Messages

1

General Discussion / Re: Best Camera for touring?

« on: March 23, 2009, 12:58:26 am »

If you are not into photography per se, then something like the Canon SX1 ultrazoom would be your best best.  You want something starting at around the 28mm on the wide end and going up to 200mm or on the tele end for general photography.    Those 20x zooms are more of a compromise.

I am biased towards Canon compacts - IMO, they have the best image quality of all the compacts out there (although the Panasonic bodies are excellent with superb optics, they are let down by their noisier sensors when shooting in low light). 

I make a living from my photography and I travel with a Canon G10 when I am not shooting with my DSLR - and I have sold quite a few images with it.  The reason I am not recommending the G10, incidentally, is that to extract the most from it, you need to shoot in RAW mode and that is something which you would not be interested in, given your stated preferences.

HTH,
Vandit

2

Routes / Re: Namibia

« on: March 22, 2009, 04:13:31 pm »

Thanks for the responses so far.

Westinghouse - appreciate the safety headsup.  I will be traveling with >$10k worth of camera gear, so I take safety very seriously.  But while new to bike touring, I consider myself a pretty seasoned traveller (50+ countries), and I do visit Africa every couple of years.  So a, not too fussed about safety... (being non-Caucasian and non-American helps in some places ).

Nokka - yeah, it was a tradeoff for me:  wait till it gets a bit warmer and then suffer in mid-day, or go in winter and risk freezing early.  Actually, I may avoid July simply to not be anywhere during school holidays and go in August instead.

I was hoping to do a CC type of tour, as I will be carrying a lot of camera gear with me (am a wildlife photographer), so would like to avoid carrying cooking utensils, etc. with me.  I'll probably pack a tent but for food spares, it is likely going to be tinned stuff.

Are most of the roads tarred or graded ashpalt?  If the latter, think the LHT will hold up if I put fatter tires on it?  I may bring the bike over without tires and then purchase fatties in country.

Vandit

3

Routes / Namibia

« on: March 21, 2009, 10:44:02 am »

Hi all - I am planning a 4 week cycling trip through Namibia in July or thereabouts.   Am starting the planning process.  I see there is one trip report on CGOAB covering Namibia/S Africa but a search of this forum didnt reveal much.

So - anyone cycled through Namibia and care to share some info: useful routes, issues to be aware of, etc?  I have a few guidbooks and will be putting together an itinerary from there but pretty much any tidbit would be useful.

This will be my first extended tour, FWIW... however, I am a reasonably well-seasoned Africa hand, having spent about 6 months in various parts of southern and eastern Africa on all sorts of budgets ($25/day to $400/day). 

TIA,
Vandit

4

Gear Talk / Re: Oxford Low Rider panniers

« on: March 09, 2009, 02:59:40 pm »

Thanks again for your help.  Much appreciated.

Vandit

5

General Discussion / Re: Living on my bike

« on: March 07, 2009, 02:40:00 pm »

Interesting thread.   I come to this as someone who has given up a corporate job/sports car/expense account lifestyle to go live in a small island in the middle of nowhere as a dive instructor (thatch hut, occasional snake in my bathroom, etc).  Not as radically different as living on a bicycle but a drastic enough change that I can offer some points to consider that may apply here.

For starters, if this is REALLY what you want to do, go for it.

However, a few things to keep in mind:

- Touring and traveling may be fun for a certain amount of time, but for a lot of people, there is a need to do something useful and be productive.  Even when I took a year off work to travel, by the end of it, I was itching to go back to work - not to earn money but just to feel that I was doing something constructive

- What happens if you get burnt out with not having a home, medical insurance, friends, etc?   Traveling is great but too much of it, as with anything, can stop being fun.  I am perfectly happy going off by myself for extended periods of time (have spent weeks at a stretch in the Himalayas without seeing another person), but it is always comforting to come back to friends after a while.  You may think that you can do without it... but you dont really know until you have tried it.  So try to have an exit path which lets you come back to a more "routine" lifestyle if you so desire.

- Money.  I have taken a 80% paycut to do what I like, so I am the last person to argue in favor of chasing money.  But you need a certain level in order to enjoy what you are doing (whatever that level is).   Be sure that you can find a way to ensure that level of money. 

I would suggest that perhaps a year-long sabbatical from one's regular life to try this would be a good way to go.    And yes, I do agree - if anyone decides to do this, please keep a journal on CGOAB or Facebook or somewhere, so we can read about this. 

V.

6

Gear Talk / Re: Oxford Low Rider panniers

« on: March 07, 2009, 02:21:21 pm »

Last question - how easy are those panniers to remove every night?   The one big thing I like about Ortliebs is how easily they come off for transport/securing.

Vandit

7

Gear Talk / Re: Oxford Low Rider panniers

« on: March 06, 2009, 01:55:36 pm »

Cheers.  I had seen those Performance panniers but those reviews about the fastenings coming off, etc. had put me off.  Good to know that these are reliable bags...

Thanks for the help!

8

Gear Talk / Re: Oxford Low Rider panniers

« on: March 05, 2009, 02:07:32 pm »

Nashbar unfortunately doesnt ship to India... Performance does, but they dont really have anything that stands out.

Any other options for bags with good, robust rain-covers?  Worst case, I can probably get covers made locally but it just saves a lot of time to get them together.

V.

9

Gear Talk / Oxford Low Rider panniers

« on: March 04, 2009, 03:11:45 pm »

I am in the market for a set of front and rear panniers for 2-3 week independent touring (mostly staying in hotels but also packing some camping gear).   Rainproof (ability to withstand tropical monsoon rains) is a must. 

I was looking at the JandD and the bags seem pretty nicely made, but I refuse to pay $100 or so for a set of rain covers.  And in that same vein of general principle, I get a major burr in my saddle when I look at the Ortlieb glorified drybags for $200 a pop.   Now, I understand the value of good luggage - but to me, $400+ for 4 simple bags is way too much.  I'll pay it if I have no other choice, but I'd prefer to get something a little more sensibly priced. 

Enter Chain Reaction cycles.  The Oxford bags seem well-specced, come with a rain cover and are reasonably priced as well.   Any experiences with them?

Alternatively, any other suggestions for good, waterproof (or with rain cover) panniers?    I've gone through quite a few archived discussions on this, but the rain resistance bit is one that has not really been stressed.

I am looking at something in the 3000l for the rear panniers and 1500l range for the front panniers.  I dont necessarily want the cheapest panniers out there - am happy to pay for high-quality products, but while staying within the limits of good value.

Thanks,
Vandit