened one of the bikes and that was one of the kids ones. They did open a box marked "tyres" but the tyres were new.
From talking to a few people over here it is very hit and miss. Anecdotal stories would seem to suggest tyres are the thing they are hot on.

+1 for the book, its this [url= http://www.mtbguidebook.com/ ]one[/url], I was given it for Christmas and its pretty useful. You'll find it in every shop. Wembley and Kalamunda cycles are probably the best for mtb stuff and people.

I seem to remember you moved here the same time as me back in 2009?

I was doing ok exploring the Kalamunda Circuit until a close snake encounter put be off a bit, especially when I was on my own. Ridden a bit at Jarrahdale as well which isn't too far from Perth.

[url= http://www.wamba.org.au/trails.php ]WAMBA trail guide[/url]

Just finished air freighting 7 bikes to Oz

None of the boxes were opened (Melbourne)

My GF few out last year with a bike and it wasn't checked.

Though you need to clean it well air seems less strict than sea imports in Freo - I was done and needed to pay for pressure wash bearing destruction.....

If your sending have a look at Transglobalexpress and UPS air freight works about around £130-150 for a bike box (slight height reduction) with 32kg in it

Hmm not looking forward to cleaning both bikes to the nth degree. I'm sure no matter how clean I think they are, the customs dirt scanners will find dirt

I had six bikes shipped when we moved to Adelaide. All were cleaned thoroughly before we went, and all had been opened and looked at at AQIS. I did, however, spend a lot of time getting them spotless - looks like in my case, it was worth it!

Use car tyre cleaning foam stuff to make the tyres look new. Clean under the saddle. Job done.

I scrubbed everything of mine oudoorsy to the nth degree and I think they looked at one bike, saw it was spotless and left the rest alone....if only you knew which bike they were picking on in advance!

I've not done a lot off road as yet but mean to get the book mentioned above. Am actually doing a 4hr enduro this weekend near Mundaring and that's probably my 3rd time on the dirt in 6 months. Been doing the road bike thing for a while and commuting and miss the rough.

last time I flew in I packed all my dirty washing round the bike in the box. they took a peep and waved me through.

Any melbourne riders here?

Kalamunda is a good ride.

The guide book is a good call actually as Travis does ride - so not just re-published press releases.

Down south is where a fair bit is going off at mo - margaret river, peel, etc - though obv bit of a drive!

I do some work for IMBA Aus; and WA has the most progressive landmangers in the country, so trails are starting to pop up all over.

Rich, I am Melbourne based now. Been here for two months but have not been able to get out on the bike yet. This has mostly been due to getting a young family settled.

I am down on the peninsula and have just started looking for someone to ride with. Not sure where you are based but I have seen a group that ride in the Redhill areas.

Melburn based here if you have any questions on spots to ride.

I'd be keen on having a look at redhill, i hear its pretty good and I like the parmas at the portsea hotel.

I'm Westside and usually stick to lysterfield/youies/forrest/maldon

The main thing that is putting me off at the moment is my STW(TM) fat arse and lack of fitness after 4 months of eating and doing nothing much in general.

Lysterfield is not that far away from Mount Eliza and Redhill is really close but really need some motivation to get out. Have taken the kids out for a bimble locally but as enjoyable as it is I really need a club or some "mates".

Not that I am a sad friendless wretch or anything 😯

If you fancy a bit of an exploration trip to Redhill give me shout. I would also be up for a trip to Lysterfield.

well if you fancy a spin out or anything, richjwilliams at hotmail

sylvain is your way too, thats pretty good.

At last, a thread I can actually contribute to, rather than all that 'where's a good B&B near Brecon' stuff 😀

Can only echo the recommendations so far - buy Travis Deane's "Western Australia Mountainbike Trail Guide", start with the Kalamunda Circuit up in the Perth Hills then graduate to further away places like Langford Park and Margaret River, Pemberton area.

For me the enduro scene is the best way to check out what's available - you've just missed the 100k Karri Cup, but the Dwelli 100 and the four day Cape to Cape are coming up later in the year.

MTB in WA is in a bit of a transition stage. It used to comprise 'old school' enthusiasts who'd build their illegal tracks out in the bush and jealously protect them - a bit like the surfing scene. But, there's been a boom in interest lately, partly reflecting the worldwide MTB boom, but also a uniquely WA thing of guys in fly in fly out mining jobs with lots of cash to spend and a week off in Perth every two weeks to enjoy it, getting out there on rediculously expensive bikes!

Things are changing rapidly - the Goat Farm & Kalamunda Circuit are the first properly developed legal and signed tracks to cater for the masses, and the KC is getting 400 riders a week at the moment. The old school grumble about all the newcomers spoiling 'their' tracks, and go off and build new illegal ones further into the bush, but I for one expect the trend to continue and it'll become more mainstream/commercial like in other countries.

Go to the Perth Mountain Bike Club website [url= http://perthmtb.asn.au/ ]PMBC[/url] check out the events & races, and introduce yourself on the forum - you'll be sure to get a ride...

Moved to rural NSW here, I had planned to fly with my bike as luggage, but ended up having too many cases. I scrubbed it down with Jeyes disinfectant first and made sure it was spotless, it should be arriving in 6-8 weeks by sea now.

I gheyed up and bought a road bike to tide me over...

Tassie here by the way of you Melbourne guys are ever popping over, some good riding on the doorstep. Can I give you guys a shout if we come over.

Mike

We moved out to melbourne about 4 1/2 year ago. I did the whole scrubbing of the family bikes when we came out, including the recommended dissinfectant stuff. Think that was what knackered the rubber on the grips of one of the bikes. Nothing in our container was checked on teh way into melbourne.
Happy to take any visitors for a ride around the trails out here

Stevego may take you up on the offer one day same goes the other way

Mike

Happy to show you around whenever you get out here mike.
Cheers

Been on PMBC forum for a few years now. In 2009 MTB seemed to be slow and no-one had much of an interest. Shocked at the price of bikes and kit. Cheaper to get it from UK and send it over.

Fleet Cycles closed down in 2011. Nice guys in there.

Will be back in August so I'll raise the thread again and we could do a Oz STW meetup for the cake and coffee down Freo's strip. Leave the lycra at home. 😀

2 things seem to have changed since you were last out Aphex

Your Pound is worthless (I just moved and nearly cried changing money)

When you get some $ in the bank they buy a load more!! Bike stuff is getting reasonable

yeah last time we were there it was 2 bucks to the £. Now I think it's close to a dollar 60?

We have to pay for our flights, shipping and insurance for all our stuff but we get 4 weeks accommodation and 4 weeks car hire for free. We just need to pay for it now then get half back when we land and the rest in 12 months.

What's internet prices like? It was crazy expensive and stupid caps for data.

Whereabouts are ya?

I'm in Tassis, waiting for the stuff to arrive by boat.....

PAYG Mobile with Telsta/Optus is about $40 for loads of takl and 1gb data

Internet is crap in tassie as we can only do Telstra (50Gb $60, 200Gb $100) better deals in cities.

Is the job market good over there?

Fleet Cycles didn't close - they just had a closing down sale.

PMBC forum has never been very lively. Not indicative of the mtb scene here. It was busy in 09 and is cranking now.

[url=

piccies from last weekend[/url]

You're both kinda right - Fleet cycles changed hands, so its still there, but not the same, and the new crew seem to be going up a steep learning curve is the most charitable way I could put it!

Internet prices are still a rip off - I use PAYG mobile broadband from Optus, and as long as you're not addicted to youtube you can make a $150 15Gig topup last a good few months. At least coverage and speed is getting better...

MTB scene has livened up since 2009, lots of new riders, trails popping up everywhere, but at the same time lost some of the small community friendliness - starting to see the same kind of fractious arguments about 29ers vs. 26, lycra vs. baggies as you do on STW - LOL.

With teh pound/dollar rate as it currently is, new bikes are about the same price bought locally (once shipping & import duty is factored in), but components are still about half price bought from abroad. Laugh every time I get my regular CRC shipment, as the post van is half full of CRC & Wiggle packages being delivered!

Look forward to catching up in August...

A meet up sounds like a good plan.

I've noticed that the trails seem to be getting more marketing exposure, even in the short time I've been here. Seems to be like Wales all over again - the smaller communities realising that there's a revenue stream that can be a year round thing if they get it right. I'm gonna check out the Pemberton trails in a few weeks when we stay down there over easter.

Anyone doing the 4hr at Jorgensen park on Sunday?

Rich

Hi Rich, I'm gonna miss the 4hr this w/e as I'm nursing bruised ribs from a spill a couple of weeks ago 🙁

There's some good stuff around Pemberton. Of course there's the Pemberton trail itself right next to the town, but also check out the trails near Northcliffe half an hours drive away. There's two in particular - Aroundtu-it, and parts of the Karri Cup course that are well worth doing. They're both covered in Travis' book.

Thanks perthmtb.

Hope the ribs get better soon - mine still twinge and convince me I'm having a cardiac 3 years after I cracked them!

Not racing at the 4 hour but I am marshalling the car park and flogging T-shirts.

You are right, country towns are waking up to the tourist potential of mountain bikers. So much so that a government funded study is currently being undertaken into the viability of turning Pemberton and Dwellingup up in to full blown trail centres. Other towns may follow.

Interesting that you should make the Wales analogy as Dafydd Davis visited WA last year and will be back again as key-note speaker at the State Trails Conference in May and to do some consultancy work.

Exciting times and that is not even mentioning the Perth Hills...

(Fleet doesn't seem any different to me)

Fleet doesn't seem any different to me

I might be being a bit tough on them, as I caught them soon after the new owners took over, and they hadn't received much stock, and the sales people didn't know anything about the bikes! That was middle of last year, so hopefully they're up to speed now...

I think it was me who was being harsh on them

I'll keep an eye out for you farm boy and say hello - I'll be in a bright blue Disco.

I did catch the Dafydd Davis article in The West Australian a few weeks back now yo umention it. But it is exactly like Wales was 20 years ago - couple of trails you find with rumour and hearsay and then some funding suddenly accelerates it all.

Ooh I love Dwellingup. Some great camping round the river. Bloody flies though. Tried to do Munda Biddi but epic fail as it was 35+ and we had not enough water. Ended up back at camp with a nice swim and a few slabs from the bottlo.

Pea gravel. Mmm... Sketchy

Would it be wrong to ask..... What tyres for pea gravel? Having had several exciting/blinkin sketchy moments recently.

Surly Nate!!!
[IMG] [/IMG]

Crossmarks seem ok also...

Crossmarks you say, hmmm. Might have to add them to next crc order. I think half my problem is just not being used to riding in dry conditions!

Might have to add them to next crc order. I think half my problem is just not being used to riding in dry conditions!

Took me some getting used to even here in Tassie!

learning to love the drift and roll with all the damm tree needles on the floor that make life "interesting"

When I went home last time I found myself avoiding puddles. Had a bit of rain today so that should dampen down the dust and make things a bit more normal for me.

😆 The WA thread morphs into a "what tyres" thread - is nothing immune!

Anyway, if you can't beat 'em...

Crossmarks are ok on the back, but you need something much grippier on the front for the dreaded pea gravel IMHO. Many round here run Maxxis Ignitor on the front, and I even go one step further and run the 2.3 version.

By the way, you can often pick up Crossmarks/Ignitors at TBE for $40, which is about what you pay for them on CRC. It's one of the few items that seem to be reasonably priced locally - weird!

My stuff arrives here a few weeks ago (Vic) and incredibly AQUIS only opened one of the bikes and that was one of the kids ones. They did open a box marked "tyres" but the tyres were new.
From talking to a few people over here it is very hit and miss. Anecdotal stories would seem to suggest tyres are the thing they are hot on.

I've quite happily used panaracer razer mx's on the pea gravel, I think reasonably large and running them softish works.

Moved to rural NSW here

Whereabouts?

moving out to Melbourne with family (i know the post header is WA but quite a few Melbourne pots above) in August - so now i know what tyres guess rather than clean the wharncliffe mud tyres look out for some bargain new suited to dry gravel and take clean to avoid hassle

Having lived in WA for 2 years in the late 80's biking in the summer must be an early morning or late arvo activity, to bloody hot otherwise.

Doing anything in summer is to hot! I'm really looking forward to autumn and winter and more hours riding. The best bit is all the locals think your mental cos its 'freezing' out haha

Not to worry, after about four months without any rain and temperatures sometimes reaching the low forties (centigrade!), winter finally arrived in Western Australia this morning as I took my morning ride at Jarrahdale in the drizzle at a chilly 15 degrees. Reminded me of a summer's day in Wales!

in the what tyres I did 7 months all over on a set of 2.35 minions and brought the same this time, blagged some fat alberts too (2.4 i think) though most people look at me like I'm wierd especially without the lycra.

Advanatages look fairly handy out here, just depends how you like to ride really.

Thanks to BigRich for showing me round Lysterfield this afternoon. He was very patent with my dreadful level of fitness.
Now have a bike covered in trail dust. Which coming from Northumberland is more than novel!
I know STW likes nothing better than a tyre debate. Maxxis Advantage on the rear was fine but the WTB Enduro Raptor on the front was terrible. Couple of times thought I was going off on very innocuous sections. Could it be you need a reasonably open tread for the gravel?

Could it be you need a reasonably open tread for the gravel

Yep, open tread + large side knobs seems to work best on pea gravel. Most major brands offer a tyre that fits this description in their range - take your pick. I've had good results with both Maxxis Ignitors and Kenda Nevegal on the front. I also find low pressures (<25psi) and leaning forward to weight the front wheel helps with cornering in gravel...

Does anyone use something like a Highroller on the front? Maybe overkill?

Anyone have any suggestions where I can take my 5 year old son riding, he's just getting a taste for off roading and I don't want to take him somewhere so difficult that it discourages him ie - no gravel!

Cheers

Rich

I hear Delamere is nice! 😉

And of course it being so dry here rich we simply dust the bikes down when we get home!
Bet you miss the weather rich! cheers marcus

Anyone have any suggestions where I can take my 5 year old son riding, he's just getting a taste for off roading and I don't want to take him somewhere so difficult that it discourages him ie - no gravel!

Why don't you take him to a BMX track?
Lots of them around the midlands area. It will be open and the surface will be firm. You can just sit in the middle with a tinny watching him go round.

Most MTB trails are pea gravel and the few that aren't like Jarrahdale are pretty narrow and techy. May have issues with quick riders appearing at short notice.

Thanks Chewie, are you over here yet?

Marcus - my road bike gets dirtier that the mtb, if it's wet then he sand off he cycle paths stick! Although I do believe I got some mud on the tyres last week, must got and have a look....suffice to say that no an awful lot of cleaning is required, it dries p and falls off 🙂

Good idea about the bmx tracks hugor, will look for one near me down here in Applecross.....

Not yet. 2 weeks tops I reckon. Scrubbing the bikes at the mo!

Ive been living in Cardiff for the last 2 years and loved it. Coming back home in 2 months.
I fear I'm going to lose interest in mtb when I get back to Perth .
Its going to feel so limited.
Kalamunda, goat farm, John Forest etc can all be ridden in a day.
I've ridden every trail centre in Wales and most published natural routes and frankly there's no comparison anywhere in Aus.

Here's a couple of places I've taken my seven year old daughter...

1. Heritage rail trail. The whole loop is 42K, but there's sections that are great for kids - like the bit thru John Forrest National Park (ride thru the old railway tunnel - kids of all ages love it!), or around Sculpture Park in Mundaring. [url= http://www.railwayreserves.com.au/Pages/home.aspx ]Look here[/url]

2. Lake Leschenaultia. There's a real flat loop around the edge of the lake, and a beginners MTB loop through the woods. Also playground, cafe, BBQs and kayak hire, and even a campground so you can make a weekend adventure of it! [url= http://www.mundaring.wa.gov.au/YourCommunity/RecreationAndLeisure/Pages/LakeLeschenaultia.aspx ]Check it out here[/url]

I know what you're sayin Hugor, just moved over from near Nth Wales and miss the riding. I rode the relentless trail in Pemberton a few times last week, only 4.5km but reminded me of some welsh trails, a helluva long way to drive for a short ride though, we were down on holiday and I flung the bikes on the car on the off chance of a ride.

Thanks Perthmtb, like the sound of lake leschenaultia

Don't forget under the seats Chewie!

Marmoset, I'll be riding some of the lesser used trails around Mundaring tomorrow morning, and Jarrahdale on Sunday morning. Let me know if you want to tag along...

Lol Ok! It's bizarre. Got to scrub the push bikes, yet the motorbike they're not really bothered about being clean. That's seen more off road action lol 😳

I'll have to pass this weekend Perthmtb, feeling off colour and trying to recover for a rowing race on Sunday! Cheers for he offer though 🙂