RIP Blogger

The Lazy Randonneur's time on blogger is coming to an end. This site will remain as long as blogger sees fit to keep it running, but the Lazy Randonneur will be living at this new location and running on WordPress from now on.

Please change your bookmarks.

Bow Cycle Bike Expo Saturday 29 Nov 08

click to enlarge

I'll be at the Bow Cycle Bike Expo this Saturday. If anyone in Calgary wants to meet up for a coffee in Bowness and check out the expo drop me a line. I'm planning on riding over around 11am.

Marathon Supreme Tires

Schwalbe Marathon XRs are my go to tire for touring and since I'm too lazy to change tires when I get back they are my default tire on my touring bikes at home as well. XRs have been good to me - zero flats and no tire related problems at all - great traction in the dirt and mud. Given how much I like XRs it seems almost silly to try a different tire, but my curiosity got the better of me and I picked up a set of Marathon Supreme tires to try out. These are a lighter faster rolling tire, but still designed with touring in mind. I'm hoping these will give me much of the toughness of the XR in a faster tire that would be ideal for a long paved road tour. They are almost slicks and would not be suitable for going off pavement for any distance or winter riding so I don't see them replacing the XRs entirely. I'd still use the XRs for expedition/dirt road/adventure touring and the Supremes for paved road tours.

Marathon XR 26 x 1.6" = 595g
Marathon Supreme 26 x 1.6" = 440g

Memories of the summer...

The snow is here...*sigh*...=-(

It's a Pug's Life...

Photo: Devo

Devo [of Asana Cycles fame] has a great thread going about his Surly Pugsely on the MTBR.com site. His musings on life, his Pugsely and everything are entertaining and informative. Well worth a read.

Radical Designs Lowracer Bags For Sale

The bags are sold!

I'm using a set of Radical Designs Lowracer bags on my Fujin SL. They work great and do not need a rear rack so any bent with a hardshell seat works. I ordered a second set of these bags by mistake [damn online shopping!]. I was keeping them thinking they are so darn useful that I might get around to needing a second set, but my bent fleet has shrunk so that doesn't look likely.

These bags are ideal for carrying enough for a credit card weekend tour or everything you'd need on a longer brevet.


The bags I am selling are brand new never used with the tags still on.

They are $125 + shipping new. I'll sell mine for $115USD shipped Canada/US.

I've been hesitating selling these bags, but I've been seduced back to the darkside of DFs

Radical Designs Recumbent Bags For Sale

Bags are sold...=-)

Top & Bottom Photo: Challenge Recumbents

I'm selling two Radical Designs Recumbent bags:

• Side Panniers - medium black
• waterproof liners for panniers above
  
• Seat Bag - medium black

These bags are both brand new and still have the tags on them. I bough them for use on my Challenge Taifun, but ended up selling that bent and so have no further use for these bags.

They are exceptionally well made and will fit on any bent with a rear rack and a hardshell seat. They have reflective material for safety and each will hold 2 water bottles so you can carry 4 water bottles with these bags all at easy reach for long days of touring.

The side panniers come with a set of waterproof liners to keep your gear 100% dry. Note the bag fabric is waterproof on its own, but the seams are not sealed so extended rain will seep in. You can use these liners to keep things dry or you can apply a seam sealer [like for a tent] to waterproof the bags.

These are the bags being sold.

Prices [in USD]:

• Panniers are $230 new + shipping - you can have mine for $170 shipped [North America]
• waterproof pannier liners $25 new + shipping - you can have mine for $15 shipped
  
• Seat Bag is $110 new + shipping - you can have mine for $90 shipped [North America]
• You can have both for $250 shipped & I'll throw in the waterproof pannier liners for free.
  

I have two other Radical Deigns bags [Lowracer panniers & Solo Racer bag] which fit on my Fujin and I enjoy using them very much. If I need recumbent bags in the future Radical Designs will be my first stop.

Ghost Trails

Jill of the Up in Alaska Blog has written a book about her cycling experiences/adventures. I haven't read it, but plan on buying a PDF copy [save those trees...=-)] in the near future. If you are looking for some cycling related reading her book is worth a look. Her blog is an enjoyable read so I expect the same from her book. If you need more motivation than simply getting some reading material you'll also be helping her fund her 2009 Idtarod adventure.

You can read her own blog post about the book by clicking on the image above.

Occassional Rubbing of Disc Brakes

Q: occasionally I'm experiencing rubbing with my Avid BB7s - how do I fix it?

If you read the Avid manual there is a procedure to align your caliper and rotor as well as to set your pads up at the right distance from the rotor.

Four things that can cause an occasional rubbing even though your brake is setup correctly are:

- a disc brake on the back of a fork is trying to force the wheel down and out of the front dropout when you brake. This force is resisted by the clamping friction of your QR and the lawyer lips on the ends of your drop out. If the QR isn't tight the axle can move slightly under braking and this will cause some rubbing that will go away on it's own when you hit a bump or reseat the QR. If you experience this occasional rubbing stop the bike and open/close the QR with some downward pressure on the bars. If the rubbing goes away this was your problem.

Sheldon Brown acknowledges this issue and points to this link for more details.

BTW - do not ride a bike with a front disc and no lawyer lips on the fork. If your QR is loose and you brake hard you could have a gnarly accident.

- Another problem is your disc rotor can be slightly bent causing occasional rubbing. This may go away after some braking if it is only slightly out of true. You can check this by doing the test above when the rubbing starts - if it doesn't go away lift the wheel up and rotate the wheel by hand if this is the problem it will happen at the same spot once per rotation. You can gently bend the rotor back into shape by hand [wear clean gloves so you don't contaminate the rotor with oil]. There is a specific rotor truing tool if you want to get a bit more precision in your adjustments.

- Another cause of occasional rubbing is dirt in your caliper. Clearances are fairly tight between the rotor and the pads. If you get some grit in there it can reduce the clearance so that the pads rub anywhere the rotor isn't totally true [no rotors are perfectly true]. This will take care of it self as the grit get cleaned out. You can check for this by inspecting the rotor/pads for dirt.

- The last cause of occasional disc brake rubbing is a flexy fork. It doesn't take much side to side movement of the fork to cause the rotor to rub. You can test for this by playing around with your bike - lean it from side to side, turn hard - if this causes the rubbing to start you'll know this is at least part of your problem.

Keep in mind you may be experiencing occasional rubbing due to one or all of the causes noted above. Assuming the rubbing is light and only occassional it isn't something I'd worry too much about. Just make sure your front QR is tight.

Frequently Answered Questions...

I find myself spending quite a bit of time answering the same questions on online forums again and again. I don't for a second consider that I am an expert of any kind. There are far more technically knowledgeable folks out there and people that ride farther, faster, better and more often. Having said that I do have an engineering degree and a practical approach to bikes that works fine for me. I'm pretty good at doing some research and distilling the information I read into the most salient points.

Rather than trying to continually type out similar answers I'll be posting my responses to this blog so that I can reuse them again and again. Sure that's partly because I'm lazy, but it has the advantage of making the information more widely available and I can spend time updating/improving responses as I gather new information or my experiences dictate a change in opinion.

You'll see a new set of links on the right of the screen called "FAQ" where I'll list my Frequently Answered Questions.

BTW - if you want to correct or enhance anything I post in the FAQ section feel free to comment and I'll make changes as appropriate.

Salsa got cranked as well...

Photo: Salsa Blog

I posted recently how negative posting on forums was getting me down a bit. Tom commented in that post that Salsa's Blog had to shut down their comments section due to all the negative posting.

You can read Salsa's explanation here.

Too bad it has to come to this. I really like blogs you can comment on as it provides a way to communicate with the blog owner and other readers. That is a much more satisfying experience than the one way communication of read only blogs. I hope Salsa sorts out their comment moderation issues and enables commenting again.

I've had a few comments I've had to delete, but nothing serious.

Penny Farthing World Tour

all photos: Joe Summerfield

Two things you don't expect to see in a bike tour journal:

1. a guy touring on a penny farthing in Tibet
2. the same rider getting a wisdom tooth pulled while camping without anesthetic

...hardcore!

CrazyGuyOnABike Touring Bike

Neil [owner of CGOAB] is working with Stephen of Bilenky Cycle Works to develop a 26" wheeled expedition touring bike. Neil's approach seems to be very purposeful and the end result looks promising - especially given the lack of 26" wheeled touring bikes for larger riders available in North America.

Neil has a thread going over at the CGOAB forums discussing the details of the new bike. If you have some ideas to share, are interested in buying this type of touring bike or just want to see how the process is coming along there is a lively dicussiion in progress.

I'm looking forward to seeing the result of Neil and Stephen's efforts...=-)

Sheldon Brown on Brakes for touring bikes...

David Cambon posted this Adventure Cycling article written by Sheldon Brown about the different brakes that touring cyclists may be considering.

There are a few points I'll add to what Sheldon says:

Cantilever/V-brakes:

• Cane Creek now makes a drop bar v-brake lever which is very nice.
• I've used the Dia Compe 287-V and it has worked nicely for me.
• I've not had any clearance issues with v-brakes fenders and 26 x 2.0" tires
• pads for these types of brakes are very common, especially if you don't use the cartridge style v-brake pads
• I'd recommend using a Koolstop salmon coloured pad for great performance wet and dry
• Although some folks are worried about rim wear unless you tour exclusively somewhere wet and gritty tourists are not having issues with worn out rims, David Cambon suggests a properly hand built wheel should last 30,000kms on a touring bike - YMMV.
  
• I've never had issues with rim brakes overheating. If you can use pulse braking, sit up to catch the wind and let your bike run or take a break to snap a photo while your rims cool. Interestingly disc brakes can overheat as well and although they don't blow a tire if your discs suddenly stopped working or applied full braking force without notice - you wouldn't be any happier than a blown tire.

Disc Brakes:

• You need a very strong stiff fork for a disc brake. This means you'll be giving upthe comfort of the classic curved steel touring fork that bike builders have been perfecting for a long time.
• My experience with disc brakes [Avid BB7s] on the Dempster Highway has made me question the performance of discs in wet/gritty conditions. My brakes worked, but they were certainly significantly impacted by the mud and rain I was riding through. true the caliper and disc are not near the hub, but enough crap splashed up into the hub area that braking force was reduced, pad wear was accelerated and I had to adjust the pads a lot to get clearance for the rotor as crud built up.
• Finding disc pads that fit your brake will not be as easy as v-brake pads so carry a couple extra pairs on tour. If you tour is long and you'll be traveling through less developed countries you have to ask yourself if you'll be able to get spares you need to keep your brakes working.
• I'd stick with mechanical discs on a touring bike for simplicity and ease of repair. With Avid BB7s if the front caliper fails you can quickly remove it and install the rear brake on the fork to get to the next town and get it replaced. If a cable brakes it is an easy field repair to replace it with minimal tools.
  
• One popular myth is that disc brakes don't overheat so they would be ideal for a heavily loaded touring bike in the mountains. Logically an engineer can surmise that disc brakes are not immune to over heating [the heat has to go somewhere and there is not much mass in a rotor or caliper to absorb it, some heat will be dissipated to the air, but there is a finite rate at which that can happen which you can exceed with heavy consistent braking] and the tests run by a German mountain bike magazine confirm this. When disc brakes do overheat the brake can stop working or can seize up - neither is a good thing on a touring bike in the mtns so you need to manage your heat load with discs as well. If you need further proof that discs can overheat just head to a tandem site and note that nobody will approve a disc brake as a third drag brake on a tandem [unlike drum brakes which work well in this role] - this is simply because they'll overheat and fail if sustained braking is attempted.
• Disc brakes apply a lot of force to a wheel in an asymmetric fashion which will eventually cause spoke failures.
• Disc rotors are delicate and can easily be damaged [flying, buses, taxis, trains] so you have to ask yourself do you want to be pulling the rotors when you need to transport your touring bike?
• I find modulation of Avid BB7s to be similar to a v-brake.
  
• A normal sized rotor [160mm] provides the same braking force as a good set of v-brakes. This is enough to skid a rear wheel or do an endo on an unladen bike. Keep in mind there is no more braking force to be had after this. If you were to add a large 203mm rotor to your bike in the hopes of even more braking power keep in mind under most conditions you'd simply reach the same point of skidding a wheel or doing and endo. If you were on a heavily loaded touring bike and happened to be on some sticky pavement you would be able to generate more braking force than a v-brake or standard disc, but keep in mind all that force has to be transmitted through your front wheel, fork and frame - it wouldn't be hard to damage your bike permanently if you got too aggressive under very high traction conditions.
• this is not to say you cannot or should not use disc brakes on a touring bike, but they are not a magic bullet and they come with trade offs, but if you mostly were a bike commuter in the PNW and wanted to use the same bike for touring discs would make sense. If you wanted to tour on a MTB with a suspension fork discs may be your only option with many forks. If your touring bike was also your winter commuter discs definitely make sense in the snow/ice.

At the moment I have one touring bike with v-brakes and one touring bike with Avid BB7s. Although I think v-brakes make more sense for a touring bike I continue to use a set of discs and will modify my opinion if my experiences and/or the touring journals I read demonstrate they are a better choice.

Alchemy Goods Urban Messenger Bag - 8 Month Review

You can read my initial impressions of the Alchemy Goods Messenger Bag here.

Alchemy Goods Urban Messenger Bag - manufacturer's info

I've been using this messenger bag for 8 months and thought I'd report how it has been performing. As I noted in my initial review this is my first messenger bag so I wasn't 100% sure how I'd like it compared to the backpacks I'm used to using. As it turns out this bag has become one of my favourites and sees a lot of action.

The two things it does very well are:

1. doesn't look as dorky as a backpack when I'm about town socializing.
2. is a very practical way to carry stuff you need to access a lot.

As much as I like this bag a backpack is a better way to carry heavy loads. A backpack is also a better way to carry stuff you don't need access to often. However, a backpack can be a real pain when you want to get at the stuff you are carrying frequently. This messenger bag swings around to the front and you can root around in it easily without taking it off.

Although I said a backpack is a better way to carry heavy loads I've been surprised by how much stuff this bag will swallow when needed. I've carried multiple bottles of wine, a suspension fork and two sets of fenders [strapped on outside] at the same time. It will hold a 17" laptop for those of you who need to haul your computer around. One thing I did add to this bag is a padded shoulder strap as it doesn't come with one and the bare strap isn't comfy if your carrying a decent load.

Still looking good after 8 months.

The bag has proven to be very durable as you can see from the photo above it looks like new. The design is well thought out and you'll appreciate all the small details when you use it such as the easy to pull zipper, reflective stripes and internal pockets.. I really like the fact it's waterproof and made domestically largely from reused materials [bicycle inner tubes, car seat belt, etc...]. It's big enough to be useful, but doesn't flop around when you it isn't filled.

The whole style thing may strike some folks as superficial, but I definitely appreciate gear that functions well on the bike and lets you transition to other aspects of your life without screaming "I'm a cyclists!" I've used this bag when taking my laptop to business meetings and when meeting friends for dinner at a nice restaurant. It blends in without attracting a lot of attention which I like. It's particularly good as a carry on bag when flying because you can get at the contents easily when you need to dig out your passport or grab your Ipod.

I'd happily recommend this bag to any one looking for a messenger bag - Alchemy you make a great product...=-)

Features:

• Wicked-durable strap made from a RECYCLED seatbelt strap
• 100% waterproof exterior constructed from RECYCLED inner tubes
• Waterproof zippered flap pocket for easy access to phone or MP3 player
• Multiple internal pockets for books, packages and other items
• T-strap stabilizes load while cycling
• High quality reflective tape for added safety
• Internal key clip for bike lock keys or house keys
• 13 x 8 x 11 inches (and expandable)
• Accommodates laptops with up to 17” screens
• Priced at $148

Selle Anatomica Saddle - Loaner

After trying many saddles over the years I was very happy with my Brooks Champion Flyer. So happy that touring with padded bike shorts is a thing of the past. I was quite surprised when I tried a Selle Anatomica Titanico saddle and found it even more comfortable. It's hard to quantify saddle comfort and of course everyone is different so your experiences may not agree with mine, but here goes:

• Brooks: no need for padded bike shorts, at the end of a long day of touring I can tell I've been riding a bike saddle, but there is no significant discomfort.

• Selle Anatomica: no need for padded bike shorts, at the end of a long day of touring I can't really tell I've been on a bike saddle at all.

The SA saddle I had stretched out too fast [which was a problem with a small batch that has since been corrected] and SA sent me a new saddle for free even though mine wasn't under warranty.

I still have my old SA saddle and it works fine. If anyone local wants to give the old saddle a try you are welcome to have it. You may only get a week or two of use out of it before it stretches too far to adjust, but at least you'll have a free trial to see if it works for you. The new saddles cost about $200 with shipping so it's nice to know your going to like it before you take the plunge.

Cranky

My injury has resulted in a lot of time spent surfing and chatting online about bikes. It's a nice distraction from being a prisoner in my apartment and provides lots of motivation to get back on the bike. However, I've noticed more objectionable behaviour recently on online forums than I can ever remember in the past. Folks launching personal attacks because they don't agree with your comments on a bike part, pointless flame wars, racist slang, etc... It boggles the mind that people can get so worked up and negative over bicycles.

Don't get me wrong I enjoy a spirited discussion, but the hallmark of a good debate is that the discussion stays focused on the facts and opinions of those involved. You can disagree with someone that doesn't share your point of view, but when you start passing judgment on them personally there is no possibility of a constructive dialogue.

One thing I decided on a long time ago was to use my real name on online forums. I always try and get "Vik" or some variation on it when possible. I usually provide links to my blogs at the bottom of posts I make. This means that I have to take ownership of what I say online. If I behave badly I can't hide from it the way I could with an anonymous user name. If you want to you can easily find my full name, photos of me, where I live and contact me - no stalkers please!..=-)

To be honest I've had my moments of childishness and gotten into a few pissing contests that in retrospect were pointless, but I don't think I've ever crossed the line to being disrespectful or hurtful to anyone online. As we seem to be moving towards more and more online interactions with each other [I can't remember the last time I went to the bank and spoke with a teller in person] I hope we can bring along the same social skills and consideration that we routinely use in our face to face interactions.

Himalaya by Bike

A few posts ago I mentioned a book about bike touring in Tibet and noted that I'd like to do some touring in India first as a warm up to the more challenging conditions in Tibet. Well Laura Stone's new book Himalaya by Bike tackles this very subject. I've read some good reviews of this book online and will be ordering up a copy in the near future.

Laura has a website that is out of date, but she has said in the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree Forum that she'll be updating it in the near future.

Lonely Planet Thorn Tree

I've known about the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree forum for quite a while, but have only recently taken the time to delve into it more throroughly. They have a cycle touring sub-forum which is really useful when you need up to date info on border crossings or cycling conditions in far flung parts of the world. If you are traveling or planning a trip this forum is well worth visiting.

I also just noticed that LP is selling individual chapters of their guides online in an electronic format. That's brilliant as I tend to travel very lightweight [10-15lbs in a day pack] when on foot and my LP guidebook was one of my heaviest single items. However, if you end up buying the whole book electronically one chapter at a time it will be much more expensive - hopefully they'll provide a whole guide as a PDF at better price. One step at a time I guess!

Bike Touring Tibet

I came across this book at MEC a few weeks ago and have enjoyed reading about bike touring in Tibet. I can't vouch for the accuracy of any of the information published in this book, but it seems quite comprehensive and is well written. Although I think tour journals like those at Crazy Guy on a Bike and travelers' forums like the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree are the best places to get up to date information on a touring destination, it's nice to have a hard copy book to read when you aren't near a computer - particularly while touring. Kym McConnell has gone the extra distance by setting up a website with a forum so you can get Tibet specific info updated constantly - that's smart. You get the book plus a website that provides updates...=-)

Tibet is one of those places that fires up my imagination and I'd love to do some exploring there on my bike. Based on reading Kym's book I'll probably get my feet wet riding in India and SE Asia first before I tackle the more challenging political environment in Tibet.

Lazy is MIA

Sorry for the lack of posts. I'm in a cast at the moment so no biking and very limited mobility. I don't want to blog about my foot simply because it gets enough air time in my day to day life the last thing I want to do is spend more time on it. I figured I better at least let you know why I'm not blogging much these days.

I've also been on the road for work the last little while and haven't had regular access to the net or a comfortable workstation. Getting around on crutches while traveling is even less fun than it sounds and quite tiring. For the first time in years I have watched a ton of TV. I don't have one at home, but being tired and unable to get around is a perfect combo when you have a TV close at hand in your hotel room.

I'll be home on Monday and I've got a backlog of items, in particular product reviews, that I should jump on since I've got a lot of time on my hands at home.

I should be back on the bike by the middle of November and I have some fun winter bike trips planned, but I don't want to jinx them so I won't post about future plans until my foot is all better.

Rohloff Geek

You know you are a bike geek when you pack a Rohloff User's Manual in your luggage for some light in flight reading...=-)

Bill's Thorn Comfort Bars

I had the pleasure of meeting up with Bill S [a Bike Forums member] on Friday and check out his lovely Thorn Nomad S&S. It's an impressive bike - very functional and much nicer looking than it appears on the Thorn website. I wish I had an opportunity to test ride it a bit more thoroughly, but that wasn't in the cards. My camera battery was dead so I wasn't able to snap any photos which is a shame.

This sort of encounter is why I love the internet. You get interested in an obscure product from the UK and a few search engines later you are looking at it, test riding it and chatting with someone who lives in your city and owns one.

Bill brought along a set of Thorn comfort bars he wasn't using for me to look at. I was interested in buying them and seeing how I found the shape/hand positions. To my surprise Bill very kindly gave them to me. Thanks Bill!...=-) I'm going to try them out on my winter MTB. They offer quite a bit of rise and more rearward sweep than typical MTB riser bars.

Here is what Thorn's PR spew says:

"The ultimate alloy riser bar for touring. Physio-designed geometry gives great confort levels. Expertly made of 1.8/3.0/1.8mm 2014 double butted Al Alloy. Generous 25.4mm dia centre section for bar bags, lights, computers etc followed by tight bends (to save space). Overall 620mm wide, 50mm rise, 190mm straight grip section each side, 40mm rearward sweep, 100mm straight section in centre, 25.4mm bar clamp. Weight 294g."

You can get them in quite a few different versions:

- alloy black
- alloy silver
- alloy silver [heavy duty version]
- carbon wrapped alloy
- carbon wrapped alloy [heavy duty version]

Strida

5.0 Specs

• 22 lbs (10 kg) 7000 series aluminium
  
• Disc Brakes
• Black, Skin Wall, Reflective Stripe
• Alloy Cold Forged SS
• Four Spider Cast Aluminum
• Welded AL Mount
• Internal Rear Hub Freewheel
• $800 USD

I've been having a weird fascination with the Strida folding bike recently. I know it looks goofy, but...okay there is no but - it does look goofy. I'm still intrigued. If it cost less than $400 I'd buy one just to see what I thought and loan out to friends. Luckily the $800 price tag makes a purchase highly unlikely - too many other bike goodies that I could make better use of once you get within striking distance of $1000.

Eric & Dylan's Lost Coast Trip

Eric and Dylan made it home safe and sound from their Alaskan Lost Coast Trip. They posted some reports and photos here. It's worth a moment to check out their adventure...=-)

Eric & Dan's Indian Bike Tour

Epic Eric and his partner Dan rode the same route as Al & Ulrike and then for good measure they rode back to the start! Click on either of the photos in this post to jump to more pictures from their trip.

Touring the Indian Himalaya

Photo: Al Downie

Ulrike Lange and Alastair Downie cycle toured in the Indian Himalayas - Leh to Manali via Tso Moriri, Aug/Sept 2008 and have some spectacular photos here as well as a Bike Forums thread here.

I haven't got a lot of details about their trip, but if I can find any I'll update this post and provide the link.

Epic Eric Rides Bolivia

Eric Parsons of Epic Designs took his Surly Karate Monkey to South America for a nice bike tour and had an article published about his adventure in Dirt Rag Magazine.

Some photos from Eric's trip in SA

More detailed info on Eric's trip posted at MTBR.COM.

Garage Antics

Photo: random forum post

Bike Ballet?

Mark's LHT Brevet Light Setup

Mark W writes:

"Vik, per your request, here are three shots of the front lighting on my LHT, that also show the dual stem set up.

Needless to say, I don't subscribe to the French pechant for handlebar bags and/or small front panniers--especially since the LHT doesn't have the appropriate front end geometry. For brevets I use one or two small ortlieb panniers--which don't affect bike handling at all, get the weight low, minimize aerodynamic drag etc. And for touring involving camping, I use a Nomad. So that allows the area between the drops to be used for lighting."




"This set up works better than I thought it might. The lights aren't in the way of anything, there are no restrictions on hand placement on the bars, plenty of light for road riding at up to about 30 mph, the lithium AA's last for over 100 hours, and while the light pattern on the cateye EL-530s is inadequate if you only use one, by using four the pattern is quite good, even in the corners--better than the Fly IQ powered by a Schmidt SON on one of my other bikes.

Rgrds,

M"

Tetsuro & Hiro's Excellent Adventure

I first met Tetsuro & Hiro [on the right with helmet] up in the Yukon on my way home from the Dempster Highway this summer. They were headed from Alaska down to Ushaia on a long bike tour. Their English was limited and my Japanese non-existent so we couldn't communicate much, but I did offer them a place to stay if they passed through Calgary. We exchanged one garbled email after that and I didn't hear from them again so I assumed we were not going to cross paths a second time.

To my surprise a few weeks later I ran into Hiro hanging out in an alley near my apartment. When I inquired about Tetsuro he was surprised himself as he thought his friend would already be at my place. A bunch of emailing, text messaging and mobile phone calling later we tracked Tetsuro down and steered him to my apartment.

Sadly Tetsuro would have to end his trip in Calgary as his father was gravely ill. I helped him arrange a flight back to Japan and the three of us spent a week hanging out waiting for Tetsuro's flight home. Our poor language skills were a bit of a trial, but we managed to figure out the basics. Eventually Tetsuro boarded a flight for Japan and later that day Hiro embarked on the next leg of his bike tour to South America.

You can see some photos from their visit here and here. Tetsuro's blog is here.

If you are a cycle tourist and need a place to stay or some support in/around the Calgary area drop me a line and I'll see what I can do to help you out.

I'm a bike slut...

Photo: On the Bright Side

I've sold two bikes this year and have another I'm thinking of parting with. You might think my fleet is shrinking rapidly and I'm headed for one-bike-nirvana. Not to worry I'm very good at recycling bike money back into new projects. I've got a new MTB frame hanging in my office slowly accumulating parts eagerly anticipating its fat tire debut. I have a second bike project in mind - actually about three of them, but I'm working my way towards deciding which one will become reality this winter.

Why so many bikes? Why not? Besides travel, bikes are the only thing I spend money on. I enjoy thinking about new bikes, getting the parts in, building the bikes and then riding them. Although I enjoy the process no matter the outcome I don't fall in love with all my bikes. That's partly due to the high caliber of the rigs in my fleet. There is some stiff competition when a bike gets voted off the island. The bikes that don't make it aren't bad rides - in fact their new owners usually fall head over heels for them, but in the bike-eat-bike world of my fleet they couldn't find their niche.

There are some bikes that never have to worry. I can't recall the last time I made any significant change to my Surly Long Haul Trucker. It's been years really and even after the initial build I've only tweaked a couple things. I was going to say the LHT is perfect and that's why I haven't changed anything, but that's not true. I can think of a more comfy saddle I could put on it and nicer fenders. I was contemplating some faster tires. So why don't I just get on with the upgrades? Well the LHT isn't perfect, but it's a darn nice ride. Everything on it has served me well. No matter what else is going on with my other bikes I know it's ready to saddle up and it can handle 90% of my cycling missions with aplomb. I appreciate how reliable it's been for me and I value that more than tweaking it to be perfect.

Goodbye Taifun

I took the Taifun to the UPS Store on Friday so it can start its journey to a new owner. Naturally I used the Surly Big Dummy to haul the bike box.

55cm Novara Randonee Touring Frame For Sale

Frame/fork have been sold!

Anna wants to sell her 55cm Novara Randonee touring frame/fork. This steel frame was bought new in 2006 and used for one season. I gave her a Surly LHT frame which she swapped all the parts over to. The Randonee frame has been in storage ever since. This is a great frame for a 700c touring bike and is quite attractive. With long chainstays and relaxed geometry there is lots of room for panniers and the stable handling inspires confidence. It's in excellent shape mechanically with some minor cosmetic blemishes as would be expected from a bike that has been on tour and seen some commuting action. This frame was ridden for one riding season covering about 1500kms.

She would like $150 for the frame/fork + $75 shipping [if shipping is less than this the difference will be refunded].

If you have some parts laying around this would make a wonderful inexpensive touring rig or a fine commuter bike.

Disc Brakes vs. Rim Brakes

Photo: Mountain Bike

The links below provide results of brake testing conducted by the German magazine Mountain Bike. They wanted to see how rim brakes and disc brakes compared when faced with the high temperatures of a simulated steep mountain descent. Of note most disc brakes did not perform as well as a rim brake with cloth rim tape and a standard tube. Although many of the disc brakes systems are out of date newer models are not built any more robustly and in fact many may actualy be less resistant to heat as lighter and lighter brakes are designed.

2000 Testing

2001 Testing [incl Avid BB7s]

This isn't to say disc brakes aren't a good idea for some applications [winter riding, muddy mtn biking, wet commuting], but they are not immune to overheating and failing on long descents. As such you need to manage the heat load you put into disc brakes just like you would a rim brake. Although disc brake failure won't result in a tire blow out in many cases the damage to the disc brake is permanent and the brake will no longer function - not great on long tour or miles from nowhere in the back country.

Expedition Touring Bikes

Photo: Thorn Raven Nomad S&S

PJC posted the message below on the Surly LHT & CC Group today. I agree with pretty much everything he said and thought it would be worthwhile to capture his comments in a blog post. I've included my reply below his comments which are particularly focused on my changing opinion of the suitability of a Rohloff hub for an adveture touring or expedition touring bike:

"Hey Gang,

There's been a lot of excitement over Salsa's new Fargo on the 29er
board on mtbr, and I count myself among the early enthusiasts. It
looks like a great bike and I can't wait to ride one. But I'm going to
submit that Surly's 26" wheeled LHT is a better adventure and
expedition bike.

Here's how I think about it. For me, an adventure bike needs to be
the following things:

- Versatile. I want to be comfortable pedaling for ten hours on
asphalt, gravel or dirt, day after day; I want to be able to mount
slicks and go on a training ride with the local road club when I'm far
from home; I want to be able to ride pretty demanding singletrack; I
want to be able to ride with panniers; at home, I want to a bike that
might be decent on grocery runs. In practice, a bike is probably
going to be good at a small number these things, but I want to be able
to do them all and have the bike be at least reasonably up to it.

- Easy to ride. The geometry needs to be such that it doesn't take
much vigilance from me to pilot. There are going to be times when I
am at 17,000 feet, bonked, cold, and in the dark. My bike can't be yet
another challenge. The thing is, I also want to be able to go fast on
flat paved roads, or twisty road descents. And I want the bike to
have good enough manners off-road. And when I'm in really dense urban
areas, I want to be able to see traffic and be maneuverable.

- Durable. Basically I don't want to even think about the fragility of
the bike. I'm not totally convinced that an aluminum frame is wrong
for adventure touring, but if there is even a slight chance that I'll
need someone to weld the thing while on the road, I don't want the
option excluded. More realistically, if the derailleur hanger or the
fork or whatever get bent, I want to just bend them back (within
reason).

- Not overly precious or prissy. The bike is going to get roped to
the roof of buses and the back of pack mules, clipped to a steel
basket for a gorge crossing, or tossed in the bucket of an empty dump
truck. I want to be able to shrug off the inevitable dents or nicks.
Some airlines still allow you to check the bike unboxed. When it's an
option, I want to be able to do that without caring that it might get
scratched.

- Not have cost me a lot. The bike could get lost or stolen, and I
don't want to be devastated. This is going to be relative, of course,
but, for me, certainly under US$2000, while under US$1500 would be
even better.

- Repairable on the road, all over the world. Stuff is going to
break, and I want to be able to substitute and improvise with what is
available to me locally until I can have specialized gear shipped.


Given this wish list, I have not found anything better than the LHT.
I've ridden it with panniers in Asia, Europe, Mexico, and, of course,
at home in the US. I've raced it in mountain bike races (not my first
or even second choice, but it happened) and on frozen lakes with
Hakkapelitas. It goes along pretty good with slicks when I'm in the
drops, I can mount 2.35 Nevegals on it for offroad, and on most tours
running Marathon cross 1.5's is good enough for anything resembling a
road or dirt path. On singletrack the bb is a little low for log hops,
but riding the tops makes a lot of stuff surprisingly doable (I have
top bar levers that you sometimes see on 'cross bikes, though I don't
run them on my actual 'cross bike). If someone said that I could keep
only one of my bikes, this one would be it.

Are there other bikes that could do these things? Yeah, probably. But
some popular choices fall short for me. Thorns are a fair bit more
expensive, and I have no interest in Rohloff hubs (heavy, their
durability seems overstated, and junky but serviceable derailleurs are
readily available to run with shifters in friction mode). I don't
have any reliable info on how big a tire can be mounted on the Dawes
offerings. The Rivendell Atlantis is a gorgeous bike, but that's also
a downside. Some continental bikes look pretty good, but the Koga-
Miyata's, for instance, are aluminum. And then anything with an
integrated rack won't do for me when I want to take all the heavy
stuff off and just go riding where ever I am. There are definitely
steel mountain bikes that can be converted to adventure use, but they
would have to have long chain stays for pannier heel clearance,
couldn't be too flexy, and need a long headtube for drop bars (I've
done long tours on flat bars and I don't care that much about not
having the much ballyhooed multiple hand positions. But I like drops
for going fast.)

So what about that Fargo? I totally want one for riding here in the
US. But as far as winning the adventure bike prize, the Fargo's wheel
size is basically a deal breaker for me. My main race bike is a
singlespeed 29er, and I'm not looking back to 26ers as far as mountain
biking goes. For better or for worse, though, the wheel size that
came to be the American standard for mountain bikes in the 80's is now
the most widely available around the world. Sure, a well build wheel
isn't likely to implode, but in the overall scheme of bicycle
components, the wheels are a worrisome blend of fragile/difficult-to-
improvise/showstopper-if-you-don't-have-it. Moreover, though tires
can be booted and stitched together, there is some wear and damage
that just can't be readily managed.

You sometimes hear people say that in this era of global access to
consumer goods, you can just have a wheel or a tire shipped to you
where ever you are. There's something to that, but I've seen tires in
shops and stalls in towns that don't have phones, let alone internet.
For a lot of places that I want to ride, there's a much higher premium
placed by locals on the availability of bike tires than on having a
post office.

So, I'm sticking with the trucker for now. I think it's the best that
a US based adventure rider who is going to range far and wide can do.
Nice job, Surly!


Other thoughts:

- If I was too tall to ride a 54 or smaller LHT, then I guess I'd
convert an old mountain bike for adventure use.
- What's my real basis for comparison? I've toured on a converted 1989
Wicked Fat Chance with rear panniers (West Coast of USA), a Santa Cruz
Superlight pulling an Extrawheel trailer (Pakistan, India, Nepal,
Tibet), a Karate Monkey with rear panniers (East Coast of USA), an
80's Bianchi steel road racing bike with a large Carradice seat post
bag (USA, UK, China), a recent vintage Felt aluminum/carbon fiber race
bike with seatpost bag (East Coast of USA, France), and a Bike Friday
folding bike pulling its suitcase (East Coast of USA, Ireland, France,
Spain). None of those were catastrophes. Indeed, the Superlight --
in spite of being absolutely wrong by every bit of conventional wisdom
-- was probably the best. Of course, I was fortunate that neither the
rear shock nor the suspension fork had any problems. The LHT is
better than all of these.

[I also posted this on mtbr, and the thread there also includes a
photo of my LHT in one of its modes. http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=451468]"

My reply:

"PJC,

Great post - we share a very similar view about the Fargo and the LHT. If you lived in the same town as me I'd buy you a beer!

We do diverge slightly on a couple issues so I'll touch on those:

I don't fit a 54cm LHT. I tried one and I can get the saddle bars and pedals in the right spot, but I feel like my weight is too far forward on the bike and I hate how it feels when I climb out of the saddle. Having looked around at the alternatives I think the options for a bigger rider that I'd consider are:

Thorn Sherpa: although I tried and sold mine I'd be willing to try a larger size. After riding a 54cm and 56cm LHT I think I really like the feel of a longer wheelbase bike with more length in front of the BB. Although the Sherpa is more $$$ than the LHT it's nicer in many ways: fittings, paint, tubing, etc... The sloping TT is nice if you'll be riding off pavement. Having said that I would have happily ridden a 54cm LHT if I had like how it fit me.

Thorn Raven Tour: This is a nicer touring bike than the Sherpa, but you have to use it with a Rohloff. I'm not a Rohloff cult member, but I have one on my Big Dummy and I'm slowly changing my mind about using on a long distance touring bike. I'm not completely there yet, but I'm now more open to it than before. Here is why:

- risk of Rohloff failure quite low [based on a # of units in service vs. reported problems], how low is up for debate and this is the make or break issue
- Rohloff is nearly weather proof. Having used it for some heinously muddy touring in the Yukon my shifting was perfect the whole time and the drivetrain needed zero attention
- Rohloff drivetrain nearly immune to damage while riding or during transport [buses, planes, taxis]. I can see ways to break it, but they are much less likely than wrecking a derailleur setup
- 32 spoke rear wheel w/ Rohloff is as strong a dished 40H wheel. So you have a strong rear wheel and 32H MTB rims are very common. Finding a 36H or 40H MTB rim would be much harder
- shifting a heavy touring bike while stopped is nice, if you need to start on an uphill
- chainring, cog and chain can be flipped when worn and you get another 100% of the mileage out of them, they will also last a lot longer in the first place
- if you break your Rohloff shifter or cable the hub can still be used and gears changed with an 8mm wrench until you can sort out the issue.

Having said all that I won't argue your cons about the Rohloff - I've made the same points myself. Part of the reason I got a Rohloff is to get some personal experience so I can come to a conclusion on the issue. From what I know and what I have experienced I think it comes down to one question: "How likely is a serious Rohloff problem?" I'm starting to appreciate the positive aspects of the Rohloff much better and I can see how you can avoid quite a few problems that a derailleur setup might face, but you won't get support or spares for a Rohloff on tour - you'll have to wait for FEDEX to deliver a part. Consider though that you won't get decent touring tires or a decent 26" rear wheel for a fully loaded touring bike from anywhere, but FEDEX either. You'll get a crappy wheel or tire or derailleur, but only something that will let you limp to the next big city where you can order replacements. I think most of the Rohloff failures you can come up with will have the same result - you'll be able to limp to the next big city and order spares.

Thorn could solve some of this dilemma by offering their Rohloff bikes with a derailleur hanger. That way you'd have an option to run a derailleur if you really needed to and it wouldn't cost much or wreck the design of their bikes.

I've thought about getting an older steel MTB frame and building it up, but given the cost of the parts I'd use I'd prefer to spend the $$$ on a dedicated touring frame like a Thorn that has all the nice details taken care of. My assessment of the theft risk is low so I don't mind investing in a nice bike. Admittedly I'm a bike snob and would value the experience of riding the nicer frame.

I've looked at Koga Miyatas and they don't do anything for me on a lot of levels - although they are undoubtedly fine touring bikes. The Atlantis is a nice bike, but I don't care for lugs or a fancy paint job and at $1600 for a frame I'd get an S&S equipped Thorn Raven Nomad S&S first.

As a LHT owner I think it's hard to beat the LHT and I wish Surly would offer a 26" wheeled Expedition touring bike for larger riders in the same vein. The Big Dummy is certainly an option, but its length and weight might be deal breakers for some folks. I'm also loving the straight bladed stiff fork less and less for touring as it sends all the vibration straight to the bars.

Unfortunately 29ers are the hot ticket right now and companies all want to jump on that band wagon - 26" wheeled bikes seem to be considered boring.

safe riding,

Vik"

Pulse Braking

I use the technique of "pulse braking" for keeping a heavily loaded touring bike under control on steep roads without overheating the rim [v-brakes] or overheating the rotor/caliper [disc brakes]. The idea is simple you use one brake firmly at a time alternating between front and back. This allows your braking system to stay cool and keeps the bike's speed in check. Sheldon Brown and Jan Heine both subscribe to this technique and frankly that was good enough for me.

Recently there was an online discussion about the best way to brake on a long mountain descent and the theory behind why the pulse braking technique works was very well explained by Tony Raven. I've pasted in his comments below with permission - thanks Tony!:

"There is a very good physics reason for pulse braking. Heat is lost from the rim by conduction, convection and radiation. Conduction is your enemy because heat is dissipated from the braking surface to other parts of the wheel which heats the tyre up and can lead to the blow out. Convection is heat transfer to the surrounding air and radiation (which is relatively minor here) is the heat you feel when near a hot object.

Conduction happens slowly from the braking surface to the rim to the tyre so it takes time after the braking surface gets hot for the tyre to get hot and blow off. Convection and radiation happen quickly and you want to convect and radiate as much of the braking energy away from the braking surface as you can before it conducts into the body of the rim and on to the tyre.

The rate at which heat is convected away is, to first order, proportional to the temperature rise while the amount of heat radiated away is proportional to the fourth power of the absolute temperature of the braking surface. If you brake long and slow the heat will build up slowly and conduct from the braking surface to the rim and through to the tyre with the braking surface and rim body in quasi thermal equilibrium.

If you instead dissipate the same amount of energy by a short hard burst of braking the rim surface will get very hot - much hotter than the body of the rim - and much more of the energy will be convected and radiated away from the braking surface before it can be conducted to the body of the rim and on to the tyre. So pulse braking if done properly - i.e let the bike run until you are going as fast as you are comfortable with then a short sharp brake to bring the speed way down then let it run again - will convect and radiate a lot more of the braking energy away from the braking surface before it can conduct into the rim body. The net result is a lower rim body temperature and therefore less risk of a blow off.

For the same reason alternate pulse braking also works because it doubles the rim surface temperature of the wheel you are braking over braking on both wheels but it only really works on a tandem because the rear wheel will unweight and tend to skid on a single when you brake.

As a second order effect, letting the bike run and sitting up also dissipates more energy by wind resistance, which goes as the velocity cubed, in the faster bits of the cycle.

Tony"

Here are few other things to consider about braking on long steeps roads:

• sitting up and catching as much wind as possible is a good way to reduce speed without adding heat to your braking system
• disc brakes can over heat so you need to manage their heat load - overheating rotors or calipers can cause permanent damage
• lowering your tire pressure will raise the amount of heat your rims can absorb before you blow off a tire
• when pulse braking keep in mind applying a brake firmly requires good traction with the road or you risk skidding a wheel - very bad on the front!
• applying your brakes lightly, but consistently the whole way down is your worst case scenario for generating heat
• you can always stop and let your rims or rotors/calipers cool down