Messages

16

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

« on: March 18, 2018, 09:27:36 pm »

Upgrading equipment for doing GDMBR this year included acquiring JetBoil MiniMo. Haven't tested on trail yet but here's the criteria that led us to that stove. First, stove or no - we'll be tenting most nights and having a warm meal and beverage at night and in the morning can substantially affect my wife's comfort level. So yes, happy wife happy life applies on the road too. Second, which stove - the piezo-electric ignition and heat transfer fins reduce fuel waste and that narrowed the choices to a few models from a couple of brands.  Third, pot size - the MiniMo was the only one we found that had a low and wide proportion to the pot. Eating, cleaning, all much easier with a pot than a tall cup.
I'll comment again some day after we have experience with the reliability.

17

Gear Talk / Re: Liners for riding shorts.

« on: August 13, 2017, 04:32:23 am »

OK, I'll take a look at UA. I know I've had some of their shirts but don't recall having any of their undershorts or checking how their seams are placed. Is there a model name or number for the US under shorts you've used for cycling?  Thanks

18

Gear Talk / Liners for riding shorts.

« on: August 08, 2017, 10:45:48 pm »

I'm looking for brand/model recommenations for biking pants liners. I'm fed up with padded liners - they prevent airflow and retain perspiration.  I would like a pants liner that simply provides no seams in the nether regions. No bulk that blocks airflow.  No sorry excuse for padding that traps moisture.  Just a smooth seamless fabric against my skin. Anyone able to recommend a brand and model of liner like that? Thanks

19

Great Lakes / Michigan U.P. Pictured Rocks

« on: January 25, 2017, 07:30:06 am »

With the Bicycle overlay on GoogleMaps a trail appears along Pictured Rocks region between Grand Marais and Munising.  I thought the park service website indicated that the trail is hiker only. Is it another GoogleMaps error or is there a dirt bike path along the shore between those towns?

 We're doing a self supported ride from Newberry, to Whitefish Point, to Grand Marais, to Munising, and back to Newberry in July of 2017. We'll be on mountain bikes and off pavement routes are preferred.

20

General Discussion / Re: What pedals do you use for touring: clips, clipless, platform?

« on: January 24, 2017, 09:28:01 pm »

Well, since I clicked an answer in the survey now I feel the need to explain myself. I did click clipless because the question is "what do you use?" and that's what we've been using. However, when it's time for new biking shoes we are going back to old school cages. With cages we can pick shoes from a much larger universe of choices. When traveling we want our shoes to be multipurpose but in the rare cases we find two-screw shoes with the functional versatility we want there ends up being a weird color or styling issue that makes the shoes a no-go for us. I'm also shocked by the weight of many of the mountain bike and recreational bike shoes. I'm really perplexed that the bike shoe companies don't seem to recognize a market need for two screw shoes, that are light, walkable, and styled for adult casual.

21

Gear Talk / Re: Bike to Bike Intercom

« on: January 12, 2017, 05:33:11 am »

Yeah, that's basically the problem I'm seeing in my search - everything is a phone ap. Many of the places we are looking forward to riding are in weak or no signal areas. When in those kinds of areas we've learned to put our phones in airplane mode or turn them off because the batteries drain so fast (something to do with signal hunting).
I may end up cobbling together something myself using walkie talkies and parts from light weight headsets. I just kept hoping there was some integrated helmet system out there so we wouldn't have wires and little boxes that are bulkier than they need to be. I really do appreciate checking out the links you've provided.

22

Gear Talk / Re: Bike to Bike Intercom

« on: January 11, 2017, 01:07:47 am »

Thanks for the lead. Your link provided my first exposure to this product.
I really like the idea of having the electronics integrated in to the helmet instead of the strap on boxes and loose wires I've seen with another possible solution.
I've sent them an email to get clarification on what the unit actually does. Their web sites talks about all the stuff we don't need (music, navigation, phone calls, etc) but doesn't make any mention about the primary safety function we do need (bike-to-bike intercom).
Thanks again - didn't know about it until you mentioned it.

23

Gear Talk / Bike to Bike Intercom

« on: January 08, 2017, 11:58:35 am »

Looking for comments on any experiences with electronic communications between bikes. We'd like to have helmet to helmet audio communication for better social experience and improved safety. Really not willing to give in to bulkiness, wire messes, or excessive battery maintenance to achieve this. Has anyone seen or used a set that is compact, light, and reliable?

24

Gear Talk / Re: trailers vs panniers

« on: January 08, 2017, 11:43:00 am »

I tour with my girlfriend who is a little over half my size. I carry nearly everything for both of us in order to keep our paces about the same. Therefore the trailer becomes the preferred solution.
With panniers this heavily loaded I wouldn't be able to hop curbs or fallen branches as nimbly as I do with the trailer. Key to making the trailer beneficial is single wheel with suspension. Single wheel keeps me narrow and all wheels tracking in the same rut. The suspension is not there to give a luxury ride to our stuff - the suspension provides vertical compliance that makes the trailer easier to pull along rough surfaces. Also, when hopping aforementioned curbs or branches the Ibex trailer just bounces over it.
I've been amazed at how my bike tires show very little wear but most pannier users I've met are just grinding through tires. The exceptions are the pannier users that truly understand minimalist and lightweight bikepacking - their tires go a long time too. Sometimes having the extra vehicle (trailer) is cumbersome. However, when encountering stairs or some steep embankment it has been relatively convenient to disconnect the trailer and make two easy trips. I've liked the trailer well enough that even if I were to travel alone with less weight I'd still use the trailer. However, if I did the Iditarod or some similar epic adventure I'd be very minimalist with frame bag, seat pack, and handlebar bag.

25

Gear Talk / Re: Recommendation for front light?

« on: December 13, 2016, 09:37:47 pm »

Wow, yeah, that website looks like a great resource. I've had my Serfas lights for over three years now and hadn't shopped again since being so satisfied. Looks like some even better choices will be awaiting if I ever wear these out.

26

Gear Talk / Re: (not so) Low gear on Bikepacking bikes

« on: December 13, 2016, 09:21:33 pm »

Hey, no, party's not over yet! 
I am only vaguely aware that some oversized cogs are available to swap out in 1st position. What I haven't seen or heard is do they create other problems. The couple of examples I've seen looked like a big climb for the chain from 2nd to 1st. Is it still a reliable shift? Do most derailleurs have enough range of motion to accommodate the big cog or does the idler arm or entire derailleur need to be replaced? Are most chains sold long enough or will I need to inventory some extra links?
Regards

27

Gear Talk / Re: Recommendation for front light?

« on: December 08, 2016, 12:47:33 am »

In past decades I've spent money on disappointing bike lights. In the 90s I improvised brackets for Mag Lights and was for the first time somewhat satisfied with my bike light capability. But the best money I ever spent was for Surfas rechargeable lights. These are bike specific, no improvising, no problems. I mount a 150 or 250 on my helmet so I have spot light in whatever direction I point my face. I mount a 350 on my handlebar. This is a great flood light to augment the helmet spot light when I'm on a rural rail-to-trail. When I'm near town I put the 350 in flash mode. The 350 in flash mode not only catches attention from the front but it gets attention behind me. The 350, like all the Surfas lights have the LED bulb perfectly centered in the very precise parabolic and when it flashes it makes every reflective street sign, traffic sign, construction barrel, anything ahead of me with reflective tape flashes too. With everything ahead of me flashing it gets the attention of drivers coming up behind me to notice our side of the road and me. I do also have the red LED Surfas blinker on my backside. I've mostly used all these lights for day and night commuting. However, I do have them with me when touring for those frequent times that I run out of daylight before reaching that day's objective. The rechargers are very light but maybe bulkier than they need to be. The run times that they advertise seem about right. I've had nearly a hundred recharges on these lights and even on trips where we were several days between outlets I never managed to run these out of electicity.

28

Routes / Pictured Rocks, Michigan Upper Peninsula

« on: December 07, 2016, 08:01:12 am »

With the Bicycle overlay on GoogleMaps a trail appears along Pictured Rocks region between Grand Marais and Munising.  I thought the park service website indicated that the trail is hiker only. Is it another GoogleMaps error or is there a dirt bike path along the shore between those towns?
 I'm thinking about a self supported ride from Newberry, to Whitefish Point, to Grand Marais, to Munising, and back to Newberry in summer of 2017. We'll be on mountain bikes and off pavement routes are preferred.

29

Gear Talk / Re: (not so) Low gear on Bikepacking bikes

« on: December 02, 2016, 05:08:51 am »

Yeah, not blind to the ultra-light concepts. I just assumed other bikepackers were going on even more extreme trails than I would pull the BoB through and therefore still need the low gears.

I noticed at least one of these bikes had a 108" top gear - that's gearing I can only imagine using on a road bike carrying nothing more than a water bottle. My experience with off road bikepacking so far has been if I'm on a grade that I'd over rev my legs in an 80" gear then gravity is going to be all the power I need and I'm probably more concerned with braking for the curves rather than trying to go faster.
 
So you're also seeing that the combo of 3" tires, fixed forks, and packing frames with low inches is not in the marketplace. I was hoping I was merely that I was unaware the ideal bike.  I am a bit stubborn to the idea of having to throw a couple hundred  dollars at modifications on bikes that cost $2,100 to $5,000 each to begin with.   

We may stick with the matched pair of bikes that we have now with 27.5x2.1, suspension forks, and 3x9 drive trains (17.7" 1st gear). I was just wanting the 3" tires to enable the weight reduction of solid forks and having to walk less often in sandy or large gravel situations. We encounter waaaay more miles of packed surfaces with relentless climbs than we do of any grade on loose sand or large gravel. If I can't have it all then I'll compromise for the conditions we encounter most often.

30

Gear Talk / (not so) Low gear on Bikepacking bikes

« on: December 01, 2016, 06:18:17 pm »

I'm trying to select a pair of bikes for multiple extended, self supported, off road, bikepacking trips including the Great Divide.

I was looking for bikes with 27.5+ size tires to get the foot print and compliance we need but I am finding the fixed forks and frame geometry that makes mission sense are built around 29+ tires. That's fine since it would gives us the 3" width I want with even better rollover. However, I am noticing that these tall wheeled bikes don't come with very low gearing.

With the 1x11 or 1x12 drive trains first gear is in the high 20s but even with the 2x_ drive trains 22" is common for first gear. I understand that the + size tires are a problem for 3x_ drive trains.

Since I'm pulling a BoB Ibex with most of the gear weight for two people I'd like first gear around 18" or less so I can stay on pedals for the steep grades. I am looking at bikes that are marketed for bikepacking so why aren't the gears lower?     

Input? Discussion? Clarification questions? I'm looking forwarded to finding out what's in everyone else's head on the topic.

Thanks, Gary