New Land, New Issues

Getting Started

New South Wales - Australia

I arrived in Australia just over a month ago. Before I left the UK I was building up my distances on the bike and getting the equipment together to start some bike touring. I actually got to the point that I was really happy with the gear I had (bar my bike which was a 20 year old mountain that hadn't been used for 10 years). Unfortunately when I started to pack for Aussie, I realised I was very limited in what I could take and decided the only thing I would take with my would be my Oxford panniers as they were relatively expensive. No problem, I though, I'll can pick up the basics of what I need when I'm over there. But no. What no one told me was that in Australia, nothing is as easy as you'd think. The first issue is that Australia is expensive. Generally everything is about twice the price. And the second issue is that internet shopping isn't as easy here. For example, Amazon.com.au only sells books. Nothing else. Ebay is here but postage takes an age and most items seem to come from Hong Kong so you could be waiting over a month to receive your item, if you ever do.

When moving, I had a certain amount of money with me to survive until I got a job and so I could not put a lot of money in to a bike before getting a job, however, not having a bike seemed a horrific idea. My friend took me to a store called Big W (Woolworths is still alive in Australia). There were some pretty cheap bikes there, none were ideal for touring and as a man of 6'2'', I only fitted one. (Or so I thought but more on that later). Perhaps it was the strong need for a bike, or maybe that I was still trying to come to terms with the cost of everything here, I decided to buy the cheap bike.

Bike bought, I needed some basic items: Helmet, Spare inner tube, Bike lock, Multitool, Pump, Water bottle and cage. All these items were purchased at Big W, weren't cheap but in Australian terms, they were.

When I first got in to cycling back home, a good friend of mine helped me get my bike back in to working order, and also gave me a good piece of advice, it is worth spending a bit more to get a decent item rather than the cheapest as you'll end up buying twice if you do. Or, you get what you pay for. I think this is extremely tue with it comes to cycling, and I was nervous while walking out of Big W. It turns out I was right to be nervous......

The Bike

I have to keep this in mind, I bought this bike as a stop gap until I get a job and can afford a better bike.

Actually the bike is fine. It is a mountain bike with 29'' wheels. Not ideal for road cycling but it does the job, just about. It has an steel frame and weighs around 16kg. The main issue with the bike is the frame has a dropped top bar. I didn't think anything of it when I bought it but to get the height I need of the seat, the seat post has to be extended to its very limits. Again, I didn't think this was a problem when I bought the bike, but very soon after I took the bike out for a couple of short cycles, I realised the seat post to being bent and so I was left with having to make the compromise of lowers the seat and so not getting full leg extension so the seat post isn't over extended. Not ideal.

Basic Items

Helmet - The helmet I bought cost $30 which seemed a good price. I am actually quite pleased with it. It is quite comfortable though I have worn more comfortable and I've had no problems with it. 

Spare Inner Tube - I haven't had to use this yet but was reasonably priced at approx. $5. Not a lot more I can say about this.

Bike Lock - $15. Not such a great experience here. I bought a combination bike lock from Big W. It worked fine for a while but about about 3 weeks, it suddenly the barrel suddenly stopped rotating and so rendered it useless. I have since had to buy a second lock. 

Multitool - $10. The multitool has been fine. The range of Allen keys and spanner sittings was large enough to cover everything on the bike. Also has a Philips and Flat head screw drive. Only issue was when trying to loosen the seat bolt, the spanner fitting was too weak and snapped off. 

Pump - $15. The pump seemed adequate with fittings for both schrader and french style valves, and the pump worked fine the rear tire but when trying to pump up the front tire, it wouldn't latch on and so wouldn't work. I had to borrow my friend's, cheaper, pump to inflate the tire. Another issue is that the bracket the came with the pump had no fastening so I was concerned that I small bump in the road would cause the pump to fly out of its bracket and I'd lose it, which would be a problem if I was in the middle of nowhere.  I have since had to replace the pump.

Water Bottle and Cage - $15. The water bottle has been fine. Hard to get a plastic bottle wrong. The cage on the other hand has been so great, but still functions. It is a metal cage and so strong enough, the bit that let it down was a small plastic cap on the top of the cage that broke off before we even left the store. The bottle is still held in place but is quite loose. I haven't replaced it yet but I can see that I am have to at some point. 

As I said before, I went for the cheap route due to limitations of funds so I can't expect too much from these items. I am planning a quick overnight cycle soon to test all my equipment before going for longer cycles in more remote places, so fingers crossed!