Geekzone Cycling Thread

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#3004235 1-Dec-2022 16:32

I reckon I'd be fine with a 20km Enduro race, which involves mostly downhill descents and untimed walks up to the next stage.

The idea of a long XC race really makes me cringe.

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geoffwnz

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#3004301 1-Dec-2022 18:38

Handsomedan:

I reckon I'd be fine with a 20km Enduro race, which involves mostly downhill descents and untimed walks up to the next stage.

The idea of a long XC race really makes me cringe.

Endurance is where my racing is at these days, both trail running and trail riding. Though I do intend getting into Enduro which appeals for both the downhill part and the "touring" sections. Much like a rally on the bike.

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#3018555 8-Jan-2023 12:55

What are zoners doing for summer cycling fun?

My other lad has taken an interest in MTB so I've gone out with him a few times. He even suggested a night ride so we hit the local tracks at 11 PM on a balmy summer night.

We had relatively small, cheap but bright-ish lights. We made it in one piece but our time was pretty slow. I was amazed how quiet it was and 11PM is a good time to avoid dog walkers 😃

And the reason I have a spare bike for my lad to use is that I got this beast in the pre-xmas sale of last year's model. I thought if I get a new bike, my lad will be able to enjoy some MTB on my hard tail so the purchase was really a selfless act on my part :-)

I think these full suspension things will really catch on.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

geoffwnz

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#3018562 8-Jan-2023 13:25

Hitting the river trails and Tunnel Gully bike trails about every second day (running the alternate days on most of the same trails). I'll stick to winter for night riding as I don't have to stay up past my bed time to do so. :-P

Was meant to use the last two weeks to hit some more of the regions bike parks but the body decided that I needed some recovery time rather than full on sessions with Tarawera Ultra coming up in just under 5 weeks.

I got a GlowWorm bike light last year which got plenty of use over winter. Customisable light levels means I spent most of the time at 10% power for general riding and occasionally bumped it up to 50%, 75% or rarely 100% for some technical sections.

Also in the Boxing day/week/fortnight sales, picked up a Bell Super 3R helmet as mentioned earlier in the thread. Ridden with it a couple of times now, just in open face mode. So much more air flow than the Bell 4Forty.

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elpenguino

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#3018610 8-Jan-2023 16:13

geoffwnz:

Hitting the river trails and Tunnel Gully bike trails about every second day (running the alternate days on most of the same trails). I'll stick to winter for night riding as I don't have to stay up past my bed time to do so. :-P

Was meant to use the last two weeks to hit some more of the regions bike parks but the body decided that I needed some recovery time rather than full on sessions with Tarawera Ultra coming up in just under 5 weeks.

I got a GlowWorm bike light last year which got plenty of use over winter. Customisable light levels means I spent most of the time at 10% power for general riding and occasionally bumped it up to 50%, 75% or rarely 100% for some technical sections.

Also in the Boxing day/week/fortnight sales, picked up a Bell Super 3R helmet as mentioned earlier in the thread. Ridden with it a couple of times now, just in open face mode. So much more air flow than the Bell 4Forty.

Ahh, I haven't explored there, UH is a 'mission' / too far to drop in. Looks like a good spread of easier and more challenging tracks. Which ones are your favourites?

The GlowWorm look like proper lights and I'm sure they're worth it ($230 - $570) for regular use. And made in NZ, that's impressive.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

geoffwnz

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#3018649 8-Jan-2023 19:41

elpenguino:

Ahh, I haven't explored there, UH is a 'mission' / too far to drop in. Looks like a good spread of easier and more challenging tracks. Which ones are your favourites?

The GlowWorm look like proper lights and I'm sure they're worth it ($230 - $570) for regular use. And made in NZ, that's impressive.

Yeah, I went with the G2.0 XS with the bigger battery than the XS Adventure and 3 bulb light. Because when it comes to night riding, there's no such things as too much light. :-)

I ride to and from Tunnel Gully which is approx 10km each way on the river trails from near Clouston Park. I will often go in via the Te Marua lakes and do a loop of Flow-K before crossing over to the Tunnel Gully side using the underpass. Then can "pop up" 2beeline to have a run down Taniwha and either straight down Beeline or up and over the 250 East up and down trails. Ending with one or more laps of Times Tables.

If I'm not feeling like the grind up to Taniwha I'll do Times Tables on repeat until I'm about done then hit a lap of G-Drop using Station Link to get back to the top of them.

Taniwha is more of a bush track than a specific bike trail and if often like riding down a creek but I find it fun.

250 East is a grind to the top but the downhill is an awesome flow trail with switch backs, the odd rollable drop and one actual but small drop that has an "easy/hard" trail split around it.

Times Tables is a table jump trail with rollable or avoidable small drops and table jumps and one 1m drop off mid way down which has an alternate line around it.

G-Drop is all flow though mind the pine needles on clay if it's been wet.

If you are driving and parking at Tunnel Gully, you can just as easily cruise over to Flow-K from Station Road, do a lap then come back over and play rather than grinding back out Plateau Rd and up past the lakes.

Also is within reach of the Incline if you want a long ride. Optional on using Goat Rock Rd (long steep climb either way) as the connection or out Station Rd, along Kaitoke Loop Rd and up to the Incline main entrance. It's 65km from my place to Cross Creek and back via Goat Rock Rd.

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Handsomedan

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#3022050 16-Jan-2023 14:28

Me and my two boys have been doing a bit of MTB over the last few weeks.

Over Xmas, we were in Queenstown, so took advantage of the great weather and rented DH bikes for a day and rode Queenstown Bike Park at Skyline.

Dusty, rocky and fun - those trails are some seriously long descents!!

We also got a bargain on uplifts at Skyline Bike Park Rotorua before Xmas, so we shot down there on Monday for the day (from AKL). Another great day of gondola assisted downhill fun, but this time on our own Enduro rigs.

Quite different doing this kind of riding on your own bike that is set up "just right".

We have a lot of uplifts left, so will be going to Vegas a few more times this summer I feel.

@elpenguino Nice new bike! Well played on the whole "I'm doing the world a service by having a new bike" thing...I'm trying that one out with my wife, to see what she says - probably hand me the divorce papers!

So it turns out that as an older man, with limited fitness, I am becoming a gravity-hound park rat. I think I might have to get myself a DH bike at some point to go with the Enduro machine. I like the idea of an extra 30 or so mm of travel (not that I need it with 170/170 currently).

I have also rather foolishly signed up to my first race since I was a teenager. Hopefully there'll be nobody else stupid enough to enter in my age bracket and I'll be able to cruise home to a world's-slowest podium finish!

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geoffwnz

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#3022055 16-Jan-2023 14:38

Handsomedan:

So it turns out that as an older man, with limited fitness, I am becoming a gravity-hound park rat. I think I might have to get myself a DH bike at some point to go with the Enduro machine. I like the idea of an extra 30 or so mm of travel (not that I need it with 170/170 currently).

I have also rather foolishly signed up to my first race since I was a teenager. Hopefully there'll be nobody else stupid enough to enter in my age bracket and I'll be able to cruise home to a world's-slowest podium finish!

If you aren't out riding the bike, then I'd say stick with the Enduro. They are extremely capable and somewhat more versatile than full DH rigs, even for bike park laps. Unless of course you really want multiple bikes. :-)

I now treat racing as a way to get to play on trails that I wouldn't normally find an excuse to go to. And I'm way outclassed in the 40-50 age bracket so not much point aiming for a podium. It's been a long 20 odd years out of the MTB racing scene.

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Handsomedan

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#3022058 16-Jan-2023 14:50

And here's a few pics of the aforementioned adventure down south.

I have to say - apart from the usual "Teenagers are a bit moody" thing, I am loving having teenaged sons to hang with these days...

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networkn

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#3022382 16-Jan-2023 22:42

My 13 year old needs a new bike to ride to school, which is about 4KM away. We want something decent, but not over the top. Must have hydraulic disc brakes, smooth changing of gears. It's mostly for onroad or very very light off-road (though parks etc). I know we aren't going to get super light for ~$500, but weight is a bit of an issue.

We went into Evo and they took us right to:

https://www.evocycles.co.nz/Product/392938/2023-trek-marlin-5-275-mtb-lithium-grey

Looks nice, apparently very good value, good quality components. Our concern with the cost is not the actual cost, but what happens if it gets stolen etc. We want something that potentially lasts him 5 years. After much cajoling they finally headed toward our actual stated price range and came up with this.

https://www.evocycles.co.nz/Product/99539/2022-kona-splice

He seems pretty comfortable on the large frame despite being tiny.

We have only been to one shop thus far, but thought I'd get thoughts on GZ for guidance.

Technofreak

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#3022396 16-Jan-2023 23:11

I was about 11 when I got a bike of my own and it was a full size bike. I don't remember it being a problem to ride, but all the bikes I had been riding were full size any way. You can get some that might end up being too big, but unless you get something way to big he will likely grow into it quite quickly

Why the need to have disk brakes. Rim brakes are perfectly OK and probably require less looking after.

Get a bike lock like this https://www.evocycles.co.nz/Product/137855/product?variation_id=248160&gclid=Cj0KCQiAiJSeBhCCARIsAHnAzT_O2vyZytF8fWkdvBMVnTpSgZYT_sdxjwD10xE76moLgEEDR-hXhIEaAlw-EALw_wcB and get you son into the habit of using it everywhere he goes.

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networkn

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#3022447 16-Jan-2023 23:25

His last two bikes had rim brakes, both terrible for braking and took a lot of fiddling to keep 'tight'. Don't work super well when wet. Most decent bikes have them now it seems.

floydbloke

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#3022491 17-Jan-2023 07:58

For readers here who don't venture over to Digital Imaging, I posted some photos of the NZ Cycling Classic in there.

Did Eric Clapton really think she looked wonderful...or was it after the 15th outfit she tried on and he just wanted to get to the party and get a drink?

Handsomedan

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#3022502 17-Jan-2023 08:52

networkn:

My 13 year old needs a new bike to ride to school, which is about 4KM away. We want something decent, but not over the top. Must have hydraulic disc brakes, smooth changing of gears. It's mostly for onroad or very very light off-road (though parks etc). I know we aren't going to get super light for ~$500, but weight is a bit of an issue.

We went into Evo and they took us right to:

https://www.evocycles.co.nz/Product/392938/2023-trek-marlin-5-275-mtb-lithium-grey

Looks nice, apparently very good value, good quality components. Our concern with the cost is not the actual cost, but what happens if it gets stolen etc. We want something that potentially lasts him 5 years. After much cajoling they finally headed toward our actual stated price range and came up with this.

https://www.evocycles.co.nz/Product /99539/2022-kona-splice He seems pretty comfortable on the large frame despite being tiny.

We have only been to one shop thus far, but thought I'd get thoughts on GZ for guidance.

You could do much worse than this: https://www.evocycles.co.nz/Product/100198/silverback-stride-27-comp

I started on a Silverback Stride and it took me from rides around the block all the way to gravity parks.

It's better specced and significantly cheaper than the Marlin. Case in point: Same price as the Marlin, but lightyears better specced: https://www.evocycles.co.nz/Product/524341/silverback-stride-27-expert

The Kona looks OK, but is a hybrid, so if he decides to go offroad at all, he might run into issues.

Polygon are probably the best value for money - but this Kona would be a great bike for a young person wanting a MTB-type bike that is capable of doing it all from the paper run to the trails: https://www.evocycles.co.nz/Product/101775/2022-kona-lanai-275-mtb-black

Just remember - don't get a bike that's too big "to grow into". It'll be uncomfortable and can be dangerous to ride. It'll likely make riding less fun and therefore less appealing, so the bike may not get used as much as it could. Bike resell pretty well in NZ, so get one that fits and update/upgrade every year or two to fit the rider's size and riding style.

Our kids went through so many bikes, but we didn't really lose any money (not a significant sum, anyway).

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Handsomedan

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#3022503 17-Jan-2023 08:53

floydbloke:

For readers here who don't venture over to Digital Imaging, I posted some photos of the NZ Cycling Classic in there.

Saw those in the "what I shot" thread. Those are some good photos!! I wish I was as capable.

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