Messages

1

Gear Talk / Re: Surley Troll

« on: January 26, 2012, 06:25:34 am »

Opine me... Are the chain stays too short for rear saddlebags?

The Troll's 16.5" factory geometry chainstay length is measured to the shortest point on those long track ends.  The rear rack attachment 'eyelet' ~looks~ to be maybe another 1.25" further back.

2

Gear Talk / Re: Helmets

« on: January 26, 2012, 06:17:07 am »

Here's a list of large helmets on the market:

http://www.bhsi.org/bighead.htm

3

Gear Talk / Re: New Touring Bike (RTW)

« on: November 10, 2011, 10:07:27 pm »

I remember the Schwinn Varsity having a fillet-brazed steel frame, but those fillets were absolutely huge-- very thick.

Your memory is faulty on this.  The Varsity had an "electro-forged" (electric arc welded) frame, an entirely different technology.  What you mistakenly thought were "absolutely huge" fillets were actually just radii in sheet metal stampings.  See:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/varsity.html

Schwinn did make other frames with the fillet-brazing method, as have many other companies down through the years.  My 29 year old Santana tandem has a fillet-brazed frame with delicate, small radius fillets, and it's held up perfectly for ten of thousands of miles.  Some Jack Taylor fillet-brazed tandems are approaching 70 years old and still being ridden.

4

Gear Talk / Re: New Touring Bike (RTW)

« on: November 09, 2011, 07:33:18 am »

Wow, from out of the depths of the archives.

None of the steel bikes mentioned in this thread (Co-Motion Americano and Pangea and Surly Long Haul) are brazed lugged steel frames.  All are TIG welded frames.  No brazing on them.  No lugs.  If a TIG welded frame breaks, you will have to weld it back together, not braze it.

BTW, this is absolutely not true.  There are no alloys or grades of steel that can be welded that cannot also be brazed.  One can, and for the last 120 years many have, brazed bicycle frames without lugs (it's called fillet brazing). 

But of course, we're not really talking about the possibility of a third-world blacksmith reassembling a frame that's come completely apart at all it's joints (although that is an amusing thought).  We're here talking about repairing something like a frame crack.  On a RTW steel bike like the mentioned Co-Motion Americano and Pangea and Surly Long Haul Trucker: clean the paint back, drill a small hole at either end of the crack to eliminate the stress risers, and then brass braze it.  Low-tech & done in villages all over the world.

5

Gear Talk / Re: Brifters vs. bar-end from a convenience standpoint

« on: November 09, 2011, 07:14:10 am »

You are correct that neither Campagnolo or SRAM are in the touring business...

Unlike Shimano, SRAM actually has a purpose-marketed touring (they call it 'trekking") line in their Via groupsets.  Additionally, and like Shimano, a nice all-SRAM touring drivetrain could be put together mixing their road, mountain and Truvativ lines.

One could also put together complete single-brand Microshift or SunRace Sturmey-Archer touring drivetrains.

6

Gear Talk / Re: Could a cyclo-cross bike do?

« on: October 11, 2011, 04:53:32 am »

1) I don't think you need another bike for weekend and week long tours.  I think your present Trek FX7.5 is fine for that - certainly as good as a repurposed cyclocross bike.

2) A "real" touring bike will serve wonderfully for fitness and general riding when you're not touring - certainly as good as a repurposed cyclocross bike.

3) If you've got a jones for a cyclocross bike, get yourself one.

7

Gear Talk / Re: Alcohol Stoves

« on: July 08, 2011, 08:44:50 am »

I will never understand this fascination with boiling water.

Boiling water is the kingpin of food preparation in modern backpacking, due to the heavy reliance on reconstituting dehydrated foodstuffs.  Modern backpacking camp-kitchen equipment has become optimized for this, and it's a significant performance parameter for backpackers.

For cycletourists, not so much.  I remember mentoring an experienced backpacker about to take her first weeklong cycle tour.  "But you don't need to pack a week's worth of dehydrated food!  You'll be riding past stores a couple times a day.  Buy fresh as you need it!"  to which she replied, "How will I cook fresh food with my Jetboil?"

Here's a thought:  your foodstuffs, your recipes, your cooking gear [pot(s)/pan(s) & etc.] and your stove work optimally as an integrated system.

8

Gear Talk / Re: 26" v. 700...again

« on: July 05, 2011, 07:22:40 am »

Try replacing your Conti T&Cs with tires like the Schwalbe Kojak folding, Avocet FasGrip City Carbon 12, Specialized FatBoy or Continental SportContact, all in the 32/35mm width.  All have finer carcass construction, much lighter weights and smoother treads than your present Conti Town+Country tires.  And mate them with some quality, light tubes like the Maxxis Flyweight.

9

Gear Talk / Re: Rohloff hub

« on: June 15, 2011, 05:14:43 am »

I see very little chance of slipping due to the tooth configuration of the belt, which would also eliminate excessive tension on the belt/ bottom bracket.

But many, many reports on the 'net from users indicate the toothed belts do slip w/o quite high tension.

Here's a widely available, lightweight, modern chaincase.

10

General Discussion / Re: A Good, Fullsize Folding Bike

« on: November 14, 2010, 10:30:30 am »

There's also the Pacific Cycles iF Urban full size folding bikes.

11

General Discussion / Re: east to west southern tier

« on: October 27, 2010, 08:10:48 pm »

OP - You don't mention how many miles you plan on covering each day, but leaving the east coast in late February you perhaps won't get to inland Texas/the Hill Country until early April  It will be beautiful - huge fields of wild flowers, typically warm days & pleasant nights.  This would presumably put you in New Mexico & Arizona in April/May: a good time, and personally I wouldn't want to do it much further into the summer.

12

General Discussion / Re: A Good, Fullsize Folding Bike

« on: October 27, 2010, 07:59:14 pm »

The Dahon Espresso comes to mind.  Perhaps the Dahon Glide or Ios might suit.

13

General Discussion / Re: On the Southern Tier

« on: January 14, 2010, 06:44:42 am »

You seem to be by-and-large riding across the southern USA rather than riding Adventure Cycling's Southern Tier Route as the thread heading would suggest.

No wish to split hairs, but if others are interested in riding Adventure Cycling's Southern Tier Route they should be aware that some of the road and traffic conditions you are describing are different than this forum's host's "official" route.

Wishing you a wonderful ride,
tcs

14

Gear Talk / Re: Info on Trainers please

« on: September 29, 2009, 07:11:58 am »

Can anyone give me advice on trainers - have decided against a roller set up.

Keep an eye on your form.

I've seen plenty of riders out in the early spring who were strong and fit, but stomped at the cranks and lurched down the road after a winter of pedaling without having to ballance.

tcs

15

Gear Talk / Re: Advice for new member

« on: September 29, 2009, 07:05:19 am »

650B tires are an extreme niche tire.

650Bs are promoted because they are rare.  If they can sell you on the idea, they can sell you tires forever.

Nobody promotes 650A (just a few mm larger) because the tires are so common!

tcs