This month’s video is from the Peru Divide. With the diverse landscapes, wild views, amazing camping and lack of cars, I’m convinced this is the best touring route in the world. I pushed my bike for just 500 metres in total, so it’s also very ridable.

Here’s All The Route Info You Need:
Peru Divide Part 1
Peru Divide Part 2
Peru Divide Part 3
Peru Divide Part 4
Peru Divide Part 5

If you’d like to support my films directly, you can do that on:
– Patreon (with monthly rewards)
– Paypal (one-off donation)

MY BIKE: Koga WorldTraveller-S
MY 25KG GEAR LIST: Here
MY ROUTE: Here
MY CAMERAS: Panasonic GH4 + GoPro Hero 6

FILM COLORING: Andreas Leidenfrost
MUSIC: The Geek X VRV DJ Set

Cycling the Peru Divide.

The post Video: The Peru Divide Is The Best Touring Route In The World [EP.8] appeared first on CyclingAbout.com.

One of the coolest things about putting together the Touring Bicycle Buyer’s Guide each year is that I get to monitor huge amounts of touring bike data from 130+ different models. This allows me to understand trends and analyze how touring, adventure and bikepacking bikes are evolving over time. I normally keep this information to myself, but this year I’ll be sharing some of the biggest trends in touring bikes from my massive data set.

The Touring Bicycle Buyer’s Guide is updated yearly with all the latest bikes and information. If you haven’t got yourself a copy of the 2019 edition yet, you can find it HERE.

1. The Wide Adoption of Stack/Reach Sizing

The 2019 Giant Toughroad SLR is one of the only touring bikes that doesn’t use the stack/reach sizing system.

If you haven’t heard of ‘stack’ and ‘reach’, they’re the best measurements we have for comparing bike sizes. These two measurements alone provide ample information about how high, and far forward the handlebars will sit on a bike (provided you maintain the same stem length and seat distance behind the bottom bracket).

Touring bike framesets that use the stack/reach sizing system get proportionately longer and taller as you go up through the sizes. It’s immediately apparent when framesets have been designed around effective top tube lengths as the ‘reach’ often jumps between being longer and shorter through the size range.

In the Touring Bicycle Buyer’s Guide, you can compare the stack and reach information for every touring bike. This is super handy when comparing, say, a size medium bike in one brand to a size 54cm bike in another. You’ll also quickly realise that a 54cm from one brand is often closer to a 56cm bike (or 52cm bike) in another.

Another great way to use stack and reach is by test riding a bike with certain measurements and accurately comparing that bike’s sizing to something you can’t find in-store. Knowing this information gives you great confidence, in fact, I only knew to size down my Koga WorldTraveller-S from my usual size (63cm to 60cm) by understanding what stack and reach dimensions best suited my preferred riding position.

You can read a bit more about stack/reach HERE and how the Giant Toughroad isn’t sized this way HERE.

2. 20% Less Traditional Touring Bikes

This year we’ve seen a big reduction in the number of traditional touring bikes. Pictured is the Masi Giramondo.

The traditional touring bike is a dying breed. I’ve been documenting touring bikes since 2012 and have never seen so many disappear from the market in a single year. Why could this be? One would assume they’re not selling as well as previously…

This is likely because touring bikes have become more specialized in the last couple of years. Off-road and light touring bikes (aka gravel, adventure, allroad, bikepacking) made up the minority of options not long ago, but in the last two years, these two categories have overwhelmingly become the majority.

3. 40% More Off-Road Touring Bikes

The All City Gorilla Monsoon is just one example of the latest influx of off-road touring bikes.

A few years ago there was only a handful of off-road touring bikes available, but thanks to the interest in off-road adventures (bikepacking in particular), we now have ample bikes to choose between.

The key characteristics of an off-road tourer include clearance for wider tyres, wider handlebars and lower gear ratios. These characteristics work out great for general purpose touring too – fit some fenders and some fat slicks and you’ve got a bike that’s more capable, yet just as fast rolling as a traditional tourer. Modern touring slicks like the Schwalbe Marathon Almotion roll incredibly well, even in the 2.15″ size.

4. 60% More Light Touring Bikes

The most expensive off-the-shelf light touring bike is the 2019 Specialized S-Works Diverge. US $10,000!

As gravel, bikepacking and adventure riding becomes more popular, there has been a huge boom in light touring bikes – I’ve had to add 60% more to the 2019 Touring Bicycle Buyer’s Guide! This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise as there are now over 100 bikepacking bag manufacturers, endless gravel-focussed events and dozens of unsupported ultra-endurance bike races.

Light touring bikes are all between 8-13kg (17-28lbs) and are designed to support lighter loads. They make excellent multi-purpose bikes as they’re often fast enough to sit in a road bunch, but also strong enough to cover your commuting and weekend adventures.

5. Carbon Touring Bikes

The Jamis Renegade is a light touring bike made with carbon. The bike weight is under 10kg/22lbs.

The year of the carbon touring bike is upon us! I’m aware of 45 different models that have eyelets for front and rear racks. You might be put off by carbon given its colourful history, but it’s actually quite a mature technology after a couple of decades in bike manufacturing.

I recently wrote all about carbon touring bikes, you can find out all about this space-age material HERE.

6. Clearance For Wider Tyres Across All Touring Categories

The 2019 Cube Travel comes with 29×2.15″ slick tyres as standard.

Great news – almost every new touring bike has more tyre clearance than ever before. This is particularly exciting as wider tyres are more comfortable, more capable and you may even be surprised to find they roll almost as fast (in some cases they’re even faster).

The biggest change in tyre clearance is found in the off-road touring category (flatbar) where 3.0″ clearance is now commonplace. Even light touring bikes that will likely spend their lives on the pavement average 45mm (1.8″) clearance.

7. More ‘Reach’ For Off-Road Touring Bikes

The Bombtrack Beyond+ 1 offers a long reach but also a short stem.

Over the past few years, there has been a move towards slacker head tube angles, longer top tube lengths and shorter stems on mountain bikes. This has made mountain bikes more stable to ride in rougher terrain. We’re now seeing this same trend replicated on off-road touring bikes (flatbar), which is a great thing for those focussing on trails.

8. Slower Steering Speeds For Off-Road Touring Bikes

The Genesis Longitude frameset has a slow steering speed which is offset using a short stem and wide handlebars.

Off-road touring framesets also have a slower steering speed than previously thanks to their slacker head tube angle and wider tyres. However, the slower steering speeds are actually offset with shorter stem lengths (given the longer ‘reach’ of these bikes) that make a bike steer faster. With the stem factored in, there’s a very minimal steering difference between newer/older off-road tourers, provided you use the same handlebar width.

You can read in detail about bicycle frame geometry HERE.

9. Faster Steering Speeds For Light Touring Bikes

Bikes like the Cannondale Topstone are steering a little quicker than previously.

In the gravel-adventure-bikepacking category, we’re seeing a move towards faster steering speeds. This is the direct result of trying to make bikes that excel in all areas. By increasing the steering speed, a light touring bike feels more nimble but at the same time a little less stable. Given a light front load slows the steering speed a bit, this is not necessarily a bad thing.

10. Reduced Gear Range

The Salsa Journeyman Apex uses a 1x drivetrain to simplify the drivetrain at the cost of a wide gear range.

The current trend to remove the front derailleur from touring and adventure bikes results in far narrower gear ranges. Most 1x drivetrains use an 11-42t cassette which offers a big gear that’s 3.8x higher than the lowest gear. Compare this to a 3x drivetrain and you’re looking at a big gear that’s 5.7x higher than the lowest gear.

With a 1x drivetrain you’ll have less of an ability to pedal at high speed (not really a deal breaker), but also sometimes less climbing gears (not ideal if you like cycling in the mountains with a moderate load). I typically recommend using a 2x or 3x drivetrain for anything on sealed roads, but find that 1x is generally more than enough for off-road use provided you forgo the high gear ratios. 1x also works out for those who prefer to travel on flatter routes.

To understand gear ratios for touring bikes in depth, click HERE.

Summary

In 2019, you can choose between steel, aluminium, titanium or carbon touring bikes. You can choose a bike designed around a dropbar, flatbar or my favourite – an alt handlebar. You can go for a lightweight build if you’re packing light, or super heavy-duty build for a ’round the world trip. Most framesets fit rather wide tyres which will provide extra confidence on more surfaces with very little difference in cycling speed.

While the traditional touring bike market is drying up, more specialized touring bikes are taking their place. You can grab an off-road touring bike that will open up more locations to travel, or a light touring bike which will assist with faster cycling speeds.

With more choice than ever before, it has never been a better time to buy a touring bike.

Grab a copy of the 2019 Touring Bicycle Buyer’s Guide to learn everything about touring bikes and compare the 130+ different bike models currently available.

The post 10 Ways Touring and Bikepacking Bikes Have Changed For 2019 appeared first on CyclingAbout.com.

For the last two months, I’ve been busy emailing bike manufacturers, inputting information into my database, crunching numbers and editing the latest update to the 2019 Touring Bicycle Buyer’s Guide. There have been many bikes disappear from the list of options this year, but SO many more added – overall, the book has received a 25% increase in bike options.

As a result of this update, I’ve written an article on the biggest touring bike trends for 2019, including:
– The wide adoption of stack/reach sizing
– 20% less traditional touring bikes
– 40% more off-road touring bikes
– 60% more light touring bikes
– Carbon touring bikes
– Clearance for wider tyres across all categories
– More ‘reach’ for off-road touring bikes
– Slower steering speeds for off-road touring bikes
– Faster steering speeds for light touring bikes
– Reduced gear range

It’s always so fascinating to see what brands are doing with their bikes each year. For 2019, touring bikes have become more capable, they’re better optimised for different uses (eg. off-road) and they’re sized much more appropriately. With more options than ever, it has honestly never been a better time to be in the market for one.

You can get your copy of the 2019 Touring Bicycle Buyer’s Guide HERE.

The post The 2019 Touring Bicycle Buyer’s Guide Is Now Available appeared first on CyclingAbout.com.

The post Ask Me Anything: My Bike, Navigation, Rain Gear, Tyres, Brakes, Switching To A Bikepacking Setup appeared first on CyclingAbout.com.

With the diverse landscapes, wild views, amazing camping and lack of cars, I’m convinced the Peru Great Divide is the best touring route in the world. I pushed my bike for just 500 metres in total, so it’s also very rideable.

Here’s All The Route Info You Need:
Peru Divide Part 1
Peru Divide Part 2
Peru Divide Part 3
Peru Divide Part 4
Peru Divide Part 5

MY BIKE: Koga WorldTraveller-S
MY 25KG GEAR LIST: Here
MY ROUTE: Here

Cycling The Peru Great Divide Touring Route

Hiking down an old Inca staircase in the middle of nowhere! The stonework from the Inca time (15-16th century) is simply outstanding and will undoubtedly outlast anything we construct today.

Since the beginning of my trip nine months ago, I’ve been riding just ONE set of tyres. I’ve clocked over 15,000km on my Schwalbe Almotions and reckon the front is still good for another 5,000 at least. I wish I could have ridden them till their death, but with my parents visiting from Aus it was too good an opportunity to pass up some fresh tread! A big thanks to BikeBox for the replacements which should now get me to somewhere in North America!

This photo was taken near Macusani, Peru after a big dumping of snow. It’s one of the most memorable days I’ve had on the bike because the vistas were so incredibly majestic!

So I turned 30 the other day. While this early milestone hits some with the realisation that they aren’t quite where they planned to be, I’ve managed to pull off a particularly calculated life, on my own terms. It’s not always easy to balance your (selfish) needs and desires with your ethics and morals. But by continually questioning everything, I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job of that. So yeah, don’t expect me to have some kind of crisis, sell everything I own and do that thing I’ve always dreamed about. Because I’ve already done that. Twice! Here’s to the next 30 years, you beautiful humans – I’m super pumped for what the future holds. Big love from Peru!

Perched at 4500m/14700ft in this gorgeous valley, I’m not sure if I’ve had a more tranquil nights sleep. My location was completely exposed to whatever the weather wanted to throw at me, but on this particular night it couldn’t have been stiller – my tent fly didn’t even rustle once. As I closed my eyes I tried my best to listen for a noise, any noise, but it seemed that all the animals were tucked up in bed too. I awoke to a great brightness a few hours later as the moon rose over the mountains. For a while there I could clearly make out every item in the tent (it’s quite surreal), but soon the clouds swooped in to turn the lights off again. My next waking moment was to the inoffensive chirping sounds of tiny birds playing around in the grass next to my tent. What a lovely reminder that I have more mountains to conquer today!

“Your Facebook photos and stories are great, but how are you, really?” This is one of the first questions I get when I’m chatting with my close friends from home. And it’s fair enough too because social media allows us to choose the story we want to tell the audience. Let’s face it, we mostly share the moments of our lives that (perhaps unintentionally) are great. We then collate all these great moments into an app and benchmark ourselves against a (possibly) warped perception of reality. For all you know, I could just be a master storyteller, weaving the misleading adventures of my life and my happiness. Don’t believe everything you see and read! Right, with that preamble out of the way, here’s how I really am. You’re gonna have to trust me here. I’m healthy, I’m happy, I’m motivated, I’m excited and I’m alone, but not lonely. I sometimes wish I could ride or cook or debate the future of humanity with someone else. I don’t really have bad days or feel sad or get frustrated. There are times when it’s pretty tough, but I’ve always controlled what I can, accepted my situation and moved on. I am in total awe of the universe and all of its marvels and how insignificant I really am. I know I can’t be this lone, nomadic wolf forever. After all, we humans have evolved to be social animals who need to feel loved, valued and part of a physical community. But for now, it’s such a luxury to explore the world, in my own time, on my bicycle.

Hailstorm in 3…2…1 I’ve been getting caught up in storms every afternoon! This is a sure sign of the changing seasons from the dry winter to the wet summer. Luckily, it’s still much drier than not.

One of the coolest things about spending so much time in nature is that you develop the ability to predict changes in weather. Your senses fine-tune to slight changes in humidity, unusual breezes and the shape, colour and movement of the clouds. You notice patterns in animal behaviour too, often hours before you get a whiff of the changing weather yourself; birds disappear from the landscape and ants work hard to build taller mounds when adverse conditions are on their way!

Someone recently left a comment that annoyed me. They questioned why I go to all the effort to photograph and film myself on this trip yet provide “zero practical information” like the location of water, shops, good campsites etc. My answer is simple: go on your own bloody adventure! My job is to provide you with a taste of what it’s like to see the world by bike. I even provide the GPS tracks for my entire journey if you really want to trace my tyre treads. Trip research is an important skill to have in your arsenal because conditions are always changing. You’ve gotta stare at maps, ask locals questions and make tonnes of educated guesses. When you make mistakes along the way, great, you’re learning – plus you’re now on an adventure of your own making! That’s infinitely more rewarding than getting me to plan your every metre.

I called this lake ‘Two-Tone’ for obvious reasons, but its real name is Lake Quinine. Why? When you ground-up the bark of the nearby cinchona trees, you get a chemical compound called Quinine. For hundreds of years, the mountain people have been mixing Quinine with sweetened water to make a muscle relaxant drink that stops shivering in sub-zero temperatures. The tonic water you drink at home also gets its flavour from cinchona bark, albeit at a MUCH lower dose!

The Peru Divide is (possibly) the best touring route in the world. Seriously! It follows a section of the Andes Mountains where water falling just a centimetre to the left or right could have its fate in the Pacific or Atlantic Oceans. The route is the most geographically diverse place I’ve ever travelled. In just a few kilometres you’ll see snowy, jagged peaks, insane formed rocks, colourful mineral deposits, grassy hills and piles of volcanic rubble. There are lakes and forests and hot springs to explore. You’ll meet vicuñas, viscachas, altiplano mice, hummingbirds and if you’re lucky, you’ll see the largest flying bird in the world: the Andean Condor. A lone car or two per day will stop to check you’re ok, but with views as good as these, of course, you are!

When you’re a child, everything is new and shiny and different. You have no preconceived ideas about the world. Every day you get to go on a journey full of adventure, curiosity and intrigue. As you grow older you become a creature of habit; you can still live a happy and dynamic life but everything eventually becomes familiar and/or predictable. The closest I’ve ever felt to my eight-year-old self is when I’m exploring the world by bike. Everything is new again; my life is full of wonder and ever-expanding curiosity. Every day I’m bursting to tell the world about all the cool things I get to see and learn about. This feeling is both my biggest addiction and also my greatest motivator. I wouldn’t be out here taking risks, feeling uncomfortable and exploring the unknown without it. It’s inevitable that familiarity will one-day try to take this feeling away from me, but I’m hoping the creativeness with how I approach life will always get it back.

This can’t be real life. Can it? So I pushed my touring bike on some hiking trails through the Cordillera Huayhuash to get up close and personal with the mountains. But over three days, I had just ONE hour of sunshine and mountain views… total. The other times I was getting hailed/snowed on while sliding around in the mud. It was pretty rough, but worth it for this incredible photo, right!!? Right!?!

Does it surprise you that I’d rather ride up a massive mountain, rather than down? Don’t get me wrong… I LOVE descending! But there’s something special about finding your rhythm, getting into the zone and observing the wild vistas around you.

Rocks on rocks on rocks. It’s incredible that roads in Peru are constructed through terrain as harsh as this!

After spending all of the winter above 3500m, my poor legs have lost their colour! I’m pretty excited about soon feeling the sun’s rays on my skin as I approach the tropical climates of Ecuador and Colombia.

As someone who spends 99% of my time exploring and appreciating the natural world, climate change is a particularly important issue for me. The world’s climate experts recently warned that we have 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe. If you like the world as it is, it’s time to look to the scientific data and make some hard decisions about how you live your life.
Here are the things you can do which have the greatest impact:
1. Many tonnes CO2 saved per year – Vote and engage. Politicians have the ability to enact policies which curb huge quantities of emissions. It may go against your socioeconomic or fundamental political ideologies, but voting for a party that offers strong environmental protection is the most important thing you can do. If you have the time, join and donate to environmental organisations that put additional pressure on political leaders too.
2. 58 tonnes CO2 saved per year – Procreation is natural, so don’t take this the wrong way if you’re a parent. But the numbers don’t lie. Choosing NOT to have a child is, by a factor of 50x, a decision that can have the greatest positive impact on the environment going forward. Plus, there are 153 million orphan children already on the planet who need homes.
3. 2+ tonnes CO2 saved per year – Right now, avoiding meat and dairy products is the single biggest way to reduce your personal environmental impact on the planet. Animal agriculture is the leading cause of the current mass extinction of wildlife, as well as the biggest air and water polluter. Like steak and cheese? Try to consume these foods on special occasions only.
4. 1+ tonnes CO2 saved per year – Reduce your motorised transport use. 17 hours in a plane, or 3000km in a car (by yourself) results in about 1 tonne of CO2 emissions.
5. <1 tonne CO2 saved per year – Buy fewer things, buy them to last & reuse them. There is an insane amount of embodied energy in everything we own, especially large objects like cars and houses. Buy second hand where you can, and try to spend a bit extra for objects that will likely last decades.

I’m nearing the equator and it’s just 1.5 months from summer, so I kinda wasn’t expecting blisteringly cold conditions and a decent whack of snowfall. But I guess at 5000m/16400ft this will happen whenever it bloody-well likes.

My Peru Divide film is FINISHED! I’ve collaborated with a professional film colourist for this episode! The raw footage looks incredible, I can’t even imagine how INSANE this is going to turn out.

I’ve been super lucky with river crossings in South America. For some reason, the water always seems more aggressive on the days I don’t need to cross. It’s like the rivers know to stem their flow for my passing!

I get quite a few requests to ride with me, which I love! I’m totally happy to do that with any of you.
But there are a few things to note:
– Firstly, my timeline is very rough, so you’ll probably have to come and find me.
– Secondly, given I don’t know you personally, I can’t commit to much more than half a week. I’m open to travelling longer, but we’d need to see how well we travel together first.
– And lastly, I’m super fit! You’ll need to have decent fitness (8 hours of riding per day is typical) and enjoy the hills because my routes are often 2000m/6500ft or more per day.

Pushing a touring bike on muddy hiking trails in the driving rain and snow… is exactly as rough as it sounds!!

My Peru Divide film is up on YouTube and I think you’re going to love it. With the diverse landscapes, wild views, amazing camping and lack of cars, I’m convinced this is the best touring route in the world. I pushed my bike for just 500 metres in total, so it’s also very rideable.

Camping is the answer. Who cares what the question is.

Within your own experiences, you give everything meaning. Some things you’re taught and accept to be meaningful, but ultimately, you can make anything as meaningful or meaningless as you want. It’s totally up to you. Take the sun. This is a giant fireball in the sky that sends heat to the Earth that is converted into the food that powers you along on your long bike rides. You could just not pay attention to what’s going on here, and the sun will be meaningless to you. But here you are, eating sun-grown avocado on toast, which is repairing your muscles from yesterdays ride, and yet you’re wondering about whether to upgrade your tent to something 500 grams lighter…? Look, I don’t think like this all the time, but it’s something that I remind myself of pretty regularly. This pattern of thinking helps me to constantly find more meaning in more things as I cycle about the world. It also gives me all the meaning I’ll ever need to understand my existence on Earth. That’s pretty cool, don’t you think?

One of the things that makes Peru unique is the mineral deposits that cover the mountainsides. You’re never far from large swathes of red, green, blue, purple or yellow colouring your field of vision – or if you’re lucky, it’s all colours at once!

The post Photo Gallery: Cycling The Peru Great Divide appeared first on CyclingAbout.com.

For those who follow my bike trips around the world, you’ll know that over the last couple of years I’ve made the switch away from drop bars. This all started because I wanted to test some of the new handlebar shapes on the market and let you know whether they’re awesome or not. It turns out they really are…

Let’s discuss!

9 Reasons To Drop The Drop Bars

Descending is a pleasure with a wide handlebar and good access to your brake levers.

1. Better Bike Handling
The handlebar grips are two-out-of-five attachment points between your body and the bike, and arguably, they’re also the two most important. It’s these points which largely determine how well you can balance and manoeuvre your bike. By adding any style of front luggage (panniers, bikepacking bags, handlebar bag, cargo cages), you increase the amount of ‘steering effort’ required to change your bike’s direction.

The best possible way to combat heavy steering is by fitting a wider handlebar to your bike. Wide bars increase the steering leverage up front, which allows you to maintain a light steering feel, even with a front load. As a result, you can expect better bike control at high speeds (thanks to the quicker steering inputs) and low speeds (thanks to the micro adjustments you can make to help with your balance). This is most noticeable when you’re climbing slowly up a hill, or when you need to quickly avoid something on the road while travelling at speed. By dropping the narrow drop bars, not only will you have more control over your bike, but you’ll also find you can ride even more confidently on any road or trail.

2. The Brake Levers Are Just Better
Firstly, it’s easier to replace and maintain your cables because you can do so without having to remove any bar tape. This is a godsend if you’re maintaining cable-operated brakes, as you can pop out your stainless steel inner cables in seconds and give them a good lube. Secondly, the ergonomics of a flat bar allow you to wrap your thumb and three fingers around your grip for a better hold (it’s often a thumb and two fingers on a drop bar). Try braking into a rough corner with a flat bar and drop bar and you’ll immediately notice which brake levers you have the most control over…

3. It’s Often Cheaper
By and large, MTB-style shifters are way cheaper to manufacturer than a set of road shifters. A set of Shimano Ultegra road shifters work out at 3x the cost of the equivalent quality MTB shifters (I know, you get brake levers too – but still). All handlebar styles can be both cheap and expensive, but consider that two of the most popular alt bars are just $60 (Crazy Bars) and $79 (Jones Loop).

Want to compare handlebars? You want WhatBars.com. Click to create visual overlays of the most popular alt handlebar shapes.

There Are Dozens of Alternative Handlebar Shapes For Touring
Don’t like a typical flat/riser handlebar because of the lack of hand positions? Not to worry. There are literally dozens of new bar styles that offer a unique geometry to change it up. You can view most of your options at WhatBars.com.

More Bikepacking Handlebar Pack Options
Handlebar packs are often interrupted by drop bar levers unless you succumb to quite a small-volume bag. The Ortlieb Handlebar Pack S fits nicely between a set of drop bar levers, but its volume works out at 9L compared to the 15L you can accommodate on a flatbar. In addition, you have the option to run unique handlebar packs like the Revelate Sweetroll which mount to a Jones Loop bar at four locations, rather than the standard two, for a more secure fit.

Bar Tape Kinda Sucks
Granted a good-quality wrap can last years provided it has the right amount of stretch and grip, bar tape is still quite susceptible to tearing, moving or unwrapping itself. On a long bike trip, this just means more bike maintenance. You don’t want more bike maintenance.

The Velo Orange Crazy Bar is a great alternative to a drop bar. You’ll be able to keep your aerodynamic position by using the bullhorn section, you’ll get extra steering leverage and there’s even a location for a handlebar bag mount!

Ergonomic Grips Rock
Never used Ergon grips? What about ESI chunky silicone grips? No? Well, you’re missing out. The unique shape of these grips offers a more comfortable hand fit than any bar tape I’ve ever come across.

MTB Shifters And Derailleurs Work Flawlessly Together (Obvs )
I’ve written countless resources about how to mate road shifters with MTB derailleurs (they’re mostly incompatible). The aim of this pursuit is to get low climbing gears on a bike with road shifters. But you know what? If you skip on the drop bars, this becomes a non-issue as component manufacturers have designed MTB shifters to work flawlessly with… err, MTB derailleurs and wide range cassettes.

Rohloff/Pinion Shifter Compatibility
There are heaps of workarounds for getting a Rohloff/Pinion twist shifter onto a drop bar. But what if you could just use the stock twist shifter on a flat handlebar like it was intended?

DW… There Are Reasons To Keep Ya Drop Bars Too

1. To Reduce Your Frontal Area
There’s an aero advantage to fitting drop bars to your bike. In the hoods or drops you can tuck your elbows in and reduce your body’s frontal area. Given you don’t move that fast on a touring bike, this feature is most useful for whenever you’re riding into headwinds. That said, an alt bar like the Crazy Bar actually provides the best of both worlds – a narrow bullhorn section and a wide, sweptback grip location.

2. They Look Rad
I’ll admit it. Drop bars are cooler. There’s something about those classic lines…

3. Dude, Ultra-Wide Drops Exist!
Is the ultimate solution for you a set of wide drop bars? You’re in luck. The Crust Towel Rack bars are ~700mm wide at the ends which is the equivalent of most flat bars. The Salsa Woodchipper and Soma Gator are also pretty wide; but note that when your fingers are on the brake levers, the equivalent width works out closer to 600mm.

4. When You Don’t Have Any Weight Up Front
If you don’t have more than 2-3 kilos up front, you’ll find a standard drop bar offers more than enough leverage to steer confidently.

The Salsa Woodchipper handlebars will give you some extra steering leverage thanks to their relatively wide width.

Summary

My experience with alt handlebars has, errr… altered my perception of touring handlebars entirely.

I used to prefer drops because:
– I wasn’t a huge fan of butterfly bars (they lacked the width I desired)
– I wasn’t a huge fan of flat bars (they offered fewer hand positions than my drop bars)

The latest generation of handlebar designs has given me lots of width, lots of hand positions and a nice aero location so I can tuck in my elbows for headwinds. I’ve found my Crazy Bars work better at both high and low speed, better on dirt roads and better on the steep climbs. I honestly can’t find any downsides for the majority of the bike travel I do.

I’m not planning on going back to drops unless my bike is set up to be light, fast and intended for smoother surfaces. Think ultralight carbon touring bike with bikepacking bag ensemble. Otherwise, wide alt bars all the way! Yewww!

The post 9 Reasons Why We Should Drop The Drop Bars On Touring Bikes appeared first on CyclingAbout.com.

Between 1962 and 2010, Heinz Stücke cycled more than 609,000 kilometres (378,000 mi) and visited 195 countries and 78 territories. He is indisputably the most accomplished bike traveller ever. Can you imagine not going home for 50 years?!

I don’t know how much of the Earth I will have covered in 50 years, but I do know that a documentary celebrating Heinz’ life is in production and is being funded HERE. Your support will help celebrate the incredible life of Heinz.

The Kickstarter rewards are as follows:
– Two tickets for the premiere in Barcelona, with the presence of the director and the film team
– Logo in the final credits
– A photo made and signed by Heinz during his trips around the world
– A1 map scanned from the Heinz original with Heinz’ marked routes
– A3 poster from the cover of the documentary
– Name in the acknowledgements

Heinz has already lived the ridiculous dream I’m following but in a completely different era. I personally can’t wait to watch the finished product.

The post 609,000km, 195 Countries and 78 Territories: The Incredible Life of Heinz Stücke appeared first on CyclingAbout.com.

Over my years of bike travel, lateral frame stiffness is a feature that I’ve come to really appreciate. It’s not by any means essential that a touring bike is stiff, but it goes a long way when it comes to the handling, stability and general feel of a frame. Other than a couple of hundred extra grams, you’ll find there isn’t any downside to additional stiffness either.

Please note that this article is NOT about whether a stiffer bike is faster to ride. I’ll leave that for Simon at Global Cycling Network to investigate.

Why Stiffer Is Better When It Comes To Bike Travel

The majority of bikes used for travel support a front and rear load; your bike frame is the medium which needs to resist the twisting forces between these two points.

Stiffer touring frames are better for the following reasons:

Extra Stability
On a loaded touring bike, you may have noticed that at certain speeds your frame can wobble about a bit. While the degree of frame stiffness isn’t the cause of this oscillation (it’s likely an unbalanced front load or slightly out-of-round front wheel), stiffer frames do have a greater ability to resist it. This extra stability is the very first thing I notice when I test loaded touring bikes; I’ve never experienced, nor can I imagine such a thing as too much lateral stiffness. Frame stiffness is particularly necessary for drop bar touring bikes as you have less steering leverage to counteract this wobble, should it occur.

Unbalanced Front Loads
It’s not always easy to perfectly balance your front load. I organise my bags based on use, so on one side, I have kitchen gear and on the other, I have camping gear. My kitchen gear works out to be ever so slightly heavier, but by using a super stiff touring frame, I’ve noticed that oscillations are far harder to induce, even with a slightly uneven load. In short, you’re afforded a bit more flexibility with how you load the front of your bike.

Confidence Inspiring
The torsional rigidity of a stiff frame is undoubtedly more confidence inspiring. I feel like I have more control over my loaded bike when there is less noticeable flex coming from the toptube and downtube.

My KOGA WorldTraveller-S (video) features one of the stiffest touring bike frames on the market.

Frame Material And Stiffness

Here’s the good news. You can build a super stiff touring bike using any frame material. I won’t be diving into the specifics of frame materials in this article, instead check out my steel vs. aluminium vs. titanium comparison HERE. But in short, a good touring frame can be constructed with aluminium, steel, titanium or carbon – it’s all about the design.

A titanium frame that is equal in strength to a steel frame is about half the weight and half the stiffness. To increase the frame stiffness to an adequate amount, titanium manufacturers use larger diameter tubing. This results in a frame that is strong and stiff, yet often lighter (and more expensive) than steel.

An aluminium frame is about a third as stiff, a third of the weight and half as strong as a steel frame with the same tubing specifications. You’ll notice that like titanium frames, aluminium frames also require large tubing diameters but with far thicker walls in order to maintain adequate strength and stiffness.

The Trek 520 this year received a larger diameter downtube to increase the overall lateral frame stiffness.

How To Tell If A Bike Frame Is Stiff

This isn’t a precise science, but in general, a stiffer frame will use tubes of larger diameters with a thicker gauge (wall thickness). The frame size, tube butting, ovalization and quality of materials will also contribute to the overall stiffness, but this is much harder to determine without some very specific frame construction information, rarely provided by manufacturers.

While ultra-light, ultra-thin, large diameter tubing does exist, it is highly unlikely that a frame designer would use it in a touring bike frame. This type of tubing is reserved mostly for road bikes; an example tubeset is Columbus Spirit OS (steel) which is just 0.4mm in the middle of the tube.

Oversized headtubes (look out for an internal upper headset assembly) are another indication of a potentially stiff frame because frame builders have an easier time connecting larger diameter tubes together with similar surface areas.

Co-Motion uses the largest diameter steel tubing available to maximise the frame stiffness of their entire touring lineup.

Here’s a guide to finding the stiffest touring frames (if you can’t test a frame loaded with gear):

Steel
– Look for a downtube that’s 34.9mm or larger (eg. 38.1mm, 42mm or 44mm)
– Look for a toptube that’s 31.7mm or larger (eg. 34.9mm)
– Double or triple butted frame tubing

Titanium
– Look for a downtube that’s 41.5mm or larger (eg. 48mm)
– Look for a toptube that’s 34.9mm or larger (eg. 37.3mm or 38.1mm)
– Double or triple butted frame tubing

Aluminium
– Look for a downtube that’s 44mm or larger (eg. 48mm)
– Look for a toptube that’s 38mm or larger (eg. 44mm)
– Double or triple butted frame tubing

Bike Size And Frame Stiffness

If you’re a smaller rider, you’ll find less of a difference in frame stiffness between touring bikes. That’s because smaller frames are inherently stiffer thanks to their shorter tube lengths. For extra-small or small (44-52cm) bikes, frame tubing that is a diameter size down will likely be adequate.

Conversely, if you’re tall like me, hunt for frames with the largest possible tubing as you’ll be able to notice greater differences in stiffness. Tall riders with heavier loads may even require a marathon tube that reinforces the bike with extra metal connecting the headtube to the seatstays. That said, marathon frame designs are typically not necessary these days as metal tubing is currently available in larger diameters than ever before.

The Co-Motion Divide’s frame tubing is stiff enough to be used on Co-Motion’s tandems too.

When Frame Stiffness Matters Most

Now that I’ve jammed lots of stiffness knowledge between your ears, here’s when it matters.

Front and Rear Touring Loads
The typical touring load distributes weight across the whole bike. The heavier the load, the more stiffness the frame requires to handle the forces travelling through it. For example, I carry approximately 10kg up front and 15kg on the rear, and with this kind of load, the extra stiffness of a steel Co-Motion touring frame is very noticeable when compared to a steel Surly Long Haul Trucker.

Belt Drive Bikes
This stiffness is specifically required for the chainstays and seatstays. In fact, Gates and Rohloff require frames to be “stiffness test approved” in order to not void their warranties. Interestingly, on my steel belt drive bikes, I can make the belts jump on the rear cog under very high amounts of torque. On the other hand, my KOGA WorldTraveller-S seems to able to resist this entirely, indicating that it probably has a stiffer rear construction.

This Hilite features a massive 48mm titanium downtube.

When Frame Stiffness Doesn’t Really Matter

Light Front / Heavy Rear Loads (eg. 2x Rear Panniers & Handlebar Bag)
If you’re using a load under 5kg/11lb at the front of the bike, you’ll find that you probably won’t notice any stiffness difference between touring frames.

Heavy Front / Light Rear Loads (eg. 2x Front Panniers, a Framebag & Bikepacking Seatpack)
If you’re using a heavy front load with a bikepacking seatpack (or a drybag mounted to a rear rack), you also probably won’t be able to discern between frames of varying stiffnesses.

Light Loads
If you’re packing light – something like 5kg/11lb per end – frame stiffness won’t be a concern either. In fact, with most bikepacking setups your frame will probably be overbuilt in order to suit the full spectrum of rider body weights!

What About Comfort?

It is often assumed that a stiff frame can’t be very comfortable. But even if this was the case, let’s put bike comfort into perspective.

Bike frames require upwards of 500N of force to flex one vertical millimetre. This translates to barely a millimetre of flex when you apply your body weight to a frame. It’s hard to put an exact number on the vertical compliance of any frame, as the measurements are always taken at the top of the seatpost (you don’t sit on the top tube of your bike, after all).

On the other hand, a carbon seatpost like the Ergon CF3 Pro requires just 69N of force to travel a millimetre. The CF3 Pro will flex around 10mm vertically when you’re simply sitting on the saddle.

But these two things aren’t even your bike’s first line of suspension – that’s the tyres. By applying as little as 10N to a wide tyre, it will easily deform a millimetre or more. Given the low amounts of force required to achieve vertical compliance with a seatpost or wide set of tyres, you’d be hard-pressed to notice the difference in comfort between frames of any stiffness.

Read more about why seatposts are overlooked yet critical for comfort HERE.

Seatposts like the Ergon CF3 or Canyon VCLS 2.0 offer far more vertical flex than a frame (of any stiffness) possibly can.

Summary

In order to optimise the stability of a touring bike, an important factor is frame stiffness. With just a few hundred grams of extra frame material, you’ll have a bike that rides nice and stable, as well as being more confidence inspiring. With a good seatpost and wide tyres, your bike will be super comfortable too.

You can determine the stiffness of most touring frames by measuring the diameter of the frame tubing. While this isn’t an exact science, the stiffest touring frames on the market almost always employ the largest diameter tubes. Smaller riders can confidently use touring bikes with tubing that is a step down in diameter than larger bikes.

For light bikepacking setups, or heavy front OR rear loads, frame stiffness is a less important factor. That said, an ‘overbuilt’ frame won’t hurt. I’ve found that you’ll start to notice the positive effects of additional frame stiffness when the light end of your bike exceeds 5kg/11lb.

If you’ve noticed your frame likes to oscillate, other than replacing your frameset, you can also consider adding a trailer which will better distribute a heavy load. I’ve got a list of exceptional bicycle touring trailers HERE.

To Find Out Whether Steel, Aluminium or Titanium Is Best For Bike Travel, Click HERE

The post Why Frame Stiffness Matters On Touring Bikes (But Not Bikepacking Bikes) appeared first on CyclingAbout.com.

Mountain bike tires are often optimised for grip by employing soft rubber compounds in their construction. This is great for trails, but not necessarily your highest priority if you’re on an epic bike journey. Luckily for the adventurers out there, there are a handful of bikepacking tires that are optimised for durability, intentionally or not – which I’ll be covering in this resource.

I asked the highest-mileage riders I know (ultra racers and round-the-world adventurers) which bikepacking tyres they reliably use for months at a time. The same few tires were recommended over and over, suggesting that there is somewhat of a consensus here. The tires I will be recommending have been known to last upwards of 8000km/5000mi, and as much as 25000km/15000mi.

Maxxis undoubtedly has the best reputation for making the most-durable, high mileage tires, in particular, their models with the EXO casing. The tires by Continental that feature their ‘ProTection’ label are also exceptional. Schwalbe off-road tires commonly prioritise grip rather than durability, but a few of their touring models work out well for dirt roads. Vittoria makes a few super fast-rolling models that folks are getting great mileage out of, and they come in the new 29 x 2.60″ size too.

But first, let’s start with some general tire info.

Sarah Hammond is the 3x Race to the Rock winner and has NEVER had a puncture on her Maxxis Ikon tires mounted to Curve carbon rims. Not even when out training for her ultra races!

Rolling Resistance And Bikepacking Tires

If speed is your aim, stop thinking about how to shave a kilogram off your kit and start looking at fast tires. Rolling resistance plays a big role in your cycling speed because no matter what speed you ride, it’s a consistent force that you need to overcome (unlike air resistance which increases with speed). The speed difference between slow and fast rolling tires is very significant – a slow rolling set of tires will tax you 90 watts, while a fast set will take as little 46 watts. If you’re putting 150 watts into the pedals, 40-something watts is a large percentage of your effort to have disappearing into your tire contact patch.

There is a ‘but’, however.

This assumes a relatively smooth riding surface. The rougher a trail gets, the wider your tires need to be to optimise your speed. Tires in a 3.00″ width can absolutely be the fastest rolling tire option under the right conditions. I think it makes the most sense to optimise rolling resistance for the surfaces that you will be riding most.

I have provided the rolling resistance data where I can (thanks to BicycleRollingResistance.com), but I’ve also estimated the resistance for other tires too. This information isn’t 100% accurate, but I have factored in many data points (width, casing, similar tires etc) to arrive at these approximate numbers.

Head HERE for an in-depth look at the rolling resistance lab testing for touring tires.

This tire size comparison chart by Jamis Bikes is the best I’ve seen.

Bikepacking Tire Sizes And Widths

29 Inch
The fastest option is a 29-inch mountain bike wheelset for most off-road terrain. With a broad range of widths (2.00 to 2.60″), you should be able to find a tire that’s both quick on dirt roads and also very capable the trails. Narrower tires tend to have the advantage on smoother surfaces while wider tires will offer additional grip and comfort (nice on a rigid bike).

29+
For rough trails, this is the option that will roll over objects with the smallest ‘angle of attack’. 29+ works out to be fastest over rocks, and with the increased tire footprint and volume, you’ll find them to be supremely grippy too.

27.5 Inch
Not too many MTB bikepacking bikes are built around this wheel size, however, a growing number of drop bar gravel bikes can accommodate tires in the 27.5 x 2.00-2.40″ range. Bikes that fit these tires can often also be interchangeably used with 700 x 35-45C wheelsets too. The All City Gorilla Monsoon or Bombtrack Hook EXT-C are two bikes that come to mind.

27.5+
This is the most popular plus-sized option as the wheel+tire diameter works out to be the equivalent of a 29″ wheel. As a result, you can have one bike that will fit two different wheelsets, allowing you to perfectly optimise your tires for your intended terrain.

26 Inch
A decade ago, the standard size for bike travel was 26 inch. There are still a few 26″ touring bikes getting about, but they’re becoming less common by the year (the 2019 Touring Bicycle Buyer’s Guide has very few). But 26 ain’t dead – 26″ is still the most common rim diameter for fat bikes and can still be found on many XS and small bikepacking bikes.

The bike pictured is Jesse Carlsson’s Curve GMX. Most ultra racers prefer the 29 x 2.20″ size because it’s fast but capable.

Factors Affecting Durability

There are a few factors affecting tire durability which need to be considered because, well, results will vary.

Rockiness of the Terrain
If you’re spending more time riding on rocks, you’re simply not going to get the same mileage as on a smooth dirt road. Based on anecdotal evidence, rocky terrain can increase tyre wear by as much as 75% (eg. 2000km instead of 8000km wear life).

Rider+Gear Weight
One reason why ultra racers often get such good mileage out of their tires is that they pack light. The heavier the load on the tire, the faster the tire wears. This isn’t the best news for heavier riders, sorry!

Riding Style
You will experience less tire wear by simply taking it easy on rough and rocky descents. Make sure to avoid locking up your rear tire whenever you can.

Air Pressure
I’ve found that by running a higher pressure than ideal (make sure not to exceed the maximum) allows for better mileage as the tire will deform less. Please note that both your speed and grip will be reduced by employing this strategy.

Tire Switching
An age-old way to get more life out of your tires is to switch the front to the rear at about 50% wear. As the rear wears faster than the front, this avoids having one very worn tire and another with thousands of kilometres of life left.

Tire Fit

Ideally, all tires would fit all rims with the same amount of ease. But this isn’t always the case; in the worst case scenarios, a tire can literally be an impossible fit. Equally, you don’t want a tire to be too loose, as this results in the tire bead being able to pop off the rim while riding.

Make sure you can get your tire off the rim with the tire levers you bring on your adventures. This is particularly important if you’re racing, as your hands will often be fatigued. You can pre-stretch your tires on another rim if they seem to be too tight, or alternatively, you can fit and remove your tires a few times to stretch a couple of extra millimetres out.

As for tubes or tubeless, the answer is undoubtedly… TUBELESS! Yes, it’s worth the hassle. A little extra sealant than recommended is worth its weight in gold too – you never know how many thorns you’ll meet on a long outing.

Bad Tire Batches

The recommended tires below don’t all have a perfect manufacturing track record, but they are pretty damn good – I think you can be confident with them. That said, it’s worth putting some mileage on a tire before taking it into the wilderness. Sometimes you’ll find the rubber layers can deform, or the bead can separate from the sidewall.

The good news is that these problems normally show themselves very early on, and any bad batch tires will be replaced under the manufacturer warranty.

The Otso Voyek is a 27.5+ or 29+ trail bike that can also accommodate up to 26 x 4.6” tires!

DURABLE 29″ BIKEPACKING TIRES

*If you want to buy any of these tires, doing it via the Amazon links give CyclingAbout a small commission which goes into creating more great resources for the bike travel community.

DURABLE 29+ BIKEPACKING TIRES

DURABLE 27.5″ BIKEPACKING TIRES

DURABLE 27.5+ BIKEPACKING TIRES

DURABLE 26″ FAT BIKE TIRES

Can You Recommend Any Other Long-Wearing Bikepacking Tires (8000km/5000mi+)?

The post Bikepacking Tires: Which Brands And Models Are The Most Durable? appeared first on CyclingAbout.com.

It’s a great time to be a bike tourer or bikepacker because travelling on a bike has never been more popular. With this wave of popularity comes more brands, more products, more competition and more money for designing cool things. I’m lucky enough to get all the new products shoved in my face, so I thought I’d round up my favourite bikepacking gear innovations from this year. Let’s go!

This list is in alphabetical order.

The Best Gear Innovations For 2018

1. Apidura Magnetic Top Tube Pack
This new top tube pack uses magnets to hold it in place. Not only does it look super neat, but you can keep your phone/wallet inside and remove it all while you run into a shop. How cool is that?!

2. Apidura Racing Handlebar Pack
The Apidura Racing Handlebar Pack caught my eye for two reasons. Firstly, it mounts directly to aero bars, keeping the bag stable and reducing the strain on your cables. It also has integrated feed bags on either end to quickly stow more bidons or snacks.

3. Jones SG 2.5 Loop Bar
This is a really elegant solution to achieving a bit more height out of your front end. Plus you get all the benefits of a wide touring bar with heaps of space for accessories!

4. kLite Bikepacker ULTRA Dynamo Light
Bikepackers are loving this new dynamo light by kLite. Compared to other lights, it has an exceptionally wide beam, more brightness (1350 lumens!), reduced flicker at lower speeds and a longer stand-light. It’s available in two beam patterns for on-road or off-road riding.

5. KT Dynamo Hub
KT is a new dynamo hub brand offering a model with interchangeable end caps that allow you to fit QR, 12mm or 15mm axles. The hub internals are KTs own design, but it shares the same hub shell with SP Dynamo. Given it has just been released, it’s not proven yet, but it’s looking very promising.

6. PDW Bundle Roll
In the last 12 months, we’ve seen dozens of stabilized bikepacking bags hit the market. The Bundle Roll is just one example, using a handlebar mount to keep everything still. This design will keep the drybag stable, will prevent paint rub, will give your cables room to breath and will make sure the drybag can’t rub on your front tyre.

7. Problem Solvers Bowtie Strap Anchors
This is a really neat solution for mounting bottles of all sizes. These Bowtie Anchors bolt on to your existing bidon mounts and provide the loopholes you need for some Voile straps to secure a water bottle, fuel bottle or drybag!

8. Restrap Accessory Bag
The Restrap handlebar harness now has this neat quick release accessory bag – simply slide it across and down to remove it. Like the Apidura Magnetic Top Tube Bag, this is another great place to stash your valuables.

9. Sawyer Micro Squeeze Water Filter
I’ve been using Sawyer Squeeze filters for almost as long as I’ve been travelling around the world. They’re super cheap and pretty much bombproof. Sawyer released a ‘Micro’ model this year which makes packing a filter even easier than before. The filter spec is 0.1 microns and it’s rated for 100,000 gallons!

10. SRAM NX Eagle Drivetrain
The SRAM NX drivetrain has made bikepacking bikes better thanks to its wide gear range and low cost. While stock bikes previously had 11-42t cassettes, the Eagle climbing gear is now boosted up to 50-tooth. This gives you more range, but more importantly, you can achieve an 18-inch climbing gear on a plus-bike without any trouble.

The Best Travel Bikes For 2018

11. All City Gorilla Monsoon
I really like what All City have done with the Gorilla Monsoon. This is a bike that can accommodate 27.5 x 2.4″ rubber, or alternatively 650B x 47C slicks with full fenders. The size range is great and it’s available as a frameset too. It has a super cool twin-plate fork crown and mounts for Surly-8 and 24-Pack rando-ish racks. The 1x drivetrain may be fine for some, but for lower gears, you could change the front chainring, or alternatively, fit a front derailleur. The wider-than-usual 73mm threaded bottom bracket shell makes fitting MTB front derailleurs and MTB cranksets (eg. 48/36/26t or 42/28t) very easy.

12. Cannondale Topstone Sora
When you factor in price, the 2019 Cannondale Topstone undoubtedly comes out on top in the light touring category. The aluminium frame features a threaded bottom bracket shell (big tick), rear rack mounts, internal cable routing in the downtube, routing for a dropper seatpost, 3x bidon cage mounts, a cargo cage mount and top tube bag mount. The frame is able to accommodate 700 x 42C and probably 650B x 47C too. The fork is FULL carbon (unheard of at this price) and thanks to the sub-compact crankset and wide range cassette, the climbing gear ratio is 24 gear inches. Achieving even lower gears is a very easy mod – simply swap the rear derailleur and cassette. Oh, did I mention a Topstone Sora is just a thousand bucks??

13. Salsa Warbird v4
The 2019 Salsa Warbird has once again paved the way for other carbon bikepacking bikes. It’s lighter and smaller than previously (good for 142cm/4ft8 riders). It fits 700c x 45c or 27.5″ x 2.1″ tyres. There’s provision for 2-3 bidon cages in the front triangle, one under the downtube and one on either side of the fork. There’s a top tube bag mount for those who like the idea of reducing strap wear. And it fits front/rear racks! The weight of the bike is between 8.4-10kg and the prices start from US $2399.

14. Surly Bridge Club
The Surly Bridge Club is my favourite flat bar tourer for 2018. It’s US $1200, it has a 17 gear inch climbing gear and it can fit 27.5 x 2.8″, 26 x 3.0″ or 700 x 47C tyres. It has also got all the braze-ons you need for touring, including mounts for the Surly-8 and 24-Pack rando-ish racks. Fit some fat slicks (Schwalbe Super Moto X) and fenders and you can take this bike on a long road tour too.

What Have Been Your Favourite Bike Travel Innovations For 2018?

The post My 14 Favourite Touring and Bikepacking Gear Innovations For 2018 appeared first on CyclingAbout.com.

Are you looking for a bike that will be able to take you deep into the wilderness? Perhaps you’re planning an expedition across a remote African desert or maybe it’s a rough touring route through the Peruvian Andes. Whatever your plans, today I’ll be introducing you to as many adventure touring bikes as possible.

Let’s explore!

Criteria For Selecting These Adventure Touring Bikes

Clearance for >2.20″ Tyres
I’ve settled on this width because it allows for standard mountain bike tyres to be fitted.

Front and Rear Rack Compatible
While many of you probably have the intention to use bikepacking bags – having rack compatibility simply gives you more options, and that ain’t a bad thing.

Ample Bidon and Cargo Cage Mounts
Most bikes in this list have 3+ bidon mounts, including a couple of cargo cage mounts.

Fender Compatibility Preferable
Some of you may scoff at the idea of taking fenders on a bike adventure, but the number of times I have issues with mud or debris is limited to a couple of times per year. Fenders keep you and your bike nice and dry, so don’t write ’em off just yet.

A Bit More On Adventure Touring Bikes

I’ve split this list into categories based on wheel diameter, tyre width and handlebar style. I think these are some of the most important characteristics of an adventure touring bike, as they largely determine the type of terrain your bike will handle. I generally recommend flat bars for adventure touring, you can read why HERE.

All tyre widths and diameters can be fast and capable as long as they’re appropriately matched to the terrain. Check out my resource on the most durable bikepacking tires to get a good idea for what might suit you best.

Most of the bikes in this list are constructed with steel tubing, but there’s a handful of titanium, carbon and aluminium bikes in there too. Given adventure touring bikes use large tyre volumes, you can expect a similar level of comfort across the board. I’ve got an in-depth resource on bike frame materials and durability found HERE.

*This resource was originally published in 2015 but has been updated in December 2018

26+ 27.5+ 29+ Adventure Touring & Bikepacking Bikes

Bombtrack Beyond+ 1 – €1899

Brother Big Bro – £1799

Chumba Ursa – US $3495

Co-Op Cycles ADV 4.2 – US $1899

Falkenjagd Hoplit Pi – from €5590

Genesis Longitude – £1199

Jones Plus SWB – US $1799

Kona Unit X – US $1299

Marin Pine Mountain – US $989

Mone El Continente frameset – US $1600

Ribble Adventure 725 – £1199

Sonder Frontier – £999

Surly ECR – US $1899

Tout Terrain Outback Pinion – from €3890

Trek 1120 – US $2649

Tumbleweed Prospector – US $3950

Velotraum Finder VK1 – €2350

Crust Evasion Frameset – US $979

Crust Scapegoat Frameset – US $825

Hunt Bikepacking Frameset – US $1299

Muru Mungo Titanium Frame – US $1400

Nordest Sardinha frame – €450

Soma Sandworm frame – US $519

Velo Orange Piolet Frameset – US $725

29″ Adventure Touring & Bikepacking Bikes – Drop Bar

Bombtrack Beyond 1 – €1,999

Breezer Radar Expert – US $1069

Cinelli Hobootleg Geo – €1899

Co-Motion Divide – from US $3495

Dean TransAlp Titanium frameset – US $2950

Genesis Vagabond – £1099

Kona Sutra LTD – US $1999

Salsa Cutthroat Apex – US $2899

Salsa Fargo Tiagra – from US $1999

Salsa Marrakesh – US $1499

Specialized AWOL – US $1200

Tout Terrain Tanami GT Rohloff – from €3990

Trek 920 – US $2099

29″ Adventure Touring & Bikepacking Bikes – Flat Bar

Avaghon X29 Ti – from €3640

Cube Travel –  €699

Falkenjagd Hoplit Pi – from €5590

Giant Toughroad SLR1 – US $1365

IdWorx All Rohler – from €4899

Intec M05 Rohloff

Koga WorldTraveller – €2199

Santos TravelMaster 3 – from €4815

Shand Tam Rohloff – £3695

Surly Ogre – US $1450

Van Nicholas Pioneer – from €4199

Gunnar Rock Tour Frame – US $1250

27.5″ Adventure Touring & Bikepacking Bikes – Drop Bar

All City Gorilla Monsoon – US $1999

Co-Motion Siskiyou – from US $3495

Crust Romanceur Frameset – US $1275

Curve GXR Titanium – US $5000

Masi Giramondo 27.5 – US $1349

Rawland xSogn – US $1699

Ribble Adventure Ti – £2499

Salsa Journeyman 650B – US $1199

Tout Terrain X.Over Scrambler GT – from €2090

27.5″ Adventure Touring & Bikepacking Bikes – Flat Bar

Jamis Sequel – US $999

Norwid Juetland Pinion

Rose Active Pro – €2099

Salsa Journeyman 650B – US $949

Surly Bridge Club – US $1200

Tout Terrain X.Over Scrambler Rohloff – from €3890

26″ Adventure Touring & Bikepacking Bikes

Bottcher Expedition Rohloff – from €2779

Co-Motion Pangea – from US $3495

Horizon Quest Titanium – from €4999

Norwid Spitzbergen Pinion

Patria Terra Rohloff – from €2786

Poison Morphin Rohloff – €3500

Ridgeback Expedition – £999

Rotor Komet Rohloff – from €2039

Santos Travelmaster 2.6 – from €3589

Simpel Frischluft 14 – €2900

Stanforth Kibo Rohloff – £3200

Stanforth Kibo Dirt Drop – £1995

Surly Troll – US $1750

Thorn Sherpa – £1368

Tout Terrain Silk Road – from €3890

Velo De Ville A650 – €1599

Velotraum VK3 – €2150

VSF TX-400 – €1599

Other Bike Lists On CyclingAbout:
Complete List of Touring Bicycle Manufacturers
Complete List of Tandem Builders and Manufacturers
Complete List of Touring Bikes Available in Australia
List of XS Touring Bikes for Smaller Cyclists: 42, 44, 46cm
List of XXL Touring Bikes for Taller Cyclists: 62, 63, 64cm

The post Complete List of Off-Road, Adventure Touring & Bikepacking Bikes appeared first on CyclingAbout.com.

Enjoy my adventure over the highest section of the Andes, through Peru’s craziest canyons and along some wild mountain trails – before hearing the story and seeing the footage from my freak accident (skip to 15:05 for the fall).

If you’d like to support my films directly, you can do that on:
– Patreon (with monthly rewards)
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MY BIKE: Koga WorldTraveller-S
MY 25KG GEAR LIST: Here
MY ROUTE: Here
MY CAMERAS: Panasonic GH4 + GoPro Hero 6

FILM COLORING: Andreas Leidenfrost
MUSIC: Fakear DJ Set

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Enjoy my adventure over the highest section of the Andes (Huascaran National Park), through Peru’s craziest canyons and along some wild mountain trails.

MY BIKE: Koga WorldTraveller-S
MY 25KG GEAR LIST: Here
MY ROUTE: Here
MY CAMERAS: Panasonic GH4 + GoPro Hero 6

People ask me literally hundreds of questions per month about bike travel. I answer everything! You’d think I’d get sick of talking about bikes, gear and adventures, but honestly, the more I travel by bike, the more I want to talk about it. You have no idea how deep my passion for this extends! I normally don’t get to reply to your emails/comments in as much detail as I’d like (no time!), so this month I created a place where I can actually do your questions justice. My favourite question this month allowed me to describe the changes I would make to my bike and gear so that it’s more off-road appropriate. It took me a whole day to think that one over! I also got to discuss my rain gear philosophy and how I find all the backroads I ride.

I spent half of today staring at satellite maps in order to piece together a 150km route linking two mountain towns that have precisely… zero roads connecting them. It should have some rad views over the Amazon, but may also require hundreds of kilometres of backtracking if it doesn’t pan out! YOLO??? This month is going to be completely wild, can’t wait to share the experience.

Our sense of beauty evolved from pattern recognition in nature. The things that helped us to survive (for example, picking fruit that consistently looked the same) activated the rewards centre of our brains, helping us to subconsciously navigate potentially dangerous situations. While survival now comes somewhat easily, we still do get a kick from beautiful places/objects that are comprised of great symmetry and detail (like what you’ll find in the natural world). On the other hand, monotonous environments (typically man-made) are scientifically proven to negatively affect our wellbeing, behaviour, mood and cognitive function. For optimal health, Dr. Alee therefore prescribes you 1x daily dose of NATURE.

The Cordillera Blanca is the highest section of the Andes mountains. No less than 22 peaks exceed 6000m/20,000ft here, resulting in vast areas of snow, ice and glaciers (hence the name, “white mountain range”). I’ve just spent six days exploring some of the mountain roads and trails with mixed luck (weather!) – but it’s safe to say this is one of the most impressive regions of the South American continent.

Two tickets to the gun show! Ok, so my biceps aren’t very impressive, but I can ride my bike for longer than I can stay awake. And I can carry my fully-loaded touring bike up some pretty gnarly trails!

Don’t worry, I’ve got the bike-push technique down pat. The secret is to mostly pull the bike rather than push; from behind the seat tube when it’s super steep, or from the seatpost or seat when it’s not.

Ride with me through the pearly gates and down a dirt road that has more than 30 hairpin turns. The next film is going to have some pretty wild scenes!!

WELCOME TO MY PLEASURE PALACE I’ll just be carvin’ it up here, come join anytime.

It doesn’t matter how slow you go, as long as you don’t stop.

I’ve been cycling over snowy passes for six months now! It’s time to say goodbye though; my next ones will be in the USA. Today I’m cycling towards the Amazon to a region where there aren’t even roads marked on the maps. Hopefully, I’ve done enough homework to string together 7-8 days of small mountain tracks. It’ll be two weeks of backtracking and re-routing if not… wish me luck!

A week ago I had the worst accident of my life, in one of the least-accessible locations. I was pushing my bike along a small trail when the ground disappeared beneath me. I fell 30 metres (100ft) from the trail with my bike, free-falling the last 7-8m (25ft) onto some rocks. I have torn tendons in my hand and multiple broken ribs. Considering the huge impact, it’s incredible my injuries aren’t worse. There were no roads in this part of Peru, so it was five days before I could get proper medical attention. I’ll be sharing the insane story of this freak accident over the next week, and please rest assured – I’m fine and will make a full recovery over the next month.

It took me a few seconds to register what the hell just happened. I was the straw that broke the camel’s back, falling 30 metres (100ft) from a very low-risk trail. I had somehow protected my head from impact all the way down and I could still feel my limbs. I gingerly got up from the creek bed and couldn’t believe how mobile I was. I moved my bags which were strewn all over the rocks to a place where they were no longer sitting in water. I then had to work out how I was going to get up to the trail with a non-functioning wrist, and a back which was slowly locking up thanks to the muscles protecting my injuries. I left everything behind and started climbing my way up the creek. It was steep enough to climb like a large set of stairs. I jumped from boulder to boulder and finally made it to the base of a waterfall which was over 5m high. I somehow climbed up this vertical wall without using one of my arms – it’s amazing what the body is capable of when there’s no other way out. I stumbled like a robot for a few kilometres to the nearest village and asked for help. The locals quickly turned from warm-welcome to holy-crap-this-guy-isn’t-in-a-good-way; after all, my shirt was torn to shreds, there was blood everywhere and I was covered in dirt. I collapsed in a heap and explained that I’d fallen off a cliff with my bike. My back was seizing up even more and my wrist was now immobile with swelling, but an army of people followed me back to retrieve my bike and gear. I couldn’t leave it where it was, as the afternoon’s monsoonal rainfall was imminent.

We found a good way to get down to the bike and an even better way to get all my gear out. The assisting kids each grabbed a piece of my luggage and we were now marching towards the nearby village. It was only now that I realised my bike was in a bad way, which should be expected after an impact from 30 metres. The front wheel was folded in, the forks were bent, the handlebar was snapped and all kind of bits hung off it. I didn’t even want to entertain what was going on inside my panniers. About halfway to the village, and a dozen people were assembled who were shoving leaves in their mouths and chewing furiously. I was sat down and an elder poured water over my open cuts. She was then summoning people to spit the chewed-up green paste on all of my wounds (turns out they were coca leaves), rubbing it in deep. This is the traditional way to ward off infection. By now I was feeling faint and REALLY had to lay down as my back had almost turned to stone. It was another few kilometres of marching up a hill to a house which was finally accessible by three-wheel motorbike. I was laid on a heap of blankets and was thankful that this was over for now. The family offered to get me to a nearby medical centre, but given the pain I was in, I couldn’t imagine anything worse than bumping along these tracks on the back of a trike. I asked if I could spend the night with them and they kindly agreed. They brought me plates full of rice and chickpeas and helped me into their icy-cold shower to change out of my bloody clothes and into something dry.

At 6am I was woken because a trike was waiting to take me to a nearby medical centre. I jumped in the back with all of my possessions and we were soon bumping along the insanely steep mountain roads. The trike operator made a cushion for me to sit on, but the shock travelling up my back was simply unbearable. I squatted to reduce the impact, however, after just a few kilometres I was in tears. I was already dreading the remaining 110km to the hospital and started planning a way to walk out of here! The medical centre was as basic as you’d imagine, complete with muddy floors. A handful of random passers-by joined the nurses to hear the details of my accident. After some painkillers, a cream was getting rubbed into my wounds while my wrist and hand were getting aggressively poked and prodded to find out which bits were in the most pain. I didn’t dare tell them about my ribs. The steep muddy roads were too much of a risk to ride with the current heavy rainfall, so it was a 4-day wait for a trike that could take me to hospital. In the meantime, I was invited out for every lunch and dinner, and for a whole day, I patrolled the town with the very friendly police officers. Nobody I spoke to had ever seen a foreigner in Bambamarca. For most children, I was the first foreigner they’d ever laid eyes on. Their stares couldn’t have been longer or more intense.

Alarm anxiety had hit. It was 1AM and I could feel cortisol stimulating every part of my body. In just one hour I’d be in the back of a trike making the long journey to hospital. The trike was rumbling outside my room while my helper Oliver was gathering my every possession and dumping them into the single bed sized tray. The full moon offered far more light than the dim, wavering headlight beam. My eyes were quickly able to adjust to the serene dark blues and greens of the endless mountains surrounding us. A sea of thick clouds had perfectly filled every valley 2000 metres below; we’d soon be visiting this damp, mystical world. The stillness, quiet and beauty of the nightscape were only interrupted by face-level spiderwebs… annnnd intense jolts that resulted in the audible cracking of my ribcage. I jammed my feet in the corners of the tray, single-handedly holding onto a safety rail and bracing myself with core muscles I didn’t even know existed. I kept my quads loose enough to absorb as many of the big hits as possible; it took every bit of my concentration to prevent them from cramping after suffering a leg death of a thousand squats. The 20km/12mi journey to a nearby 4×4 track took four hours to complete. A few days prior I walked UP this trail, gaining almost 3000 vertical metres (10,000ft) in as many kilometres. So essentially, we were descending a trail that’s >20% for the most part. And there is almost zero margin for error when the rear wheels take up the full trail width. While the riders take all the precautions necessary, it was still terrifying being so close to the near-vertical embankment as the trike slid about in thick mud. An aspiring World Rally Championship driver was waiting for us at the bottom of the mountain. Nine people piled into the only vehicle leaving for the city today. I wish there were more moments when the four wheels weren’t drifting; the game of ‘corners’ is much more fun when you don’t have hundreds of kilograms of bodies crushing your damaged rib cage. The smell of vomit permeated through the vehicle as plastic bags were filled and immediately discarded out of the windows into the pristine canyons outside. Seeing this disregard for the environment hurt more than all my ailments combined. It may have taken 15 hours to cover just 291km, but I was now within spitting distance of a hospital in the beachside city of Trujillo.

Can you make out the 4500-year-old brickwork from this ancient ritual building? I camped within a stone’s throw of this timeworn structure, thinking all-night about the generations of people from different eras who also shared the same night sky. A humbling and incredible experience!

DO YOU HAVE A GIRLFRIEND? Standard question, asked every day. No, I don’t. This life is rough – I live in a tent, eat mangoes underground, push my bike up unknown trails and sometimes fall off cliffs, apparently. What kind of messed-up human would actually join me on a silly journey like that?! …cos I need to meet them.

For 365 days now I’ve been on the South American continent. I feel like I can remember almost every moment, which is such a cool aspect to living a non-routine life. Routine is nice; it gives you great comfort – but it’s also the ENEMY of time. It makes it disappear! I’m hoping to turn my 100 years on this planet into 1000 by living my unconventional dream.

A lot of you have been asking if I’m getting a whole new bike. I spent days checking and re-checking every millimetre of my ride, and fortunately, the damage is limited to the front. The fork, headset, handlebars and rim will be replaced in the coming weeks. KOGA bikes actually allowed me to design my new handlebar shape which I’m SUPER excited to test. It could be better or worse than my beloved Velo Orange Crazy Bars – I’ll let you know. The rear rack needs replacing too; it was the roll cage that protected the rear end of the bike. A massive shout out to Aloys at KOGA for helping to get this broken traveller back onto the smallest trails of the Andes!

Hey! It’s just me on this incredible car-free road in Peru (my favouritest country ever for adventure touring – I’ve been here for five months and don’t think I’ll be able to leave ).

Ever wondered why I like short-shorts so much? With these bad boys I get water clearance for dayssss! (They’re actually normal-length shorts delicately draped over some irresistibly lengthy underpinnings – Sarah Hammond will verify the numbers! )

I was recently asked whether I think spending so much time documenting my experiences detracts from the ‘purity’ of travel. The thing is that I’ve never NOT documented my travel experiences! To me, the storytelling aspect of travel has always been just as important as the journey itself; it’s both my creative outlet and precious preserver of memories. Since childhood, I’ve always taken photographs in exotic places, and even before I started CyclingAbout, I would put pen to paper to keep a highly-detailed daily journal. Going public with my thoughts, ideas and experiences has actually given me MORE insight into my own life, as I get to start regular dialogues with thousands of brilliant minds (you!).

What am I going to do when I get to Alaska? Let’s be real here, I’ll probably try to keep the dream alive and go to AFRICA! (But only if I’m still having as much fun as I am now… )

The sheer resilience and incredible efficiency of cactuses never cease to amaze me. These two qualities I quite admire in almost everything, including all the great humans of this world. Here’s to being more resilient and efficient, my globetrotting amigos!

Since I was a child, one thing has always made sense to me: we should learn how to live our lives from people who’ve almost completed theirs. For a long time now I’ve been designing a life that AVOIDS the greatest regrets of the oldest members of our society. This seems like a logical shortcut, no? The most profound things I’ve heard include living true to yourself (and not living the life others expect of you), expressing your feeling more, spending less time worrying and more time accepting, investing more time in your family, working less, travelling more and keeping in touch with old friends.

The post Photo Gallery: Bicycle Touring Huascaran National Park & Canyon del Pato appeared first on CyclingAbout.com.

While still quite unconventional, aerobars are gaining in popularity for bike trips thanks to the rise of ultra racing events like the Tour Divide. But what you may not realise is that for these events, and many other bike trips – bikepacking aerobars aren’t really about speed. Most aerobar users will agree the biggest advantage is actually the extra comfort they offer.

Let’s get aero!

Rob English makes custom bikepacking aerobars for his customers, this one is built around a Jones Loop bar.

Why Bikepacking Aerobars Are Awesome

Enjoy A Different Riding Position
Aerobars offer an entirely new riding position that’s most beneficial on long days where your body sits statically. With your elbows and humerus (arm bone) supporting the majority of your upper body weight, you’ll reduce strain on your arms, wrists and hands. In addition, aerobars will allow you to stretch out and use different back muscles.

Reduce Your Frontal Area
One of the biggest forces working against you is wind resistance. Aerobars will help to reduce your frontal area, resulting in higher riding speeds for the same amount of effort. This is particularly nice if you’re riding into headwinds but will also appeal to those attempting to cover longer daily distances.

More Mounting Options
If you’ve ever used then removed a set of aerobars after an event, you’ll know how much you miss that extra bar real estate. For bikepacking setups, aerobars are a great place to mount bike computers, lights, phones and feed bags. Check out the Profile Design UCM ($11 on Amazon) to create more horizontal space.

Lewis Ciddor making the most of his bikepacking aerobars in New Mexico to take the 2018 Tour Divide win. Image: Tom Briggs

Frame Design And Aerobars

There are two frame geometries for bike travel:
– Frames that are designed for flat handlebars (with longer top tubes)
– Frames that are designed for drop handlebars (with shorter top tubes)

Given that riding in an aero position requires you to stretch further forward than normal, drop bar bikes with their shorter top tubes tend to be the best candidates for an aerobar setup. That said, there are a few products that will help you to achieve a comfortable riding position on flat bar bikes too, which I will be focusing on below.

Super Adjustable Aerobars

The majority of aerobars are designed to increase your speed on a road racing bike, more specifically in the triathlon discipline. The thing is that sizing between almost all road bikes of similar sizes is within millimetres, so aerobars don’t actually have to be very adjustable for the most part.

However, given that there is so much more variation between touring and bikepacking frames, plus the fact we’re looking to prioritise comfort over speed – you’ll want some aerobars with the most adjustability possible.

Here are the adjustments that are most useful for bike travel:

Armrest Adjustment. The vast majority of aerobar armrests are limited to a fixed position only (or a few millimetres of adjustment). In order to optimise your bike for comfort, however, you will probably need to bring your aerobars closer to your saddle using armrest adjustment. The only downside to this aerobar design is that they aren’t compatible with flip-up armrests (I’ll talk more about flip-up armrests below).

Arm Pad Adjustment. Most arm pads can be rotated inward up to about 15-degrees, allowing you to dial in your position. Arm pads are often available in multiple thicknesses too. Profile Design offer 16mm and 20mm, the latter is preferred for dirt road riding.

Extension Adjustment. The two bars that stick out from the front of aerobars are the ‘extensions’ or ‘skis’. These are normally adjustable in terms of length, rotation and width.

Height Adjustment. Some aerobar models have compatible riser kits that allow 50-70mm / 2-3″ of height adjustment. Getting the appropriate height will not only allow you to maintain a good hip angle but will also decrease the overall reach, resulting in a more comfortable riding position (I’ll talk more about aerobar height below).

Fred Bar Steerer Mounting Kit

A steerer mounting kit like the Fred Bar puts your aerobars directly above your stem, reducing your aerobar-to-saddle distance by approx. 40-80mm / 2-3″. This 133-gram steerer mounting kit was originally designed for flat handlebar bikes but is also a great option if you’re using aerobars without adjustable armrests (see picture above). A side benefit to the Fred Bar is that you can quickly add or remove your aerobars from your bike by simply removing your stem top cap.

Recommended Aerobar Setup Height

On a touring or bikepacking bike, you’ll probably want to fit your aerobars a few centimetres higher than your saddle. The reason for this isn’t to optimise comfort, but rather to ensure your hip angle doesn’t change when switching between your aerobar and regular riding positions.

A radically different hip angle requires a different saddle position in relation to your crankset. That’s why you’ll find such steep seat tube angles on time trial bikes. With a lower and more forward riding position, you’ll also need a different saddle shape that’s wider and more padded on the nose.

For bike travel, you’ll be best off setting up your aerobars high to start with. You can then reduce the height until you’re low enough to be fast, but also comfortable enough to maintain your riding position for long periods of time. If you find yourself sliding forward to the nose of the saddle, you’ll either need to move your saddle further forward, or increase the height of your aerobars. For moderately low riding positions (ie. aerobars a touch lower than your saddle), sliding your saddle forward on the rails will be enough to accommodate for the small changes to your hip angle.

You can raise your handlebars on your steerer if you have space, but the preferred option is to use aerobar riser kits. This will allow you to keep your existing handlebar height but also optimise your aerobars independently of everything else. If you prefer a slightly lower handlebar position but don’t want your aerobars to affect your hip rotation, an aerobar riser kit with up to 70mm / 3″ rise will be 100% necessary.

Do you still want a riding position that’s aerodynamically optimised? You should look into:

Dual-Position Seatposts
A really neat workaround for the hip-angle thing is to install a Redshift Switch seatpost. In just a second you can move your seat 50mm / 2.0″ forward, providing 3-4 degrees of effective seat tube angle change. Then when you’re done using your aerobars, you can shift your seat back to a more suitable position for riding upright.

Time Trial Saddles
Lower and more stretched-out riding positions put much more weight on the nose of your saddle. To be comfortable, you’ll need to test out a few time trial or triathlon saddles. If your position isn’t too low, a great all-around saddle for both a time trial and road position is the Selle SMP Pro.

Aerobar Types

Shape and Construction Material
Aerobars often come with two individual extensions (skis), but they can also be connected at the front. You’ll probably prefer individual extensions because that will allow you to adjust the width between armrests too. The extensions themselves are available in many different shapes to suit different wrist angles; the more angled versions tend to feel the most natural (but are slightly less aero). Aerobar extensions are constructed out of aluminium, carbon or titanium, but other than the 40-50 gram weight saving, you’ll find very little difference between them.

Fold-Up Armrests
There are two reasons to use fold-up armrests. The first is to gain more handlebar real estate on a narrow drop handlebar. By getting the armrests out of the way, you’re able to make use of, rather than lose the top of the handlebars. Fold-up armrests also offer a much better fit for bikepacking stem/feed bags (more on that below). The downside to fold-up armrests? They’re only available for aerobars with fixed position armrests (no forward or backward movement). I recommend fitting fold-up armrests only once you’ve worked out what position works for you first – they’re normally only available as an upgrade anyway.

Mini Aerobars
These small and lightweight aerobars (~200 grams) are designed for particularly short riding durations (eg. sprint distance triathlons). Most people who have used mini aerobars for bike adventures have found that the short extensions simply put too much force into their wrists, rending them useless after only a few minutes. That said, it’s possible mini aerobars could work for you if you put very little upper body weight on them; you’d have to have a particularly short and upright riding position for this to be the case, however.

BarYak Expedition
BarYak aerobars have been designed specifically for bikepacking with flat handlebars in particular. Unlike other aerobars, the wide elbow pad width allows for feed bags to be used on either side of your stem. While these aerobars aren’t quite as short as a mini aerobar, you will still have to compromise a bit on length. Other advantages to using the BarYak system include being able to mount a Revelate Sweetroll handlebar pack at four locations (rather than two), extra space for accessories and the fact you can angle the bar-ends to your preferred wrist angle.

Jones Gnarwhal
A little-known product that gives an aerobar-like position is the Jones Gnarwhal. This single bar-end is fitted out the front of a Loop bar like a rhino horn (or narwhal tusk!). The Gnarwhal gets quite mixed reviews; a few users have found that simply running their arms along the ends of the Loop bar achieves a very similar body position. If you do decide to give the Gnarwhal a try, make sure to install some thick foam under your bartape to ensure maximum elbow comfort.

Bikepacking Bags and Aerobars

Jonas Deichmann fitted his stem bags out to the side for his 97-day ride from Alaska to Argentina.

Feed Bags (aka Stem Bags)
Aerobars typically share the same handlebar real-estate as stem bags. That doesn’t stop people mounting their stem bags wide, or directly from the aerobar extensions out front.

Ultra racing legend Kristof Allegaert using the Apidura aerobar pack on a Curve Belgie road bike.

Bikepacking Bags Designed For Aerobars
Bikepacking handlebar packs have no problem mounting to a bike fitted with aerobars. There is one handlebar pack designed to fit directly to aerobars though: the Apidura Racing Handlebar Pack. This bag mounts at four locations, keeping it stable and reducing the strain on your brake and gear cables. It also has integrated feed bags on either side to quickly stow additional bidons or snacks.

Mark Beaumont rode 18-hours per day around the world record (78-days) with this aerobar cockpit. See his KOGA bike HERE.

Handlebar Bags
It’s almost impossible to use aerobars in conjunction with a typical touring handlebar bag. The only way I’ve seen this work is if the handlebar bag is mounted very low on a t-bar, but this will depend entirely on your bike setup. For the vast majority of bikes, I’d suggest handlebar bags are incompatible with aerobars.

Recommended Touring & Bikepacking Aerobars

*If you want to buy any of these aerobars, doing it via the Amazon links gives CyclingAbout a small commission (no cost to you) which goes into creating more great resources for the bike travel community.

Profile Design T+ Series – 500 grams – T1+ (US $119), T2+ (US $92), T3+ (US $169), T4+ (US $106)

Thanks to their huge adjustability, the entire T+ series are popular for bikepacking. Some riders can even get the adjustable armrests back far enough to be comfortable on flat bar bikes without requiring a Fred Bar. This series of aerobars comes in five different extension bends (T4+ highly recommended) and two different pad kits (16mm or 20mm for extra comfort). Extension adjustments include the length, width and rotation; the arm pad angle can be adjusted 15-degrees too.

Riser kits for the T+ series are available up to 70mm. If you’re happy to lose the armrest adjustment, the flip-up bracket kit (US $88 on Amazon) adds more handlebar usability and only 20 grams.

Pro Missile S-Bend – 484 grams – US $179

The closest aerobars to the T+ series are the Pro Missile. While they have great adjustability, there’s only two extension shapes available and no riser kits that I know of. They may be easier to get your hands on, however, as they are available through all Shimano dealers.

RedShift Switch Aero System – Carbon 564g and US $249 – Aluminium 640g and US $179

If you’re planning on fitting and removing your aerobars regularly, you’ll want a set of RedShift Switch aerobars. These quick release bars take just a few seconds to install/remove and you can even have clamps on multiple bikes! There are two extension shapes available – L-bend (recommended) and a flatter and more aerodynamic S-bend. The only limitations of the Switch bars are the extra weight and lack of armrest adjustment. That said, these bars could be a great fit on many bikes in combination with a Fred Bar steerer mount.

BarYak Expedition – 484 grams – US $365

I talked about the BarYak above – with these fitted you’ll get feed bag space, accessory space and more mounting points for a Revelate Handlebar Harness. The main downside is the lack of length and adjustability of the armrests, so this could be a great upgrade once you’ve already found a position that works on your more adjustable aerobars.

Aerobars For Bike Travel. Yes Or No? Tell Us Your Experience Below.

The post Bikepacking Aerobars: Increase Your Comfort And Speed On Your Bike Adventures appeared first on CyclingAbout.com.

Sourcing fat bike fenders is a difficult task if you don’t know where to look. The good news is that a few off-the-shelf and custom fender options have recently been made available. I won’t be covering the nuances of fenders in this article, so please start with my comprehensive fender resource to understand everything there is to know about fenders.

A Surly Wednesday dressed with some wide Honjo aluminium fenders. Image: Found In The Mountains

Before I take you through the available fender options, here’s some info specific to fat bike fenders:

Fender Widths
Fenders are measured on the outside (not the inside) so a good rule is to subtract 10mm off the fender width to determine the maximum tyre clearance. You’ll ideally need a 20mm gap between the top of your tyre and fender, and about 5mm on either side of the struts. For example, a 75mm (3.00″) wide fender will comfortably clear a 65mm (2.60″) wide tyre. That said, manufacturers are usually very conservative with the maximum tyre clearances they recommend. You can often stretch the maximum tyre clearance to match the fender width, provided the struts allow it. A small bend to the strut near the tyre may be required.

Front Derailleur Clearance
The only other thing to know about fat bike fenders is that they can sometimes inhibit the action of a front derailleur. To get around this, you can use a Dremel to cut a small section of the fender off near the chainstay.

Clay Mud
You’ll be surprised how much terrain you can cover without your fat bike fenders clogging. I normally hit sticky mud just 2-3 times per year (travelling off-road fulltime), but some regions of the world are notorious for their sticky mud. It’s probably best to leave the fenders at home if you’re expecting rain and clay/volcanic mud!

Right, let’s take a close look at the fat bike fenders available.

Honjo H95 Fenders – 65mm Wide

You can see this gorgeous Ahearne Outback in detail HERE.

The fanciest fenders for mid-fat tires have got to be Honjo H-95s. As the struts go over the top of these aluminium fenders they get tyre clearance far beyond the 2.20″ maximum they recommend. For example, the Honjo H95 mudguards fitted to the Ahearne Outback above are comfortably wrapped around Schwalbe G-One 27.5 x 2.80″ tyres, but other riders have even squeezed in 3.00″ rubber. You can get these in 27.5″ or 29″ lengths (polished silver) for US $145.

Planet Bike Cascadia ALX 65 Fenders – 65mm Wide

Chip’s Soma Wolverine. Image: What Bars

The Cascadia ALX aluminium fenders have been a popular option for touring bikes for quite some time. These are some of the longest fenders available too because they’ve been designed around a 29er wheel diameter. Planet Bike recommends a 2.00″ maximum tyre, but many have managed to squeeze in 2.40″ provided you mount the fenders high. You can find these fenders in black or silver for US $70, and it’s handy to know that mounting hardware is available aftermarket too.

Sim Works Flat 65 Fenders – 65mm Wide

Stephanie’s Surly Wednesday with 2.80″ tyres. Image: Found In The Mountains

The Sim Works Flat 65 fenders are actually re-branded Honjo H-95 aluminium ‘guards. With an extra bend made to the strut near the tyres, they will even clear a 3.00″ tyre (see Stephanie’s Surly Wednesday in detail HERE). They’re available in polished silver (US $135) or black (US $151), a colour that’s unique to Sim Works.

SKS P65 Fenders – 65mm Wide

For a long time, SKS has been making these wide mudguards for 26″ mountain bike wheels. You can find the P65 fenders matched to 2.40″ tyres on many touring and electric bikes include the KOGA WorldTraveller Signature builds. The main downside to this option is that they’re a little bit short when paired to a 29er wheel. The SKS P65s are available in black or silver for US $49 on Amazon.

SKS Bluemels 75 U Fenders – 75mm Wide

SKS released these off-road fenders in late-2018. Officially they’re good for 2.60″ but we know that the combination between flatter-profile ‘guards and bent fender struts should suit even wider tyres – 3.00″ are theoretically be a breeze. You can get SKS Bluemels 75 in matte black for US $75 on Amazon.

Honjo H101 Fenders – 78mm Wide

Coming soon from Honjo is the new H101 model. Honjo says it’s designed to clear 2.30″ tyres but given the flat profile and strut design, there should be no reason why you can’t squeeze in 3.00″ rubber too. Honjo will make these in two lengths; one to suit 27.5″ and a longer version for 29″.

Wald Balloon 962 Fenders – 81mm Wide

Chip’s Crust Evasion with Wald fenders. Image: What Bars

These wide Wald fenders were originally designed for lowriders and cruisers, but they tend to make a great fender for off-road tread too. Chip from Whatbars.com has his wrapped around some 27.5 x 3.00″ tires. You can get the 962s in black or chrome for just US $34 on Amazon.

Surface604 Fat Bike Fenders – 120mm Wide

These are the only off-the-shelf fat bike fenders available. They’ve been designed specifically to suit a Surface 604 fat bike but should be adjustable enough to suit most bikes with tyres 4.50″ wide or less. You can get them in black for US $119.

Kelpie Cycles Titanium Fenders – Custom

Kelpie Cycles are one of the only companies that make hammer-rolled titanium fenders. They can whip them up in any width and length you desire – check out the 36er fenders found on this Black Sheep cruiser!

MK Wooden Fenders – Custom

MK Fenders are hyper-customizable wooden fenders made in Iowa, USA. You can choose the wheel size, fender length, fender width, wood type and colour inlay. The base price is US $200, but they can be optioned-out to over US $400.

Woody’s Wooden Fenders – Custom

Woody’s Fenders of Oregon, USA make fenders that are works of art. They’re available in a number of shape profiles and wood patterns (you’ve got to check out the options on the website!). The built-and-ready fenders start from US $120, but expect a full custom set to be north of US $250.

DIY Modified Fat Bike Fenders

You can make your own fat bike fenders by slicing a set of off-the-shelf fenders in half (Planet Bike Cascadia are popular), widening them with a 3.00″ strip of aluminium and attaching it all back together with rivets. There are a few good tutorials floating around online to complete this hack. The other popular DIY option is to source some ‘trials motorbike’ fenders and match them to some bicycle fender hardware.

Click HERE To Find Out More About Mounting Fenders To Your Bike

The post List Of Fat Bike Fenders and Mudguards For Wide Off-Road Tires (2.2″ to 5.0″) appeared first on CyclingAbout.com.

Six weeks ago I had the worst accident of my life, in one of the least-accessible locations. I was pushing my bike along a small trail when the ground collapsed beneath me. It happened in a flash – one second I was on the trail, the next I was falling 30 metres (100ft) with my bike, free-falling the last 7-8m (25ft) onto some rocks.

I tore some tendons in my hand and broke multiple ribs. Considering the huge impact, it’s incredible my injuries weren’t worse. There were no roads in this part of Peru, so it was five days before I could get proper medical attention.

This is the story of my crazy accident.

The Fall

It took me a few seconds to register what the hell just happened. I was the straw that broke the camel’s back; my body weight caused a landslide, resulting in a 30 metre (100ft) fall from a very low-risk trail. I had somehow protected my head from impact all the way down and I could still feel my limbs. I gingerly got up from the creek bed and couldn’t believe how mobile I was. I moved my bags which were strewn all over the rocks to a place where they were no longer sitting in water. I then had to work out how I was going to get up to the trail with a non-functioning wrist, and a back which was slowly locking up thanks to the muscles protecting my injuries.

The post When A Remote Mountain Trail Collapses In Peru, It Ain’t Good News appeared first on CyclingAbout.com.

This is a little project I set for myself that I’m hoping can be a guide for your own custom build or bike upgrades. It’s essentially a list of all of the gear that I think is well-proven for bike travel. The project will also give you a good idea for the types of setup and parts I’m always thinking about.

This can be considered a ‘dream build’, but I’ve importantly factored in:
Price – I’ve selected parts that offer high comfort, performance and durability without necessarily being the most expensive.
Product availability – You won’t find particularly obscure or custom parts here; most parts are available in all regions.

This build is designed to handle the world’s roughest roads and will support a massive amount of gear if you need. It’ll crush famous routes like the Pamir Highway, Peru Divide or Outback in Australia, but will also roll fast enough to cover the bike paths of Europe. I think it’s a great all-rounder for a round-the-world trip!

Let’s dive into what parts I’ve selected and why, and let me know how you’d spec your own ‘realistic dream build’ in the comments.

Round-The-World Touring Frameset – $727

Frameset: Surly Orge – $679
The Surly Ogre frameset isn’t perfect, but I think it offers so, so much for the price. It has primarily been selected because it can run wide 29 x 2.20″ tyres with full fenders. Without fenders it’ll squeeze in a 2.50″ knobby tyres, or even 3.00″ with a 27.5 rim. That gives you a huge range of terrain options from bike paths through to gnarly singletrack. The Ogre frame sizing has been optimised for alt handlebars (or risers), which I’ve found to offer the best bike handling under almost all conditions. You can dress the Ogre up with whatever kind of luggage you prefer – there’s a heap of cargo cage mounts, front rando rack eyelets or standard pannier bolt holes. If you feel like adding an internal gearbox later, the Ogre is Rohloff hub compatible with its horizontal dropouts and axle plate slot. For a drop-bar build (more on my handlebar choice below), I’d probably pick the Salsa Fargo frameset instead – the added benefit of going down this route is that the Fargo is also belt drive compatible.

Headset: Cane Creek Forty – $48 on Amazon
This is easily the best headset under $50. It offers excellent bearings and extensive seals to keep water and debris from affecting the performance of the headset.

Wheelset – $711

Front Hub: SP Dynamo PD-8 Disc – $130
The SP dynamo hubs offer decent reliability at half the cost of a Schmidt SON. They also run practically as efficiently, in fact, they’re more efficient at 10km/h. Read more about dynamo hubs HERE.

Rims, Spokes, Rear Hub: Velocity Cliffhanger – $575 with SP-Dynamo hub
This wheelset is a super solid option that is pretty easy to come by. It offers a super stiff touring rim, a 25mm internal width (suitable for tyres up to ~2.60″), Sapim Leader spokes and tubeless compatibility with the Velocity rim strips. The $100 upgrade will get an SP dynamo hub built into the front wheel. Read more about touring rims HERE.

Tyres: Schwalbe Almotion Snakeskin 29 x 2.15″ – $136/pair on Amazon
I’ve been blown away by the capability of the Almotion tyre. It’s the fastest touring tyre on the tarmac (even in the 2.00-2.15″ range) and it’s tough enough for the roughest dirt roads. The wide widths offer extra comfort and I’ve found them to be super puncture resistant too. I get 15,000km+ out of a set provided I switch the rear tyre to the front at about 10,000km. I’d probably go the Vittoria Mezcal 29 x 2.35″ for extra grip off-road, or if the rim/tyre combo worked out, the 29 x 2.60″ version. Read more about Schwalbe touring tyres HERE or durable bikepacking tires HERE.

Drivetrain – $347

Crankset & BB: Shimano Deore M6000 40/30/22t – $109 on Amazon
I have selected a 10-speed triple chainring setup for this build, which obviously goes against the current trend for 1x.

There are a few reasons for this:
1. Wider gear range (17-104″). This achieves a climbing gear that allows a good cadence at 5km/h (3mph) for the steep hills, but also a top gear that will have you still pedalling at 45km/h (28mph).
2. Smaller gaps between gears. This triple drivetrain offers a 595% gear range. A 1x can offer 500%, but with the wide cassette, you’ll have a bigger jump between each gear. This is fine in the mountains but can be frustrating on the flat.
3. Reduced drivetrain wear. It’s easier to get a straighter chainline with a 3x setup because you’ll use the smallest chainring with the biggest rear cogs and the biggest chainring with the smallest rear cogs. This allows for a higher drivetrain efficiency as well as a longer service life.

Cassette & Chain: Shimano Deore M6000 11-36t & Shimano HG54 – $34 and $18 on Amazon
These drivetrain parts are not particularly expensive and are pretty easy to find around the world. 10-speed is now featured on many mountain bikes under $1000.

Front Derailleur: Shimano SLX M671 – $20 on Amazon
The SLX derailleur offers high-end performance at a very reasonable price. The Surly Ogre is best routed with a top-pull front derailleur.

Rear Derailleur: Shimano XT M781 – $63 on Amazon
This XT derailleur is pretty bombproof with nice and crisp shifts. The ‘shadow’ design sits the derailleur very in-board which gives them excellent clearance around rocks.

Pedals: Shimano XT T8000 – $103 on Amazon
I have nothing but good things to say about Shimano XT pedals. I’ve worn through two sets, each clocking an outstanding 50,000km (they still worked fine but had a bit of play in the mechanisms). The T8000 is clip-in on one side, but flat on the other. It’s weighted to prioritise clipping in, so I never have to find the ‘right’ side. If you’d like a dual entry, check out the M8020 trail pedals.

Cockpit – $372

Handlebars: Velo Orange Crazy Bar (handlebar bag) or Surly Moloko (bikepacking bag) – $60 or $95
My preference for handlebars has changed over the years. I’ve found that the newer alt handlebar designs make bike handling better while also offering enough hand positions to be both aerodynamic and comfortable. As I like storing my DSLR camera in an Ortlieb Handlebar Bag, my current preference is for the Crazy Bar, but in terms of feel, I prefer the reduced sweep and more inward hand positioning of the Moloko. Read more about alt handlebars HERE.

Stem: Generic 4-bolt black – $15 on Amazon
I don’t find a big difference between stems once you get to a certain value. Anything 4-bolt with nice hardware is good enough for me. If you’re riding rough roads and want a little extra comfort, take a look at the Redshift Shockstop suspension stem.

Brake Levers and Calipers: TRP Spyke – $34 and $165 on Amazon 
Cable disc brakes offer the best value for money, plus they’re easier to work on. The TRP Spyke brakes are the pick of the bunch because they pull both brake pads in like a hydraulic calliper. The next best would have to be the Avid BB7s which stopped my loaded tandem on some super steep hills without much effort at all. Read more about touring brakes HERE.

Shifters: Microshift SL-M10 – $81 on Amazon
While MTB shifters are very reliable these days, I still really like the idea of using thumb shifters. The M10s can be set to be indexed or friction – I particularly like using friction shifting for my front derailleur. Read more about friction shifters HERE.

Grips: ESI Chunky Silicone – $17 on Amazon
I’ve been using silicone grips for a long time now. I recently went back to ergonomic grips but was disappointed by the lack of vibration damping in particular, so I’m back on these chunky silicone grips. Read more about grips HERE.

Saddle and Post – $302

Saddle: Brooks Cambium C17 All-Weather – $104 on Amazon
While saddles are hugely personal preference, Brooks saddles are renowned for a reason. The Cambium series saddles may not be made from leather, but this allows them to be waterproof and longer-lasting without a ‘break-in’ period. The C-series have been matched in terms of shape to the most popular touring saddle (ever?), the Brooks B17. They come in three different widths, with and without cutouts – the latter providing a bit more saddle flex. Read more about saddles HERE.

Seatpost: Syntace P6 Hi-Flex – $198 on Amazon
In terms of rider comfort, a flex seatpost is the ultimate upgrade. Bike frames require upwards of 500N of force to flex one vertical millimetre, translating to barely a millimetre of travel when you apply your body weight to a frame. On the other hand, a carbon seatpost like the Syntace P6 requires well under 100N of force to travel the same distance. This results in more than 5mm of vertical flex when you’re simply sitting on the saddle. This allows a great reduction in road buzz and with 20mm of total flex, the seatpost will absorb big hits on any dirt roads. Read more about seatposts HERE.

Accessories – $432

Lights: AXA Luxx 70 Plus and Busch und Muller Line Plus // $71 and $33
The AXA Luxx 70 may not be the brightest light or the best USB charger, but at well under $100 it definitely represents the best value-for-money. The asymmetric lens is optimised for bike paths and roads so your light won’t blind people approaching you. With the light off, you’ll be able to top up your smartphone from around 12km/h. Read more about dynamo lights HERE.

Racks: Tubus Logo 29 and Tubus Duo – $104 and $119 on Amazon
Along with rims and spokes, racks are the next likely thing to break on a round-the-world touring bike. If you’re planning a long journey, I think getting high-end racks is one of the best ways you can spend your money. I’ve had the most success with Tubus (zero failures) – but if you break these racks anywhere in the world within five years, they send some new racks out, no questions asked! Read more about racks HERE.

Fenders: SKS Bluemels 75 U – $75 on Amazon
These wide fenders will clear a 2.60″ tyre with certainty, but will likely fit a 27.5+ tyre too. They come with quick release mounts to prevent sticks and rocks from getting caught on trails. For the best fit, I’d recommend using these guards with a Problem Solvers Fender Flute. Read more about fenders HERE.

Kickstand: Pletcher ESGE Comp – $30 on Amazon
I’m a massive kickstand fan. Craig, a Surly and kickstand fan, designed two 3D printed stainless steel parts (part 1 + part 2) that will mount a KSA-18 kickstand onto Surly Troll, Ogre or ECR dropouts. Read more about kickstands HERE.

Build Summary

The total came to US $2891 for this ‘realistic dream build’.

Make no mistake – a complete touring bike offers unparalleled value. But if you’re interested in optimising the parts, it can really be worth building a custom bike to get the right gear ratios, brakes, rims, tyres and more.

Although this is a lot of money, I think it still represents good value considering the comfort, durability and performance that this build would offer. I was pretty careful about saving money in areas where it’s safe to do so, but in other areas, I picked parts which would optimise everything nicely.

You can definitely cut corners at the saddle, seatpost and tyres, saving ~$300 off the build price. You could also do without the lights, dynamo hub, fenders, kickstand and racks (if you went for bikepacking bags instead) bringing the build price down to a touch over US $2000.

And if you were to use the same parts but with a Rohloff 14-speed internally geared hub, I’ve estimated that the total price would increase to about US $3950.

How Would You Spec Up A Dream Build With Price Factored In?

The post How Would I Custom Build A Round-The-World Touring Bike in 2019? appeared first on CyclingAbout.com.

I’ve recently noticed some very inaccurate numbers being thrown about regarding the weight difference between gearbox bikes and derailleur bikes (hint – it’s not even close to 3kg). In this article, I’ll try to clear things up by calculating the precise weight difference between 11 common drivetrain options found on touring and bikepacking bikes.

Let’s do this!

Derailleur Drivetrains

It is well-known that derailleur systems offer the lightest drivetrain weight. But what’s the weight difference between 1x, 2x and 3x setups? What about between brands and models? Below you’ll find the most popular derailleur options on stock bikes.

I’ve tried to keep the gear range above 500% to make the drivetrains comparable in terms of use (eg. a SRAM 10-50t cassette instead of the standard 10-42t cassette). I’ve also added the weight of a DT Swiss 350 hub to each drivetrain so we can draw a direct comparison to the internally geared hubs below.

The only things to note for this section:
– The SRAM Force1 and Shimano Ultegra drivetrains include the brake lever(s) as they’re integrated with the shifter.
– The gear range is 420% and 455% for the Force1 and NX drivetrains, compared to 500%+ on everything else.

2019 Bombtrack Beyond+ 2 with a SRAM GX drivetrain.

SRAM GX Eagle 1X // 2273 grams
Crankset/chainring/BB (703g), shifter (122g), derailleur (290g), cassette (450g), chain (258g), hub (300g), cables (150g)

2019 Kona Unit X with a SRAM NX drivetrain (note: 42t cassette pictured).

SRAM NX Eagle 1X // 2581 grams
Crankset/chainring/BB (787g), shifter (112g), derailleur (339g), cassette (615g), chain (278g), hub (300g), cables (150g)

2019 Salsa Warbird with a SRAM Force1 drivetrain.

SRAM Force 1X // 2247 grams
Crankset/chainring/BB (761g), shifter (153g), derailleur (261g), cassette (366g), chain (256g), hub (300g), cables (150g)

2019 Co-Op Cycles ADV 4.2 with a Shimano SLX drivetrain.

Shimano SLX 2X // 2700 grams
Crankset/chainrings/BB (822g), shifters (246g), derailleurs (456g), cassette (369g), chain (257g), hub (300g), cables (250g)

2019 Diamondback Haanjo 7C with a Shimano Ultegra drivetrain.

Shimano Ultegra 2X // 2638 grams
Crankset/chainrings/BB (756g), shifters (438g), derailleurs (302g), cassette (335g), chain (257g), hub (300g), cables (250g)

2019 Salsa Marrakesh with a Shimano Deore drivetrain.

Shimano Deore Touring 3X // 2723 grams
Crankset/chainrings/BB (930g), shifters (178g), derailleurs (448g), cassette (360g), chain (257g), hub (300g), cables (250g)

Gearbox Drivetrains

Gearboxes come in two different forms – as an internally geared rear hub and as a crank-based gear system. For this comparison, I’ve listed the most popular options for bike travel: the Pinion P1.18 gearbox, the Pinion C1.12 gearbox, the Rohloff 14-speed hub and the Shimano 11-speed Alfine hub.

The things to note for this section:
– The Alfine hub has a 408% range, compared to 526% on the Rohloff and 600%+ on the Pinion.
– A chain would add around 70 grams to each of the Pinion gearbox systems over the belts specified.

Idworx oPinion with a Pinion P1.18 drivetrain.

Pinion P1.18 Belt Drive // 3850 grams
Gearbox w/ cables (2640g), shifter (96g), cranks (420g), c-plate (235g), rear hub (303g), sprocket (37g), cog (42g), belt (77g)

2019 Velo De Ville P400 with a Pinion C1.12 drivetrain (chain pictured).

Pinion C1.12 Belt Drive // 3310 grams
Gearbox w/ cables (2100g), shifter (96g), cranks (420g), c-plate (235g), rear hub (303g), sprocket (37g), cog (42g), belt (77g)

2019 Koga WorldTraveller-S with a Rohloff drivetrain.

Rohloff 14 Speed Belt Drive // 3125 grams
Hub/shifter/cog (1958g), crankset/chainring/BB (780g), belt (87g), cables (300g)

2019 Tumbleweed Prospector with a Rohloff drivetrain.

Rohloff 14 Speed Chain Drive // 3194 grams
Hub/shifter/cog (1921g), crankset/chainring/BB (753g), chain (220g), cables (300g)

2019 Tout Terrain Via Veneto with a Shimano Alfine 11 drivetrain.

Shimano Alfine 11 Speed // 3058 grams
Hub/shifter/cog (2041g), crankset/chainring/BB (780g), belt (87g), cables (150g)

Lightest to Heaviest: The Drivetrain Weights

SRAM Force 1X – 2247 grams
SRAM GX 1X – 2273 grams
SRAM NX 1X – 2581 grams
Shimano Ultegra 2X – 2638 grams
Shimano SLX 2X – 2700 grams
Shimano Deore Touring 3X – 2723 grams
Shimano Alfine 11 Speed Belt Drive – 3058 grams
Rohloff 14 Speed Belt Drive – 3125 grams
Rohloff 14 Speed Chain Drive – 3194 grams
Pinion C1.12 Belt Drive – 3310 grams
Pinion P1.18 Belt Drive – 3850 grams

The Main Talking Points

– A bike with SRAM GX Eagle will be 850 to 900 grams lighter than the equivalent Rohloff bike.
– A 1x drivetrain saves 300 to 400 grams over a 2x or 3x drivetrain.
– A Rohloff hub is 400 grams heavier than a 2x or 3x drivetrain.
– There isn’t a big weight difference between 2x and 3x because you need practically the same amount of parts.
– The Rohloff 14s hub saves you 700 grams over a Pinion P1.18 gearbox.
– Belt drivetrains offer a 70-gram weight saving over chain drive.
– The Shimano Alfine 11 is actually lighter than a Rohloff hub.

How Much Do These Weight Differences Matter?

As some of you are aware, I’ve done a lot of testing over the years, including one with different weight amounts in my panniers. I ended up calculating that an extra kilogram over 100km is worth somewhere between 10 and 90 seconds – that’s depending on if the terrain is flat or hilly. You can check out my full test HERE.

We can say that a minute or so will be the approximate time penalty between a SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain and a Rohloff hub over 100km on moderately hilly terrain. The difference between a Rohloff hub and a Pinion gearbox will also yield a similar result based on weight alone, however, the Pinion P1.18 also has additional friction losses in the gearbox system itself, resulting in a further 3-4 minute time penalty over 100km (check out my gearbox efficiency testing HERE).

Summary & Final Thoughts

I hope this article has cleared up a few weight myths between drivetrain components.

With all things equal, you can expect a 1x bike to save:
– 350 grams over a 2x
– 450 grams over a 3x
– 850 grams over a Rohloff w/ belt
– 900 grams over a Rohloff w/ chain

Given how narrow the weight range is here, I certainly wouldn’t choose a drivetrain based on weight alone. The exception would be if you were planning on building up a sub-10kg carbon race bike for a bikepacking ultra.

Instead, it makes more sense to focus on a drivetrain that suits your budget with appropriate gearing for the terrain you ride. For a small weight penalty, a 2x or 3x drivetrain has smaller gaps between gears when compared to 1x, which is a nice feature for flatter terrain. Front derailleur systems also offer a better chainline, increasing the life of your chain and the efficiency of your drivetrain at both ends of the cassette. That said, 1x is certainly nice to use given its simplicity.

Gearboxes are quite ideal for bike travel, especially with a belt drivetrain, as the cogs are all sealed away from the elements. Other than the odd oil change and a quick brush with a toothbrush, these drivetrains are practically maintenance free. Plus you’ll find you can get 10,000km out of your chain or 25,000km out of your belt. The main downside is that gearboxes come at a very high initial cost.

Anyway, things for you to mull over…

The post What’s The Weight Difference Between Derailleur and Pinion / Rohloff Bikes? appeared first on CyclingAbout.com.

Let’s face it, the Surly adventure and touring bike lineup is overwhelming. Almost everything Surly makes has provision for racks and gear storage; there is an insane amount of model cross over. Given that Surly’s can be found in most regions of the world, I’ve written this article to help you narrow down your choices. This information should also be super practical for choosing between other similar bikes too.

Today, I’ll be focussing on 10 different Surly models. These bikes suit everything from road touring to gnarly backcountry singletrack.

Which Surlys Will We Be Comparing?

Touring
ECR, Ogre, Troll, Bridge Club, Disc Trucker, Pack Rat

Road
Straggler, Midnight Special

Trail
Krampus, Karate Monkey

Terrain & Tyre Size

When deciding on a style of touring bike, the best place to start is with tyre and wheel specification. What kind of terrain will you need your Surly to handle? Are you going to need a bike that can fit both knobby mountain bike tyres as well as fast slicks? For the record, there is no ‘best’ wheel size; you’ll always have to trade off rolling resistance with grip and comfort. A 700c or 29″ slick tyre often has half the rolling resistance of a plus tyre, allowing you to ride further with the same pedalling effort, but will obviously not be able to keep up on technical terrain. Click HERE for the best bikepacking tire options and HERE for the best of Schwalbe’s touring slicks.

29+
ECR 29 x 3.00″ (M-XL) – Krampus 29 x 3.00″

For rough trails, this is the option that will roll over objects with the smallest ‘angle of attack’. 29+ works out to be fastest over rocks, and with the increased tire footprint and volume, you’ll find them to be supremely grippy too. This tyre specification will be best if you’re almost exclusively touring on rough terrain.

27.5+
ECR 27.5 x 3.00″ (XS-M) – Ogre 27.5 x 3.00″ – Karate Monkey 27.5 x 3.00″ – Bridge Club 27.5 x 2.80″

This is the most popular plus-sized option as the wheel and tire diameter works out to be the equivalent of a regular 29″ wheel. As a result, you can have one bike that will fit both a plus wheelset for rough/sandy trails, and a 29″ wheelset for smoother dirt tracks – ultimately, allowing you to perfectly optimise your tyres to your intended off-road terrain.

29″
Ogre 29 x 2.60″ – Karate Monkey 29 x 2.50″

For general off-road use, the fastest option is undoubtedly a 29-inch mountain bike wheelset. With a broad range of widths (2.00 to 2.60″), you should be able to find a tire that’s both quick on dirt roads and also very capable the trails.

700C
Disc Trucker 700c x 45mm (sizes 56-64cm) – Midnight Special 700c x 42mm – Straggler 700c x 42mm (sizes 52-62cm)

Although the rim diameter is identical to 29″, the 700c nomenclature is used for tyres narrower than 2.00 inches in width. In general, you’ll find 700c tyres will have a speed advantage on smoother road surfaces when compared to the other wheel options, which is why you’ll find them on most traditional touring bikes.

27.5″ (650B)
Midnight Special 27.5 x 2.35″ – Straggler 650b x 42mm (sizes 38-58cm) – Pack Rat 650b x 48mm (sizes 52-58cm)

Not too many off-road bikepacking bikes are built around this wheel size, however, a growing number of drop bar bikes can accommodate tyres in the 27.5 x 2.00-2.40″ range. This wheel size offers a decent number of slick tyre options too, which will be nice if you’d like a bike that can be transformed from speed machine to dirt track warrior. Bikes that fit these tyres can often also be interchangeably used with 700c x 35-45mm wheelsets too (the Midnight Special is a prime example) – I’ll cover Surly wheel compatibility below under “custom builds”.

26″
Troll 26 x 3.00″ – Disc Trucker 26 x 2.10″ (sizes 42-58cm) – Pack Rat 26 x 2.00″ (sizes 38-50cm)

A decade ago, the standard size for bike travel was 26 inch. There are still a few 26″ touring bikes getting about, but they’re becoming less common by the year. One great reason to choose 26″ is if you’re not particularly tall, as these bikes will often offer a more suitable bike fit.

Handlebar Choice

The handlebar grips are two-out-of-five attachment points between your body and the bike, and arguably, they’re also the two most important. It’s these points which largely determine how well you can balance and manoeuvre your bike. Working against your bike manoeuvrability and balance is any style of front luggage (panniers, bikepacking bags, handlebar bag, cargo cages) which increases the amount of ‘steering effort’ required to change your bike’s direction.

The best possible way to combat heavier steering is by fitting a wider handlebar to your bike. Wide bars increase the steering leverage up front, which allows you to maintain a light steering feel, even with a front load. As a result, you can expect better bike control at high speeds (thanks to the quicker steering inputs) and low speeds (thanks to the micro adjustments you can make to help with your balance). This is most noticeable when you’re climbing slowly up a hill, or when you need to quickly avoid something on the road while travelling at speed.

I typically recommend fitting a Surly Moloko, VO Crazy Bar or Jones Loop handlebar because they have ample hand positions. These bars even have holds to mimic the brake hoods of a drop handlebar. You can check out my nine reasons why touring bikes are better with flat bars HERE.

Flat Bar Surly Models w/ Longer Frames
ECR, Ogre, Troll, Bridge Club, Krampus, Karate Monkey

Drop Bar Surly Models w/ Shorter Frames
Disc Trucker, Pack Rat, Straggler, Midnight Special

Flatbar and Dropbar Conversions
People have fitted drop bars to almost all Surly models, no matter whether they’ve been designed for that or not. Many Long Haul Trucker and Disc Trucker models have been fitted with flat bars too. As frame lengths vary depending on their intended handlebar style, the key to doing a bar swap like this is to size your flat bar bike DOWN to fit a drop bar, and to size UP to fit a flat bar on a drop bar bike.

Gear Ratios & Drivetrain

If you’re into exploring anywhere with hills, pay close attention. Low gear ratios are absolutely paramount for being able to ride all day with limited muscle fatigue. It’s the times when you start to really grind the pedals when you put the most stress on your body – it doesn’t matter if you’re a strong rider or not, you’ll fatigue quickly in this state. I typically recommend a low climbing gear of less than 20 gear inches, as this specification allows you to maintain a pedalling cadence of 60RPM up most hills. You can learn more about gear inches and what they mean HERE.

17-92″ Bridge Club (2x)
17-78″ ECR 27+ (1x)
18-82″ ECR 29+ (1x)
19-115″ Troll (3x)
20-119″ Surly Disc Trucker (3x)
21-82″ Krampus (1x)
21-78″ Karate Monkey (1x)
22-85″ Ogre (1x)
27-105″ Straggler (1x)
28-86″ Pack Rat (1x)
29-126″ Midnight Special (2x)

Frame Geometry

If you’re not familiar with frame geometry numbers, it’ll pay to check out my article on understanding bike geometry HERE.

Touring Geometry // Troll, Ogre, ECR, Bridge Club, Disc Trucker, Straggler
These frames offer stability first and foremost. This is achieved by employing a slower steering response and longer wheelbase in particular. Bikes with touring geometry also tend to use stiffer frame tubing to resist the twisting forces of a front and rear load. You can increase the stability of a loaded touring bike by pairing them with a wide handlebar.

Road Geometry // Midnight Special, Pack Rat
These drop bar frames are designed with sharp handling in mind. Their steering speed is quick and is matched to relatively short wheelbases which keep the bike nimble. They tend to handle best with a light front load (5kg or so) and although they have provision for a rear rack, their short chainstays (410mm) can cause heel clearance issues if you were thinking of using rear panniers (a solution is the Axiom Streamliner DLX rack, however).

Trail Geometry // Krampus, Karate Monkey
These frames are optimised to descend steep, technical terrain. This is achieved by extending the ‘front centre’ of the frame and reducing the ‘chainstay’ length, bringing the rider’s centre of mass closer to the rear of the bike (thereby reducing how easy it is to go over the bars). The short chainstays also allow the front of the bike to easily be lifted over obstacles. With the longer top tube lengths comes the need for these bikes to use shorter stem lengths, which increases the sensitivity of the steering.

Surly Pricing

Surly bikes all fall in the US $1000-2000 price point. This is undoubtedly where you’ll find the best value-for-money because you get high-durability parts, decent performance and all of the nice touring features.

$1200 Bridge Club
$1450 Ogre
$1475 Pack Rat
$1550 Disc Trucker
$1550 Krampus
$1550 Karate Monkey
$1650 Straggler
$1750 Troll
$1900 ECR
$2000 Midnight Special

Custom Builds

Surly offer all of their touring bikes as a frameset only (with the exception of the Bridge Club). And they are all very affordable considering what you get. For some ideas on a ’round-the-world custom touring build list, check out what I did with a Surly Ogre HERE.

$515 Pack Rat
$525 Disc Trucker
$575 Straggler
$675 Krampus
$750 ECR

The following framesets can be built up with a choice of wheel sizes:
$600 Troll – 700x47c, 27.5×2.4″ or 26×3.0″
$625 Midnight Special – 700x42c or 27.5×2.35″
$650 Ogre – 29×2.6″ or 27.5×3.0″
$675 Karate Monkey – 29×2.5 or 27.5×3.0″

Summary and My Picks

I’m hoping my line of reasoning has helped you to narrow down your options sufficiently.

In short:
1. Choose the most suitable tyre size for your style of travel
2. Choose your handlebars
3. Understand which gear ratios will suit your terrain and load
4. Make sure the bike’s frame geometry matches your use
5. Find something that suits your budget

Which Surly would I pick?
– I’d pick the Bridge Club for anything majority off-road (it still rolls quickly with Schwalbe Super Moto-X slicks)
– I’d go the Disc Trucker for anything majority on-road (with a handlebar swap to a VO Crazy Bar or Surly Moloko)
– If I was building up a custom ’round-the-world Surly I’d pick the Ogre and spec it like THIS
– If I wanted a bike for mountain bike trails (with bikepacking on the side) I’d pick the Karate Monkey

Why?
I think these bikes all have suitable gear ratios and tyre widths for their intended uses. They’re also on the lower end of the Surly pricing spectrum, in particular, the Bridge Club at US $1200. The Bridge Club is probably the most versatile bike too – capable of really rough off-road trails, as well as long road miles (using slick tyres) without needing to swap out the wheelset.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

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