Messages

16

Gear Talk / Re: New bike build... carbon front forks - options?

« on: March 15, 2018, 10:42:34 pm »

With an inner frame bag, traditional bottle mounts don’t exist.

What the heck are you talking about?  Have you even looked at the frame bags I am referring to?  Apparently not.  See the links below.  You will clearly see that these frame bags fit into the top 4-5-6 inches of the main triangle.  There is plenty of room for two bottle cages inside the main triangle of the bike.  Also not sure why are you so concerned with carrying so much water?  Are you racing across the desert in August?  2 bottles behind the saddle, water bladder inside the main triangle.  Why are you carrying so much water?  On all my tours I find it very easy to find water and get something to drink.

https://www.adventurecycling.org/cyclosource-store/equipment/bikepacking/sp/revelate-designs-tangle-frame-bag-2/

https://www.revelatedesigns.com/index.cfm/store.catalog/frame-bags/TangleFrameBag

http://www.treefortbikes.com/product/333222420341/406/Apidura-Dry-Series-Frame.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&adpos=1o1&scid=scplp333222420341&sc_intid=333222420341&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI25begujv2QIVBweGCh1qQg9IEAQYASABEgIb4_D_BwE

https://www.ortlieb.com/en/Frame-Pack%20Toptube/

17

Gear Talk / Re: New bike build... carbon front forks - options?

« on: March 15, 2018, 04:42:34 pm »

I plan to have a two bottle xlab wing off my rear seat - so. That defeats the seat post bag.

Get rid of the bottle holder thing.  Do you think you are on a time trial?  Are aerodynamics that important?  I've toured a little bit with just 2 or 3 water bottles.  I've never found it difficult to find as much water as I need.  Its very easy to find devices that mount a bottle underneath the downtube.  Or just use clamps to mount it.  That gives you 3 bottles.  28 or 32 ounces in each bottle.  Or just put an extra screw top water bottle from a convenience store inside the large saddlebag if you are worried about water.  Or put a couple extra bottles in your jersey pockets.

18

Gear Talk / Re: New bike build... carbon front forks - options?

« on: March 15, 2018, 12:45:54 am »

I'd suggest going the ultra light method.  Use a road bicycle.  Use a large saddle bag, a frame bag, and a handlebar bag/roll.  Revelate Designs makes all three of these bags.  As well as Apidura and Ortleib.  If you take Minimal gear, and make it as lightweight as possible, you should have enough room in these three bags to carry all of the gear you need for a "loaded" tour.  And use any bike you want without any racks.  Or maybe use some of these bags and a rear rack and take tiny panniers, or a bag on top of the rack, and end up about the same.  Keep everything as light as possible, and take only the barest minimum gear.

19

Gear Talk / Re: Cooking set up while on tour?

« on: March 11, 2018, 09:39:52 pm »

Not cooking is what works for me...  Buy food in a grocery that doesn't need to be cooked.

That’s possible when stores are frequent. Not so much when you’re going days between stores.

On paved roads in the USA, you will never ever ride anywhere without a town every single day.  99.9+% of the time you will at least have a town at the beginning and end of the day.  Its possible to have routes with no intermediate towns.  But always a town at the beginning and end.  Yes on very rare occasions you may have to ride 100 miles between towns.

If you are talking about off road touring, then yes it is very easy to ride routes with no towns.  And you would need to carry all of your food and cooking supplies for the entire trip.  Off road touring.

20

Gear Talk / Re: Search for the perfect touring bike mirror

« on: March 10, 2018, 08:52:07 pm »

I rode the other day without my mirror on accident and wasn't comfortable not knowing what was behind me.

Agree with this.  Every great once in awhile I ride without a mirror.  Rarely.  But I know I don't have a mirror and do not like it.  Once you get used to riding with a mirror, on sunglasses for me, you will never consider riding without one.

21

General Discussion / Re: Camping in Churches

« on: March 05, 2018, 03:44:05 pm »

Agreeing with everyone else.  If there is a parsonage (house next to the church where the minister lives) next to the church, then maybe ask if you can camp on the church grounds.  As mentioned, not sure how bathroom would work.  Today many small churches in small towns do not have a minister living next to the church.  One minister services multiple churches in the area.  They may or may not live in a house next to one of them.  The other churches do not have a minister or anyone else near or at the church building.  Only in bigger towns with thousands of people will a church have a minister dedicated solely to that church alone.  And probably live beside it.  Given the recent murdering at churches in South Carolina and Texas, I would not be surprised or shocked if the minster or other person called the sheriff and had you arrested or escorted out of town for stopping at the church when it is not open on Sunday morning.

22

General Discussion / Re: Cycling in Iceland

« on: March 04, 2018, 11:08:39 pm »

So good friends did it and their most often descriptions were“intolerable headwinds”!

Iceland is an island midway between Greenland and Norway.  According to the post above its about 900 miles in diameter.  About the same size as my state of Iowa.  How do you get headwinds all of the time, or even a majority of the time?  Assuming you are circumnavigating the circumference of the island, you are roughly going North, West, South, East an equal amount of time.  Assuming the prevailing winds are out of one direction, then you would have about 1/4 tailwind, 1/4 headwind, 1/2 sidewind.  I realize winds can change every day so it is possible to have handwinds every single day no matter which direction you ride.  But usually winds stay out of the same direction for awhile.

23

General Discussion / Re: Across America 2018

« on: February 26, 2018, 08:39:07 pm »

If you are riding 4419 miles in 51 days you are averaging 87 miles per day.  Every single day, 87 miles.  Assuming this is a loaded touring bike carrying full gear.  Lets pretend you are doing about 15 mph.  For many in this group, I suspect riding at 15 mph average is well beyond their abilities.  But lets pretend he is able to ride at 15 mph average every single day for 87 miles every single day.  That is 6 hours of riding time per day.  (If he is averaging 10 mph then he is spending 9 hours of riding time every day.  Adjust the following times given by adding 3.)  Add in 1 to 2 hours for eating stops along the way.  Figure it will take 8 hours every single day to ride 87 miles.  Leave at 8 AM every day.  Finish at 4 PM every day.  Of course some days will be shorter or longer.  So lets say he finishes every day between 3 and 5 PM.  Find and setup camp or find a motel.  1 hour.  Its now 5 PM.  Eat.  1 hour.  Now 6 PM.  Go touring in the town from 6 to 7 PM in the dusk, dark.  Go to bed at 8 PM and get up at 6 AM next day.  Check out or break camp.  Eat breakfast.  Leave for the ride at 8 AM.  Looking at the town for one hour at dark does not sound like much touring.  Just riding.  Where are you meeting people or even talking to people?  Where are you experiencing anything except riding the bike?

24

General Discussion / Re: Across America 2018

« on: February 25, 2018, 05:34:18 pm »

I'm going to add another comment to my post from two months ago.  The average mentioned by several people is roughly 70 miles per day.  More than doable.  But that more or less means riding every single day and never ever stopping.  Long ago when I rode across Europe I met several people and had pre arranged meetings with several people.  So I stopped for a few days or a week numerous times during my trip.  My trip was fun.  Riding my bike was important of course, but it was somewhat secondary.  My fondest memories are of the days I did not ride and spent with friends.  I rode in a glider plane one day.  I did not ride that day.  Another evening I spent sitting around a campfire with good people and their wonderful kids listening to the Olympic basketball games.  I did not ride that day.  Today I would happily trade the riding for the experiences I had and people I met.  The riding was not really important.

If you want to ride like the person who posted before me bragging about riding 4,419 miles in 51 days, then OK.  If you are a person who says "F-CK YOU" to everyone who smiles or tries to talk to you.  And spit on everyone you meet.  Then you can easily make it across the US riding every single day and never stopping to see anything.  Does not sound like much of a tour to me.  It would be much better to just get up every single morning and get on a time trial bike and race through 80 miles as quick as possible.  Why waste time touring if your goal is mileage accumulation?

25

General Discussion / Re: Most miles you have ridden in one single tour?

« on: February 22, 2018, 03:25:31 pm »

Somewhere between 4 to 4.5 thousand miles, give or take a mile or two.  Rode around Europe for the summer.  Middle of May to end of August.  Made several 2-3-4 day stops and one 1 week long stop.  I'd say 1 to 2 week long tours are preferred by me.  One week and I am into it, still excited.  Two weeks and I am ready to do something else and sit on the couch and vegetate.  Mileage, distance covered is completely irrelevant.  My fondest memories of tours are about the sites I saw and people I met and experiences I had.  Not how many miles I rode each day.

26

Routes / Re: July & August to Cycle Europe: Where should I go?

« on: February 20, 2018, 07:13:00 pm »

Destination city of Venice?  Not sure what you mean by destination city.  Start town?  Or centered around that town?  Venice is a tourist town basically.  Assume it has an airport.  Not sure I would want to start from Venice.  Start at Rome or maybe even further south in Italy.  Ride up Italy and make sure to go to Pisa and see the leaning tower.  I've ridden from Rome north and assume the south is equally good for riding.  Rome north is great biking.  I'd suggest getting over to the former eastern European countries.  Czech republic and the others.  Germany, Switzerland, Austria are good places too.  But they are very western.  Similar to the US.  Assuming you are from the US.  France, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal are different.  They are western of course, but the biking is not like the US at all.  You know you are in a different country, part of the world.  Italy is unique.  The former eastern European countries are different too.  Ride the Dolomites in northern Italy.  Ride the Alps too in Austria and Switzerland.  I have not ridden the Pyrennes so not sure they are great riding.  But the Tour goes there every year so maybe they are good too.  For a route I'd say start in Rome or further south and ride north and zigzag back and forth until you get to Hamburg Germany.

27

General Discussion / Re: Road bike vs. Cyclo-cross bike

« on: February 12, 2018, 07:05:34 pm »

Unless you plan to ride a majority on dirt, maybe gravel, roads, why would you choose cyclocross tires?  Cyclocross tires are sort of like knobby tires for BMX bikes.  They are designed for dirt and mud.  Cyclocross wheels can also fit regular road bike tires just fine.

Assuming you mean a real cyclocross bike, like what the pros use, then a cyclocross bike is more or less a road racing bike.  Except for dirt, mud instead of paved roads.  Similar geometry, similar handling.  Similar weight too, except a little bit heavier.  Disc brakes.  Slightly different cable runs.  Both gear cables run along the toptube.  Front derailleur cable runs down the seattube.  Rear derailleur cable runs down the seatstays.  Cyclocross bike will fit wider tires if you want.  But you can also put the exact same tires as your road bike too.  Should be same speed too since the tires are the same.
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To me it comes down to what roads you are going to spend a majority of your time on.  If dirt and gravel, then go cyclocross bike and maybe run 28-30mm tires.  Smooth or maybe a little tread.  If majority paved roads, then go with a road bike.  I like your plan of going light touring and using just a large saddle bag and backpack.  Although I would not wear a backpack for very long.

28

Gear Talk / Re: Thoughts on Nashbar Touring bike?

« on: February 06, 2018, 02:11:09 am »

Might be time to switch to decaf.

Never drank coffee in my life, my boy.  I merely gave a response to a question that doesn't even rise high enough to be considered foolish.

29

Gear Talk / Re: Thoughts on Nashbar Touring bike?

« on: February 05, 2018, 08:07:49 pm »

Was size did you get and how did it fit you?

Why, how on earth is this relevant?  Are you the EXACT same size as the other person?  Do you have the EXACT same torso, leg, arm, dimensions as the other person?  Do you ride in the EXACT same position as the other person?  Same back angle, same saddle height, same stretched out or scrunched up position?  What size bike someone else rides and how it fits them is pretty close to 100% irrelevant.  WHY didn't you ask him what shoe size he wears?  WHY didn't you ask him what width handlebars he uses?  WHY didn't you ask him how wide his saddle is?  WHY didn't you ask him what size helmet he uses?  All of those questions are exactly as relevant as what bike size he uses.

30

Gear Talk / Re: Which Master Link for my Trek 520

« on: January 10, 2018, 07:07:20 pm »

You have a 9 speed chain.  So use 9 speed master links that you snap together and unsnap by hand, sort of.  Doesn't matter what brand as long as it is 9 speed.