Topics

1

Gear Talk / number of wheel spokes

« on: January 05, 2025, 12:50:43 pm »

Fully loaded the bike, me and gear weigh up to 350 lbs.  I'm riding Mezcal 29x2.6 tires mostly on pavement and gravel.  I have 25,000 miles on the bike and just cracked my 32 spoke Velocity Dually rim at the spokes. 

Do I replace the rim and stay at 32 spokes, or rebuild the wheel with a new hub and 36 spoke Dually Rim?  The hub is a DT Swiss 350. 

Comments on advantages and disadvantages please.

Thank You

Eric

2

Routes / Amboy to Henderson to Kingman

« on: February 17, 2024, 12:29:46 pm »

I am riding Route 66 in early March and want to detour to Henderson (southern Las Vegas) to see family.  Has anyone ridden the route from Amboy through the Mojave Preserve through Kelso, Cima, etc?  Wondering about water availability.  Google says the Visitors center in Kelso is temporarily closed.  the other option is to follow the I-15 corridor from Barstow.

How about Henderson to Kingman.  For some reason Route With GPS and Google both decline to route me down Hwy 93.  Any idea why?

Thank Much

Eric

3

General Discussion / Empire State Trail to NY City

« on: May 24, 2023, 07:29:53 pm »

I am putting together a TransAm/Northern Tier ride from Florence OR to Buffalo and then looking at following the Empire State Trail to Albany and down to New York City to pick up Amtrak home to western Colorado. 

Everything works down to Poughkeepsie, but I am having a heck of a time finding anything under $200 / night from there south and that is a real budget buster - I'm self sustained, camping as much as possible and cheap motels when necessary and used to urban riding.  If anyone knows the area and has any suggestions, I would sure appreciate it.

I have no need to go into the city instead of hitting the coast elsewhere, but it sounds like a real hoot to ride to the tip of Manhattan :-)

Eric

4

Classifieds / Wanted - old northern tour hwy 2 routing maps

« on: November 23, 2022, 01:13:31 pm »

I am looking for the old northern tour routing maps that follow hwy 2 through Eastern Montana, North Dakota, into Minnesota for a potential tour next summer.

Thanks

Eric

5

General Discussion / Big bikes on Amtrak?

« on: August 13, 2022, 05:27:52 pm »

What kind of luck have people had loading large bikes on the Amtrak roll on roll off service? 

I ride a custom 29+ (29x2.6 tires) rigid mountain bike set up for upright riding and need to go from Fayetteville NC to Chicago to Grand Junction CO.  I tried to put it in an Amtrak bike box, but the steerer tuber is 2 in too high unless I take the front wheel off and the rear axel too wide unless I take the mounts for the Old Man Mountain Rack off. 

Do I take a chance or bite the bullet and take the bike apart?

Thanks

Eric

6

Routes / Camping on the outer banks?

« on: June 29, 2022, 12:48:11 pm »

I am planning a tour starting from central Colorado Sept 6th, riding the TransAm to Yorktown and then the Atlantic Coast south eventually to Jacksonville NC to visit my daughter in mid-November.  I am self contained, planning to camp all the time. 

I am trying to decide whether or not to take the Outer Banks alternate.  The ACA map shows lots of camping alternative on the Outer Bank, but does not say how crowded it will be in November. 

My question is will I need reservations at the campgrounds there, and if so can I expect to make them a few days in advance or will they be booked solid that time of year?

This will be my first tour east of the Rockies and I'm not sure what to expect.

Thanks Much

Eric