Before joining Off Course almost 11 years ago, I spent a great deal of time guiding people on adventures all over Australia. It’s a passion that still burns bright, and with a bit of time up my sleeve this year I felt it’s time to direct some focus back into that passion. I would like […]
It’s an uncharacteristically stormy day here in Melbourne, and what do we do when the conditions aren’t optimal for riding bikes? We plan rides! Tomorrow, friends, the sun will shine and we will have routes at the ready! We’ve already hit you with the blog post on what to bring on your first overnighter, now […]
Join us for a slide night as David McCourt recounts the story of taking “the long way home” by bike and shares his amazing experience with us.Here’s a little insight into his adventure and what he has in store for us. Words & Images: David McCourt In June 2022 I left my front door in […]
Words & Photos by Tom and Sophie. A little over three years ago, Sophie and I decided that we would take an extended breakfrom work and finally put our long-dreamt travel plans to action. We got lucky with a spot in hotequarantine in New Zealand, Sophie’s home and the only country we could get to […]
Here at Off Course Bike Shop, we’ve always had a special soft spot for Salsa Cycles. They’ve been one of the mainstays of our range since before I can remember, and members of our team have ridden them in all kinds of amazing places. If there’s one thing that jumps out to me about Salsa, […]
2024 marked the 9th edition of Will’s brainchild, the Dirty ‘Rat, and in our humble opinion, this was the best one yet! This year we experimented with a new format, offering a fully catered experience with Will’s Ford Laser popping up for snack stops along the way. Read on for more! On Day 1, riders […]
It’s super exciting to see the Pelago Stavangers finally in the store.These are a great all-rounder, all-road, drop bar “ATB”, similar in many ways to bikes like the Surly Midnight Special or the Wilde Rambler, but also very much their own unique design.The Stavanger is super good value as a complete bike with GRX 11 […]
Cool Stuff Happening Inside Hubs! September 11th, 6pm. Tickets: FREE!(please book so we can monitor numbers) We’re hosting an info night in-store to cover all your burning questions around both internally geared Rohloff Hubs and Dynamo Hub lighting and charging systems. We’ll be discussing why Dynamo hubs/lights are awesome for everyday cycling and why Rohloff […]
**Event Currently at capacity**Please email [email protected] to join the waitlist should there be any cancellations. Come and join us for our inclusive and supported fun-filled 3 day ride in Gariwerd. This three day route has been created from many years of experience riding backroads into the National Park from Ararat, thus THE DIRTY (Ara)RAT was […]
If you haven’t been in the market for a new bike in a while and you’re starting to do some research, you may have noticed a pretty sweeping change across the industry: where a decade or so ago, bikes often had two or even three chainrings at the front, many bikes are now sporting just […]
Melbourne’s annual “Melburn Roobaix” event, held by FYXO eagerly cobbled its way through town last week on its 2024 installment. This year, Surly Bikes and Off Course Bike Shop were event sponsors and we had a joint checkpoint mid-way along the route at our shop in Brunswick.Riders passed from Leslie St through to the shop […]
For everyone reading who isn’t deep in Australian cycling culture, Gemini World Randonneurs are the quintessential Great Australian Touring Bike; which means, much like the four wheeled Holden (Opel) Commodore and Ford Falcon, their DNA isn’t particularly unique OR Australian but, they’re what we had at the time and they were pretty nice, so we […]
Well, if the truth be told, we’ve been going Off Course since the day we started! When we opened in 2008 as a one person workshop, I had a very narrow idea of the people and bikes we wanted to serve. Commuter Cycles summed it up perfectly, and our logo design based on the bike […]
Off Course is excited to be teaming up with Surly Bikes to celebrate the 2024 Melburn Roobaix. Never ridden a ‘Roobaix? You’re missing out! While the route won’t be released until the morning of the event, Melburn Roobaix has built a reputation over two decades for it’s big ‘rolling party’ vibes taking in the best […]
The 90’s were a wild time, punk rock was beginning to fuse with techno, fashion choices were often loud, and many of the bike colour schemes at the time bore a similar resemblance. Mountain bikes were a pretty new thing, the R&D department for most companies were the team riders, technology was developing in leaps […]
Hey Everyone, we all had a nice little break over the new year with us getting in some family time, R&R and a few bike rides. We were straight back into it early January with the traditional freshly painted workshop floor greeting us on day one. There’s lots of exciting things on the go for […]
Nobody likes a bragger, but when it comes to staff Christmas parties, we like to think we do it best. This year was a gem, as all the staff headed out to Forrest on Saturday afternoon for a weekend of trails, campfires and canned pyrotechnics (you’ll see what I’m talking about, don’t worry!). Will’s past […]
Time to celebrate another rotation around the sun, here at Commuter Cycles! As always, this means (for those of us who celebrate Christmas and gift-giving) the head-scratching task of selecting presents for our friends, family, coworkers, or maybe just unlucky bystanders. To help ease the burden, we’ve put together the Commuter Cycles 2023 top gift choices! […]
It’s a rare treat that we get to welcome a whole new brand into the store. We’ve just landed our first delivery of Wilde bikes out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Wilde Bikes is the most recent project from Jeff Frane of All-City Cycles fame. Jeff has an incredible talent for designing bikes which perform great, are […]
Keen to plan your own routes? Read on for some ideas and resources to get you started. Kia Binch and I (Pete) did a presentation in March 2023 on this very topic, we’ll do our best to cover everything we spoke about on the night. Make a cuppa and settle in!
Frazer is part way around the world on a bike tour having ridden from his homeland of Scotland back to Melbourne where we helped build his bike a bit over 18 months ago.
Here at Commuter, we have a longstanding love affair with kLite. An Australian owned and made brand, they manufacture top-of-the-range dynamo lighting solutions for adventure cycling.
We’ve been doing custom builds on Velo Orange frames almost as long as we’ve been open – their classic aesthetic with modern touches has always been appealing to us. Sharing both old world charm with all the modern convenience of thru axles and disc brakes makes for a really functional and beautiful bicycle.
We first got to know Cjell Monē from his trickle of blog posts outlining some his bike tours including 3 Tour Divide runs, 2 AZT rides, trips through India, Thailand, Nepal, NZ and our beautiful homeland of Australia to name a few. At a point along the way he began making his own bikes for his adventures in the back of a 1977 Toyota Camper. Some time has passed, his Toyota camper has grown into a larger bread delivery truck and his production has expanded to include 3 stock models being made in Taiwan.
It’s hard to believe the little bicycle workshop on Prentice street has grow into the business it is today, supporting bicycle adventurers all over the world! To celebrate we’ll be having a bloc party!
Here at Commuter Cycles, we love adventure! Some of our happiest interactions are those where we are helping customers to get kitted out for their first multi-day trips. We have prepared a handy pack list for your first overnighter. Feel free to use this as a base, and customise to it as you wish. It’s your ride!
We’ll be heading out to camp on the banks of Birrarung on July 8th so get your warm sleeping bags out and get ready for a cozy night around the fire.
Going on holiday or moving and taking your bike with you? Want to learn how to box your bike?
This one hour demonstration session with cover how to safely pack your bike into a box for transport.
This winter we are going to run a series of skills sessions in house. Places are limited, book yours today!
The inaugural Fools Gold 420 bikepacking event departed from Maryborough at 8am on Saturday 22nd April. Almost 30 participants started, and approximately half completed the 420km event through Central Victoria in times ranging from 27 hours to 4 days.
Calling all easy-riders and aspiring bikepackers. We’ll be heading out into the Brisbane Range for an easy overnighter on March 25th/26th
Tell us about yourself in a few words.I like riding bikes, eating nice food, and patting all the dogs that come into the shop Where did you grow up?Brunswick What do you do at Off Course?I send out the weborders from our online shop, chat to people on the phone, and generally buzz around the […]
Where did you grow up?Boorloo (Perth), Whadjuk Nyoongar country, Western Australia What do you do at Commuter?My job is called “front of house mechanic” so I do a lot of answering technical questions, picking up extra workshop jobs, specing custom builds or whatever else needs doing. I’m not allowed to do the Cheaper Buy Miles […]
Where did you grow up?Jindabyne, Snowy Mountains, Ngarigo Country What do you do at Commuter?I’m a mechanic. I service bikes, build wheels, build custom bikes, and enjoy the detailed approach to custom builds! What did you do for work before Commuter Cycles?Before working at Commuter Cycles I was a fine furniture maker and a wood […]
Tell us about yourself in a few words.I’m a middle-aged white guy who spent the first 7 years of their working life being a suit. After falling back in love with bikes in my late 20s, I decided to start a bike-shop (without ever having worked in one!). 15 years later, I also have a […]
Tell us about yourself in a few words.I like bikes and riding them. I enjoy spending time in nature and am fond of art, design and architecture. Where did you grow up?St Kilda and Elwood in Melbourne What do you do at Commuter?You’ll find me answering phones and emails, speccing custom builds, stock wrangling, attempting […]