Messages

1

Gear Talk / Re: Interesting sleeping pad, new design

« on: July 18, 2012, 08:48:51 am »

Neat! Thanks for the link!

2

Gear Talk / Re: Frame Saver or T-9?

« on: July 16, 2012, 12:42:19 pm »

I did about 20 years ago on my Bill Vetter touring frame. It had been professionally re-painted a couple of years before and looked brand new so I had no concerns about rust in the near future. A bubble of paint appeared on the top tube and this is what was below. I'm not certain, but I think the rust started on the surface perhaps caused by sweat dripping from above. It served me well though. One Trans Am and several long trips through the Rockies and France.

So there's one.

More importantly, grease your seatpost and put on full coverage fenders. No more water in frame.

The OP didn't find that to be the case

I read the OP repeatedly. I don't see anything saying that the seatpost has been explicitly greased.

3

General Discussion / Re: Arm, Leg or Bike?

« on: July 16, 2012, 09:24:44 am »

I owned a Sutra. It is a little short in the stays, at least for my huge clodhoppers. Another niggling issue is the conflict between front rack, front brake caliper, and left front pannier. The issues can be overcome, but it is a little fiddly. I love disc brakes, but you really need to be prepared to deal with that on a touring bike. The problem is compounded if you run full fenders. The bike itself is otherwise great.

4

Gear Talk / Re: Frame Saver or T-9?

« on: July 13, 2012, 03:29:15 pm »

Treating modern steel frames is just a talisman and products such as Frame Saver are only necessary to separate cyclists from their dollars. Unless you are regularly immersing your frame or exposing your frame to other catalysts, specifically salt, CrMo frames will form a small amount of surface oxidation and that's it. Seriously, when was the last time you even heard of a steel frame developing more rust than surface scaling?

More importantly, grease your seatpost and put on full coverage fenders. No more water in frame.

5

Gear Talk / Re: Am I on the right track?

« on: July 09, 2012, 08:44:49 am »

It looks like you are in plenty good stead. I would suggest a handlebar bag, but that is just my personal preference/love of the convenience it offers.

If you are just taking day and weekend trips, you will quickly find what does and doesn't work for you.

6

General Discussion / Re: What do you use for sunscreen?

« on: June 29, 2012, 05:36:50 am »

I use nothing for sunscreen (well, melanin), but I will occasionally wear clothing to keep me cooler. As long as air is moving over the body, black is the cooler color because of its greater absorption. White reflects radiant energy, including the energy that the body is emanating. White is great for sitting still, but when moving on a bicycle, white is also reflecting your own radiant energy back into your body.

7

Gear Talk / Re: Any suggestions for headlights that are tour-worthy?

« on: June 22, 2012, 07:40:29 pm »

I don't have much experience with other modern headlights but I currently use a Busch & Meuller IXON IQ .

+1 on that. I love the B&M IXON IQ. The only light that I like better is a Supernova E3 Pro, which is really an apples and oranges comparison.

The beam pattern on the IXON is nearly perfect, the longevity is amazing, the weather resistance is peerless, throw is good to ~40MPH.

I like the Princeton Tec Eos too!

I like these as helmet lights, but the 3AAA is annoying. These are excellent for lighting up cue sheets and road signs, and light-smacking drivers.

8

Gear Talk / Re: Surly Disc Trucker v. LHT

« on: June 01, 2012, 12:44:23 pm »

Andy Blance of Thorn bikes in the UK is dead against discs on blade forks, claiming they won't take the torque. Not the spokes or tyres, but the forks! He won't supply them except on tubular forks (very rigid and uncomfortable) or shocks.

The materials engineering for disc forks is solid. The Kona Project 2 disc fork (Kona Sutra) is plenty cushy and comfortable. If these were so failure prone, you would hear a lot about it, rather than seeing Kona continue to produce the Sutra and the Project 2. Salsa, Surly, Trek (Portland), and so on... all these manufacturers have comfortable disc forks. This past weekend, I took my Salsa Fargo 2 on a 260 mile fully loaded trip over chip seal, dirt roads, and nasty pavement. Plenty of steep descents with hard braking.

Andy Blance is demonstrating (pick one or more): his bias; his ignorance; his inability to source a good fork; his inability to design a proper fork. The issue is taking a non-disc fork leg and slapping a disc mount fork end on it. The leg will snap.

9

Gear Talk / Re: Trek 520 wobble

« on: May 31, 2012, 06:27:57 am »

To add on to the preceding diagnoses: If it occurs at low speeds, a binding headset can be at issue. The headset should turn freely without any fretting ("indexed" headset), stiction, or clunking (too loose). The fretting and clunking should not cause you any speed wobble issues, but the stiction will, especially at low speeds.

Another thing to check is your upper body while pedaling. Is your upper body "quiet" while pedaling? You may be introducing a slight wobble that is compounded by the "resonance" of the loaded bicycle. Wider handlebars can help quiet all that down; the wider bars require a greater input to disrupt the handling of the bicycle.

10

Gear Talk / Re: I need a new disc wheel

« on: May 23, 2012, 06:26:27 pm »

My favorite combo is a White Industries MI5 hub with a Velocity Aerohead Touring Disc rim, 32H, double butted spokes, brass nipples. I am 185 pounds, have carried over 100 pounds of gear without any issue. I abuse these wheels quite badly (jump off curbs, ride down stairs) and have zero problems. I do have the tension about maxed out for the rims.

11

General Discussion / Re: Best Fortune Cookie Ever

« on: May 15, 2012, 02:12:59 pm »

I love apropos fortune cookies.

My favorite that I received: "If you're reading this, the poison hasn't worked yet." That same dinner, one of my dining companions got: "Some people have it, some don't. You don't."

12

Gear Talk / Re: Surly Disc Trucker v. LHT

« on: April 24, 2012, 06:49:14 am »

I bought a 58cm LHT last Nov, and loved it all except for the toe overlap.

You must have some serious clodhoppers. I get toe overlap on every bike that I ride because of my pontoon-like feet, so I know the pain.

The disc brakes have taken some getting used to. My initial impression was that they stopped about as fast as my old cantis but made a horrible squeal while doing so. The web is full of conflicting advice about curing disc brake squeal,

It's not the advice conflicts, but that there are so many potential causes. Misaligned calipers, scorched pads, contaminated pads, pads that were worn too far before adjusting them inward again, brake dust, et al. All disc brakes squeal at some point. But nailing down that cause can be a little annoying. I consider it a small price of admission for the increased modulation and fault tolerance, and lower maintenance.

13

Gear Talk / Re: chain compatibility

« on: April 16, 2012, 04:27:06 pm »

My general experience is that a chain is a chain is a chain. 

Up to a point. Low end chains such as the KMC Z chains shift horribly. I have order one of these and another low end chain by accident on two occasions. They don't even function well on my fixie. But every mid-level chain on up that I have used is perfectly workable.

14

Gear Talk / Re: Surly Disc Trucker v. LHT

« on: April 13, 2012, 06:14:10 am »

This is an interesting analysis.  It sounds like spokes should never ever break, and yet we all have broken them.  One of my buddy's does not break spokes, but he does regularly break spoke nipples.

Got any more thoughts on spoke failure modes?

According to Schraner, Art of the Bicycle Wheel, the rim or hubshell should fail before the a spoke ever breaks on a properly built wheel. In talking with my favorite wheelbuilders, the anecdata seem to underscore this. Some of their loaded touring wheels go 50,000, 60,000 miles before the rim needs to be replaced because of a worn brake track.

Spokes fail when the tension is insufficient. And they almost always fail at the J-bend or the thread. In my experience, they fail upon unloading after a final stressing, e.g. immediately at pedal BDC after accelerating or climbing a hill. If your friend is breaking spoke nipples, I would suggest brass nipples. I have pulled brass nipples through a rim but never broken one.

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General Discussion / Re: 10 Years of Continuous Bike Touring, Thoughts, Reflections and Thinking About Ho

« on: April 03, 2012, 10:54:01 am »

Hey Tim,

Thanks for sharing and thanks for posting here. I own all your books and watched/read as adventures and dramas unfolded. It's all been inspiring, to say the least. Hopefully we will see you in Portland OR when you are doing your stateside tour.