Author: Bike Hermit®

Brave Men Tour

picture of us with car — Cedar City airport

Our ride across Nevada is nothing but photos and memories. Even now the memories are slowly eroding with time. That province of my mental landscape is stretching, shifting, wearing down, becoming more permanent and static. There are high and low points with the strongest memories standing out like ranges in the landscape. The basins are filled with details which take a little bit of digging to uncover but that doesn’t mean there is not a rich lode there.

These memories intrude:
– the bitter cold at Illipah Reservoir
– thinking about how to describe this region, and deciding there are no words.
– Manny in Eureka
– Gene in Carson City
– riding through snow squalls in Antelope Basin and on Pancake Summit
– laughing, a lot, with Don.
– riding down the east side of ranges and halfway across the basins….covering 12 miles in 30 minutes.
– the three young people trying to get to Carson City on a rainy, windy day. They had started in Boston and were woefully under-equipped. They were mentally done.
– the buck deer I stalked on Wah Wah Summit. Until he went over a small rise and evaporated into thin air.
– Don dancing with the black-tailed jackrabbit, and playing with the pack rat.
– attempting to comprehend the scale and proportion of the country.
– the last three days in Utah as being the best days of riding. Ever.

working on a blog post — A hermit’s work is never done.

Obviously, there were mental highs and lows too. At one point it was evident that Don might need to end his ride in Ely, NV. If he had to quit, there was not a lot I would be able to do to help. I could time trial to Cedar City, pick up the car and drive back to get him. Or I could stop riding in Ely and we could rent a car to get to Cedar City. He may also have been able to have somebody pick him up while I rode on and retrieved his car. I wanted to finish the ride, but my final decision would be based on what Don decided to do. In the end, nobody cares whether I finish or not. The important thing was not to abandon Don, since I felt like I was the one who dragged him out here. Luckily he was able to go on because we had some of our best days ahead of us.

Here are some things I need to remember:

Do	Don’t
Save change for laundry	Wear polyester long johns for sleeping
Wear woolen long johns for sleeping	Be afraid to ask motorists for water (or beer)
Bring air activated, stick-on toe warmers	Carry camp chairs in the desert
Keep a written record	Be judgmental
Protect lips and nose from the sun	Use cheap, flimsy or prototype equipment
Be flexible	Underestimate the Basin and Range

Nevada Utah

Basin and Range

road and mountains — “Supreme over all is silence. Discounting the cry of the occasional bird, the wailing of the pack of coyotes, silence- a great, spacial silence- is pure in the Basin and Range. It is a silent immensity with mountains in it.”- John McPhee in *Basin and Range*

The Adventure Cycling Association
has mapped a route called the Western Express between Pueblo, Co and San Francisco, CA. the second section of which crosses Nevada and neatly bisects the Basin and Range province.
Obviously, I need to ride my bike across Nevada on highway 50, a.k.a. The Loneliest Highway in America. We started from Carson City, NV on Oct 8, 2013 and I started a journal at crazyguyonabike to document our trip.

Advocacy/Awareness

Tour De Cure Women’s Bike Series

Post author By Bike Hermit®
Post date October 9, 2013

We received a call the other day from someone about the Tour De Cure Women Series coming up in Santa Barbara on October 27th. At first, my thought was why are you calling us, we are in Idaho. Thankfully the light bulb went on quickly and I was flattered that she recognized Bike Touring News as a way to promote both the ride and awareness of Diabetes. I think everyone of us knows a diabetic and personally I can’t wait for better treatment options and a cure. While my Dad doesn’t have diabetes he has the same circulation problems that many diabetics have and treating the open sores on his feet and toes is a constant battle.

Ride on to support those who can’t.

So all of you within striking distance of Santa Barbara, here is the scoop. Tour De Cure

October 27, Santa Barbara, California

Send us photos and we will post them in our Traveler’s Gallery

Hermit's Workshop

Simple Bike Maintenance Tips

Post author By Bike Hermit®
Post date September 30, 2013
1 Comment on Simple Bike Maintenance Tips

Some Ideas To Make Your Life Easier
Coat Your Inner Tubes With Talc
Ever had to peel an inner tube out of your tire when changing a flat? Sometimes when a tube has been in a tire for a long time the two almost seem to be welded together. Put your spare tubes in a large plastic bag and sprinkle in a little talcum powder. Shake it up and take the tube out of the bag. The layer of talc will create a slip plane between tube and tire, making mounting easier. Since the tube will be able to slide around a little bit the chance of a fold or wrinkle is reduced and the tire will run more true and with less rolling resistance. I have been using baby powder, but a review of the ingredients shows me it is mostly corn starch so I guess that could work as well. We now carry Rema Tip Top brand tire talc too.

Check Chain Wear
Bicycle chains don’t “stretch”. The links and the pins connecting them wear so that the “Pitch” or the distance between the pins increases. When this happens the chain will then start wearing away at the metal in the cogs and chain rings to match the new chain pitch. In extreme cases a new chain will not mesh with the old rings and the rear cog and the chain rings need to be replaced. Chains are relatively inexpensive so I usually err on the side of caution and replace mine at the first sign of wear. A new chain measures precisely one half inch between pins. 24 links should measure 12 inches edge of pin to edge of pin and can be measured with the chain on the bike. An even better way is to remove the chain and lay it flat and in a straight line and measure the pins which are 24 inches apart. If there is even 1/16 inch of “stretch” in 24 inches it’s time to replace the chain.

How to tell if the chain rings and or cassette cogs are worn? It the individual cogs/teeth have a “shark fin” shape and/or if the leading or pulling edge is deformed with a small ridge, it can affect shifting performance.

picture of chain ring wear — There is a small ridge developing on the leading edge of this ring.

picture of chain ring — Close-up of the deformed tooth.

Touring Bicycles

Velo Orange Camargue at Interbike 2013

Post author By Bike Hermit®
Post date September 18, 2013

The new VO frame, the Camargue fresh off the boat for Interbike 2013. I’m afraid this bike might be pretty dang close. Made at the same factory as Surly and Rivendell.

picture of bike — Great color on this touring bike!

fork crown pic — I’m a sucker for the bi-plane fork

Dropout VO Camargue — Semi horizontal drop out

Tags Adventure Cycling, bike camping, Touring Bikes

Lights and Electronics

Charging Electronics on Bike Tours

Post author By Bike Hermit®
Post date September 16, 2013
5 Comments on Charging Electronics on Bike Tours

I was sitting on the top of the counter in the bathroom at Seminole Canyon State Park in Texas writing a blog post using my Droid phone. I was in the bathroom mostly to get out of the maddening wind I had been battling all day but also so I could use the electrical outlet to charge the Droid. My phone just doesn’t hold a charge very long especially when using the internet or GPS functions. Since then I’ve been on the lookout for a way to keep my phone charged while I’m on the bike. “When it rains it pours” and “if you try sometime, you just might find, you get what you need” etc.

From the left: Camelbak All Clear, Bushnell SolarWrap Mini, Solio Bolt, Bright Bike Revolution

The Camelbak All Clear

picture of camelbak bottle — The Camelbak All Clear

Obviously not actually a charging device, this is a 750 ml bottle with a cap which incorporates a USB rechargeable ultra-violet light bulb to purify water. I “discovered” this product at summer Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City earlier this year. It takes about 60 seconds to purify a bottle of water and one charge of the light is good for about 80 cycles. There is an LCD display screen on top of the cap which counts down the 60 seconds once the light is turned on so you know the cycle is finished and the water is potable. And it displays the remaining battery charge. 80 cycles will purify about 60 liters of water so this bottle will last the duration of most trips with one charge. But if you are in the middle of say, the Chihuahuan Desert and out of charge then one of the other pictured devices will come in handy.

The Bushnell Solar Wrap Mini

solar charge — The Bushnell Solar Wrap, unrolled

Basically a lithium-ion battery wrapped in a flexible solar panel. Unwrapping the panel and hanging it facing the sun charges the battery. The battery can also be charged using the included USB cable. This little unit is light and simple with an output port on one end of the battery and an input port at the other. An indicator light on one end glows red when charging and green when fully charged.

The Solio Bolt.

picture of charger — Solio Bolt solar charger and battery

I actually first saw the Camelbak All Clear at the Solio booth at OR. Solio devices use lithium ion polymer batteries charged from rigid solar panels which fold together when stored and can be fanned out and arranged as a sundial. The on off switch indicates the amount of remaining charge by blinking when turned on….one blink indicates 20% charge so 5 blinks means the battery is fully charged. The discharge has two modes, one for Apple devices and one for others. These can be charged via via USB cable as well.

The ~~Bright-Bike~~ Sinewave Cycles Revolution

picture of converter — Sinewave Cycles Revolution converter.

For bikes equipped with hub or bottle dynamos this little gem will convert the current from the dynamo to USB output. Any device can be plugged in to recharge while riding, including your Solio Bolt or Bushnell Solar Wrap batteries. This converter plugs directly into the output from the generator and can be installed with piggyback plugs onto which the leads from the headlights can be attached in parallel, so theoretically a device can be charged while riding with the generator powered headlight on. Simply zip-tie the unit onto the bike and plug in your phone, camera, GPS, head light, Camelbak bottle cap etc. How neat is that?

Some Neo-Luddites will cry “I go on a bike tour to get away from technology”
But thus sayeth the Bike Hermit; “If it makes life on the road easier or more comfortable and even safer, then why not use it”?
Some might even say “Why do you need the dynamo hub charger AND the solar batteries?” Well, even on cloudy days I may need to top off the Droid or tablet using the ~~Bright-Bike~~ Sinewave Cycles Revolution and on other, sunny days I may not be riding and I can charge the batteries in the sun or using a wall outlet.

Personally I think this stuff is pretty neat and I can’t wait for my ride across Nevada on Highway 50 next month and the challenges that will present with lack of services or water for stretches of 80 miles and more on successive days. There probably won’t be any surface water to purify and cell phone coverage is going to be questionable too but lack of charge to my electronic devices will not be a limiting factor! I will do a report after the ride and will also be posting a video showing the final setup and use.

Tags Bike Gear, electronics, GPS

Touring Bicycles

Surly Pugsley and Pug Ops

Surly Pugsley, Pug Ops — Real Blew Pugsley and Canvas Green Pug Ops

We had a chance to take the Surly fat bikes out this Labor Day weekend and this is my report.

From Bike Touring News H.Q. we did a quick 10.6 mile loop that took in some single track so we could see how the bikes handled.

I rode the standard Pugsley and Sky King was riding the Pug Ops bike. The main differences between the two, besides the color, are tabulated below:

Component	Pugsley	Pug Ops
Rims	Large Marge Lite 65mm	Rolling Darryl 82mm
Tires	Surly Nate 3.8″ 27 t.p.i.	Surly Nate 3.8″ 120 t.p.i.
Crankset	Sram X-5 36/22	Surly Offset double 36/22
Rear Derailleur	Shimano Deore RD-M591	Shimano LX RD-T670
Cassette	shimano HG61 9 speed 11-32	Shimano HG62 10 speed 11-34
Shifters	Microshift Top Mount 3×9	Shimano SLX Rapid Fire 3×10

So the Pug Ops gains a little more footprint by using wider rims and tires with a higher thread count. The higher thread count should make for a stronger and more supple casing for better handling at low tire pressures. Even though the tires on both bikes have the same nominal dimensions, the wider rim on the Pug Ops means that the tire is wide enough to potentially interfere with the chain when riding in the lowest gear. That’s why the Pug Ops comes with Surly’s offset double crankset.

The Ride

Me riding Pugsely — Surly Pugsley in the Boise foothills

sky king riding the pug ops — The smile says it all. Sky King on the Surly Pug Ops, Boise foothills.

We started with about 20 p.s.i. in the rear tires and about 15 in the front but I let a little bit out for the downhill sections. (I need to get me one of those low pressure tire gauges when QBP has them back in stock)
The single track on this particular ride, and most of the other trails in this area, is sand….some of it smooth and hard, some of it with washboard stutter bumps and some short soft and loose sections.

Impressions
Well, as Ed Sanders of The Fugs said (but not about riding fat-bikes); “Shit, it was more fun than squashin’ tadpoles.”
–Gearing; The two chainrings combined with a 32 or 34 tooth big cog in the back provided low enough gearing for everything we did on this ride. I don’t know if the lack of a larger front chainring will be too limiting with regard to top-end speed.
–Handlebars; Let’s just say the Salsa bars that come stock on these bikes are less than optimal from a standpoint of comfort. The sweep angle is anti-ergonomic and made my wrists and the joint at the base my thumb ache after just a few minutes. That prompted a call to Jeff Jones the next day to order some of his Loop Bars. We will have those in stock for customers wanting a comfortable bar with multiple hand positions for their fat bikes.
–Shifters; I am a fan of top mount thumb shifters and not a fan of under the bar trigger shifters. ‘Nuff said.
–Handling;
–Climbing; Another fat bike I rode one time had the tendency for the front wheel to bounce around and/or become unweighted when climbing anything technical but this Pugsley stayed planted and it was easy to get the front wheel to go where I pointed it. And traction, obviously, is not the limiting factor on any climb with 4″ wide tires sprouting aggressive, wide spaced knobs.
–Descending; I’m not a fast descender on any bike but the Pugsley made me smile. Some of the chatter bumps were a little jarring and the chain slapping on the chainstay was annoying, but lower tire pressures could help smooth that out. The bike felt magnetically attached to the ground on the bigger rollers and knobs, it just sucked them up without trying to buck me off. Again, the traction is astonishing when going around corners with some speed. These tires have a round profile and the big buttress shaped knobs on the shoulders of the tread bite into the loose stuff.

Conclusion

This bike makes me want to ride more and that’s a good endorsement. My original feeling towards fatbikes was that they might be a little limited in versatility, but these things are fun! They roll over anything and make it possible to ride terrain you would have to push or carry other bikes over. Single track, dirt roads, snow, deep sand, wet sand, and loose gravel all become fair game. Actually, now that I am thinking about it these bikes may be more versatile and less limited in many ways than non-fatbikes. And the market segment seems to be growing which is good news for the consumer because that means more innovation and products down the pike. Get a fat-bike. You won’t regret it, if you live. (apologies to Mark Twain)

Tags fat-bike, fatbikes, surly

Bike Touring Tips Hermit's Workshop

Bike Hermit on YouTube

I watch YouTube videos sometimes. I admit it. Actually, I watch them more than sometimes…it’s sort of like crack cocaine to me. And I watch everything. From comedians whose entire body of work seems to exist only on YouTube, to old episodes of Iron Chef (the original, Japanese version of course) to videos about gangsters and prison, to entire Yes concerts. My current favorite however is Jeff Bradshaw’s “Redneck Restoration“. This guy can literally find an old motor that has been sitting in a field (without the vehicle) for the last 15 years and make it run. His videos are rough and primitive. He puts the camera on a tripod and films himself as he cracks the cover off the differential of a 1958 1 ton truck. Then he carries the camera into the auto parts store and records his banter with the employees. Looks simple.

I’m more interested in search engines than auto engines though and all the gurus say that YouTube videos (YouTube is owned by Google) can help a website rank highly in searches. No problem thinks I; “If Jeff Bradshaw can do it, then I can too” So I figure I would record myself putting together the Surly Ogre/Rohloff build then under way. After an hour or so of setting up the camera and lights I’m ready to boggle the minds of the brethren with my mad video skills. I would time lapse the repetitive, dull operations and then slow the video back down to normal speed to highlight some particularly difficult step and to impart my sardonic and incredibly useful revelations.

Guess what? It’s way more difficult than it looks. My video was pretty much unusable. The lighting was bad and the bike blocked the view of whatever I happened to be working on. I even attempted to use two cameras, but that didn’t simply double the exposure of my ineptitude …it became more of an exponential display of incompetence. In fact, after “recording” for some time, I discovered the battery in one of the cameras was dead. And I didn’t even get far enough along to worry about the editing.

Since then we have been lucky to find a young fellow (the Bike Hermit has several pairs of shoes older than he is) to film, edit and post videos for us. Our YouTube channel is called “Bike Touring with Bike Hermit” and we have instructional videos along with product overviews and product un-boxing videos. So please check it out. Leave comments and let us know what sort of things you would like to see covered. Here’s a sample:

Tags bike bags, bike camping, Bike Gear, Bike Touring

Advocacy/Awareness

Is It Weird To Ride A Bicycle?

Post author By Bike Hermit®
Post date August 23, 2013
6 Comments on Is It Weird To Ride A Bicycle?

“…….because when everybody’s weird, no one is“.
-from New Belgium’s fourth commandment of the Tour de Fat.

Before I start let me say that I have nothing against the idea of raising money for good, bike oriented non-profits. Boise Bike Project, South West Idaho Mountain Bike Association and Treasure Valley Cycling Alliance are fantastic organizations. I know the people involved in those groups and I have great respect for what they do.
But here are my questions:
If, as the New Belgium site says, this event is supposed to make the host cities better places to ride bicycles then how does the Tour de Fat promote the bicycle as a real, viable, mainstream form of transportation? How does this “ballyhoo of bikes and beer” get more people to consider riding a bike to work? How does a group comprised of a few thousand “freaks” on freaky bicycles, many of them in the wrong traffic lane, going the wrong way, on non-closed public roads, convince somebody driving a motor vehicle that they should share the road with bicyclers? Is there another more sort of inclusive type of event to promote cycling and raise money? Or am I just a cynical grouchy hermit?

Touring Bicycles

Surly E.C.R. and Straggler Bikes…..Coming Soon!

Post author By Bike Hermit®
Post date August 14, 2013
3 Comments on Surly E.C.R. and Straggler Bikes…..Coming Soon!

Side view of ECR — Surly’s ECR 29+ Camping Rig
*photo: surlybikes.com/blog*

Surly Bikes introduced a few new models for 2014 at the annual SaddleDrive event in Ogden, Utah last month. It was invitation only for “top dealers from across the country” and the seemingly arbitrary selection process for invitees left us out. Just so I know where I stand! I had to find out about the new Surly bikes after a customer came in looking for one which I had never heard of. Guess I don’t spend enough time surfing the web either, because several media outlets already had reviews out, which is where our customer heard about the bike. I think I am up to speed now and my rep even sent me an advance copy of the catalog pages for the new bikes which, in what I believe is an internet scoop, I am sharing with you lucky lot. We put in our pre-season order too so not only will we get some of the first ones but we should be first in line when the bikes come back in stock after the first shipment sells out (which I am predicting will happen). We are also supposed to get a couple of the Interbike display bikes after Interbike the end of September and should be able to keep them for a few weeks. Thanks Kory! You’re exculpated.

The Surly E.C.R. is designed to roll on 29″ (700c), 3 inch wide tires on Surly’s 50mm wide Rabbit Hole rims. The inflated tire diameter approaches 31 inches. The large contact point, high volume, big diameter should provide tractor like grip and traction. The bike is not just an Ogre with big tires and it is not the same as the Krampus. The geometry has been tweaked slightly from either of those and there are plenty of attachment points for racks and bottle cages making it suitable for off road adventure bike camping.
Surly ECR Catalog Page
Surly ECR Complete Bike Specs
ECR Frame Geometry and Specs

The other new bike we like is the Surly Straggler, which is basically a Cross Check with disc brakes and a few other differences:
-The rear dropout spacing is 135mm rather than 132.5 because most disc hubs are 135mm.
-The rear dropouts are a partially closed horizontal design with a set screw which can be threaded in either from the front of the dropout or the rear, depending on whether a derailleur or a single speed setup is being used.

surly straggler dropouts — I know, I can’t figure it out either. The set screw goes in from either direction but shouldn’t the axle be up in the horizontal part?

And the complete bike comes with the new Surly Knard 700×41 tires, placing it squarely in the monster cross category (For those of you who are into categories. You know who you are.) Also suitable for precious Gravel Grinders.

Straggler Catalog Page
Straggler Complete Specs
Straggler Frame Specs

In conclusion, this is some innovation right here, not just bafflement of the people with lighter, shinier and more expensive versions of the same old shit. Surly is exploring the the edges and pushing the boundaries. Bike Touring News is a Surly Intergalactic Dealer and we are excited about the new bikes. We think they have the potential to open up new areas…. in a physical sense as much as a mentality or attitude about riding bikes.

Tags surly, Touring Bikes