Messages

16

Gear Talk / Re: Handlebar bag

« on: February 13, 2011, 01:04:41 pm »

Another option regarding the GPS is to use the Topeak Bar-Xtender. I have trekking bars on my Fargo and the Arkel bag's brackets don't leave a lot of uncurved bar for gadgets/lights so I picked up a Topeak Bar X-Tender and it works great at any angle.

Also, regarding the Arkle -- my wife and I each have the large bag and, in hindsight, I think we'd both prefer the smaller. The bag's contents stay dry, it doesn't budge at all even over rougher roads and bumps, but we are constantly reminding ourselves to NOT pack it too full. It's size is great for wallet, Kindle, snacks... then we add a spare pair of gloves or our bunched up lightweight windbreaker to keep things from jostling. It's a great bag, but I'd be just as happy if it was about 1n inch smaller in all dimensions.

17

Gear Talk / Re: Long Two-Person Trip Tent

« on: February 12, 2011, 07:27:34 pm »

For short trips we use my 14 year old Siera Designs Clip Flashlight -- cheap and relatively stout for 3 seasons (though the old model I have isn't quite vented as well as I'd like).

We're going the Hilleberg Nallo GT route for our extended touring. It's pricey as hell, but very light for the space, and the extended vestibule will allow cooking out of the elements, not to mention plenty of "front porch" space for our panniers.

MSR used to make a great looking bike touring tent that had a massive vestibule big enough to park the bikes. Alas, it's been discontinued and even seems impossible to track down online.

18

General Discussion / Re: 2/11 Adventure Cyclist Mag Letters from Readers

« on: February 11, 2011, 05:18:16 pm »

I thought this was going to be a discussion about the letter from the guy who wants the whole Wilderness to himself, gawd forbid the occasional biker passes him on the trail.

19

Gear Talk / Re: Another Fargo Build - Trekking Bar style

« on: January 27, 2011, 01:58:23 am »

Thanks MacBeth. I should have mentioned that I've been running discs and 29er wheels on my mountain bikes exclusively for 4 years now.

20

Gear Talk / Re: Another Fargo Build - Trekking Bar style

« on: January 11, 2011, 12:38:57 am »

Just got back to this thread (work this time of year sucks). I haven't had any experience with the trekking style bars yet. This is a totally new concept for me, but I saw them on a Safari at REI and just had to have them.

That said, I'm primarily a mountain biker and it took a little getting used to how "narrow" they are, but I use the air-quotes because the bars are several inches wider than drop handlebars.

I did go with a slightly longer stem than I would have otherwise.

21

Gear Talk / Re: solar battery chargers

« on: December 29, 2010, 12:27:59 pm »

I've seen mention of the smaller Brunton cells, but has anyone tried any of the Brunton SolarRolls?

http://www.brunton.com/product.php?id=256

They're quite pricey, but they sound perfect, especially if you have a trailer to lay it out on during the day. Would love for this to work to kind of bridge the gap between hostel/hotel stays on longer trips, though I do have to remember that I live in the PNW.

22

Gear Talk / Re: Another Fargo Build - Trekking Bar style

« on: December 29, 2010, 12:23:48 pm »

Thanks! Finally got the gel padding that goes under the handlebar tape and was able to wrap it up. It looks a little odd, but I ended up doing the electrical tape wrap down by the grip shifters too since I couldn't just hang some off the end and tuck under a bar plug.

I was really worried that I was going to feel really cramped and that the handlebars, particularly the controls, would be right in my lap and that the frame was too short. Fortunately it felt great when I took it out for a test ride (and no front-wheel shimmy at high speed, by the way.  ) as there's no way I'd have enough stand-over clearance for the XL.

My wife ordered the 2011 Fargo size small. I was hesitant to put her on a 29er, but after test riding a couple of Vayas, she hopped onto the Fargo and just loved it. Anything that helps her feel more confident on the bike is fine with me. Super glad they changed the color for next year -- I'd hate to be that couple with the matching bikes. No offense, of course, to those with his/hers matching bikes. LOL!

23

Gear Talk / Re: Magicshine headlights

« on: December 15, 2010, 12:00:34 am »

There has been dozens and dozens of posts and conversations about the Magicshine lights on the listserve over at Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance. And also at MTBR.

I don't have any personal experience with them.

http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/bbtcmembers/msearch?query=magicshine&charset=windows-1252

24

Gear Talk / Re: Another Fargo Build - Trekking Bar style

« on: December 10, 2010, 12:21:00 am »

Thanks Alfonso. Just gave the blog a bit of a dusting off and redesign. Just saw that Planet Bike has finally come out with full-length 29er fenders that accomodate up to 2.3" tires. Very excited!

25

Gear Talk / Another Fargo Build - Trekking Bar style

« on: December 09, 2010, 10:55:38 am »

Finally got the time to build up my Fargo yesterday with the help of a friend who patiently instructed me on the finer points of bicycle assembly and tuning.

I included a relatively detailed write-up about parts selection, why I bought a Fargo, and my thoughts on touring with disc brakes/29er wheels.

Included a price-list for the parts and a few photos as well.

Perhaps it can be of some use to someone contemplating a mixed-surface touring bike?

http://randomlygenerated.blogspot.com/2010/12/fargo-build.html

26

Gear Talk / Re: Thoughts on 2011 Salsa Fargo Complete bike build?

« on: November 24, 2010, 01:07:26 am »

Just ordered my wife the 2010 Fargo once we confirmed via test ride that a size small won't be too big for her with the big wheels. She was really excited about how stable the bike felt during the test ride.

Decided to order just the frame (and very glad they changed the paint job so we don't have matching bikes) for a couple of reasons. For starters, we're going to flat trekking bars with SRAM grip shifts and SRAM rear-deraileur. May still be having wheels built with dyno hub and, regardless, want to invest in stronger wheels right off the start. And I want that XT triple chainring.

Secondly, I want to build the bike myself to continue sharpening my own self-reliance. I'll have the shop install the headset, but ordering the parts one by one from online discounters and building the bike slowly over the winter should really help me get to know the bike and be able to repair it when the time comes.

Lastly, we're in a down-sizing phase and ordering the parts individually allows us to pay as we go with the money we get from selling things we no longer use or want.

Just a few things to consider when deciding to buy a complete bike or build up your own.

27

General Discussion / Re: Wii training

« on: November 24, 2010, 12:57:26 am »

I'm almost positively certain there isn't an actual cycling game that would incorporate a trainer or stationary bike, however people have had some success strapping the Wii-motes to their pedals and playing the jogging game on Wii Fit.

http://librariansmatter.com/blog/2008/05/23/wii-fit-jogging-using-an-exercise-bike/

Sort of along those same lines, I'm really impressed with the quality of workout you can get out of EA's Active 2 for Xbox Kinect. The hard setting has me burning 250+ calories in about 35 minutes with an average HR of 141bpm. Not too bad for "playing videogames."

28

Routes / Re: Highway 2 in MT

« on: October 20, 2010, 09:25:28 pm »

Thanks MaryK. We're planning (and halfway done saving -- woo-hoo!) for an extended round the world trip. Being that we live in western WA, the plan was to follow Northern Tier to Lake Superior, then bang a left and head up into Ontario near Thunder Bay. Long story short, following the Northern Tier route would basically be a way for us to not have to reinvent the wheel for the first 1800 miles or so. I suppose we could venture further south in MT and hit up Bozeman and Missoula, but we'll eventually have to cross the plains and, well, I imagine it doesn't quite matter where you do it, it's going to be pretty similar.

29

Routes / Highway 2 in MT

« on: October 20, 2010, 11:23:42 am »

Looking at the Northern Tier route, I see it follows Highway 2 through much of eastern MT and into ND (heading east, obviously). I've done some spot-checking of this road using road view on Google Maps and it seems that there's little to no shoulder and lots of rumble strips where there is any semblance of shoulder.

I imagine the traffic is pretty light, but I also imagine it's travelling pretty fast.

Can someone who has done the Northern Tier comment on the road conditions along this stretch? I trust ACA to pick a good route, but I certainly have my concerns.

30

General Discussion / Re: Parking Your Car while Touring

« on: September 28, 2010, 08:20:04 pm »

Yep, Enumclaw is nice. I pass through quite often to go mountain biking out at Greenwater. Wouldn't leave my car at the fairgrounds for 3 days though. Heck no.