And you seek advice on the internet?

Seriously, if anyone understands this it's me. Aussie is a small enough gene pool to start with, let alone something that doesn't fit the popular understand of "cycling". Sorry, I don't wear lycra, none of my bikes are are made out of plastic or recycled coke cans and I regard usefullness as more important than fashion or wot the interexpertzsez.

The first important skill is knowing who to ask for advice
The second is to know who to listen to.
The most important is to understand what's bulldust and what's good advice. Typically, the more technical the advice sounds, the less accurate it is to pushies, geared or otherwise, really are simple beasts.