I read an interesting item in AMB recently re: gears: In summary, not all of them are recommended. Given the problems many riders have with gears, it shouldn’t have been surprising.
It explains why the derailleur’s manufacturers don’t market bikes as 27 speeds any more.
Because apparently not all 27 are useable. Some are not ‘designed’ to be used.
According to the article – authored by a local Shimano representative, so I assume it’s with authority – only 19 combinations are actually recommended, because the chain line – the line the chain takes between the front rings and rear cassette – takes the chain too far from the parallel and in this twisted state it becomes inefficient and chain wear increases significantly.
In summary, they are recommending:
Granny Gear: Don’t use the 4 smallest
Middle Chainring: Don’t use the smallest
Large Chainring: Don’t use the 3 largest
I know from experience that using those combinations can be problematic and I appreciate the honesty, but it behoves me to ask: why don’t you guys (Mr SRAM and Mr Shimano) fix the problem?
The Shimano rep also recommended that when shifting up in the front, to match it with a downshift on the rear, which reduces the jump & stress on the chain.
* He recommends Rohloff chains… which is pretty big of a Shimano rep!
Grant S
16 August, 2008 @ 1:36 pm | Comments (0)
After 5 years atop the beloved Specialized Epic Pro on some often great, occasionally scary, boys-own adventures, I clobbered the piggy bank (actually two large beer can savings tins), then pulled out the $500 from last year’s sale of the old Trek hardtail, and prepared to make up the difference with a soon-to-be bloated credit card, fronting up to buy a Gary Fisher Hi Fi Pro Carbon.
I’d read the ads in Mountain Bike Action for some time (the two page ad was my pinup for about 3 months – seriously!), compared the impressive specs, checked the reviews (consistently good) and finally took the bike out for a spin, figuring maybe I could live on instant noodles, office biscuits and drop-in-at-dinnertime meals with the mates for a couple of months to fund the rest of it.
And the test ride was sweet… but, just to compare, I then took the regular Hi Fi Pro, and - who’d-a-thought? - the Hi Fi Pro handled better. Sure, the Carbon felt somewhat lighter, but if you’re like me and haul a ton of crap ( water, spares, toolkit, winter clothes, food) when you ride (sounds like a bloody camping weekend!), plus drag round heavy-ish camera gear… a few hundred grams here and there probably makes little difference. Actually both models rode really well, and I suspect my perception of the Carbon was tainted a bit by the bike being set up for bike shoes, while I was wearing sneakers on my commute home.
In the end, though, the non-carbon HiFi Pro seemed to have more guts… or was it gusto?
Every model has a different feel, but this is the first bike that felt like the transmission was lubricated by steroids, as if the cranks were running friction-free, making for a really effortless ride.
And I’ve experienced the reverse. A couple of years ago when the Rohloff hubs were all the buzz in the news, I stopped in at Cheeky Monkey – one of the only shops in Sydney that sold them at the time – and took a bike with the Rohloff on it for a test run, expecting great things in the gear-changing department… but, far out!: sluggish? It seemed like treacle in the hubs compared to my then Avanti hardtail commuter….I returned it, disappointed, offering my impressions, which were not well-received. No derailleur-free MTB solution there… Anyway, the much more agile HiFi Pro is miles above that encounter.
So, I plunked down the stash on the counter, and, transaction complete, left the bike in the shop for the ubiquitous pre-delivery check-up…
Finally, a few days later, I rode it home from the shop ….which happened to be the day before I was due to fly off to BrisVegas for a week to catch up with the folks. Bummer, eh? (Insert sincere apology here to loving & supportive parents.) Fortunately it rained. Everywhere. Even on the Coast. So I didn’t feel like I was missing out, and even when I got back to Sydney it took a week before the rain eased enough for me to want to ride off-road.
First ride was Kentlyn, on some new trails that Grant Byrne’s been exploring (review to come) and it performed even better than the initial assessment.
On his Santa Cruz Nomad, Grant’s usually a tad slower uphill because it’s so darned heavy, but he always slams me on the downhill. Always.
But on the new machine, I literally took off past him on the hills. He’s definitely more bike-fit than me but 4 times on the same uphill circuit and I’m still going great guns and he’s struggling. Ha!
And the downhills…well, I’m tentative on technical stuff and there was a bit here and there but the handling of the HiFi Pro inspired me to push it further. (Meanwhile Grant’s eating this stuff for breakfast, lunch & dinner).
We tried out a couple of sections that looked and rode like they hadn’t seen a bike for months if not years: piles of branches, leaves, pine needles…. and while doing an overconfident swerve around a tree, I pulled up to jump a branch and – you know when you KNOW you’ve done it wrong and the bike & your balance just can’t make up for the error? – well I KNEW. So I braced myself for the inevitable fall (which is the stupidest strategy: you should keep flexible ‘til the last minute), when suddenly… there I was, balanced again and ploughing, not into the hillside but straight down it again.
It felt magic. Scary. Twilight Zone-like. I’d convinced myself I was going over the top or off to the side at least. And if I’d fallen at that juncture, it was a toss up whether I’d get a branch in my leg or just bad bush burn. A couple more like those and I’m falling in love. And probably setting myself up for a bigger crash at some point!
So far that’s it. I’ve had the bike for a month but since that weekend, I’ve been travelling for work and only the jogging and a friendly Gold’s Gym bikes to stop me from going stir crazy.
Here on the other side of the world from my new bike I have just enough olfactory memory to recall the aroma of the new machine – nothing like a new car smell, but still… and the feel; I can relive its more balanced steering and more self-contained cockpit movement – whereas the Epic felt –still feels - more open. And lastly, the effortlessness of the transmission, which appears to have a life of its own, and seems happy to give some up some of that to the rider.
So, from the far side of the globe I think I can still sense the pulse of the HiFi Pro… propped up in its rack in the store room, waiting,…for our next adventure.
Grant S.
9 August, 2008 @ 7:59 pm | Comments (0)
WIN A NEW PANASONIC SDR-S7 POCKET-SIZED VIDEO CAMERA worth $549!
Just send us the name & location details of a NEW off-road trail (not a cycleway) that’s not already listed on Trailflix and be in the draw to win.
All we you need to do is email the following info:
1. Trail name (if you don’t know it, use the suburb or area name)
2. Start location (either street name, park name, reserve name etc)
3. End location (either street name, park name, reserve name etc)
4. Screen print of the trail location from either
- whereis.com.au or
- Google Earth or
- Google Maps
(go to end of the blog for samples)
5. Optional: gpx or photo
And that’s it! Just check it complies to the following T’s & C’s
i. Must be an off-road trail i.e. more than 75% of the route is off public roads
ii. Must be accessible from a public road
iii. Must be a ‘legal’ trail or on disused publicly-accessible land e.g. council or government land
iv. Must not have a ‘No Bikes’ or ‘Trespassers etc’ sign at any entry or exit
v. Is NOT already listed as a trail on Trailflix, as at 8th August 2008
vi. Has to be located within 150km of Sydney CBD
vii. You can send as many trails / entries as you like.
viii. AND if you send a gpx or a photo from the trail as well, you get TWO entries for that trail
ENTRIES CLOSE 8th September. Next day, we’ll pick out the winning entry at random, drive out to check it out and then announce the winner, before the end of September.
SEND YOUR ENTRIES TO: grant@trailflix.com.au
THE PRIZE: The Panasonic camera is great! Small enough to tape to drop in a shirt pocket & light enough to tape to a helmet as a helmet cam. No tapes needed: Includes a 4Gb SD card for up to one hour’s video at highest quality. Easy to use and has OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation) to take out the bumps.
Good luck!!
HOW I HAPPEN TO BE GIVING AWAY A NEW VIDEO CAMERA
Lucky bugger, I won this camera in the latest Panasonic competition when I bought a new Panasonic DVR.
I intended to use it as a helmet cam & took it out of the box to test it out but found I couldn’t import to HD format so can’t use it for the Trailflix movies. Thus I decided to give it away.
PANASONIC VIDEO CAMERA DETAILS:
The SDR-S7 weighs just 180g and has the tiny dimensions of 41×59x102mm (W x H x D). Perfect for the backpack, sports bag or even the pocket.
0.6-SEC QUICK START
The Quick Start function allows the SDR-S7 to begin recording just 0.6 seconds from the time the LCD is opened. Perfect for catching those spontaneous moments.
SD/SDHC MEMORY CARDS - LONGER CONTINUOUS RECORDING
The S7 comes with 4GB included SDHC card memory. This will allow up to 3 hours & 20 mins of recording (in LP mode) or up to 1 hour in high-quality (XP) mode.
For more details go to Panasonic at http://panasonic.com.au/products/details.cfm?objectID=4514
IT’S ALREADY A CRITICAL SUCCESS: READ THIS REVIEW FROM SIMPLY DV:
Panasonic SDR-S7 Camcorder
With its 1/6-inch CCD, 10x zoom lens and 16:9 widescreen SD memory card shooting, is the pocket-sized Panasonic SDR-S7 way too cool to be called a camcorder?
If you’re one of those doubting Thomases who still doesn’t believe me when I say that MiniDV and even DVD are on the way out in favour of pocket-sized, “take it anywhere, shoot whatever you fancy” video cameras that record only to solid-state memory cards, then reconsider your thoughts right now.
The simple fact is that by introducing more and more of these small, easy-to-use and highly-portable devices you’ll get more and more people shooting and sharing video for the sheer hell of it. A new generation of video-makers don’t necessarily want to making deeply-serious holiday movies, complete with titles, mood music and commentary to share with your aunts and uncles on DVD - they’re after different pleasures.
Moreover, if you’re still of the opinion that the video camcorder should be the domain of the so-called serious user (aren’t we all supposed to go about our interests in a serious manner, after all?) then just look at the many social-media sharing websites like YouTube and study what younger people are doing. Pick up Panasonic’s SDR-S7 and - once you get over the smallness of its form-factor - and you begin to envisage having fun with it. And if you want to see just how small the S7 is, have a look at this:
First Impressions
I don’t think we need to express much in the way of first impressions, do we? It’s not small - it’s positively miniscule when you consider how big an equivalent tape-based camcorder would have been a mere 5 years ago. To be frank, this is ridiculous! Hand to anybody who hasn’t seen it before and you’re almost guaranteed to get a amazed reaction. The words “wow” and “cool” have been heard many times in the course of a single working day here at SimplyDV Towers, and with good reason. It’s quite amazing. Beautiful, in fact.
Although, unlike its sister shock-proof and waterproof sister product, the Panasonic SDR-SW20, it won’t tolerate being buried in sand or dunked into the swimming pool, the SDR-S7 shares many of its design and operating properties. It’s a lovely small palm-sized shape that fits perfectly in the hand, but more importantly it can be tucked away into a pocket or small bag when not in use. One of the things that does catch the eye is the inclusion of a second Record button up near the front of the body on the outside - great for operating with your forefinger when holding in pistol-grip fashion - which is a clear indicator of the uses to which this little marvel is designed. Shoot fast and shoot loose!
Features
Its 2.7-inch wide colour LCD screen opens out to reveal a main function dial offering the chance to shoot and replay widescrren and standard 4:3 ratio video as well as 4:3 ratio 640×480 JPEG pictures. The main power/function dial is there in the inside along with navigation, menu and other buttons, but that’s just about the lot. At the offside front of the body, just back from the lens, is a manual lens shutter open/close switch, where there’s also the second red Record button. On the back is the primary Record button as you’d expect, alongside a flap which reveals the camera’s connections to the outside world - DC power, AV outputs to analogue TV and recorder and USB MiniB socket.
Flip the catch to open to the door on the base of the camera to reveal the slim Li-ion battery and SD/SDHC card slot - both of which slide vertically up into the body. The camera accepts the latest high-capacity SDHC Class 6 cards allowing up to 13 hours 20 minutes’ MPEG-2 recording in LP mode on a 16GB SDHC card.
Despite its size and apparent simplicity, there’s provision for good manual control over all the main functions, even if the relevant adjustments to Iris (aperture), White Balance and even Focus have to be made using the 4-way navigation dial that sits inside the LCD screen recess. Select the Manual AF/MF button to disply a graphical indicator on screen that enables you to click left or right for “plus” or “minus” adjustments. With this it’s fairly easy to achieve quite reasonable adjustments to all the kinds of things that you might be inclined to adjust; even changing focus manually can be achieved even though it takes a bit of fiddle and is best done on a tripod (even a mini one) for best effect. But would you use such a camera on a tripod? Maybe.
The ability to control focus and aperture manually is actually very useful, especially if, for instance, you’re pointing the 10x optical zoom lens at a subject for which the Auto circuit has determined an exposure that’s just a bit too high; get into the menu and drop it back a tad more for best results. There are now lots of cameras competing in this market, but the ability to take this level of control separates out the good from the average, to say the least!
In playback mode, recorded clips are presented as thumbnail images which are selectable by operating the joystick and selecting by pressing in to play. It’s much easier than tape in that you don’t need to spool tapes and find those elusive clips - just flip through the thumbnails like you’d search for still photos on a card until you’ve found the one you want. That’s where non-linear, tapeless, video scores over tape-based video formats. Morover, you can trim a scene to cut out unwanted segments - or you could delete it altogether.
The SDR-S7 offers three recording modes, with the highest setting requiring the most memory card storage. They are:
* XP: 10Mbps (VBR) - 3 hours 20 mins on a 16GB card
* SP: 5 Mbps (VBR) - 6 hours 40 mins on a 16GB card
* LP: 2.5 Mbps (VBR) - 13 hours 20 mins on a 16GB card
Other main recording features include 25x and 700x Digital Zoom, SIS electronic image stabilisation, Wind Cut to reduce wind-noise across the microphone, Zoom Mic (to mimic the action of the zoom lens), Auto Slow Shutter for electronic shutter adjustment and Rec Aspect control, allowing users to set the requirment aspect ration of the picture (4:3 or 16:9). A range of Scene Mode selections helps users to optimise the image setting to suit the situation in which you’re recording.
The menu options available are less extensive than is available in other higher-specification SD and even AVCHD (high definition) Panasonic models, but even so the level of control over what you’re recording or playing back is impressive.
One-Click disc copy
If you fancy making instant DVD copies of some or all of the clips recorded on the SD or SDHC card in the S7, consider using Panasonic’s own VW-BN1 DVD burner. This connects direct to the camcorder via the USB 2.0 connection, and uses what’s called “USB Host” control to allow the camcorder’s menu system to take over the whole process of making a DVD copy. Keep the drive connected to the camcorder whilst viewing the output on a TV (using the supplied AV cable connections from S7 to TV) and you’ll have full-screen playback right there on the TV.
Connectivity
Panasonic SDR-S7 with DC and USB connections
Because of the nature of the device, it’s clear that you’re not going to get much in the way of connections to the outside world.
Open the flap at the back of the tiny body and you’ll find three sockets - DC mains (for onboard charging and powering via the supplied AC adaptor), a single multi-way analogue video/stereo audio socket (to which the supplied cable is attached) and a USB MiniB type socket for transfer of movie clips and images to a Windows/Vista and Apple Mac computer.
Clips recorded with the S7 were copied to a Windows XP PC using the supplied MotionSD Studio 1.3E software provided, in addition to Pinnacle Studio Plus 11 and Adobe Premiere Elements 4.0. On a Apple iMac running Mac OS10.5 Leopard, clips were successfully imported into Apple iMovie ‘08 via the USB connection and also using a separate SD card reader where editing took place without any problems whatever.
Of course, it’s also possible to simply remove the SD card and place it into a separate memory card reader for 2-way transfer of files.
Performance
Bearing in mind the target market for this product and the technology employed within it, it’s fair to say that the S7 produces very good pictures and sound. Video recordings are made in MPEG-2 format - which is the same format as used in regular standard definition DVD recordings - and its 16:9 widescreen pictures are pretty good considering the limitations. It’s funny, but with such a small device that (on the face it) provides few buttons and switches, the S7 ofers a surprising degree of control over the pictures it records. The menu button provides the gateway to a wide range of manual control - and with it the ability to ride the exposure to the point where you can actually get a very good overall image recording. In fully auto, the S7’s movie images have a slight tendancy to produce hot-spots in average-light frames, but if you have the patience to dig into the menu system you’ll find that it’s actually quite easy to control the exposure (along with the other options) using the mini-joystick and on-screen graphical “head-up” display.
Battery life is pretty good, and well up to the kind of usage intended. The slimline VW-VBJ10 Li-Ion battery tales about 2 hours to charge from empty, and from this we were able to get well over the 1 hour 10 minutes quoted by the manual.
Conclusion
On showing the S7 to others, the reaction it invariably gets relates to its size. It really is small - small enough not just to fit in a coat or jacket pocket but one normally reserved for mobile phones and the like. That’s because it’s really small. I’ve reviewed several small camcorders (or, perhaps, video cameras is now a better label) lately, but this one really grabs the attention of its target market. Potential users aren’t as concerned about its specifications or stated features - they seem to be attracted to just how cool and cute it looks. It’s a gadget, make no mistake - and one that’s aimed at people on the move or those wanting to grab fun video clips on the spur of the moment. It’s small enough and light enough to supplement those mobile phones whose video quality isn’t yet good enough for showing on larger TV screens, even if they’re great for YouTube and the like.
If there’s a downside to the S7, it’s that it doesn’t offer HD video in the way that its major competitors do. The Sony HGR-TG3 AVCHD model is the most obvious competitor, and it’s perhaps reasonable to assume that a Panasonic equivalent will be with us soon, too, but until that time the SDR-S7 will find a rightful home among users looking for a lightweight, highly user-friendly solid-state video camera that requires neither expert knowledge nor a bagful of tapes or DVD discs. With the cost of SDHC memory cards now reducing by the day, it’s ideal.
Reviewed by: CB. April 2008.
http://www.simplydv.co.uk/reviews/camcorders/panasonic/sd/panasonic-sdr-s7-review.html
SAMPLE MAP SCREEN SHOTS
Google Earth Screen Shot for Kentlyn
Whereis.com.au shot for Kentlyn
Google Maps
19 July, 2008 @ 12:21 am | Comments (0)
Sometime in 2003, when I learned they were going to build a cycleway along with the Lane Cove Tunnel (LCT), I was a bit surprised and said so to a mate,” A cycleway in a tunnel?”
Of course the cycleway was built, ABOVE GROUND….
Next time I publicly humiliate myself, I’ll have to remember to do it with several beers under my belt. At least that would be an excuse.
So, anyway, the LCT finally opened several months ago and by then I’d forgotten all about the promised cycleway. Then one day recently I received an invite for riders to join a free breakfast in late June, hosted by the Willoughby Council and Bicycle NSW to celebrate the opening of the LCT/Epping Road Cycleway.
Sadly I couldn’t make the breakfast (luckily for them…) but the following week I headed out at 5am on my morning ride to check out this new cycleway which I’d seen glimpses of from the car when heading out to rides via the M2.
It wasn’t as easy to get to from the city as I’d hoped. Depending on where you’re coming from, the first/last entrance is located at Merrenburn Ave, off Willoughby Rd in Crows Nest. If you’re heading from the City, via the Bridge, you have to go up the Pacific Highway to Willoughby Road and head almost to the end. Neither of those roads has a cycle lane and both are usually very busy, so they’re not recommended for the morning or evening commute.
Halfway along Merrenburn Ave you cross over the Gore Hill Freeway that leads to/from the Harbour Bridge. Just on the other side of this bridge is the Cycleway entrance, heading downhill and west.
Having tackled a large part of the impressively built M7 cycleway, what I first noticed was the build quality of this one was on a par. With 3 lanes along more than 50% of the trail, (each-way cycling lanes + a pedestrian lane) it seems pretty well constructed for the most part – largely concreted and well signposted at all the entries/exits.
After a brief section on the right side of the freeway (heading westbound), it crosses over to the left via a narrow bridge with hairpin-tight turns each side. I wouldn’t like to try these in peak hour cycle with pedestrian traffic. Obviously NOT designed by a cyclist… or maybe they were short on budget. But this is one of the few flaws.
Other than this, the track flows well, following the line of the freeway and the terrain, exiting the cycleway briefly for a section at the end of a cul-de-sac (more cost savings?) and then round a small lagoon.
Along the way you pass steep concrete walls on one side and seemingly impregnable barriers on the other.
Past the exit to the Pacific Highway the trail twists around and under the freeway itself a couple of times,
with plenty of exits dotted along the route to and from the streets in the area.
And then as the tunnel itself heads deep under the suburb of Lane Cove, the cycleway and it part company and you emerge from the dedicated trail to a shared footpath along Longueville Road.
The cyclist-only party seems to be almost over as you cross 2 quiet streets
(Kimberley Ave & Phoenix St) before Longueville Road veers left and you have to cross it to reach the cycleway again, as it proceeds down Epping Road. This downhill doesn’t last long though, but they’ve built this section as part of the roadway asphalt but painted it ‘Cycleway Green’, because the only thing separating you from the vehicles is a low concrete barrier and I guess it’s a reminder to cars to keep off, though there were a couple of parked cars there they day I rode it.
Unlike the famous cycle-friendly cities of Amsterdam or even Brisbane which are both fairly flat, riding along this route to and from the city, you’re reminded how hilly Sydney can be and some of the inclines are steeper than I remember when driving them, so it may not be a suitable ride for small kids.
The trail formally ends/starts at Wicks Road in North Ryde, along from Macquarie Uni. Beyond this, there’s not even a paved footpath along this side of Epping Road, so it’s every man for himself from thereon, I guess.
At the time I rode the trail that morning, the track itself was still under construction, thus I’m going to give it a couple of months before heading out that way again in the daylight. But it’s already well worth a visit and it looks like there’s more to come, if this article from the SMH late last year is anything to go by…
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Wendy Frew, Urban Affairs Editor, Sydney Morning Herald
December 17, 2007
Like the walkways built in the canopies above rainforests, North Sydney Council hopes to lift pedestrians and cyclists above the urban jungle, with an ambitious plan to build an elevated path running from the southern end of the Harbour Bridge to as far north as Falcon Street.
The path, still at the concept stage and estimated to cost up to $30 million, would run 2 kilometres from the deck level of the bridge to St Leonards Park and Falcon Street along the Warringah Freeway. The council hopes that by bypassing North Sydney’s hilly streets, traffic congestion and car pollution, many more people will walk or ride to work.
If it goes ahead, it would be one of Sydney’s most scenic commuting routes, with views of the city’s skyline and both sides of the harbour.
The air bridge - or Harbourlink, as it has the council has dubbed it - would also provide the missing link for cyclists commuting south from Lane Cove, said North Sydney’s Mayor, Genia McCaffery.
“Having a decent bicycle network in Sydney is a key part of sustainable transport,” Cr McCaffery said. “Many people are deterred from riding bikes because there are no proper dedicated routes or because access to routes is difficult.”
The proposed air bridge would separate pedestrians and bike riders from car traffic. At its highest, it would be six metres off the ground and would be held up by columns at intervals to span the road corridors. The amount of foot and bike traffic that would use the air bridge will be investigated in the next stage of the project, which the council is hoping will be funded with state or federal government grants.
Cr McCaffery said people also often felt they were taking their lives in their hands because they had to ride close to cars. Motorists either could not see them or had no respect for cyclists, she said.
“You cannot ask people to ride bicycles unless governments provide safer bicycle routes … we need to separate the bikes from the cars,” she said.
According to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, the number of cyclists killed on the roads rose sharply in 2007 to 44 - a 30 per cent increase on the previous year.
Extensive and safe bike paths were central to boosting the number of people who commuted to work by bike, according to the organisers of the annual event Ride to Work. They estimate 90,000 cyclists took to the roads around Australia on October 17.
The number of people riding to work is rising every year but Australia still lags behind Europe, where, in many cities, at least 10 per cent of all commuting is done by bicycle, say the organisers.
Cr McCaffery hopes to discuss the proposal early in the new year with the state Minister for Roads, Eric Roozendaal, and the federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Local Government, Anthony Albanese.
- - - - - -
Now we know who to lobby….
For maps, see the Lane Cove Tunnel Trail Page
12 July, 2008 @ 6:05 pm | Comments (0)
RESPONDENTS:
Male: 93%
Female: 7%
AGE:
15 – 25: 13%
25 – 35: 45%
35 – 45: 25%
45 – 55: 17%
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN USING TRAILFLIX?
0 to 6 mths: 34%
6 to 12 mths: 31%
12+ mths: 35%
HOW OFTEN DO YOU CHECK OUT THE SITE?
Daily to Weekly: 66%
Monthly to as-needed: 34%
FAV COLUMNS?
Trail of the Month: 59%
TrailTalk: 45%
MTB News: 41%
Blog: 20%
Women on Wheels: 10%
(Note: more than one selection. Result = 100+%)
TOP 5 FEATURES (RATED GREAT OR USEFUL)?
Detailed Trail Info: 100%
Trail Reviews: 100%
Trail Description: 96%
User Comments: 85%
Locality Maps: 80%
Full Movies: 75%
OTHER SITES READ?
Farkin.net 50%
Thefathippy 38%
Local Club site: 28%
David Noble: 24%
HOW MANY TIMES DO YOU RIDE OFF-ROAD?
Weekly / I sleep with my bike: 70%
Less than monthly: 10%
DO YOU RIDE CYCLEWAYS?
Nope / Hardly Ever: 45%
Yep. Weekly to Monthly: 55%
ARE YOU A SECRET ROADIE?
Hell no: 17%
Yep. Daily or Weekly: 40%
WHAT BIKE MAGS DO YOU READ?
AMB: 65%
MBA: 45%
a UK Mag: 23%
a US Mag: 15%
STUFF YOU WANNA SEE?
More GPS (…Coming: multiple GPS files & a loader)
Trail / Social Rides Forums (…Coming soon)
Upload Own Photos (…Can do this already via Flickr)
Bike Store Finder (…Will think of an easy way to database this)
More outside Sydney Trails (…That’s the plan, over time)
More women’s info (…Need to recruit a female column writer again!)
More accurate Directions (Oops…OK)
More comps (Coming soon)
Movies in other than QT & m4v (Flash versions coming soon)
GET RID OF IT
City to Trail Directions (OK!)
History (OK!)
Thanks again guys. Great feedback!
NOW…CAN YOU HELP WITH?…
- Writing an occasional Trail Description / Review?
- Trail Videos?
- Writing an occasional column?
- As a Forum Manager (when this launches)?
If so, drop me a line at grant@trailflix.com.au
WINNER OF THE $250 Bike Shop Voucher:
nrudder@yahoo.com
Winners of the Seasons DVD:
conford@adsl.on.net
rachysita@hotmail.com
mat78@telstra.com
7 July, 2008 @ 10:38 am | Comments (0)
I get a few MTB magazines through the mail each month and usually read them cover-to-cover. I sometimes save an issue for future reference, but more often than not they’re recycled to the lunch room at work, and until now they’ve been well-received. But recently when I’ve replaced the old ones, I find they’re not as dog-eared as they used to be, and think I may have worked out why.
While there are some great photos and articles across the magazines, they sometimes go from ‘MTB-experience’ to ‘MTB-engineering’.
For example, Mountain Biking Action recently published an article, ‘Encyclopaedia of Suspension’ which, across 20-or-so pages, gave definitions of over 110 suspension terms, quite a few of which I’d never even heard of:
APB, Angular-contact bearing, Anti-dive, Asymmetrical, Chain growth, chatterbumps, eye-to-eye length, Instant Centre, Lateral rigidity, Sliders, Stiction…
This read like an extract of an engineering dictionary!
The magazine did a good job to research and define the words, but I have to wonder where this is all heading. Some of the hyperbole can be blamed on bike manufacturers making up terms to showcase their latest ‘hardly-different-from-the-last-fad’ gizmo, but my point is we’re putting out new technology and standards like we’re competing in the IT industry and maybe the sport is becoming way too complicated for newbies and even current chainheads like myself. Compare the world’s favourite sport – soccer - to MTB. How many new innovations are there in that sport each year, and how many players? Get my drift?
My fear was confirmed when, just a month later, an article on Suspension Basics in MTB Action, stated, “ Suspension settings are a black art to most of us, so when it comes to experimenting with damping dials and spring rates, we are happy to find a setup that works and leave well-enough alone. The predominant fear is (should we venture into the unknown and twist the damping clickers with abandon) that we will mess up our bike’s handling and never be able to find our way back.”
The great thing about biking when you’re a kid is it’s pretty easy to get on a bike and just go (just like soccer, with a few more scrapes when you start out). On the other hand, an adult weekend warrior deciding to get more serious about MTB seems to firstly be presented with a technology barrier. I was recently in a bike shop in the city, and overheard a conversation between the salesman and a new MTB bike buyer. The ales guy was doing his best to dumb things down while the newbie was standing there nodding and saying, “Aha… OK… Yep”, even though I as the observer realised it stopped making sense to them 5 minutes ago.
My fears are further confirmed when I talk about MTB to non-bikers. Apparently it’s considered an Extreme Sport.
For example, at work the guys have no problem in asking me to play golf, but when I suggest they come MTB they looked at me like I’m asking them to try abseiling or bungy jumping! “Ah, no. I’m not fit enough for THAT”, or, “No thanks. I want to have children.”
So the image of MTB bikers to the outside public is that we’re high-tech, jargon-spouting, rich, extreme-sports junkies… and I guess a few of us are. But it’s not the majority. Most guys I meet or ride with are your regular guys out to have some fun and get fit at the same time. And for the sport to take off, I’m suggesting we might need to make it easy for more of them to join in.
Looking at how complex it all seems to outsiders, maybe that’s why we get so few women entering the sport and I think that’s a bad thing because more women would broaden our base, bringing in their other halves & kids.
On the positive side, I suspect eventually technology will probably overcome itself as a barrier. Remember when your parents couldn’t work the video recorder timer? More sophisticated bike gadgetry will in future probably hide the tech make it a whole lot easier. In the meantime though, I hope we don’t lose all those potential riders to one of the other scores of sports options out there, or worse, Wii MTB…
In the end, maybe my old MTB mag recycling isn’t as inspiring as I’d hoped and perhaps I should leave it to the girls in the office to drop off their old Cosmos instead… not much tech there. Maybe even more scary though….
Grant S.
25 June, 2008 @ 11:31 pm | Comments (0)
When Grant & James told me that they were racing in the BMC series at Appin recently, I figured I’d head out and get some photos for the website, take a few minutes video of them prepping, maybe some pre-race footage and finish off the days filming with several minutes of the race for a quickie 2-minute Vodcast-blast. I didn’t figure on staying more than an hour or so.
Somehow, though, I ended up getting really into the day; meeting one of the organisers, taking photos and walking almost the entire course…while generally having a great time. Over 4 hours, 80 photos and 75 minutes of filming later I felt like I’d truly been part of the event.
The race was due to start at 8am so by the time I arrived around 7 over half the competitors had already turned up. It was a crisp 8 degrees when I rocked up to see a few frosty diehards who’d camped overnight, transition from bed to bike.
I scoured the tents for the boys, but there were too many people moving about.
Grant spotted me first: he was there with a bunch of guys from Phantom Cycles in Tahmoor. For one of the mechs, it was his first off road ride! And here he was, preparing to get up close and personal with 450+ other competitors on a challenging track with more than a couple of techy sections. I hoped he was fast or had a thick skin and a sense of humour.
After dumping my bike (which I rode for less than 3 minutes from further along the car park) I heard Grant and the guys deep in discussion on their race strategy…
Now, who was going to go first, again….?”
“Uh…?”
And that was about it for the serious race tactics. These guys were mainly interested in just getting out there and riding. But I noted later though they were keen on keeping track of theirs and others ride times. I guess we’re all competitors at heart.
I wandered off to see if I could spot James, who I found tucked into a micro-sized space between the trees along the course itself. He was planning to do the whole 8-hour course solo. With no support. He was pretty set, though. Had everything laid out and was ready to go when I caught up with him. And he was reasonably confident too (and for good reason: he did well).
After wishing him the best and filming a couple of background shots of the guys in line, the pre-race briefing started. 5 minutes later the 150+ or so guys who were to ride first, were walking their bikes off to the start, the bantering matching the build-up of nervous energy.
Cramming 150 adrenaline-charged guys and their bikes into a dirt laneway is an art. Or maybe it’s just luck. I don’t know if it’s the camaraderie or the laid back Aussie-character, but there was no aggro, even where people subtly pushed their way up front. All seemed to know their place. Seemingly OK to stand and wait.
But when the gun went, all bets were off and it seemed like every man for himself.
I and the other observers wandered back to the marshalling area only to find the bikers at a virtual standstill through the initial singletrack section. I was able to move beyond them and get a few shots in but nothing exciting happened for at least the next 10 minutes. Then, for some reason, I followed the last two riders, who were struggling to come to grips with the rocky, rooty singletrack. I wondered how they were going to cope with the rest of the trail, which, while I hadn’t ridden it, had been described as technical in places. And this wasn’t one of those places. OK, at least they weren’t near the front, blocking the way, I thought. Pretty soon though, they found their bike legs and were off, down the hill more competently than I’d seen. Maybe under the eyes of everyone at the start they’d lost a bit of confidence or something. Anyway, they were now underway.
While I was watching them go, a couple of riders shot past me and passed the slower guys on the downhill. Must have been late to arrive.
After I wandered down the first hill, I crossed the Georges River tributary and introduced myself to two people waiting for the next wave of bikes. One was Gareth McKean the Treasurer of the Wollongong MTB Club. He and one of the other committee member’s partner were standing on a rocky outcrop above the stream, preparing to direct riders to the best course. Nice guy & a good interview, which I got on film and will put behind the pictures.
I stayed to see most of the second circuit riders come through and got some good shots on film and then wandered up the valley.
If you’ve never walked a course during a race, it’s a different perspective from either riding or waiting around the changeover area. You almost become your own ‘ESPN’ crew, stopping at the best vantage points, seeing how different riders handle the same jumps and engaging with riders who must wonder, “WTF is this guy out here for?” Or the often-vocalized,” Lost your bike, buddy?”
Actually, quite a few competitors sparked conversation on some of the uphill sections during the day. While most riders are too focussed on riding and others are just too tired, a few really do seem to want to talk, and for 5 of them it was apparently their first race and for 2, like the Phantom Cycles dude, they were riding MTB for the first time. Now, that’s game, I thought. I hoped they didn’t come to regret it.
One guy threw off the comment on a tricky uphill between puffs, “I have no idea…” – huff, “…why anyone thinks,” puff, “…this is fun…”…wheeze. He was a fairly stocky guy and doing it tough. I quickly went over the CPR procedure in my head, just in case. But he took off at the crest of the hill and I never noticed him again, so maybe he was a one-rounder. Good on him for giving it a go. Suggest more prep next time.
The front-runners made sure they let people know they were coming and people did their bit and pulled over where they could. The rest were a mix of newbies and the more experienced; mostly guys; mostly early twenties to late 30’s I’d guess with a few over-50’s and a couple of kids. MTB is kind of like that.
And that’s how it was for the next 3 hours. Walked next to (or on) the track; found a good spot, angled the cam and waited for the riders. After the next round, it was almost a continuous stream with a few seconds or few minutes between riders. I think I only got in the way once and pissed one other guy off when I followed him up the hill with the cam in hand. As a filmmaker, I’m balancing the need to get some action in the shots with the off-putting nature of a camera pointed at someone’s rear-end. I tried walking backwards while filming a couple of times but I found the riders whipped past me too fast plus I was pretty sure I’d fall over eventually & drop the cam.
Caught up with James once – had a conversation; with Grant once and with a few other photographers and a couple of marshals and all the conversations broke up my filming hike. About halfway through I got hungry. Not for food - I can go all morning without sustenance if I’m busy – but for a ride. Some of the trail was awesome and I’m going back out early one morning and just do a few rounds. It’s as good as any XC track in Sydney.
Pretty soon I found myself walking out the back end of the course to the finishing line and as it was near midday, I was actually starting to get hungry. For food this time. Didn’t bring $$ with me so had to pass by the food stalls and just drool. I decided not to stay watching the rest of the race though. I had too much to do at home anyway.
Saw Grant & the team on the way out. They were well into the day and the race tactics by now, sharing info, checking up on the progress of other riders and swapping stories about stacks (a few) and broken arms (one by that time). Further along the car park, a few other riders had done their time: “I’ve had it, mate!” Somehow it was beer o’clock somewhere and they’d thought; “so why not celebrate that?” The true spirit of many an MTB rider.
A good day and some great footage. I chucked together a couple of minutes (as I’d originally intended) into a short but immediately realised I wanted to do a 10-15 minute feature. So I called the short a trailer and decided I’ll start work on the full version soon. Well, after the other 3 or 4 on my list, anyway.
Should be a good one.
Grant S.
14 June, 2008 @ 4:59 pm | Comments (1)
Jason from Toongabbie dropped me a mail several weeks ago to tell about a route he’s been riding between Toongabbie & North Rocks for ages, so I headed out recently to check it out.
And what a route! It’s really a combination of several segments between various reserves. And, as Jason tells it, he’s rarely seen other people along the trails and never once seen another MTB’er. The trail starts off on grassland and, while there’s no distinct trail line, you just follow the Toongabbie Creek bush-line all the way to Old Windsor Road and under Johnston’s Bridge.
From there it’s more grass, as you pass by the Baulkham Hills Power Station and can see a few horses in a paddock off to the side. Interesting is that it’s part of what’s known as the Old Convict Trail and various parts of the reserves are set up to project native fauna (like the Backhousia, or Grey Myrtle tree) that are increasingly difficult to find anywhere else in Sydney. These apparently support small native birds and I can confirm there were fantails all the way along the route (one pictured in the review photo). What I really enjoyed though, both on the way out and even more so back ,was the trail along the river bank in the next section – Third Settlement Reserve - which is in effect scrubby bushland but with great flowing riding and ending in an open area with a couple of BMX jumps, none challenging.
From then it’s up the hill, across the bridge and down the other side to a well-maintained (even has logs alongside the trail) reserve, tended by the local Bush Care. I saw them working on the Saturday that I rode the trail and they didn’t seem fazed that a cyclist was there (and no signs prohibiting cycles) and in fact I got a couple of waves. From Jason’s observations, some of these areas get very little use…
Up the other side and past a couple of barking dogs and then across the road (one of 4 you cross along the route) and into bush again (Moxams Reserve); even more dense and slight more challenging up and downhill.
Then it’s uphill onto the historically named ‘Model Farms Road’, then along Windsor Road and down Ventura Road with a screaming off-road downhill after the end of the street. From there the trail follows Darling Mills Creek and you can go either left or right, but I headed left under the M2 then under Renown Road (both look very high from down at rivers edge) but stopped soon after when it became more hike than bike. Great area though. Saw a few cross-country runners in this part.
Along the way there’s plenty of wildlife, including some bright orange toadstools, looking healthy in the foggy air of an autumn morning.
And there’s enough good singletrack to keep any XC biker satisfied. The feel of the place is a little like Lane Cove may have been 25 or 30 years ago.
Well recommended. The plan is to film it – eventually. Check out the Toongabbie trail page via the Northern Suburbs map
5 June, 2008 @ 9:46 pm | Comments (0)
I spent a weekend on the South Coast recently when some rellies finished off their renovations on a bach in Kiama. Top spot too, near Kendalls Beach. Since I rarely get the chance to get down past Wollongong, I decided to take a morning to head down to the famed Penrose State Forest, where they run the (World-Famous-in-Australia) Highland Fling. Magazines and guys I ride with have described the Fling weekend as a memorable one and the trails as ‘bloody challenging’.
A few weeks beforehand I’d gone online and ordered the map of the ‘Mountain Bike Trails of the Southern Highlands’. This 2007-issue map is a steal at just $12 from the Wild Horizons group (organisers of the Fling). It’s at 1:25000 scale and includes the villages of Bundanoon, Penrose and Wingello and all the forest parks, and trails, plus the route of the Highland Fling MTB race itself. Essential if you’re trying out a few trails in the area. Buy it online at http://www.wildhorizons.com.au/gear/mapgear.html
I drove down Friday night and after a late BBQ and a few beers, flung the sleeping bag on the couch and got my gear ready for an early start the next day. By 5:30am - well over the snoring from the rest of the noisy crew - I was on the road, heading towards Bundanoon, hoping to sample at least one of the trails… I’d said the night before I’d be back for brunch, but in the end, I wished I’d made plans to stay the whole day.
The drive from Kiama is about 75 km and there was very little traffic about at that time of the morning. By the time I got down there the sun was up (this was just prior to the end of Daylight Savings) and it was a crisp 10 degrees (and when I got out of the car I realised I’d forgotten my gloves so it felt effing colder).
Since some of the Highland Fling trails in Penrose State Forest cross over private land (the map highlights these clearly) I decided to try Wingello State Forest, where they’ve created a series of dedicated firetrails with route pegs along the way. What I didn’t know was that this particular weekend they were holding the ‘Bundanoon Highland Gathering’ – an annual event celebrating all things Scottish! (Well, with that name and the Highland Fling MTB, I guess it wouldn’t be all things Brazilian!).
So, as I drove through at 6:30am, the town of Bundanoon was chock full of cars (they apparently had 6,000 visitors to this festival the year before), lined up for the early events like caber-tossing…but I hadn’t brought my caber so MTB it had to be…
The aforementioned map is fairly easy to follow and I passed through Penrose and then Wingello (where on the way back I bought some of the local shortbread, eating most of the pack - making up for the lack of any food since the previous evening).
The route from Wingello to the trailhead was a little ambiguous, but I eventually found the camping area which is trailhead for the 3 main pegged trails. As I drove up, there was an open fire in the campground under the very tall trees (fire in a forest?…yep!) blazing away while the Mobile Mechanic guy n seemed to be enjoying his morning coffee…
I threw the helmet cam on and the digital camera in the backpack and, gloveless and cooler than I’d hoped, took off along the 19Km ‘Yellow Trail’ (there are 3) with its promise of fast rocky descents and some steep climbs. The ‘Blue Track’ (6.5Km, flat and easy) is for youngsters and newbies while the ‘Red Trail’ (25K and hilly) is mostly singletrack.
As I said, the plan was to return by 11-ish so figured I had just enough time to ride & video the Yellow firetrail. It turned out to be noon only because I had to keep stopping for photos and to play with the helmet cam, which was also complaining about the cold and not co-operating …
If you like firetrail, this ones pretty good. And as this is a living Forest, the trails pass through stands of trees in various states of growth – from tilled soil to tall, dense forest. The description was accurate - some fast and lengthy rocky downhills – all the way to the valley floor, or over some creek, and then long steep ascents to get back up. Quite a few sections of forest are straight line through two near-identical stands of tall trees and others wind along, up and around the hills. I stopped to take a few shots and catch my breath on one seemingly endless ascent, but spent a lot more time fiddling with the helmet cam…
The trail base varies from red clay, to red leafy, to red rocky: it’s real Aussie–(or is that Martian?) coloured ‘RED’.
The trail itself finally exits the state forest and comes out of the trees on Vinicombes Road, at the southern end of the forest. The way back is then across open farm country along near-deserted dirt roads. Apart from the odd stand of bush along the way, it’s not that interesting until you come back into the forest again at Burnt Pine Road. Good exercise though. By the time I crunched that first bit of shortbread, I was famished.
The next trip will be out to Penrose State Forest itself, or to try the Wingello ‘Red Trail’ Singletrack; this time with fellow riders, more time, more singletrack on the agenda, and - definitely - gloves…
Check out the Advanced Selector or click on ‘Outside Sydney’ on the Home page to find the trail page for Mingello and get maps, directions and other stuff. Well worth a day down south.
Grant S
28 May, 2008 @ 10:21 pm | Comments (0)
Guest blog from Grant Byrne:
Today saw me entering my first mountain bike race in a long, long time. It was an event that went for 8 hours with the idea being to complete as many 10km laps as possible in that time. Wollongong Mountain Bike Club had set up the venue with volunteers around the course, mainly on the hard parts where people might crash.
I was part of the four man Phantom Cycles team and until this morning we weren’t sure how serious we were going to take it. We all showed up at about 6:15am, while it was still dark and extremely cold. Bert and Jaye had already set up an area for the rest of us to sit around and leave our gear at.
Grant from Trailflix turned up to take some photos for the website but also bought all of his filming gear and decided that he might as well film the event while he was there. He interviewed Jaye first and then interviewed me just before the briefing started.
The four of us in the team; Bert, Adam, Jaye and myself chatted for a bit and then went to registration and got our first surprise.
I’m not a member of any mountain bike club and none of the other guys are either so we had to pay $15 for a day license. It was just something we hadn’t thought about. Once that was done we sat around for a bit longer until the rider briefing started. That was a bit of a waste of time because I didn’t hear much coming from the PA system, but took out of it that as long as we rode the complete course and were courteous to other riders when passing or being passed then we should be all right.
Surprise number two was that rumours about the fastest and most fun section of singletrack being removed turned out to be true! Apparently it was decided late that with 475 entrants that section would be too dangerous, especially with the big roll over and bridge to contend with. Fortunately the firetrail that had been used as the substitute route was pretty fast and a little technical. The overall course layout had changed a fair bit from what I knew and had shown the guys last weekend.
Jaye went off first because the first lap tends to be the slowest with all of the traffic still spreading out around the course. This was a good chance for him to check out the track as he hadn’t ridden it before and was riding a hardtail on what the rest of us thought was a rough track. He came back after about 45 minutes and Adam then set off and came back in about 43 minutes, confirming that the course was fairly different to what I had shown them last weekend.
It was then my turn and we’d decided to go hard out or the first lap. Traffic was still pretty congested around the course and I hit some slower riders straight after entering the singletrack. I managed to pass one of them going down the firetrail to the creek crossing but didn’t catch the second one until we were both in the creek. He stopped in front of me and I had to stop in the creek.
I overtook going up the hill and then darted back onto singletrack for the first major climb. Traffic was again bad here and a few riders slowed me down, not because the hill was steep, but because they just couldn’t get around some of the corners without stopping! This became a frequent occurrence around most of the upper singletrack sections.
Hitting firetrail again I made up some places and then joined up to the next bit of singletrack where I was again slowed down. This eventually opened up onto the new firetrail section and I was able to pass a lot of riders who stopped before drops that I was able to ride straight off. Another creek crossing followed this section and it was pretty deep. I went left and rode up some pretty sketchy stuff to find myself at the bottom of the second big climb and not looking forward to it!
I rode up the climb without getting passed by too many people and then hit the descent where I was able to make up lost places again until I got to a fun drop that obviously challenged a few riders. I normally just charge straight off the drop, although there is a route to the left and right of it. I was following another rider at a good pace when she decided the drop looked a bit hard and locked the brakes up in front of me. I quickly decided to go right and cut off the bloke behind me! Luckily everything worked out okay and I took off, not to be caught again until the next creek crossing and the inclines that followed. As soon as the course levelled out again I gained speed and when it started to decline passed a few riders on the way back to the transition area to finish with a time of 41 minutes.
Bert took off and rode a double (2 laps) before changing, riding his first lap in 38 minutes and his second in 39 minutes.
While the other guys are out riding the rest of us sat around and talked or rode the bikes around. I caught up with a few people I’ve ridden with before and eventually Grant came back after running the whole course with all of his camera gear and filming the event!
Second time out everyone was a bit slower except for Bert and myself. I rode the same time even though I felt quicker and didn’t have any traffic problems this time around. I did mess up the second creek crossing though, but not enough that it cost me much time. It was significantly deeper second time around, being about axle deep. Bert rode a lighter bike (he brought two to the race) and rode a 37-minute lap.
We could have gone out for a third lap each but the idea of being caught out on these pretty rough track in the dark having to fix a mechanical put us off and we left at about 4pm, half an hour before the even concluded.
When we left our team was in 6th position in our category and I was about 13th fastest in that category. I was pretty pleased with this because I was riding the Nomad, which is damn heavy for this type of event. Next time I’ll either be on Michelle’s bike or taking the wheels from hers to put on the Nomad and lose 1kg of rotating mass! 1.3kg UST Minions are not the most cross-country friendly tyres!
All in all it was a good day. Injury tally from what we heard was one broken arm, one broken wrist and someone cutting themselves up pretty bad and being taken away by ambulance.
The fastest lap time of the day was 29 minutes, that being the first lap punched out by Charlton Durie.