My touring rig - post yours

[igstar]

My tourer is an oldish Cecil Walker, which doubles as a commuter as well. This was from the last trip to Nth Qld.

[il padrone]

I'm glad that I'm not the only one who goes fully-loaded touring with North Road Bars.

A friend of mine, on his touring bike, riding up a 20% grade on the Sisters Track in state forest near the Nicholson River, Gippsland.

North road bars, Rohloff hub on his own designed and built frame. Oh yeah, he made his own pannier racks and the panniers too.

[John Lewis]

Mike Vermeulen did a round Aus trip some years back. Thought it might interest you. His other tours are also interesting.

http://www.mvermeulen.com/oneyear/australia.htm

We get a a lot of round Aus riders through here. Mainly from Europe and Japan. The europeans are usually heads down bums up trying to do the circuit as fast as they can and pretty well kitted out. Those from Japan seem pretty intrepid as they are often seen riding in shorts and thongs , with little water and with a couple of plastic bags hanging on the handlebars for their gear. I don't know what they do when they hit the Nullabor but have heard a few horror stories. As others have said, long distances between food and water, and water is not always available where shown on the maps. On several occasions Andrew and Joanne Hooker back in 2002/3 expected to get water from tanks or bores only to have to ride on without. Planning meant they had a reserve though.

John Lewis

[Cranky Jim]

A friend of mine, on his touring bike, riding up a 20% grade on the Sisters Track in state forest near the Nicholson River, Gippsland.

North road bars, Rohloff hub on his own designed and built frame. Oh yeah, he made his own pannier racks and the panniers too.

Is that Thomas ?

[il padrone]

Is that Thomas ?

Negative!

[Baldy]

Back here again!! I finally picked up my 520 a couple of weeks ago, done about 200kms on it running around town and freakin love it Its pretty much bog standard now, apart from some Serfas full length guards I put on it. So I'll get some decent photos of it once Ive personalized it a little, new rear rack and bags on the way.

Reason for this post is im having trouble deciding what color Brooks to put on it. Im getting a B17 special, so can pick from Black, Green, Honey. Its going on a 2009 Trek 520...so that rootbeer color

Would the Honey be too much? The copper rails/rivets should compliment the bike color, so thats why I was leaning towards green or black for some contrast.

Of course It shouldnt matter......but it does damn it

Anyway, heres what I have so far. I picked up the leather bag at my local tipshop for 15bucks Sweeeeet




And Ive just changed the straps so that I can open and close it without undoing them, which was a pain when I just wanted to get something small out quickly. Looks tidier too I think...


Cheers
Baldy

[redned]

Leather bag on carrier: brilliant. Almost chic. You need one of those old hockey stick holders for the brolly.
How did you adapt to the bar-end shifters: I have trouble getting my head around dropping to the bar end to shift.

[Baldy]

haha thanks but the brolly stays at home, it just lives in the corner there. Allthough I can still use your idea because I'll need something to hold a rod/landing net for daytrips up the river chucking fluff When I remember Im going to get some leather from a saddle place[horses] and braid some straps to replace the daggy occy straps, the braided leather will have some give so I can stretch them on tight.well thats the plan.

On the shifters I know what you mean, Im still getting used to them to be honest. Reaching them I find no real problem, it kind of reminds you to be light on the bars which helps with balance when shifting. Can only be a good thing I figure.

I might be a bit weird in that I'd be quite happy to have friction shifters on all my bikes, shifting by sound/feel has its merits I think.I am using the rear indexed atm though, still getting the direction for shifting up and down hardwired into the ol greymatter

cheers
Baldy

[Mike Ayling]

Re bar end shifters - my 2007 Surly LHT has a reverse pull rear deraileur (no cable tension for the lowest gear).

Anyway this results in the same direction of lever movement for both front and rear changes. Low gear is when the levers are pointing to the ground and high when the levers are parallel to the ground so pull lever up to change up and push lever down to change down. Idiot proof!

Mike

[il padrone]

As far as your saddle is concerned, a honey B17 Champion Special would be ideal - matches the colour of your brief case and is about the same colour as the plastic-base saddle on it at present. Only thing better would be a honey-coloured Swift ti $$$!

Love the old bag approach . Oh and if you don't use that retro trike can I have it

[Baldy]

Nah not me trike!! Its a little beast huh, its not in bad nick. The front tire looks original and I think its been painted with house paint and a brush I got it from the tipshop the same day I got the bag, $20.
I got it for the nephews to muck around on when they visit, after they outgrow it I'll strip and repaint it and sit a pot plant on it or something inside

Cheers for the feedback about the saddle, I spoke too soon though because ribble came through and sorted my CC problem out. So I have a black special on the way[Black was all they offered and at the time I thought wiggle had ditched them]

She'll be right I dont actually mind the black, its the only color ive seen in the flesh anyway.

I'll update the photos when Ive finished kitting it out[few weeks]

[redned]

Mike,

Had to go looking for "reverse pull derailleur" because I hadn't heard of it. Quite a bit of info around and Sheldon Brown apparently was a fan and it has beautiful logic. Posts suggest it makes it better to drop to a lower gear under load.

Did you spec that yourself or is it a standard LHT option? Is it a Shimano "Rapid Rise"

thanks

[juddo]

Hey all, haven't been on this site for quite some time now, in the process of planning a Perth to Broome trip in July 2010.

This is the rig that I ride, started out as a cheap flat bar roadie. It's now running XT Groupset, XTR Brakes and Pedals and Velocity Dyad Rims on XT Hubs. It's quite comfy to ride although i'm rather interested in the Brooks range of saddles.

Picture is taken at Gosford on my way from Brisbane to Canberra August 2009

[Mike Ayling]

Mike,

Had to go looking for "reverse pull derailleur" because I hadn't heard of it. Quite a bit of info around and Sheldon Brown apparently was a fan and it has beautiful logic. Posts suggest it makes it better to drop to a lower gear under load.

Did you spec that yourself or is it a standard LHT option? Is it a Shimano "Rapid Rise"

thanks

Redned

it was standard on my 2007 LHT.

Mike

[alanm]

Hi All,

Here's mine, a Rohloff equipped 2005 ( I think..can't remember when I bought it..) Specialised Epic with a Maverick SC32 front fork with an Endo up front and a 2.5 Hookworm on the back towing a Yak trailer modded to take an Endo as well. Brooks saddle, Shimano Saint cranks. Gazelle quill type adjustable head stem.

Ummm....can someone tell me how to attach a pic????

[hartleymartin]

Put the URL for the picture file into your posting and then use the following tags around it:

[stevepedlin]

Hi, first of all, I have really enjoyed reading this thread! Its wonderful to see individual setup styles, I'm not experienced in setting up a touring rig so its appreciated.

Ummm....can someone tell me how to attach a pic????

Hi Alan, I don't think this older style forum platform supports the upload of pics from your PC, but if you subscribe to a web based picture file host like photobucket or imagshack you can paste the picture URL (a link from your upload at bucket) when you post a reply here, as hartleymartin suggests.

Its a bit of mucking about and is strange if you've not had to do it before, but its not so bad to learn.

steve.

[Aushiker]

Put the URL for the picture file into your posting and then use the following tags around it:

Hi

Not quite. The photo needs to be hosted somewhere, e.g., flickr and then the image URL (not the website URL) needs to go between a pair of img tags, not URL tags, e.g.,

Code: Select all

[img]http://www.aushiker.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/126718702009616a1wlllb3x185009050070.jpg[/img]

Andrew

[alanm]

Thanks for the info guys, I'll give it a bash tomorrow (Sat).

Al

[Baalzamon]

This was from my Esperance - Perth tour. I didn't notice, but by the time I go to the Breakaways, my sleep roll, tent, 6L water bag and sandals were about to fall off. I had picked up a puncture then so I retensioned the straps, next morning twigged I had the one strap too far back. Luckily the strapping was holding the water bag otherwise it would have all gone

[Aushiker]

Hi

From the same ride as Baalzamon and from the same stretch of road, the Granite and Woodlands Discovery Trail, Sir Lancelot looking a touch dirty



Andrew

[cavebear2]

Vivien on tour at Emma Ann. She didn't mix too much with the other blokes, they all being somewhat Surly blokes.

Mind you, I was impressed with her stability at high speeds on Schwalbe Marathon tyres (35mm) especially at 68.7 kmh down Welshpool Rd hill with a 20kg load on.

[gregmacc]

Hi all ... this is mine:



2001 Giant Iguana ... isn't it purdy ...

[cavebear2]

Hi all ... this is mine:

2001 Giant Iguana ... isn't it purdy ...

Noice!

I think I'm gonna fall in love with this touring thingy, off for a 3 day tour this weekend with my wife and lot's of CTA people.

[hartleymartin]

Touring is fun. I'm looking forward to riding out to Wombeyan Caves from Mittagong as winter comes around. Or maybe down the Waterfall Way from Dorrigo then onto Macksville and maybe Kempsey. Bowral to Picton for a weekender in the Spring will be good. Damn... *dreams of touring freedom*