Cycle touring questions
Cycle touring questions
Well Shaun, on LEJOG I took 2 inner tubes, bought Continental Grand Prix 4000 S 700 x 23c tyres which have this Gatorskin thing that prevents punctures. Have you ever used the puncture resistant inner tubes called Slime? How do these liners hold up to glass?
I had 2 punctures on the trip, both due to glass. Of course, we had a pump and patch kit as well, allen keys, chain tool, multitool, lights and florescent clothing for night/bad weather situations.
Ok I agree with thte hub gears, never used them and see how they would be a nightmare to fix!
I would be looking for a bike with 28inch wheels - more rubber - but will probs not bother with front suspension. My current bike is a Kona Blast mountain bike which has an amazing frame and brakes but the bearings and drivetrain is not great and the rear mech and front deraileur are a bit cheap and crap. The front suspension was nice to have on LEJOG but it’s another thing to go wrong. A road bike would be too highly geared and not rigid enough for the job of course.
Handlebars - well it looks like these butterfly handlebars are good as Mark Beaumont uses them. The more hand positions the better.
As for the pannier rack I was keen on the OMM Cold Springs for the rear and OMM Cold Springs for the front, expensive but they go into the wheel axles. On LEJOG my pannier snapped where it bolted onto the frame which took a bit of repairing!
Good point about the temperatures and the repair glue!
I will get clip ons with a comfortable shoe that I can use off the bike, not looking for anything overly rigid!
As for light, I will be going January (summer if I’m going to South America) and will probs use LED light which have a 300+ hr life. Not planning on night rides and will have a headtorch for camping.
I took bunjee chords and used them to hold a big dry bag with all my clothes and sleeping bag in it which worked a treat.
My main points for this are what specialist tools do i need? A spoke key of course, allan keys, chain tool, bearing spanner… what about tools to replace a bottom bracket? Or remove the cranks to replace chain rings or remove the rear cassette? Should I take a bottom braket with me? as well as a spare chain ring? wheel bearings?
Also what about the chain? I noticed that old chains stretch and when replaced the new chain skips on the old cassette where the old chain did not. Maybe keep two chains and swap them every 500 miles?
Let me know your thoughts!
Stu :)
http://www.warmshowers.org/user
this website is a belter, its like couchsurfing for cycle touring.Ive joined it recently so this is my profile. Try checking it out, the forums are good too.
I haven’t tried slime inner tubes, but they are self sealing. I think something which prevents a puncture would be better than something that fixes a puncture. The liners are very effective, just make sure that they don’t move out of position when inflating the tyre. There is a lot of glass and thorns around Liverpool, was getting a puncture per week, and since fitting liners have never had a single one.
I wouldn’t bother taking a bottom bracket tool, or a spare bottom bracket. Chances are you wouldn’t need it and it’s just extra weight to carry. Same for the chain, cassette and chain rings. They don’t wear that quickly, will be a few thousand miles until performance starts to suffer. I think you would be better off looking for a bicycle shop near where you are after a few thousand miles and pay them to replace the worn parts all at once.
If I’m doing europe I may not bother with a chain, but will defo everywhere else, yeah the whole lot often does need replacing at the same time but I’m a bit screwed if the shop does not have the components/does not exist! I’ll look at the books and forums for advice on this, one forum did suggest a bottom bracket, chain rings, etc.
what about tents? what is a good one man tent?
Had a look at some Cube bikes… there German so they must be reliable??
I saw two of them fully kitted in Aberdeen just the other day and they looked pretty good! Price seems good as well. Anyone heard of them/have any opinions on them?
