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1

Gear Talk / Does anybody sell a bicycle cargo trunk like this?

« on: August 06, 2021, 12:41:44 am »

I wanted to go on long bicycle journeys for years.
Last year my health was not great.
This year I became a caretaker and had to abandon my plans.

Yet in May, I was lucky to go on an 8 day bicycle journey through the Appalachian coal country that taught me a lot about how I need to prepare for longer journeys.
(Here are some pictures of my journey:https://www.instagram.com/vladimirtolskiy/)


I am looking for a bicycle trunk that looks like this:

I also had to make a custom part to go around the caliper, because none of the caliper-friendly bikes offered me what I wanted.

Does anybody make anything like this for a 29" bicycle with DISK brakes?

If I started selling touring trunks with such geometry and a kickstand incorporated into the design?
Would you buy one?

Thank you.

2

General Discussion / Riding coast to coast

« on: August 18, 2019, 08:39:26 pm »

Hello.
I am thinking about biking across America before it gets too cold.

1) I have very little money (around $400 in savings) so I would prefer sleeping in the bushes to sleeping at a hotel.
I see that there is a bottle neck around the Great Lakes as that area is very densely populated and does not have a lot of woods by the rivers.
Where do people who bike around Chicago stay at if they have no money for hotels?

2) I have chronic pain and other severe health problems. In a way, I am planning my bike journey out of despair.
For this reason I don't want to be with a group of people, be slowed down by me, have them take care of me if my health begins to fail.

However it is nice to have other riders close by in case there are wild animals or uninvited guests who would like to pay a visit to my camp.
It is nice to have some other cyclists within reach. Is there a dense biking path where I am less likely to be riding a bike alone for miles?

3) Are there apps that allow cyclists to stay together and communicate the way truck drivers do?
I could get some support when it comes to good camping spots and other useful resources, like a water fountains in the park, stores where I can buy food.

4) With the general, increasing tendency of police to harass homeless people, how likely am I to be harassed?
My camping gear is a collection of obsolete tent, other very primitive gear.
My bicycle has also seen sights. It is reliable since I maintain it very well, yet it looks more like something that homeless people would use.

5) In case my bicycle breaks down, I plan to look for a replacement in the area where my previous bike goes bad.
Has anyone done that?

6) Does anyone sell a generator that uses a coil that mounts to the fork and a magnet that attaches to the spokes?
I looked at various ways to charge batteries on different devices such as cameras. A solar panel is clumsy and brittle, it relies on the weather too much.
The best way to charge batteries would be when I go downhill and I have to apply brakes. Does this exist?

I had an old-school generator that clamps to the tire - a lot of energy is wasted between the tire and the roller.
It would be nice if I could easily engage it when I apply brakes and disengage it when I have to pedal.



I am a youtuber. Among other things, I would like to show the hospitality levels in America.



If I am harassed by police for not having a rich man bike or having patches on my tent, I will upload the footage to Youtube as soon as I get a chance.
If I am allowed to camp, I will thank the person who allowed me to camp somewhere before all my subscribers.

I may end up in the hospital somewhere along the way and never make it to the West Coast.
My illness gets better under extreme conditions. So I want to create them for a month or two to see what happens, as a therapy.
I am disabled, I survive on SSI and food stamps and my only way to get somewhere long distance is to bike there or to take a grayhound.

From another end - I would like to bike through rural America and show the vibe, maybe interview some people.
I will carry some equipment with me and film everything I come across and upload it as soon as I can to reduce the need for storage memory.

Also there is a possibility that my camera or phone will break and I will stop updating my channel subscribers, yet I will still make it to the other side of the country. My friend is expecting me on the West Coast.

Thank you.