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This year brought about the return of the Handmade Bicycle Show Australia and we had our mate Andy White from FYXO on the ground documenting some of Australia’s finest handmade bikes. Part 01 of our coverage showcases the opening night of the 2022 Handmade Bicycle Show Australia so check out Andy’s wonderful photos below!
Editing the photos from my visit to Baum Cycles this February, an eerie feeling came over me. I knew it’d been some time since I last took photos with the ‘big camera’ at 7 Seabright St, North Shore. For some reason, it felt like a precise period of time. My suspicion was confirmed. 10 years.
We all know that a bicycle can do a lot – grocery runs, pick your kids up from school, group rides, casual commuting – and now we have the bicycle as a support vehicle. In 2019 Katie Visco ran across Australia (her second transcontinental run) with her husband Henley Phillips as support crew pedaling a Surly Troll+Ted trailer. Their route followed the rough Outback tracks from Darwin through the Tanami Desert, into Alice Springs, through South Australia on the infamous Oodnadatta Track, finally ending in Adelaide 4 months later. The two filmed the journey entirely on smartphones and cut together a short documentary with the help of Yellow Tent Nomads.
Presented by: Bedrock Sandals.
This is dedicated to Flinders Island local, passionate cyclist and an inspiration for this story. Guy Ireland suffered a terrible accident this week that has placed him in hospital with severe spinal injuries. Get well soon Mate.
Continued from Monday’s Reportage is our second and final gallery from the 2021 Handmade Bicycle Show Australia, featuring a culled selection from the talented Andy White, who provided a great introduction to the show at Part 01 so be sure to check in on that one. Without further adieu, enjoy Part 02 in the gallery!
In the lead up to the Handmade Bicycle Show Australia (more on that later), I dropped by 412 – the collective home of bicycle excellence in Fairfield, to chat with Steve (Velocraft) about the logistics of getting my bike to the show. Even though the paint was close to 2 years old, Steve was enamored enough with it for a host of reasons that it was his choice to represent his work.
There’s custom and then there’s deep custom. Protipo Works is based in Australia and they manufacture small hardware pieces to fully lace out your bike in subtle ways. Take these Ultra Low Profile bidon cage bolts which are ultra low, slim and discreet, made from 316 stainless steel. These new bolts tout some improvements over their previous versions, which include diamond burnished heads and a super strong cold forged-rolled thread. They run $14.95 AUD for a set of bolts and are open for pre-order now with a delivery date slated for the next few weeks. See more at Prototipo Works.
‘Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride’ is one of those famous quotes by John F. Kennedy, famous perhaps for the wisdom that it carries, more than for the person who said it.
All those who have recreationally ridden a bicycle should know that Kennedy was right. However, the ex-president didn’t realize (and possibly neither many of us) that something that may be compared to and even surpasses that addictive pleasure is to combine pleasures.
A bicycle is a freedom machine that allows us to carry out different activities while simultaneously enjoying the bike itself. It is up to each one of us to choose those activities that generate the greatest pleasure. For example, in my case, a good bike packing trip combined with a fly fishing session does it for me. What in this world could compare to this pleasure overdose? A new adventure was being cooked.
We’ve been following the Instagram account Bikepacking Sucks since he posted his first review. While the content ain’t for everyone, I think we can all agree that it’s the content we deserve. In his latest video review, he takes the Crust Bikes Scapegoat for a whirl.
Give Bikepacking Sucks a follow on Instagram for more weirdness from Down Under.
Oh and if you haven’t noticed, the Crust Bikes website is back online. Yay!
Shit on it, vomit on it, give birth to it… that’s what it’s like organising the Super Jambo Grom Pre 200. An informal 200km gravel event on Ngarigo land, Yaouk Valley, in my home country, Australia. An event that centres all the things we have learnt this year – but also to get loose and have some well-earned fun!
This year’s ENVE Builder Round-Up featured two builds that didn’t make it through US Customs in time for the complete unveiling. Last weekend we looked at that beautiful Isen, a colorful build on its own, and this weekend, we’re featuring this lovely Bastion, a brand known for its ultra-high-tech frame construction by using 3D printed titanium lugs and beautifully woven carbon tubes. All made in-house in Victoria, Australia. Yes, this Bastion flew a long way to Ogden, Utah for the ENVE Builder Round-Up, but as you can see, it was worth it! See the full details below in an interview video with Bastion and a complete gallery within…
2020 has certainly put the damper on group ride events like the Melburn Roobaix, which takes people around the city of Melbourne via a network of pavé roads, visiting local eateries, breweries, and other local sights. The name of the game is dress-up! Since numbers are on the rise again in Victoria, the Melburn Roobaix organizers have opted to throw the event as solo-exploration while still offering up a deal for $10:
-2020 Melburn Roobaix Ticket. We’ve put together a GREATEST HITS of PAVE sectors from every year for you to create your own unique ride with your mates – whenever it suits you.
-2020 Spoke card.
-HALO – Emergency bike light holder from Towards Zero.
-Each ticket is also an entry into the Monthly PRIZE RAFFLE.
-2020 riders will be guaranteed entry for the 2021 Melburn Roobaix if they register in the first week.
Support grassroots events and pick up a ticket at Melburn Roobaix. Check out this article from the Age and our coverage from the 2014 Melburn Roobaix.
Up since the break of dawn, all day we’d been rolling on washboard roads. Yet it was hard to complain. We’d just spent a few days hiking around Ikara/Flinders Ranges National Park and it felt good to be headin’ north again. As the sun dropped toward the horizon I stopped for a bit of a feed. Dan rolled up beside me and we began to look for somewhere to camp. It was dead flat aside from the occasional patch of scrub. You could’ve pitched in anywhere but for some reason, it still felt good to choose a spot. It was then, with bikes stationary and no wind to speak of, that we were struck by the immense silence of our surroundings. This was our first proper encounter with the vastness of the Australian desert. The endless horizon. We had made it to the edge of the outback, and thousands of kilometers of dusty track lay in wait.
Specialized’s new Down Under Collection looks to the fauna Down Under, specifically the Australian Budgie. As 500 million animals have been affected by the massive bushfires, Specialized is donating $100,000 USD to WIRES, the Australian Wildlife Rescue Organization. You can now buy product from the Down Under Collection, to show your support or if you’d prefer to donate yourself, do so at WIRES’ emergency fund.
The Kosciuszko Alpine Classic is just a name I came up with for a ride I did with my two good mates, Ben and James. We had organised a week off work in late October to go and spend some time in the Australian Alps. The route would see us riding primarily through the Kosciuszko National Park, taking in the wild brumby infested Long Plain, then going up and over the highest rideable trail in Australia, and also along some of the newest and flowiest single track built in the region. It was going to be classic!
The fires in Australia have decimated this ecologically diverse country and with them, 500 million animals have perished. A few more brands are working to raise money to help support the relief aid.
– Kumo Cycles and Simon Riviere have teamed up on these great Purist bottles. You can pre-order these at Kumo Cycles. If he sells 50, he’ll be able to set up a water station behind his house.
–FYXO is selling their calenders with 100% of the proceeds going to the Red Cross Bushfire Relief.
-Want to win a Crust frame? Head over to @wireswildliferescue, @redcrossau or any other Australian fire relief, donate $25usd or more, screenshot your donation and email it to Crust at info@crustbikes.com with fire relief in the subject line. Crust will draw a name out of a hat this coming Friday. Free shipping worldwide.
These days it’s hard to figure out where to send money and to whom when it comes to disaster relief. Australia is burning. Bad. The fires are in Jorja’s – aka Jambi Jambi – backyard and right now, she’s donating 100% of the proceeds from these Kook shirt sales to support the Rural Fire Service. If you’d like to read more, head to her Instagram and if you’d like to help out, check out the Kook Webshop.
I love a sunburnt hardtail.
Influences come from many a place. A flicker, chirp or whiff that conveys a feeling and experience. Singlespeed’s have influenced my riding since the turn of the millennium. I knew I’d be forever broke as a bike messenger if it involved maintaining a geared drivetrain year-round through London’s woefully wet winters.
