I came across the AdVANture ST YouTube channel while looking for inspiration on bike travel and vintage bikes, and that’s where I discovered Tim. His way of sharing bikepacking adventures, blending a love for ’90s MTBs with the thrill of exploration, immediately caught my attention. Through his videos, Tim proves that you don’t need an expensive bike to experience incredible adventures, just an old frame, some creativity, and a strong desire to ride. Today, we get to know him better and learn what drives him to hit the road and share his stories with the world.
Tim, thank you for joining us! Let’s start simple: can you introduce yourself? Tell us a bit about where you’re from and how your passion for cycling began.
I live in Sydney Australia, I grew up in the southern suburbs and our home backed onto the bush. I’ve always had bikes, I spent a lot of time building jumps and riding them. I’m 40 now so growing up there were no mobile phones, I spent a lot of time riding between friends’ homes. As I got older I started riding dirt bikes more, but at the age of 25 I decided to buy a mountain bike. From there I got into XC cycling, then bought a DH bike and did a lot of downhill riding. Eventually I found a love for bikepacking and I’ve been riding a heap ever since.
Your story with Sarah and AdVANture ST is truly inspiring. How did this shared journey of van life and cycling adventures start? What brought the two of you together in this lifestyle?
Sarah and I have wanted to travel the country by van for years. I love cameras and thought it would be fun to create AdVANture ST to document our travels. The Van in AdVANture is pretty obvious, but the ST maybe not. We call it “Advanture street”, the S stands for Sarah and the T for Tim.
Truth is, Sarah doesn’t really have a passion for cycling, that’s my thing. The AdVANture st socials kind of turned into a cycling page, about a month after creating it, Sarah decided she wanted to be a nurse and started studying. She was always busy with that so I went on countless bikepacking trips. Sarah does love to get out on adventures so when the busy life of a nurse lets her, we try to get out and explore as much as we can.
Your passion for bikepacking with old-school MTB frames is something that really resonates with Kole. We also believe that older bikes can bring a unique charm and reliability to modern adventures. What drew you to 90s mountain bikes, and why do you think they still have so much to offer today?
My love for 90’s bikes started when I got into bikepacking. At the time I had an expensive XC bike and a Downhill bike. I wanted to get something to bikepack on. After doing some research, I read that old chromoly bikes, specifically the Shogun Trail Breaker, were a great bike to start on. I started searching facebook marketplace and I found a bike with no decals, it had a badge on the front though that resonated with me. It looked familiar. I went and had a look at it and sure enough, that badge was a Raleigh badge. As a teenager I bought a tiny 12” Raleigh Bella which I used to hit jumps. I had a lot of fun on it and was stoked to be back on a Raleigh. After riding the Raleigh on some incredible adventures, I was hooked on 90’s bikes. With a few upgrades, like a modern groupset, these bikes ride amazing. The way I look at it, you can setup a 90’s bike for a few hundred dollars and have equal fun as someone that has dropped $10k on a bike. It’s perfect.
There’s something poetic about breathing new life into older bikes. Do you have a specific build that’s especially meaningful to you? Can you tell us the story behind it?
I sort of touched on the story in the question above, but there is more to it. I had a small Raleigh Bella as a teenager and had a lot of fun on it. The badge on the front brought me to my first bikepacking bike which was great, but it turns out it was a little too big. It was a Raleigh M-Trax 1000. I then randomly found another Raleigh on Marketplace for $50 which I’ve fixed up. It’s a Raleigh Kalahari Limited Edition. I can’t find much info on it and I’m not entirely sure what it is that I love about it, but I’m pretty sure it’s my favourite. Dad taught me how to silver solder on that frame, we worked together to modify the forks. I have some good memories with Dad playing with that bike and I’ve also had some of my favourite bikepacking trips riding that bike. I just love it. It also has a lugged frame which is cool.
"Stop overthinking the gear. Just grab a bike, hit the road, and have fun!"
Modernizing vintage MTB frames is a growing trend. What’s your philosophy when it comes to combining old-school aesthetics with modern components? Are there any challenges you’ve faced?
There’s an old saying, “they don’t make them like they used to”. This isn’t totally accurate when it comes to bikes because design and technology has come a long way. But when we talk about frames, there are some beautiful old frames that are just as good as the modern bikes. With some fresh parts, you can get the old bikes running like a dream. The biggest challenge I’ve found is around wheels. A lot of old bikes use the cup and cone bearing design and most wheels I find haven’t had any love and it’s hard to get a smooth roll. Then there are the old 7 speed hubs. I’ve had to look around and buy some wheels with an 8 speed hub so I can install modern groupsets. I’ve been running a 10 speed cassette and it’s great. One other issue I’ve come across is just the headset size. Depending on the frame, you’ll have limited fork options. The original forks are fine but if you want some new forks with bottle bosses etc, you will most likely need a frame with a 1 ⅛ headset. Apart from that, I’ve found it really easy putting new parts on old bikes.
Van life and bikepacking both require a minimalist mindset. How do you balance the need for essential gear while keeping your setup lightweight and functional?
Have you seen my videos? I take way too much crap haha. It’s generally camera gear though so it kind of doesn’t count.
It’s easy to get into the trap of thinking you need more than you actually do. I’ve done countless bikepacking trips now and I still often pack things I think I’ll need but don’t use. Saying this, I love getting into tricky situations, it could be bad weather or just a route that’s too tough, I find these hard situations always result in the best memories. I’d prefer to carry an extra jumper and extra meal just in case we get stuck. There is nothing worse than being cold or running out of food in the middle of nowhere. I’d say keeping your cooking gear simple really helps and riding in the same clothes for days on end helps too.
What would you say to someone hesitant to try bikepacking with a vintage frame?
You’re an idiot haha. (jokes)
I’ve actually been trying to organise mates to do a clunker bikepacking trip with me and we all have to ride old bikes. I can guarantee it will be a fun trip.
Realistically though, it depends on the person. I’ve got a bit of a mechanical background and have added things like bottle bosses to frames and forks for cages which makes a big difference when carrying gear on trips. It can be hard to mount things to vintage frames and it’s hard to recommend riding old bikes if you don’t have the capabilities of modifying the bikes. Saying this, I’ve got a cheap front rack and basket on my old Mongoose at the moment. I think every bikepacking trip I did in 2024 on that bike was with a basket and it’s worked well and is still on it. You can mount this type of rack to any old bike with no mods. just give it a go.
You and Sarah often document your adventures beautifully. How important is storytelling in your journey? What’s the message you hope to share with your audience?
I really just love playing with cameras and have found myself wanting to learn how to tell better stories. It’s not natural to me but it’s fun trying. I’ve also found that wanting to play with the camera has forced me out on more trips. The bikes and cameras have really worked together well. I’m loving it, even if no one watched my videos, I wouldn’t care. I just love playing. I hope the message my videos are sharing is to just get out there, don’t worry about the gear. you can acquire that over time, go and have fun!
I also like to share what a route is like to ride. Often the biggest hurdle for going on a trip is the unknown. If I can show a short route, close to home, I think it inspires people to give it a try. Well I hope so anyway.
Is there a specific destination or adventure that stands out as a turning point for you and Sarah, one that redefined how you view the world or your relationship with cycling?
This answer is more about me and cycling. But I think Covid-19 and Sarah studying really gave me the opportunity to fall back in love with riding. Now all I want to do is pedal everywhere. Sarah has travelled a lot in her younger years and seen lots of beautiful places. These days, after fighting Leukaemia when she was 24 and again at 26, she has some on-going health issues that restrict her ability for high output exercise. So, much to her disappointment, the odd pedal is about as much riding as she does. She’s a trooper though and pushes herself to her limits when we do get out there. We have been doing alot of overnight hikes and again this all stems back to me buying all the gear during covid and her studying. Covid wasn’t great but I think it’s turned our life direction for the better.
