Comments on: Two Wheels to Freedom Part II: Gearing Up for a Bike Tour

By: siouxgeonz

siouxgeonz — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 20:44:46 +0000

How ’bout a follow-up on the manly way to drive your bike to work?

By: Jeff

Jeff — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 06:57:15 +0000

Many tours through Australia and America

1. Ortleib panniers all the way. I’ve used them many times and they last forever. They are absolutely worth the up front investment because you’ll have them forever.

2. If you’re going to be using gear all the time, get the good stuff. Don’t save money on cheap gear only to have to pay this as a noob tax. Buy the good stuff and you won’t ever have to replace it.

3. Weight off your front tires is good. A trailer might be a bit slower, but you get used to it and overall makes the riding experience more enjoyable throughout the day. If ideal, two panniers in back, something strapped across the top of the two back ones, and a handlebar bag (with a shoulder strap for carrying around at locations).

4. Everything should have a waterproof bag. Wet stuff = Unhappy cyclist!

5. People will love to stop and talk with you. Seriously, they’ll just be curious. Great way to meet people and the best way to see a place.

By: alex

alex — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 21:45:09 +0000

Thanks for the information. Scent Blazer trolling lures have water intakes at the front of the lure which connect into a range of detachable chambers. These chambers allow fishermen to load the lure with baits, fish attractants, weights, rattles, lights, electronics and much more. When the lure is trolled, water from its intakes passes over the bait inside the perforated chamber. The scent of the bait is passed out and dispersed directly behind the back of the lure. sport fishing

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 18:56:57 +0000

In 2007 I did the 7500km (4600 mile) trip from Tofino, BC to St. John’s, NL (or all the way across North America at the widest point, Canada). A couple of things I found in terms of gear:
1.) Aluminum frames are too stiff and don’t absorb the bumps & grinds of the road, leading to breaks. Steel is much more flexible. My aluminum road frame broke about halfway across, but the awesome folks at Trek found me a new frame and had it shipped to me on the Greyhound. Customer service win, right there.
2.) Sunscreen. Sunscreen. Sunscreen.
3.) I tried fenders… I pulled ‘em off and tossed ‘em before I was through the rockies. They just didn’t play well with the frame.
4.) Gold Bond Medicated Powder + expensive bike shorts. Trust me. Skip the soft seats, skip the goopy balm. Keep that area dry and in some quality chamois: you don’t want blisters. Do. Not. Want.
5.) Handlebar bags and front saddles don’t work well on some bike frames, they add more instability at higher speeds (eg 40-50 kph). When I switched to a trailer things got much nicer.
6.) Be careful not to bring too much. I was mailing things home regularly for the first couple of weeks. (“Seriously? I brought that? WTF?”)
7.) A mirror. Good god, get a good mirror and mount it on whatever side the traffic will be on. You need to beware of traffic, there are some douchebags out there that think it’s funny to try to kill you. (I’m not making this up, someone actually tried to kill me)
8.) A couple of spare spokes and a spoke wrench. If you blow a spoke in the middle of no-where, you’ll appreciate it.
9.) Clips not cages. When you need to get out in a hurry, cages can get tangly.
10.) Make sure your bike fits properly. Repetative stress injuries in the Achilles tendon are extremely painful when you’re trying to cross the rockies — likewise in the hamstrings it makes Northern Ontario even worse.

By: bob

bob — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 08:51:54 +0000

Briana, Thanks I’ll give it a try.

By: Briana

Briana — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:13:44 +0000

@Bob: There are a few things going on but the short answer of it is bike fit. Your bike is likely set up so that you are putting too much pressure on your hands while you ride. First thing to try is to move your saddle forward. Beware though because if you move it too far forward you will get lower back pain. Small adjustments here can make a huge difference.

It can also be very helpful to get handlebars that allow you to change hand position as you ride. A lot of touring cyclists use traditional drop bars. I use trekking bars (picture here http://www.rollglobal.com/2009/12/a-bit-about-the-bike/). Move your hands to different positions whenever you feel discomfort.

Finally, I never ride long distances without a good pair of cycling gloves. Be sure to go try them on before you get them, the padding on different gloves is always a little different, but they should pad across the the top of your palm under your fingers and by that little piece of flesh where your thumb connects to your hand.

On my recent tour (1,000 miles through eastern europe) there were days when my whole are would suddenly cramp up and give me some serious pain. Varying the position of my hands on the bars and having gloves on was the only thing that would help.

By: bob

bob — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 10:35:57 +0000

Maybe you can help me when i ride for even 3-4 miles my hands go numb. Any suggestions to alleviate this would be appreciated.

By: Kalidor

Kalidor — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 17:22:55 +0000

Someone already mentioned about the Hennessy Hammocks. Assuming you aren’t riding through the Gobi or somewhere completely devoid of trees, they are much lighter, can be a quicker setup, and are often more comfortable then a typical ground tent. Additional accessories available can make the hammock more comfortable at night, and make you more comfortable on the road later, such as the fly that doubles as a poncho or the fly auto-tension-er that collects rain water. I have seen pictures of bikers who’ve used their hammocks without a mounting surface other than their bikes and some steaks so I know it can be done. I’m just not sure of the comfort level.

Additionally, for off-road type bikes, specifically ones with springs/shocks on the front and back a few suggestions. The racks that mount to your seat post are next to useless, even lightly loaded in city travel. They swing around too easily and don’t really have anyway to support panniers so they aren’t catching in your tires. i haven’t tried them myself, but I’ve been thinking of buying front and rear racks from Oldmanmountain.com that are supposed to be amazing for suspension bikes.

By: Sean

Sean — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 11:47:53 +0000

@Phil Actually you can kind of tell by the road markers that it is new Zealand… if you knew what they looked like.

in general about spokes, i’ve never had “just a few” break. generally it seemed to be the whole lot of them.

you didn’t mention anything about Front racks or suspension, but my advice is get a front rack, and no fork suspension. also stay away from aluminum. Steel or a steel alloy are the best way to go.

Also, your bike should probably have leaver shifters, not the “clicky” ones. Too many small parts to break!

By: Jeff

Jeff — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 04:09:22 +0000

@Chris—

Dude, if you’re going to ride the entire MIssissippi River, you should consider packing a snorkel…