Messages

31

General Discussion / Re: Bike Insurance

« on: March 29, 2016, 11:48:12 pm »

Nick, Besides a police report, what else does your insurance company expect if you were to file a claim. I'm specifically interested in knowing how substantial (heavy) of a bike lock does the insurance company expect as your due diligence. The premium for the amount of coverage you have doesn't seem objectionable to me. When we embark on our couple year bike tour I didn't intend to have an address anywhere. To legally maintain my drivers license, pilot ratings, and flight instructor certificates I'll need to proclaim some spot as home but I expected that to be more along the order of paying a relative to allow my mail to come to their home.

32

General Discussion / Re: What electronic equipment do you bring on tour?

« on: March 28, 2016, 11:06:53 pm »

x Smart phone with internet capability.

I have my iPhone visible on the handlebar stem. All in one it gives me GPS, camera, email, and encyclopedia.

33

General Discussion / Bike Insurance

« on: March 28, 2016, 02:30:37 pm »

I'm looking for recommendations on bike insurers. There seems to be a few companies in this business now but I don't know anyone who has used any yet. Relying on homeowners insurance has at least two major problems for me. 1) The amount of coverage allowed in the policy leaves a lot of exposure. 2) We're planning to get rid of everything to cycle around north America for a couple of years. During that time we won't have a home to have homeowners insurance. So, the bike specific insurance sounds like a great idea but who has built a good reputation in this market? Thanks.

34

General Discussion / Re: Down Tube Shifters

« on: March 28, 2016, 02:21:03 pm »

Down tube shifters are simple and weigh less than any other kind of shifter. I never felt the friction shifters were a problem to shift. I certainly liked being able to nudge them to make the chain run quieter - no nudging an index shifter on that one gear that's not as perfectly indexed as the other five, six or nine. All that said, On a mountain bike for off road riding I would not go back to friction or down tube, but for long distance touring I would prefer friction downtube shifters.

35

General Discussion / Re: Locks for a solo Trans-Am camping tour?

« on: March 28, 2016, 02:06:26 pm »

This is a tough question. We lock our bikes even in campsites. At restaurants we lock our bikes in view of window. At stores one of us stays with bikes while the other shops. At hotels we bring bikes in to room with us. However, after riding the C&O Canal in to Washington DC no hotels would permit our bikes inside and offered no secure alternatives. One place did offer a bike parking shed inside their locked courtyard. The next day I watched the surveillance video and saw first hand how the thieves worked very hard to cut the lock on the courtyard gate, then made quick work of the locks on our bikes. To add insult to injury the DC Metro Police treated us like a nuisance for needing to report the theft. I've since found that bike theft is on the rise because thieves recognize the value of bikes (law enforcement apparently thinks they're cheap toys) and the risk of arrest or prosecution is very low. I found it interesting to read the prior replies on the lock topic and would like to see more people chime in on the security level vs weight choices that they've made in selecting a lock for touring. Some info I'm gathering looks like the lock system needs to weigh about 1/3 as much as the bike if it's expected to be any more than a slow down for a pro thief. I'm also looking for bike specific insurance. One company's website states requiring an appropriate lock. I emailed them to find out what criteria they have for "appropriate" - no reply. What locks have you found that are the most theft resistant for the pound? (Dang, for the pound - we weigh everything else in grams!)