Our Around The World Touring Bicycles (14,000 miles so far!)
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- Опубликовано: 30 июл 2024
- We've spent the last 16 months touring across the USA and Europe on bicycles we assembled ourselves. This video is a quick technical breakdown of the components and bags we're using for our trip. This setup has served us well and been relatively maintenance free. We aren't sponsored by any of the brands we mention in the video.
The overall cost of each bicycle was around $4,500 including all the bags, racks, and components you see in the video. While you can definitely do an around the world bicycle tour on a much cheaper setup, we decided on these bikes because we wanted a reliable and low maintenance build that would hold up for years on rough roads all over the world.
Bicycle gear list below. We're running a mix of traditional panniers and bikepacking bags.
- 2020 Surly Ogres
- 36h Rohloff Speedhubs
- 36h Son 28 Dynamo hubs
- Ryde Andra 40 rims
- Marathon GT365 29x2.0 tires
- Avid BB7 brakes, 200mm front, 160mm rear
- Sinewave Cycles Beacon headlight/USB charger
- Ergon SMC Core (Andrew) Terry Butterfly Century (Jenny) saddles
- Rogue Panda custom frame bags
- Ortlieb Back Rollers Plus rear panniers
- Bedrock Bags Hermosa front panniers
- Tubus racks
- Planet Bike AL fenders
Instagram: / rollingexistence
Support us on Patreon and get early access to our videos: / rollingexistence
Camera Gear:
- Fuji X-T4
- Fujinon 16-80 mm f/4
- Fujinon 23 mm f/2 prime
- GoPro Hero 8 Black
- Rode VideoMic Pro
- Mavic Mini 1 drone
So many miles with so little trouble shows that you got your research spot on when you built them. Well done. Good video as usual 😊☺️🐱🙂😜
Thanks Ian! 😊
@@RollingExistence Great video but you should be putting a mirror on that bike. That's a 100% fact I almost got hit from behind several times and other people died without their mirrors so please put a mirror on that bike. You're gonna be traveling the world even if you're just going down the street? Anyway cool video thank you so much
@@RollingExistence Also what is your budget for your whole trip so far i'm gon to guess, 30k?
Very nice video! I like the fact that you show your real equipment and not advertising super expensive things:)
Amazing! Really enjoyed learning about bike touring setups, something I've wondered about for quite awhile. It's pretty involved -- all the gear you use. The way you explained everything was just right! Around the world touring on a bike is something I can only dream about, but I am a fan of you guys for being so "adventurous" and knowledgeable on “bicycle tourology.”
good video as usual! i am in love with your adventures! keep it comin'!
So glad that I watched this. Your knowledge and know how is impressive and I learned a ton. Thank you for taking the time to record and edit and post this.
Thank you, glad the video was helpful!
Great video by the way, been pausing your vids trying to work out your setup, but now I know. Keep up the good work. 🙂
Thank you, glad the gear video was helpful!
This was brilliant. Thanks for a clean and to-the-point video. I agree that avid BB7s are a perfect compromise of braking performance and serviceability. I'm used to them now and prefer them over many high-end options.
This is an excellent item list of your equipment. Thank you.
Love the Jones H-Bar! Rode from Alaska to San Francisco totally comfortable - no hand, arm or wrist issues.
Thanks for the video and I appreciate knowing about your excellent choice of hardware. I guess that might be redundant given your experience. I'm envious of your adventure and maybe I can do a short one someday now I'm retired. Have a wonderful rest of your adventure.
You guys have my dream setup. Thanks for explaining everything. I wish more people talked about how terrible dynamos are in general for touring. I was terribly disappointed and ended up just keeping a battery pack charged and never even using the dynamo on a 3 month trip. I love that double bottom hook trick on the Ortliebs. I'm gonna steal that idea.
The set up details are greatly appreciated. Thank you
I admire you both doing this! so cool. Can’t imagine what you’ve seen. Super tough too
very cool technical in depth view with very impressive stats at the end!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it 😊
Thank you very much for sharing. This is a perfect video. You say what you said you’d say! Very informative.😊
Very thoughtful and informative video, thanks for sharing.
Awesome set-up. Enjoy!
Enjoyed this video. Thanks for sharing!
Excellent stuff. It’s always great seeing what serious hardcore bike tourists choose for their setup. They look like really well thought out great machines.
You didn’t tell us about your rear racks.
Thanks for sharing and safe and happy travels.
We forgot to mention the rear racks, sorry about that! Jenny has a Tubus Logo Classic and Andrew has a Tubus Cargo Evo. The Logo Classic has more tire clearance and lets the panniers ride lower, giving the bicycle a lower center of gravity and better handling. The Cargo Evo isn't as nice - the rack stays are slightly offset causing the pannier to fit awkwardly, and Andrew will have to switch out to a different rack to run 29x2.6s (probably the Tubus Vega).
Thanks yes I’ve got the Tubus logo classic as well. Great rack.
@@RollingExistence I use the Tubus Cargo, and have loved it for over 15 years. I do not know what you mean by "the pannier stays are slightly off-set". My panniers fit fine and I like that the Bikepacker Classic panniers sit a bit higher, forming a valley on top between the two panniers where I often load my pair of Keen Nelson sandals, or a MSR Dromedary 6L waterbag, under the rack bag.
@@petesig93 I actually do the valley thing as well, I keep my Fuji X-T4 camera bag in the valley between the panniers. Regarding the offset stay issue, I took a couple pictures to show you what I'm talking about: imgur.com/a/moXfyLd . In the picture of the Cargo Evo, I labeled the three stays off the rack as 1, 2, and 3 going from the front of the bike to the back. Stays 1 and 2 are where I connect the bottom hooks on the Ortlieb, and you can see that they are slightly inside of stay 3. This causes stay 3 to rub on the material of my pannier instead of the hard plastic that is designed to take the abrasion. I've reinforced the wear area with some Aquaseal and it's holding up fine, so it's not a big deal, but it does make the pannier a little bit harder to attach. The Logo Classic actually has the same issue, but the pannier sits in a different place so the abrasion isn't as bad. Maybe I'm just doing it wrong but I've experimented with all of the ways to configure the top and bottom hooks and I can't avoid the rub. I've used the same setup for 6 six years and 30,000km and the abrasion hasn't worn a hole in the pannier yet. I've also tried a Tubus Vega and I prefer the lower weight, extra tire clearance, and two stay design so I'll be switching to it when we ride the GDMBR and have less weight in our panniers.
Nice Video. I liked your maintenance statistic at the end
Nice bike. I also have the Surly Ogre for 2 years now. Same awesome color. I love the bike very much because it's great on road and off-road ridings
Awesome! Agreed, it's a very versatile bike!
\Thanks for posting, hope your trip is going well. Ive enjoyed your videos and thanks for posting your equipment listing as I've got quite a few tips on future equipment purchases from your video. cheers
Thank you, glad the video was helpful!
Good day to you!
I am HONDA Cross Cub rider from Japan.
Enjoying camping and touring.
This is so nice camping video!
Awesome!!
Thank you so much for sharing!
Have a nice day my friend!!
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!
Really enjoyed your video!
Many thanks
Excellent bike setups!
I switched from Shimano deore brakes to trp hy/rd brakes on my gravel bike, which it looks like I built with the same idea in mind as y'all. Mechanical cable from levers to calipers, hydraulic fluid in the calipers. Same easy maintenance as avid mechanical, but I feel like I get more control than the kind of all or nothing braking I feel with all mechanical. I've ridden pretty weighed down with gear, and I'm a fairly big guy. Excellent stopping power, I haven't had any "uh-oh" moments when going down pretty decent declines or having to brake all of a sudden.
Awesome bike setups!!
In 91/92 I'd vent around Earth with my bicycle. (10½ kg)
for 5 months, my weight is 62, and my luggage was 6½ kg,
in two bags, one in front, one in back, minimum air resistance.
(rocket-shape/sail-front)
Stayed mostly in hostels (10 Dollars) and cheap hotels,
cheapest 2½ dollar, clean and nice, (Randnangoon mid-India)
I am, Cykel Logisk Institut, this was a major inspection of the
cycle-infra-standard of the time. 4 of the 5 months I'd stayed in
large cities and capitols. (Most expensive, 9 Days Tokyo, 30 D/US a day)
My Cycle was on planes, ferry, trains, and bus, in total, 75 dollars.
Well, lots have changed since then, cycle-infra is improving,
and it is still possible the travel light, and economic,
the art of minimizing, and logical planning.
Yeah, but everything sucks now compared to the early 90's.
Grazie mille per la condivisione, i migliori auguri a te!👏👏👏🎉🎉
Thanks for the real world insights!
Great job thankyou for sharing very interesting stuff , thinking about some type of plastic ziplock freezer bags to stop things from getting wet, funny the material would be 100% waterproof love this stuff very cool.
Thanks very much to sharing your marvelous experience; God continue take care you
WoW, 14000 Miles! Great Tourism Video...
Looks like you take good care of your equipment, and it is taking care of you.
A very good video; well done.
This is funny. I built a 2020 Ogre from the frame up last year and I swear about 2/3 rds of our components and accessories overlap. Glad to see it working well!
That's awesome! Hope it's been a good ride for you too!
Excellent video ...my god so helpful and useful video. Thanks for sharing...greetings from Washington dc USA
Thank you, glad you found it helpful!
Swear by Rohloff gear hubs , especially when it comes to muddy roads etc, have also switched to using the gates carbon drive combo 😃
You've done well. My wife & I each have a 2019 Surly Troll (basically a 26" version of the Ogre) and we've rigged them in much the same way you two have: BB7 brakes, Cascadia fenders, Tubus racks, 2" Schwalbe tires with reflective sidewalls, and large-area platform pedals with pins. It's nice to have one's decisions validated by seeing others (you two) arrive at similar conclusions and do well when putting them to practice. Two components where our rigs differ from yours are: we each have a Thudbuster seatpost & ShockStop stem and we highly recommend them. Best wishes on your continued travels. We'll be watching.
Awesome! We have considered suspension seatposts and stems and might switch to them at some point. Jenny has been having some wrist issues, so a bit of extra cushion might help. Thanks for the recommendations!
I also built a bike like this on a Rolhoff hub and used a chain tensioner from the same company as the hub to tension the chain, it is easier to remove the rear wheel when the tire is punctured
Great video. Thanks!
Amazing!👍🚵
Nice bikes… nice ride!
Thank you.
I watched your channel while watching Korean Bicycle Traveler RUclips and subscribed.
very good stuff
WOW easy maintenance. That's minty
I'll add a mirror for my absolute must haves
Thanks so much for all your videos. Great videography and wonderful descriptions. I'm watching them in their original order so I can share a bit of your experiences. 77 here, so I know for me it's not likely to happen, but you have many years to enjoy. Keep going & have fun. Thanks for the info about the Ogre.
Glad you're enjoying the videos! All the best to you 😊
Good sharing of technical details
Jenny must be with mechanical engineering background!
🔧👍
Those are the exact Marathon tires I just put on my MTB to act as a winter commuter. No snow yet, but here's hoping they behave 🤞I will note, they are heavy as sin! 1200g/ea Vs the wider 622-55 knobby tires I took off at only 800g/ea
Best luck in your travels!
Yes, they are stupidly heavy and we noticed as soon as we put them on. We've gotten 5,000 miles out of them so far with not a single puncture between the two of us, so that's a benefit. Also they hardly look worn in at all, I bet they will last even longer than our mondials did.
Very interesting and a nice succinct video. Its almost exactly the set up I would expect you would need for a self supported expedition touring trip, taking in unpaved roads and tracks that you find in the majority of the world, or if you want to avoid congested fast highways typical of Europe, North America and richer countries.
The modern Gravel/bikepacking and older steel frame 700c classic tourers just dont seem strong enough or have good fixed rack options for anything more than supper minimalist carry or exclusively paved roads depending.
If you're frame bag is collecting water you can actually cut a little hole in the bottom and that will let it drain. If you want to be fancy you can use a grommet system. Which you can get at almost any hardware store
We ended up stabbing a hole in both to get them to drain. Ideally, frame bags would be waterproof considering they are meant to be used on bikepacking trips outdoors, but that doesn't seem to be a priority for most manufacturers. Ortlieb and Rockgeist now both make frame bags that are waterproof but we haven't tried them.
Hi! Thank you very much for this introduction about your bikes. It was super interesting to learn about your intention, line of thinking and designing for a bike specificly for the prupose of touring. I have learned a lot!
Would you ever recommend a front suspension for a bike like this given that it might provide more comfort on bumpy road and you can also lock it as you wish? I would assume that it would be a problem for maintainace and impossible to mount item on the fork? I would love to hear your thought about this, your experience is very valuable.
Liked and subscribed.
From So Oregon USA
I have a Rivendell Hunqapillar as my expedition bike and a few early 80s Road bikes.
Rivendells are gorgeous! Glad you enjoyed the video.
@@RollingExistence Agreed.. I also have a Rivendell Cheviot.
Thanks. Subscribed
Great video - looking forward to some scenic shots of your travels. I must say though that i chuckled every time you said ‘paneers’ - which is a kind of homemade Indian cheese 😂. The bags on the bike are ‘panyers’ (or ‘panny-ers’ if your French is not so good).
Haha that's how most Americans seem to butcher the word.
Serious bikes, I like'm !
Very cool stuff.. I would like to do this some day but i am goin for weight light set up.. Using my specialized sirrus that ive rode over 40k miles so far... Love the geometry of the older school sirrus frames.. Mine is a 2011 an can fit nice wide tires 40c which for me is perfect for all conditions as i can ride anything haha... Very cool video willl save the channel an come back to check in later👍
The biggest downside to our setup is that it's extremely heavy, a more lightweight setup would be nice. We plan to ride the Baja Divide on these bikes, and a 40c tire would struggle in the deep sand there. We'll be on 29x2.6s for that section.
I have Ortlieb back roller classic panniers for my rear rack.
The miniscule weight difference between the pvc classic panniers and the Cardura panniers are so unnoticeable that I would rather have the 100% waterproof panniers as well as the durability.
Sometimes cycle tourist get too fixated on saving grams and ounces.
That they loose sight of the big picture of practicality, waterproof and long lasting toughness.
I completely agree that saving weight is important for a long-term tourist.
However sacrificing grams and ounces for 100% dry items and longer lasting panniers with the pvc classic panniers I think is the way to go.
Hey guys,spotted video,good video..am off Monday to cycle Faro to Santiago. Stay safe..michael cleary
I wish my salsa cutthroat had a rohloff, and also a gates drive.
Inspiring setup, thanks for the detailed explanation. Have you experienced any phone issue related to the phone handlebar mount? I'm (maybe unreasonably) worried that vibrations might damage the phone somehow, and I currently carry it on a wrist band instead.
We have had good luck with the phones mounted on the handlebars, they haven't had any issues despite thousands of miles of vibrations. We're both using cheapish refurbished Samsung Galaxy phones (s9 and s10) and they've been great, the waterproofing holds up in downpours and if we do have to replace them it won't be terribly expensive. We do make sure they aren't charging on particularly bumpy sections because the biggest wear point is the charging port and the cable bumping around could damage it.
That's an Army (digi camo edition) issue beanie; great hat!
Andrew found it on the AT about 8 years ago and Jenny's been wearing it ever since! Super light and so warm!
Super 😊
I agree with the cable brakes , I originally used hydraulic brakes but while touring in India I sprung a leak and was unable to source spares for repairs , I now run trp cable brakes with more than enough stopping power even with heavy loads
Could have carried a spare hose, weighs less than a cable, almost nothing. Fluid can be obtained from any motorcycle shop in the world. Even 3rd world countries have those, be fixed at the next village.
I tried hybrid brakes (cable over hydro) and honestly in THIS application it is the best of both world (fluid is only in the caliper)
@@garyking508 the piston was leaking , it was an old set of avid codes , they worked great for years , even here in Australia it's not a part that would be stocked at a well stocked bike shop , I couldn't get the part in mumbai and they have some high end bike shops there , my pads are the standard shimano pad and any brake cable will do , I use the same cable on my rhollof hub
Just in case you don't have their budget, you can use a Shimano Alfine/Nexus transmission and a Shimano dynamo front hub and Chinese Foxey Svetso LED lights.
Nice to see you are are really getting around. I really hate frames with that steep slope top tube. It severely weakens the rack mount.
I have 19,300 miles on my awesome Rohloff, now 44/ 16T with 700 x 36 mm SMP tires. I had trouble with goat thorns and damn tiny staples.
BB7s with one pad moving are seriously dumb. So pads every 5,000 miles. Get cable TRP Spyre sooner than later, IMO. I have this on my R14, stops instantly.
I have a SA XL-FDD dyno drum brake front hub with double your miles and still the brake shoe is doing fine. ZERO squealing, fuss or worry with it in ANY conditions. My Edelux light is always on.
My shifter is DIY on the top tube with NO cable flop.
When it's raining, my cape covers most of the frame and seat.
We looked at the TRP brakes before going with the BB7 but talking with people who had used both locally convinced us that the BB7s were more reliable long term despite the admittedly stupid design where only one pad moves. We aren't exactly happy with the BB7s, but they're consistently reliable at least. Also they are quite a bit cheaper than the TRP brakes. We may go to the TRPs in the future if we ever have issues with our BB7s, but at the time we were struggling to keep our builds on budget and every little bit helps.
Genuis
any link where i can buy just like your front hub
thanks and ridesafe always
Great videos thanks , I've noticed that you have Tubus Duo racks ,I can't seem to get my Ortlieb gravel bags to hook up with both hooks ,Do you use the same bags ?
No, we have Bedrock Bags Hermosa Panniers on the front racks. We decided against the Ortlieb bags up front because we weren't sure how they would connect to the Tubus Duo.
Hydrolic brakes use mineral oil, sourced from most grocery and drug stores.
hi guys, I have just found you and subscribed right away.
when I used my Son 28 Dynamo hub for charging my devices I could charge a 5000 Mah battery from my phone in about 4 hours going at 15km/h and other travellers have had similar experiences. perhaps your USB charger is not up to the task.
I'm using now a 20000 Mah powerbank with a 65w charger that I can fully charge in 90min max anywhere (within Europe) I find a socket.
ciao from Venice, Italy
I like your video... 😍
Glad you enjoyed it!
Actually, a dynamo works best when removed and left at home depending instead on battery banks for power needs.
What tent, sleep and cook systems do you use? Well presented setups, thanks. 😁
We're using a Hilleberg Anjan 2 tent, an MSR Dragonfly and a bushbuddy wood burning stove, and we use enlightened equipment 20f quilts. We'll be doing a video on our other gear soon.
👍
Hi, did you do the change over to rolloff yourselves or did you order the Ogres with Rohloff already installed? great info!
Hi both. Thank you for such an insightful video. I also have a Surly Ogre, and I have a question for you. I have used the bike for purely off-road riding with 2.2" MTB tyres. I now also want to use it for touring on tarmac, so I am going to buy some narrower wheels, as the current ones are very wide, and mount narrower, touring tyres on them as a wheel change option.
My question is, what is the narrowest tyre you would recommend for road touring? I see you have 2", but I was wondering if 1.75" would work.
Your thoughts, or the thoughts of your viewers are very welcome.
Thanks again for the great video.
Surly's recommended minimum for the Ogre is 2.0", any lower than that and you risk pedal strikes because the bottom bracket is too low. You might be able to get away with 1.75s but the weight and rolling resistance difference between a 1.75 and a 2.0 isn't worth the risk. For long distance touring, you just can't beat the 29x2.0 marathon mondial. Incredibly long lasting, great puncture protection, decent performance on both gravel and pavement, just an all around fantastic tire.
@@RollingExistence Wow, thanks for the fast reply. Yes, it makes sense what you say about ground clearance and rolling resistance. I still think my 30mm inner rim wheels are a bit too wide for 2" tyres, so I will look into some narrower wheels.
Many thanks.
Hi Andrew. How would you compare the Brooks B17 with the new Ergon SMC Core? I've had good luck with the Brooks but do have some leg numbness over longer trips. I have been looking at the Ergon SMC Core to help with this.
I was having a few issues with my B17. It broke in slightly warped, either due to asymmetrical hip issues, or due to a crash in Japan where my loaded bike flipped and landed on the saddle.
Also, the tension bolt broke after about 12,000 miles on the saddle. Unfortunately Brooks didn't use a stainless bolt and it had rusted through and snapped. Apparently it's a fairly common problem as many on the internet report the same thing happening. They may have rectified the issue on more recent models but I don't know. I replaced it with a nut and bolt from a hardware store but they didn't hold as well as the original, which led to the need for adjustments every month or so to the saddle tension. The nose of the saddle had begun to tear away from the rivets probably due to making too large of adjustments to saddle tension in a short timeframe.
Additionally, I was starting to develop pretty serious pain in my perineum area due to the lack of a cutout. I considered switching to the Brooks B17 Imperial with the cutout, but research on that saddle led me to believe that it is even more likely to sag and need adjustment because of the smaller amount of material holding tension.
The last few issues that led me to switch away from the Brooks were the saddle rail design and the weather resistance. The saddle rails on the B17 have a shorter usable area than most modern saddles. With my stem and handlebar setup, I found that a normal seatpost did not allow me to position the saddle far enough back for comfort. I fixed the issue by buying a VO setback seatpost with an extra setback of 30mm, but this caused my knee over pedal measurement to become too far back, leading to knee pain.
The B17, like any leather product, really shouldn't get wet. Even with Proofide applications, an expensive nylon saddle cover, and a plastic bag backup, the saddle still would get soaked frequently on our trip. During heavy downpours the saddle would get soaked even when I was sitting on it and it was covered by the nylon rain cover. Leaving the bikes out overnight for months on end, eventually even double bagging the saddle wasn't enough. Also, when it's an on and off rain storm the saddle cover becomes an annoyance, anytime I stop to take a break and get off the saddle I have to worry about whether rain is suddenly going to start.
So for all of those reasons, I decided the B17 had to go. In the past I tried the C19 and had horrible saddle sores from it, so the cambium series wasn't an option for me, although I have heard many people rave about them and they fix almost all of the issues I have with the leather Brooks variants.
I switched to a Thomson seatpost with less setback and the Ergon SMC Core. So far it is just as comfortable as the broken in B17, with no perineum pain and no issues getting wet. My knees are now in a better position as well thanks to the new seatpost.
Overall I really loved the look and the basic comfort of the B17, and I will eventually own another one, but dealing with the relative high maintenance of leather and the weird saddle rails just isn't for me on a long tour.
I ride a very similar British built Thorn Nomad with Rohloff & Son. I think you have done very well regarding reliability & spare parts, but I was surprised to see you have gone through 6 pair of brake pads each. Do you consider that a normal duration? I have Hope hydruailic discs. Very well done to both of you !
The brakes we have, Avid BB7s, are designed so that only one pad moves, pushing the rotor into the other pad. Unfortunately, the design makes it so that one pad always wears out a little faster than the other, so that has contributed to the amount of pads we have gone through. We also went through pads quickly during the rainy winter in the Mediterranean, going up and down the steep mountains of Greece with all day downpours really went through the pads quick.
I’m watching as many touring videos to learn what others are doing. My Kona Sutra came the first week of the pandemic and hasn’t yet been used but it’s scheduled for a US coast to coast trip. After that I plan to upgrade to a Tout Terrain with belt drive and Rohloff hubs for a trip to Scandinavia 🏔which is particularly why I’m watching your videos. For my US trip I’m going to pull a BOB trailer to lessen weight on the bike and allow for more carry capacity. For Europe I’ll be using front & rear panniers like you. I plan to go mountain biking out West 🏜 but I have bikes for that and don’t plan anything longer than a possible overnighter off road. I’m basically a roadie. I have all my gear except an add on for my bike that stores energy while pedaling for GPS, phone and iPad or small ChromeBook. Also getting a Garmin InReach for safety since I’ll be alone 🏕. Thanks for going over your bike setups. I’m enjoying your travel videos and will watch them all. 👍☮️🌞🚵♀️🚵♂️❤️
I appreciate your videos as I learn more about touring and the Rohloff setup. Is having to remove the back fender for a flat repair typical of Rohloff setups, this type of fender, or how the Rohloff is adapted into the Ogre frame?
The rohloff needs some way to tension the chain, so it's a problem that all bicycles that achieve rohloff compatibility via a sliding rear dropout will have. Other bicycle frames use an eccentric bottom bracket or some other method to allow for chain tensioning and they won't have the same problem.
@@RollingExistence Thank you for the detailed answer, this is really helpful for me as I make decisions. All the best.
Hello, I'm wondering where did you buy this baby yoda figure? It's awsome :)
Got it on Etsy, I forget the shop name. It was made with a 3D printer so nice and light!
You could make a hole at the bottom of the center bag and it'll not fill up with water anymore.
Early on in the trip we stabbed each bag about a dozen times with a screwdriver but they're still slow to drain, the holes get clogged up. We need to put in proper grommets at some point.
Hi, I am wondering how dissatisfied(?) Andrew was with his Brooks B17 to the extent that he wanted a new/different saddle because I own a B17 that is finally broken in and I've heard so much praise for the B17 for touring. And, btw, I also own Terry Liberator Y and Liberator Y Gel saddles and have found them to be quite comfy, but don't know if the B17 or they would be better for long distance touring. Thanks, and love your channel!
The biggest issue was dealing with the B-17 in bad weather. Also the saddle was pretty worn out from 30,000kms of riding, not enough Proofide applications, and it was slightly asymmetrical due to a bad crash in Japan, so it was due to get retired just from abuse and poor maintenance. I decided to try the Ergon because the Brooks is a pain to deal with in constant rain, even with a nice raincover it's still just one more thing to worry about. I will definitely own another B-17 at some point though!
@@RollingExistence Thanks for this great feedback. Yeah, I can see a leather saddle becoming a pain in foul weather. Heck, if I leave my bike out under the hot sun for anytime, I cover it, fearing that too much sun exposure could damage the leather, whether or not my concern is justified. Thanks again.
@@FlowJunkie65 concern about sun exposure is a false fear. I have had the Brooks in all sorts of outback and desert sun, and in winter rains. It is easy enough to cover it at night or while parked. A simple plastic bag will do the job if you do not have a specific saddle cover. It only needs to be covered when you are not riding it. Riding in the rain your butt will cover the saddle just fine.
Do your tires not have that Kevlar protective barrier under the outer tread?
Both tires we've used on this trip have some sort of Kevlar-like protection but I don't think Schwalbe is allowed to call it 'kevlar' for copyright reasons. The Marathon Mondial (our first set of tires) and the Marathon GT 365 (our current tires) both are rated 6 out of 7 on Schwalbe's puncture protection scale and they claim to have " 2 layers of nylon carcass and 2.5mm flexible special India rubber offers protection of the highest level. " In our experience the only thing that has caused punctures have been large metal spikes and one huge piece of sharp glass.
♥♥♥
Hi, i love your video’s. And now i bought a brim and have one question about that: how and where do you store your brim when you don,t use it, and protect it?
We keep them on our helmets most of the time, but when it's really windy we just slide them in the back of a pannier so they don't get bent.
@@RollingExistence Thanks.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Your v luckie to do what you did im impressed how do u cope with traffic
We try to stay on smaller side roads as much as we can, but if we have to ride in traffic we wear high-vis vests and use blinking lights to be as visible as possible.
Hi there, thanks a lot for this Video!
May I ask what your height is and what sizing you have chosen for your bikes?
Jenny is 5'9" and has a medium. Andrew is 6' and has a large. We're both happy with those choices.
I’ve always used a plain old-fashioned chain on my bikes; but, regardless, my question is: any reason why you have chains instead of belts on your bikes?
We considered carbon belts, but our frames don't have a split and we weren't aware of the belts that don't need a split frame when we put our bikes together. We are definitely interested in switching to a belt setup at some point, though the chain has the advantage of being able to replace anywhere in the world.
do you both or one of you use padded shorts? Ive heard often they are not necessary after awhile of touring?
Are you using presta valves in you andra 40 rims? I ask because I want to get some of these rims, but I noticed they only come with schrader holes. Do you use adapters? Thanks, sorry to ask such silly questions.
We only use Schrader tubes, but we carry a couple of the adapters in the event we can only find presta tubes. Schrader valves are just better all around, on a long tour presta is a liability and offers no advantage in a wide mountain bike rim.
Hello, can you share the front light brand and model of your bike? Thanks.
The front light is a Sinewave Cycles Beacon and our bike frames are Surly Ogres.
Why did you choose gearhub over pinion gearbox? It seems like you started with a frame set and built up the bike. Would you go with a gearhub again if you built new bikes? Just discovered rolling existence ... love your videos!
We chose Rohloff over Pinion mainly due to price. We were able to get our Ogre frames for $700 each and the Rohloffs for $900 each. The cheapest Pinion and frame combination would be thousands more. Also the Rohloff has a longer record of durability. There are many advantages to the Pinion, but these bikes were a budget compromise.
I just logged into my gmail account and discovered your reply. Thanks so much. Appreciate the insights. Safe travels! -d@@RollingExistence
Ok, I don't see the comment asking: How did you afford the trip, equipment, etc.? I'm quite jealous, perhaps more so that I'm watching a couple travelling together. I've traveled alone and it gets old. Good to have a partner.
Is the rohloff oil changing part of an e-bike ?
No, it's an internally geared hub that replaces your cassette and derailleur. It has oil inside of it that needs to be changed every 5,000km.
What about Shimano hydraulic brakes that use mineral oil? The feel of the ones I have is great. I've also used mechanical disc brakes. They're very good, and definitely preferable to rim brakes; but they don't reach the level of the hydraulics. The hydraulics are just soooooo nice.
Before we went on the tour, we had mountain bikes with hydraulic disc brakes. One day we decided to go out on a ride and took our bikes in the car with the front wheel removed, but forgot the little plastic shim to put between the brake pads on one of the bikes. The front brake lever got bumped, the front brake seized, and we had to drive back home and bleed the brake lines to get the bike rideable again. That convinced us that we didn't need the extra power and risk associated with hydraulic fluid and lines, especially when traveling to remote locations like Laos (where we are currently). It's easy to find a brake cable anywhere in the world, not so easy to deal with a leaky brake caliper or finding hydraulic brake fluid or even mineral oil. Yes, we could probably get some from a motorcycle/scooter shop, but that's just not something we have to worry about with our current setup. Andrew worked at a mountain bicycle shop in Moab and issues with hydraulic brakes were definitely not rare. We've had no issues stopping with our mechanical disc brakes, even on 45kg bikes and 2000 meter descents in the Alps.
@@RollingExistence Agree. Hydraulic brakes are more for sports, mechanical brakes are quite enough for tourism. For 3 years with simple Shimano mechanical brakes and no problem!
In a pinch you could put on a shimano hub while your good hub is repaired if it ever failed
Put your tools in a gallon ziplock
Hi from India 🙂🚴👈