Messages

16

Gear Talk / Re: Which pedal?

« on: July 30, 2010, 03:41:29 pm »

Sanuk,

I'm very sorry to hear that you crashed with your new clipless pedals, and I hope that you recover quickly. I also wouldn't give up on clipless so soon, but spend some time practicing getting in and out of them in a flat parking lot before you go out again.

The reason that I did not mention that it takes practice to get out of them is that you said, "I'm going to get serious and fit my bike with pedals with cleats before I hit some serious hills this summer." Your question was not if you should go clipless, but that you had already decided to and wanted to know which pedals to get. Because of that I assumed that you knew about the rather steep learning curve involved in making the switch.

Again, I hope that you recover soon from your spill, and don't let it stop you from trying clipless again.

17

Gear Talk / Re: attaching a rear rack

« on: July 04, 2010, 02:05:12 am »

Old Man Mountain sells extenders also: http://www.oldmanmountain.com/index.html

18

Gear Talk / Re: Which pedal?

« on: July 04, 2010, 02:03:12 am »

I've got several thousand miles on a pair of 324's and I love them. Great touring, around town, and commuting pedal. Both sides of the pedal work great. The non-cleat side is excellent as you can ride in any kind of shoes, the teeth do an nice job of gripping your sole, and the platform is big enough to give good support. This is nice when you've taken off your cycling shoes at the end of the touring day, and just want to jump on the bike and do some errands.  The cleated side is great too as you get support not only from the cleat, but also from the teeth of the pedal on that side.

19

General Discussion / Re: (Ireland to...) Vancouver to San Francisco

« on: April 18, 2010, 03:04:16 am »

I'll second staehpj1 recommendation. End of June is an excellent time, the wind should be behind you, the rainy season is over, and you should have an excellent trip. Have fun!

20

Gear Talk / Re: Help Pulling the Trigger

« on: April 04, 2010, 10:21:12 pm »

Hello,

Don't know where you heard that Alex Adventurer rims were no good. I've heard nothing but good things about them. I've got a set in 26" and have found them to be bulletproof. I've used them for self-supported touring, commuting, and mountain biking for years, and they have yet to go out of true. Of course, how good a wheel is depends heavily on the builder. A bad build will ruin any set of wheels.

Regarding your bike choices, any one of them will work great.

21

Routes / Re: Is Cycling from South to North on the california coast a good idea in April?

« on: March 19, 2010, 05:05:54 pm »

I did the route North to South leaving in early May. I found the winds blowing mostly from the South, bad for my trip, but should be good for you (assuming you get the same weather I did). I met a few people who were going from South to North, and they had no complaints. The upside of leaving early is that you will be on the road before school lets out, so there will be much less RV traffic. The down side is that as you get North of San Francisco so early in the season,  you can expect to encounter some rain (the further North you go, the more rain you can expect), so plan for that. As Jennifer noted, it is nicer to be on the ocean side of the highway, but anyway you do it, it is a great ride.

22

General Discussion / Re: advice for setting my bike up for touring

« on: February 18, 2010, 06:08:38 pm »

whittierider had some good points (newwheel, 9 speed, rear end spacing) that I hadn't though of, so I removed my previous post concerning the Shimano 9 speed 12-36 cassette.

23

Gear Talk / Re: What road bikes can fit a 700x32 or 35?

« on: February 09, 2010, 05:46:38 pm »

If you don't mind spending some money the Rivendell http://www.rivbike.com Rodeo seems to fit your criteria. It is under 20 pounds and fits tires up to 35 mm. It is lugged steel too, including the fork so it should be fine on gravel roads (easier to touch up chipped paint as opposed to chipped carbon).

24

General Discussion / Re: Bike recommendations for heavy people

« on: February 09, 2010, 05:37:24 pm »

Another bike you might consider is the Bombadil from Rivendell bikes http://www.rivbike.com. The frame goes for about 2 grand and (according to their website) was built to carry a heavy load. You could give them a call if you had some questions about it.

25

Gear Talk / Re: Headlight Recommendations for use w/ handlebar bag

« on: December 11, 2009, 04:25:32 pm »

Paul industries  http://www.paulcomp.com/ makes a Stem Cap Light Mount that sounds exactly like what you are looking for.

26

Gear Talk / Re: Trekking Bars?

« on: December 11, 2009, 04:10:31 pm »

I have a Soma groove hardtail mountain bike that I use for touring, trail riding, and commuting. After completing a 1000 mile tour on it 2 years ago, I came back very dissatisfied with my handlebar setup, which (at that time) consisted of standard mountain bike bars with bar ends. After some research I switched to trekking bars and have been riding with those for the last two years. For me they were a vast improvement over the standard bars. I no longer experience any hand numbness, and am much more comfortable on the bike. They are fantastic for most riding, but (perhaps not surprisingly) do not work as well off road as the old bars. They are o.k., but not what I would use for really fast off road downhills that require one to keep your hands near the brakes while muscling the bar around. Given that, for my purposes they are ideal. I got mine from Wallingford bikes which are located in the USA at http://www.wallbike.com/

The model I got was the 570 mm bars.

27

General Discussion / Re: Winter Pacific Coast tour

« on: January 18, 2009, 09:15:04 pm »

One more thing to consider is the headwinds (when going from North to South), they can be fierce that time of year. They normally don't shift to tailwinds until sometime in May.

28

General Discussion / Re: MB Touring

« on: January 16, 2009, 06:01:29 pm »

Well, lots and lots of people tour on mountain bikes and do not have any problem with them. In fact, many prefer them as you can see by searching this (and other) forums. Particularly if your going RTW,  many would say the 26' mountain bike wheel is more suitable, simply because tires and tubes for that size wheel are the easiest to find. Panniers or trailer? Up to you really, both work, it is just a matter of taste.

For touring, most will tell you to get a rigid rear on the bike. If your mostly on roads, get a rigid front also, you can always get shocks for when you get home and have a good off road bike also. With the kind of money you are willing to spend your choices are many. Bruce Gordon makes some excellent touring bikes, while many custom frame builders could do you well also. Waterford (and Gunnar) also make very suitable frames for what you have in mind.

Soma makes a very nice hardtail mountain bike frame (Soma Groove) that is relatively inexpensive (around $400 or so). I built one up for a tour I did 2 years ago (with panniers), and now use it for my commuter and have been very happy with it.

Whatever bike you get, make sure it fits you, and you get lots of saddle time before you leave. That way you can work out all the kinks before you take off.

29

Gear Talk / Re: Kamp-Rite Pop Up Trailer

« on: January 14, 2009, 06:35:08 pm »

Hello,

Their web page is: http://www.kamprite.com/

Contact information for the USA:

Kamp-Rite™ Headquarters

Kamp-Rite™
925 Cornell Avenue
Lovelock, Nevada U.S.A. 89419
Phone: (775) 273-2901 / Toll Free (800) 709-9905
Fax: (775) 273-2932

National Sales

Jeff Visger, G.M.
Phone: (800) 709-9905
Email: jeff@kamprite.com


Customer Service & General Info

Phone: (775) 273-2901
Email: infoUS@kamprite.com

Alaska, Hawaii and International orders:
Contact: 1-800-709-9905 for shipping cost information.

Best,

Gregg

30

Gear Talk / Tire Pumps for Long Tours

« on: September 23, 2007, 03:54:10 pm »

Another vote for the Road Morph. Worked great on my last tour, and I never worried about stressing the valve because the pump has that nice hose (just like a floor pump).

Gregg