Bikes sold since 2024: Sholto Alpine GT, and Cannondale CAAD-X. They were both great bikes for many years, that I loved riding. But with the new gravel bike, and an impending down-sizing of my house, I’ve been culling the herd, so to speak. I am back down to six bikes!
New bikes since 2024: Merida Silex 700 gravel bike, and Kalhoff commuter e-bike.
Road bike. Frezoni made by Joe Cosgrove, a framebuilder who lives about 2 km from me in Brisbane Australia. Joe’s primarily known for doing the paintwork on Llewellyn bikes. He built the frame for me in 2004, for my 40th birthday. Seeing that I just turned 62, I’ve had this bike for 22 years. My requirement at the time was we designed the bike to accommodate wider tyres than was popular at the time. Back then a road bike mostly had 700x23 tyres. This bike takes up to 700x30, mostly as a result of designing for “long reach” caliper brakes. And as road tyres have got wider, I now run 30s … Grand Bois Cypres, which you can get from Kumo.
Gravel bike. Merida Silex 700. I was very fortunate to get a wholesale price on Merida through Bicycle Queensland’s links with Pedal Group, the importers of Merida. My thoughts on carbon bikes vs aluminium bikes are expressed elsewhere on this site, but suffice to say this 12-speed GRX 800 mechanical, aluminium-framed gravel-eater is serving me very well indeed. Since I got it for a great price, I did not have the slightest hesitation in splurging on Rene Herse tyres for this new machine. 700x44 Snoqualmie Pass are ‘road’ tyres, but as I have also said before, wide slick tyres are my favourites for bitumen and smooth gravel duties. If the road gets gnarly I am on the wrong bike, I should brought the Carve. One odd quirk about the Merida Silex is that the sizing is super stretched out. Mine is a ‘Small’, which is the first time in my cycling history that my bike has not been a ‘Medium’.
**Bikepacking bike. **Based on a 2011 Specialized Carve aluminium frame. Currently has a Trifox carbon fork. Fantastic device for long steady days on a rail trail or a back road through the bush. The carbon fork with its extra carrying capacity on the forks, and the Jack’s Rack upfront for the Buffalo Bag (it’s a Big Buffalo, size small, ha) work super well. Also love the Vittoria Mezcal tyres in 29 x 2.1. The Carve was the machine of choice for my most recent big adventure, the Munda Biddi Trail in Western Australia in September/October 2024.
Mountain bike. 2016 Kona Precept. 27.5 wheels, dual suspension. Cos singletrack is the best fun. I hunted around for ages when I wanted to buy a “new” mountain bike. Geometry for mountain bikes has changed so much, and these days really focusses on the downhill experience. For that purpose, the dropper post is an integral part of what makes the geo effective, cos when you are descending you’re off the saddle but still in the middle of the bike. This bike is a few years old, and slightly out of date geometry wise. Which probably makes it perfect for me. It goes great on the trails I ride in SEQ.
Folding bike. Brompton. Cos every home needs a Brompton. Not every day, but when you have a Brompton, it makes the suburban train network so much more useful! Any destination within 5km of a train station is now somewhere I can get to under my own steam. I just love being the custodian of a Brompton, thanks to my family friend Kate.
Commuter e-bike. This is a Kalkhoff Image LB Advance, which I am showing off with my friend Sam, from Electric Bikes Brisbane. The model name is horrendous, but the bike is very pleasant and chilled to ride. I run it with just a single pannier at the back to hold my clothes and/or lunch, and put my small essentials bag in the front basket. It has bulletproof Marathon tyres, a 7-speed Shimano internal geared rear hub, and a belt drive. All of which means that the sole maintenance required in daily use is pumping the tyres up every couple of weeks. Built-in lights and quality mudguards make this a commuter for all times and all seasons.