Messages

1

Gear Talk / Re: number of wheel spokes

« on: February 04, 2025, 10:16:51 am »

Thanks Nate

2

Gear Talk / Re: number of wheel spokes

« on: January 19, 2025, 09:57:11 am »

Thank you - I contacted them when I was  building the bike, but wanted to DT Swiss 350 hub :-)

Eric

3

Gear Talk / Re: number of wheel spokes

« on: January 06, 2025, 10:44:47 am »

I did ride a fat bike for a while in Alaska - Mukluk - 29x3.9 tires.  Really fun over the snow, but a bit much when I moved to Colorado. 

I had a Fargo with 29x2.0 tires, but hit a sandy patch on a dirt road in Arizona and almost could not push the bike through it.  So I wanted more float in case it happened again. 

The guy who built my frame talked me into 29x3.0 tires, but the selection is very limited and did not perform to expectations.  So now I'm riding Mezcal at 29x2.6 and really happy with them.  That is where the wide Dually rim come in.  I think I am going to stick with that and a builder at lacemine29.

I did check Phillip White and talked to them earlier - really impressive, but I think I am going the other way.

Thanks

Eric

4

Gear Talk / Re: number of wheel spokes

« on: January 05, 2025, 06:30:43 pm »

Thanks John. 

I looked at 48 spokes when I had the bike built, but could not find one in a 40 mm rim :-).

Looks like I will go with 36 spokes - Velocity Dually married to a DT Swiss 350 Hybrid 12x148 unless somebody tells me different.

Eric

5

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

6

Temporary ACA Route Road Closures / Re: TransAm Section 5, Teton Pass is closed, 2024 (Teton Valley Alternate)

« on: June 11, 2024, 11:27:53 am »

WDOT link - scroll down to Big Fill slide photos June 10 for drone shots.  They are working on a temp detour.

https://www.dot.state.wy.us/home/news_info/media-kits.html

Eric

7

Routes / Re: Amboy to Henderson to Kingman

« on: February 22, 2024, 07:44:15 pm »

Thanks John - I hope to be there the 16th.  Timing is everything, eh?

Eric

The plan never survives the first pedal stroke :-)

8

Routes / Re: Amboy to Henderson to Kingman

« on: February 18, 2024, 11:19:40 am »

I’ve found that RideWithGps avoids busy highways, even those with good shoulders. Once you use street view to verify the shoulder, it’s best to switch from cycling to driving so RideWithGps won’t route you off the highway at every opportunity.

I called the RideWithGPS folks and the cycling mode emphasizes safety - so they take you to dirt roads whenever possible.  The driving mode emphasizes distance, so they use whichever route is the shortest.  If you know what you are doing you can make either work well, but... 

When it works, I have been happy with Google Maps, but there have been some memorable failures.  Trying to ride from Buffalo to Sheridan Wyo and avoid I=25 it took me down many miles of dirt roads before it asked me to turn up some ranchers driveway :-).  And I would really like an easy way to export that route to my GPS to save phone battery.

Good to know about taking the bicycle through the bridge - I have gotten away with that a several times, but also been turned around because the bridge was completely out and many miles of backtracking.  All part of the adventure that makes bicycle touring so much fun!

Eric

9

Routes / Re: Amboy to Henderson to Kingman

« on: February 17, 2024, 01:27:20 pm »

Thanks John.  That is my feeling also.

Do you know if that bridge over the Canadian on Rt 66 by your place is still out?  Heading to Ok City on rt66 & then the Eastern Express you shared with me then diverting in Atlanta to Savannah. 

Thanks

Eric

10

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

11

Routes / Re: TA - Kansas US 54

« on: December 13, 2023, 07:39:46 pm »

Yep - I always figured "He's never done that before" would be great on my tombstone :-)

Eric

12

Routes / Re: TA - Kansas US 54

« on: December 13, 2023, 02:19:35 pm »

Routing is a lot more than just traffic and lodging.

Amen to that!  People ask me weekly for route advice saying I want to go from X to Y. I am usually happy to help if I can but it can take a while in which case some get mad at me that it may take a month or two to get to them. And I do it for free.  I have over a thousand routes in various stages of development and have learned it takes about an 3 hours on average to come up with 10 miles of a cue-sheeted route (less west of Mississippi River, more to east). 

In order to do a decent route, you have to research: 
- Traffic counts (compare to state AADT maps, Strava heat maps, etc.) 
- Road conditions (shoulders, rumble strips, line of site, bike lanes/trails, etc.) 
- Services, including but not limited to campgrounds, restaurants, hotels, grocery stores, convenience stores, dollar stores, points of interest, major climbs, major bridges (if safe to cross), paved route vs. mostly paved but saves a bunch of miles, entertainment, laundry, major general merchandise stores (Walmart), bicycle shops, airports, trains, car rentals, bus stations, hospitals, etc.

Once that is all done, you have to put it onto a GPS (I use Garmin's BaseCamp) and then write up a cue sheet for each direction and then put it onto RWGPS.

ACA maps are a bargain if you wanted to plan it yourself. A lot of people contact me mid-tour saying they have been following someone else's route but realized that person has a much different outlook on what makes a good route, i.e. they want the shortest paved route even if lots of traffic or conversely they want no traffic even if much much longer. Or perhaps the original route was for a person who only used hotels vs the follower wanted camping.

Unless you are going to go somewhere already unmapped, I suggest people buy a map from ACA (even if used on eBay).

I will now get off my soap box.

Tailwinds, John

Exactly right, but you forgot that the day after you made this great route they closed the main road you so carefully avoided and directed all the traffic to detour onto the little travelled backroad you chose :-)

Eric

13

Routes / Re: Northern Tier: Back to the old route?

« on: November 17, 2023, 11:53:51 am »

Last summer I rode the new Northern Tier through Montana, diverting at Glendive to go north to the confluence of the Yellowstone and the Missouri.  Even though the oil field traffic was greatly reduced from the peak, there was enough inconsiderate large truck drivers that I found it greatly annoying, although not life threatening, and would not go there again myself. 

Maybe as an alternate NT route?

Eric

14

Routes / Re: Oregon coast to Missouli routes

« on: November 17, 2023, 11:44:47 am »

The Louis and Clark route was chosen to follow the historical route as close as possible.  While the ride through the Columbia River Gorge looks incredible, before that you have to get from Astoria to through Portland and after that you have the dry rolling farm lands of the Palouse country until you get to the mountains. 

The TransAm was chosen to be more scenic, spending more time in the Coast range and Cascades. 

Last year I chose to take Amtrak to Albany OR, ride to Waldport on the coast, down to Florence and pick up the TransAm there on the Florence Alternate and joining the Northern Tier in Great Falls.

It was a great ride and while I missed the gorge, I absolutely loved the Oregon Coast, the Coast Range, Oregon Cascades, Blue Mountains, Hells Canyon, and Hwy 12 up to Lolo Pass (shared on both routes) is to die for.

I highly recommend the TransAm to Missoula. 

Use the satellite background on the ACA page and see what you think.

Eric

15

General Discussion / Re: Empire State Trail to NY City

« on: May 25, 2023, 05:41:07 pm »

Thanks - I'll put it on the list :-)

Eric