Anthony Horton (@spacelizard@aus.social)

Prompted by the kid's need for a new bike for riding to high school and my plan to resume cycle commuting in September I have, for the first time in years, dived back into the frustrating experience of trying to buy cycling equipment in Australia. If anything it's gotten worse. Both manufacturers and retailers treat Australia like the arse end of the world, with a limited selection of products, narrowly focussed on road cycling and mountain biking, and even more limited stock. If you want more transportation/commuting/"urban" style cycling gear your options will be even more limited. The situation is not helped by Australia's insistence on enforcing its own standards, and not accepting similar European certifications. Current annoyance: almost none of the commuter/ebike helmets from European brands can be bought here because the vendors haven't bothered getting them certified to Australian standards, only EU and US ones.