We travel, in a week, to the high desert south of Boise for a three day ride on mostly unpaved roads. For the rough, loose surfaces we have outfitted our bikes with wider tires. More air volume at lower pressures is going to make for a smoother ride and a wide footprint will float over the loose sections.
On the Long Haul Trucker I am running the Schwalbe Big Apple 29 x 2 tires. I have always been impressed with the way the Big Apple tires transform the ride on any bike and I’m looking forward to this test of their toughness.
Sky King will be riding the Grand Bois Hetre tires from Compass Bicycles. So far she is liking the way the Hetres perform on her 650b Rivendell Bleriot.
Julie opted for the Schwalbe Marathon Mondial in 26 x 2. The beefiest tire of the three the Mondial also has a more aggressive tread pattern.
Notice that none of the bikes have fenders. We removed them because, even on the Surlys where “fatties fit fine” there was no room for fenders with the new big tires. And anyway, after my experience with tumbleweeds on my recent two day trip down to Swan Falls, I might infer fenders to be dispensable and even unsuitable for off road touring. Stay tuned for updates… same bat time, same bat station.
Month: May 2012
The Bike Hermit likes his front bag because it is easy to reach even when riding and because it has a map case on the top for… maps. A “handlebar” bag, one that attaches only to the handlebar, is not ideal because it affects the steering of the bike too much. One that is supported on a low front rack is better. The Nitto M-12-2 rack is a tubular steel rack made in Tokyo, Japan by the Nitto company. It works on bikes with cantilever brakes and will support a front “rando bag” such as those made by Gilles Berthoud, Acorn or Swift. A person could just strap a dry sack or a tent or zip tie a basket on it too. Since the mounting points are up out of the way, “low-rider” racks and panniers can be used at the same time! The “-2” after M-12 references the two light mount braze-ons- one on either side of the rack.
Some minor tweaks may need to be made to get the rack arms or struts to line up with the respective holes and bolts, but these are made of tubular chrome-moly steel which can stand up to a small amount of judicial bending. Just be careful about bending the piece too far….make small incremental adjustments so that you won’t need to bend it back.
When you purchase a Surly Bikes frame set from the Bike Touring News Store we make sure it is ready for you to start hanging parts on it. When we get a frame we take it out of the box and remove the protective packaging and inspect the frame for obvious damage. We use our frame alignment tools to check the alignment of the dropouts and of the frame itself. We chase the threads in the bottom bracket shell and in all the rack and fender braze-ons to clean out the paint over-spray. We face and ream the head tube so the headset will fit clean and straight. If you have an external bearing bottom bracket we will face the bottom bracket shell too.
Then we put all the protective packaging back on the bike and re-box it, making sure it will get to you in the same condition. We have never offered complete component kits for sale but we are beginning to add the components a la carte so you can get everything you need for your complete bike. And soon we hope to offer complete kits- which will do a couple things;
1) Make it easier and less expensive for the customer
2) Ensure compatibility of all the parts.
So we’ll have that going for us.
Categories
Bicycles and Social Objects
If you have ever had a bicycle stolen you can relate to the flood of emotions and confusion that comes when you discover your bike is gone. First is confusion…”I thought I left it here”…. then disbelief, then rage- at yourself partly, but mostly at the low-life scumbag who felt entitled to your bike. If that person walked up to you and slapped you in the face or punched you in the stomach or spit on you I can’t imagine it would be more surprising.
When my bike was taken several years ago from in front of the local food coop- a.k.a. “the hippie store”- I was mostly mad at myself. I left it unlocked because I only needed one thing in the store and figured I would only be a few minutes. But that was all it took. I’ve always assumed that the thief was waiting that day for the sucker who would be stupid enough to do what I did. I also figured this sub-human was a drug addict who either immediately stripped the bike for sale or fenced it to someone who stripped it and/or took it far away. I never thought I would see it again.
By now, Dear Reader, you are guessing where this is going. And you are right. I saw my bike the other night and I talked to the current owner. I believed him when he told me he recently purchased the bike from a third party (for almost half of what I paid for it new nearly 20 years ago) for a couple of reasons. You need to understand a few things first. While not exactly a collector’s item, the bike and the brand have gained a cult following over the last two decades. They have not been made or sold since 1994. This bike, my bike, has a few distinguishing features which the weasel who took it didn’t even attempt to disguise. I have kept the serial number even though I didn’t check it for a match. Didn’t need to.
This is partly a story about branding and how objects, i.e. “social objects” can take on lives of their own.
The Social Object, in a nutshell, is the reason two people are talking to each other, as opposed to talking to somebody else. Human beings are social animals. We like to socialize. But if you think about it, there needs to be a reason for it to happen in the first place. That reason, that “node” in the social network, is what we call the Social Object. -Hugh Macleod
These bicycles have become social objects. They bring people together on the interwebs and in person. Well made enough to be ridden hard, then stolen and re-sold untold times and then to turn up at a meeting of two generations of bicycle geeks gathering to see and listen to the originator of the phenomenon (who was here on a book tour stop), the bikes were too quirky to conform to the mainstream market which was and still is created by advertising money, and they never really sold that well. Originally one of the social gestures of the company was a catalog that had tons of general information about bicycles along with drawings and pictures. The catalog is now shared and re-published many places, such as Sheldon Brown’s site. and they are sold, by themselves, on eBay. Reading Hugh Macleod always makes me re-examine our business ideas with the Bike Touring News store. If we can’t create a social object with lots of social gestures then there is no reason for us to be in business.
The day after finding my bike I called the police. I filed a police report originally and I still have the serial number. Here is what I learned:
-first of all, there is a five year statute of limitations for grand theft so I have no legal recourse, and
-second, since I did claim the stolen bike on my insurance policy and was compensated for it, I no longer had any claim to it at that time.
I could follow up with the current owner and try to unwind events and maybe possibly even locate the insect who stole it from me. But what would I do then? All sorts of things come to mind, all of them being criminal on my part at this time. And I don’t have the time or the energy to work up that much bitterness anymore. The guy who has the bike would have been too young 10 years ago to have stolen it and anyway, someone who realized what it was is probably not the type of person who would have stolen it. So, I’m just going to let it go and realize that the bike is with somebody who appreciates it. But I can still dream about what I would have done to that s.o.b. had I caught him in the act.
From Adventure Cycling we received this email today:
Dear Member Club or Shop-
I’m writing today to invite you to help Adventure Cycling Association spread the word about our 3rd annual Build It. Bike It. Be a Part of It. fundraising campaign for the U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS). The campaign kicked off May 1, 2012 and runs through May 31. May is also National Bike Month, and what better way to celebrate than by supporting the creation of a national system of cycling routes?
Last year, we raised more than $32,000 for the project. This year, we’ve upped our fundraising goal significantly, hoping to raise $50,000 as well as spark excitement about the progress so far.
Here are the details:
The U.S. Bicycle Route System is a visionary project similar to the national and international cycling systems blossoming across the globe. Adventure Cycling is working with dozens of state agencies, national organizations, nonprofits, volunteers, and the U.S. Congress to realize this vision.
Here is what you can do right now: (If you do share this project, let me know and we will add a linked listing listing to your club or shop on our project page!)
I’m hoping that today and tomorrow you can help us get the word out about some cool offers for people who donate to our campaign in the next few days — these donations will also help us meet our matching challenge from TeamEstrogen.com, so donors will double their impact. Here’s the skinny:
We’ve raised over $4700 in 10 days, but we have a long way to go to make our $50,000 goal by the end of May.
Can you help us get the word out today about two special offers for anyone wishing to donate? Basically, anyone who donates $25 or more before Saturday, May 12 at 11:59 EST will be entered to win a Brooks B-17 Saddle. And, if they donate at least $50, they will receive a Walz cycling cap designed specifically for the campaign, while supplies last. If you would be willing to share this message on your blog or Facebook page today or tomorrow, that would be great!
Here’s sample text for you to use — feel free to edit to fit your style and voice:
Support the U.S. Bicycle Route System & Win
Here’s a chance to help the future of cycling in America and an opportunity to win some great prizes.
For the month of May, Adventure Cycling Association is conducting its 3rd annual Build It. Bike It. Be a Part of It. fundraiser to raise money and support for the implementation of the U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS). This national network of bicycle routes will help people travel short and long distances by bike.
Donate $25 or more before Saturday, May 12 at 11:59 EST, and you will be entered to win a Brooks B-17 Saddle. And, if you donate at least $50, you will receive a Walz cycling cap designed specifically for the campaign, while supplies last. Better yet, you’ll also be directly impacting the future of bicycling in America.
Adventure Cycling still has $2,230 to go before they meet this week’s fundraising challenge from TeamEstrogen.com. So, when you donate you’ll double your impact!
Please donate today.
Adventure Cycling is offering many more prizes and fundraising challenges throughout the campaign. To keep track of these offers and to support the project: like the U.S. Bicycle Route System on Facebook or follow it on Twitter, or learn about other ways to get involved.
Adventure Cycling is a great organization – they promote and facilitate riding and using bicycles. And they do it in many ways. Their maps are indispensable to anybody considering an extended tour in the US. Check out the Adventure Cycling site and, if you can, donate to this worthy cause.
Categories
Tool Kits For Bike Touring
Dear Bike Hermit,
You’re the coolest and this blog is the best. I want to be just like you so I want to get a super-cool King Cage Behold Tool Pouch. But I want to know what you carry in yours.
Thanks, and keep up the good work
Les in Tuscaloosa
Les in Tuscaloosa,
There are many people cooler than I am, and there are probably better blogs but thanks for your comments. I agree that the King Cage Behold Tool Pouch is super-cool, in fact I think it is one of the best ideas I have seen in a long time. In case you missed it I did this blog post about it a while back. But now that you mention it I realize I never talked about what can be carried in it. So here’s a list of what I carry in mine:
-A chain tool
-A cassette lock ring tool
-A spoke wrench
-A few links of chain and a quick connect coupler
-Spare bolts for seat post, racks and shoe cleats
-Spare bulbs and parts for my bike headlamps
Nothing I carry in the tool pouch will ever need to be accessed in a hurry, in fact those parts and tools may never need to be used at all, but if I ever need them they could be life savers. I did a blog post about the cassette lock ring tool that you might want to look at. If you don’t know what the other tools are for or how to use them… Google it, that’s what YouTube’s for brah. I read about a lot of people who go for extended tours and write proudly of barely knowing how to fix a flat tire. Don’t be that guy. Take your bike apart and put it back together. At least loosen the brake cables and the brake shoes and try to get them adjusted again. Do the same thing with the shift cables. Take a class at REI. Take the tires off the rims and put them back on. You can thank me later.
Oh, and carry the things you most likely will need at some point, such as spare tubes, tire levers, a multi-tool that has 4, 5 and 6mm hex wrenches and both kinds of screwdrivers, and a y-shaped socket wrench with 8, 9 and 10 mm sockets on it in an outer pocket of one of your bags where you can get to them quickly.
To make it easier for you there are now a couple of new package options on the Bike Touring News store. One option (Tool Kit #1) is for the tool pouch with all the tools I carry in mine…. minus the spare bolts and light bits and chain pieces. You’re on your own for those. The other option (Tool Kit #2) is to buy the whole caboodle which includes Tool Kit #1 plus the y-shaped socket tool, a multi tool with hex wrenches and screwdrivers, and a set of tire levers.
Hope this answers your question Les and remember the 7 P’s; Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.
Best Regards,
Bike Hermit