
To say we’ve been excited for the arrival of Shimano GRX is a massive understatement. For those that have not come across it yet, GRX is Shimano’s new groupset designed for adventure road and gravel bikes.
Fancy doing a 1000km unsupported bikepacking route through some of Australia’s most rugged and beautiful high country? Click through and download the “Beginners guide to the Hunt 1000” PDF that Huw put together, which shared his experience of preparing for, and riding the 2017 Hunt 1000 event in the hope of inspiring more people to take the plunge and give it a go in 2018.
Cyclo touring is nothing new. Super awesome touring bikes are also nothing new, just ask the french…the original bike packers. The wide range of options one has available to go bicycle camping is growing all the time. At Commuter we’ve always taken notice of smaller companies who are making the best stuff to go bike touring with. Monē bikes has us so stoked on his new frames, and here’s why.
Our Slide Night #6 is showcasing two amazing bikepacking trips a couple of friends of the workshop have just completed. New recruit Pepper Cook jaunted off on a one month adventure around Peru while Damo and his partner Libby journeyed their way through Slovenia for a week while en route to Scotland. Join us for a double headed night of adventure tales and inspiration!
Save the date, we’ve planned the Melbourne edition of the international Swift Campout. If you’re interested in trying camping by bike this is the perfect opportunity to give it a shot. You can expect a 30km ride, mostly on bike paths, to a Parks Vic campsite with a campfire. All you need is a bike, a tent, camping gear and warm clothes.
Our friend and talented wordsmith Pepper Cook has dropped a few musings about our latest installment of Commuter campout: Single Track. Whiskey. Leaping Frogs. Prairie Breakers. Large bearded men and one lady in flannos riding bikes adorned with front baskets, complete with decorative foliage. These are just a few items to be found in the wild on any given Commuter Cycles Campout. said decorative foliage, it was an accident…really! I was one of the lucky attendees to the three day Commuter Campout 2.0 a couple of weekends ago and I’m here to tell you about the rowdy time we had. This particular campout was arranged and planned meticulously by the legendary Will Hartnett of Commuter Cycles. Will used to be a tour guide so he’s pretty knowledgeable when it comes to route planning and whiskey rationing. He also has a good grip on bike mechanics which happened to come…
I first went riding with Gareth a few years ago, it was a three day ride out to Woods Point and back with a group of friends. Gareth had been into road bikes for a few years but this was his first ‘off road’ ride, I’ll never forget the guy in the Bont carbon road shoes sliding down a very steep fire trail to camp one evening with a look of terror on his face, I think he was hooked! Fast forward to 2016 and Gareth is a serious contender in the world’s hardest MTB race, the Tour Divide.
We have been stocking Apidura bikepacking products for quite a while now. So we thought it was time for a run down of whats on offer in their ever increasing range. The Apidura kit has been getting a good work out from all the staff here. It has held up to quite a bit of abuse and we have been very impressed with the quality.
We’re running a guided overnight trip on the long weekend in March. The campout will just be for Saturday and Sunday (12th & 13th) so you’ll have Monday to get ready for the week ahead. The ride is specifically designed to give first-timers a taste of cycle touring.
Please join us on Wednesday 30th September for Commuter Cycles second Slide Night. This installment will feature two speakers who recently returned from independent ‘light touring’ trips to Northern Europe.