Bike Touring: Seeing the world via pedal power

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > The Great Outdoors > Bike Touring: Seeing the world via pedal power

SimonSays: Aug 4, 2006; Simon is the monkey's name

I'm going on a week-long tour in two days, now I feel mighty, thanks for the inspiration, thread.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2020 19:38

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# ¿ May 21, 2024 07:20

SimonSays: Aug 4, 2006; Simon is the monkey's name

Coxswain Balls posted:

Back in the day I thought the Soma Saga looked cool, but after hearing about the Wolverine dropout issues I became less interested. Are there any decent frames to look at that are possible to get from suppliers in Canada? I'd just be moving all my components over, including a Disc Trucker fork and 700C wheels, although if touring frames and forks with thru-axles exist now and play nice with 9-speed components I might not be opposed to waiting even longer until I have more cash to replace those as well.

Sweet, can't wait to hear you tell us all about it! Wherebouts are you headed?

I really like my Saga, the frame has been through a lot of revisions and the dropouts are forged in one piece, go for it if it's the right geometry for you. In Canada you should look at the Bassi Hogs Back if you're not going for a Soma or Surly.

This has been my ride for a few years, with a few component changes. The photo is from two years ago in Vermont.

Next week's ride is 660km over six days from Montreal to Mont-Laurier up north, down the Gatineau river to Ottawa then back to Montreal. It'll be a lot of wild camping and relaxing riding and I'm very much looking forward to it.

# ¿ Jul 26, 2020 04:31

SimonSays: Aug 4, 2006; Simon is the monkey's name

kimbo305 posted:

Do you only do two panniers? have you tried one front, one back, or both front?

Both front is excellent on other bikes than the Saga, but on a one-week tour I don't need all four. The Saga rides great with a load on the back, almost better than unloaded.

# ¿ Jul 26, 2020 04:50

SimonSays: Aug 4, 2006; Simon is the monkey's name

Coxswain Balls posted:

Edit: Oh man, Soma Sagas used to have both but they discontinued it a couple years ago, so I'd need to find a NOS frameset. If they can take 180mm rotors then it'd be almost perfect (perfect being something with thru-axles).

I think nobody makes a tourer that can take 180mm because you'd have to beef up the fork blades so much they'd become even more uncomfortable. I'm jealous of the springy forks on Sagas from before they went disc, a friend has one and it looks so good.

Actually it looks like the Montreal Bassi dealer has a Soma D/C left in one size.

# ¿ Jul 26, 2020 14:36

SimonSays: Aug 4, 2006; Simon is the monkey's name

Well I just got back from tour myself! I biked up from Montreal along the Route Verte for a day and a half, then crossed over to the Gatineau River valley and headed down near Ottawa via my home mountain roads. The last leg was a return to Montreal via rural Ontario and the Ottawa River.

660km altogether over five days. I usually tour in the autumn and I was amazed by how many daylight hours of cycling there are in the high summer!

I picked wild raspberries and ate my favourite Dutch-oven baked beans in Kazabazua, found great dirt roads and beautiful places to hang my hammock to sleep along the long cycling trails.

The Route Verte is superb in many parts, many rest areas and water all along in every town (and sometimes mountain springs), I highly recommend it. The Gatineau River trails are a bit more simple, without water fountains and with crummy loose gravel in places but with varied and beautiful terrain. I rode maybe 75km on the Prescott-Russel trail in Ontario and I'd avoid it in the future and just use the country roads, it's badly finished and incredibly boring with barely any amenities.

After 201km on the Route Verte

Some bits of my route were very nicely paved, some were beautiful lanes. Not pictured: lovely loose gravelly parts cause it was a slog.

# ¿ Aug 3, 2020 04:21

SimonSays: Aug 4, 2006; Simon is the monkey's name

i say swears online posted:

my people

if i had gotten furloughed in march like i wanted, i'd be a hobo right now

i rode from austin to san salvador in 2013-4 and it was very fun and cool and i almost died about four times, more if you count dengue, surgery, and cartels

Love it! I admire those that have the spirit for the bike hobo experience.

# ¿ Aug 3, 2020 04:23

SimonSays: Aug 4, 2006; Simon is the monkey's name

If I'm wild camping on bike tour I'll have dinner early then ride a few more kilometers and find a place to camp, specifically to avoid this.

I'm astonished people were keeping food in their tents, that's the first thing I was taught as a kid outdoors.

# ¿ Jul 9, 2021 00:43

SimonSays: Aug 4, 2006; Simon is the monkey's name

mCpwnage posted:

I mean, most people aren't camping in grizzly country most of the time, but yeah that seems like a reasonable thing to do if you are.

A black bear will happily rip into your tent if you've got food in there, and nobody wants to get woken up with one a foot away from you, tearing into your bags.

# ¿ Jul 9, 2021 02:12

SimonSays: Aug 4, 2006; Simon is the monkey's name

I'm in Eastern Canada and there have always been bears near where people camp. In the suburbs too, but they tend to just knock over your garbage cans.

Park rangers will come around and let people know to lock their car doors, because bears have no problem understanding the handle and getting into your picnic.

# ¿ Jul 9, 2021 14:41

SimonSays: Aug 4, 2006; Simon is the monkey's name

Coxswain Balls posted:

Do they even make rear dynamo hubs? That's a whole extra wheel that could be generating electricity!

I feel like Sturmey Archer may have had one in the 50s.

Honestly, a dynamo doesn't have the watts to charge a modern smartphone, but leaving a battery plugged in all day and charging your phone from that when stopped can get you really far.

# ¿ Jul 20, 2022 02:47

SimonSays: Aug 4, 2006; Simon is the monkey's name

CopperHound posted:

Maybe this is what you're thinking of:

There are a ton of rear wheel hub generators, but they are heavy and output three phase power.

Oh, sick, I can power my industrial bandsaw off one then.

# ¿ Jul 20, 2022 16:47

SimonSays: Aug 4, 2006; Simon is the monkey's name

Nyyen posted:

Does anyone have any experience with mixing and matching dyno light brands for front and rear lights? I'm interested in running a Klite Bikepacker V2 with a Supernova E3 tail light. What do I need to check to see if the power coming off the hub or front light is compatible?

Supernova lights specifically won't work with other brands. All the well-known euro ones are inter-compatible tho.

# ¿ Aug 3, 2022 16:48

SimonSays: Aug 4, 2006; Simon is the monkey's name

Nyyen posted:

Ok, thanks for the heads up.

For others'reference:

Can I use a Supernova Tail Light with third-party front lights?

No, because of the different voltages. Our tail light requires 6V direct current. The competitors often work with alternating current

# ¿ Aug 3, 2022 16:52

SimonSays: Aug 4, 2006; Simon is the monkey's name

That K-Lite is really weird. It's hard to find this information anywhere and their website sucks, but it looks like it can use standard rear dynamo lights, meaning the Supernova is right out.

B+M make the Secula and the Mu, one of those should fit with what the Supernova does.

# ¿ Aug 3, 2022 17:42

SimonSays: Aug 4, 2006; Simon is the monkey's name

Bucky Fullminster posted:

I'm happy to report that I'm currently hosting my first guests through WarmShowers, it's great, highly recommend.

Can I reasonably do this if I only have an open apartment and a spare sofa?

# ¿ Feb 17, 2023 14:33

SimonSays: Aug 4, 2006; Simon is the monkey's name

Ok, thanks folks! I've wanted to do this for ages, time to go for it and help some members of the community out.

# ¿ Feb 17, 2023 18:34

SimonSays: Aug 4, 2006; Simon is the monkey's name

CopperHound posted:

Probably just cleared out until the next production run.

E: looks like the latest 520 combines the worst of both quick release and thru axle on the fork. It is a QR wheel, but you have to completely remove the skewer to take the wheel off.

Ah, the sound of happy corporate lawyers is so much sweeter than having a useful bike.

# ¿ Apr 13, 2023 01:00

SimonSays: Aug 4, 2006; Simon is the monkey's name

kimbo305 posted:

What is a bleed for a self contained unit like the Hyrd?

I’ve run them on tour for 2k miles and have only replaced pads. I even do the irresponsible thing of running the arm a little choked up on the cable. I’m not sure there’s a need to service if they’re not leaking and operating fine. I guess there’s some rubber that could dry and crack at some point?

I carried a bb7 as a spare on tour.

In principle you don't bleed them, the cylinder is pretty much self contained. You could if you really wanted to I guess.

# ¿ May 10, 2023 16:52

SimonSays: Aug 4, 2006; Simon is the monkey's name

One type of touring that benefits greatly from dynamo lighting is the weekender or s24o, you can ride out at night and ride back in at night, maximizing your time at destination.

# ¿ May 11, 2023 02:29

SimonSays: Aug 4, 2006; Simon is the monkey's name

Oh, that's really disappointing

# ¿ Jul 6, 2023 17:51

SimonSays: Aug 4, 2006; Simon is the monkey's name

Lol that's a 1.5% average grade over the whole route, including the downhills. On unpaved roads, with singletrack. It looks fun but I wouldn't bring most of my friends on that if we were going to do it in two days, never mind kids.

Looks super nice though, would love to ride it.

# ¿ Jul 30, 2023 20:35

SimonSays: Aug 4, 2006; Simon is the monkey's name

Cannon_Fodder posted:

Hey thread. I'm in a curious position; I built up a surly cross check with the intention of touring. I then started training for gravel races, got a bike fit, and it confirmed that I am not built for a surly. Long top tube, short head tube, so in the end this wasn't the frame for me.

So, now I have a frame that I am not comfortable on, set up with a dynamo hub, a nice wired light, and a rim brake/direct mount custom wheelset.

What are some thread favorites for touring bikes? I want something less cyclocross and more comfortable on distance. I should have known better luckily I had the foresight to build a pretty flexible wheelset.

Is a swept-back bar like a Jones not an option? Those are great for touring and make the front end feel higher and shorter.

# ¿ Sep 1, 2023 04:13

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# ¿ May 21, 2024 07:20

SimonSays: Aug 4, 2006; Simon is the monkey's name

Grumpwagon posted:

I didn't bike in Taiwan besides on city bikes around Taipei, but I just want to reiterate that, apart from the flight to get there, Taiwan is surprisingly cheap. I only spent 2 days outside of Taipei, but it was also extremely pretty.

There's a ton of biking in the cities, but you'd be somewhat of a novelty on the roads outside of the city (not unheard of, but I didn't see a ton of cycling for pleasure when I was there, although the government is trying to promote it). Drivers seem extremely careful (again, outside of the city) though.

Absolutely would be a great trip.

Younger Taiwanese people are super into road biking in my anecdotal experience. Haven't heard a single bad thing about touring there.

# ¿ Jan 10, 2024 22:56

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > The Great Outdoors > Bike Touring: Seeing the world via pedal power