Equipment:
Touring Bikes, Bicycle Touring, Camping
Gear, and Kit Packing List.
What did we think we needed for a trip like this,
what online stores do we like, and how much did it cost? |
Equipment Pages Index
Introduction
How Much to Bring and Weight
Some Advise About Advise
A Note to Perspective Sponsors and Gear Suppliers
START HERE for Touring Bikes and Commuting Bicycles
Bicycle Touring Frames
The Steel Repair Myth.
Steel and Aluminum Derailleur Hanger Repair.
Bicycle Touring Wheels
Phil Wood: The Best Bicycle Hubs
Panniers / Bike Bags
Cargo Trailers Vs Panniers
Tires for Bike Tours..
Bicycle Touring Saddles.
Cindie's Women's Specific Bike Touring Saddles
Brooks Leather Touring Bicycle Saddle Care and Conditioning
Bike Computer
Touring Handlebars, Bar Ends, Adjustable Stems, and Padded Grips.
Sealed Cartridge Headsets
Camping
Buying Camping Equipment
Tent and
Ground Cloth
Sleeping Bag
Sleeping Pad
Camp
Stove
Pots and
Pans
Water Filter
Clothing
Bike Touring Shorts
Health and First Aide
Electrical
Short-wave Radio
Computer
Internet
mp3
Books
Packing list
Pictures of Equipment Failures
Shopping
INTRODUCTION
I get email almost everyday asking me about
our touring bikes,
bicycle panniers
and other bicycle touring equipment. Selecting bicycle touring
and camping equipment always involves difficult decisions. Before you leave you
want to have everything perfect so you do not have to deal with breakdowns
and general failures on the road.
HOW MUCH TO BRING AND WEIGHT
After you have the bare necessities how much
more to bring is really a personal question. It boils down to your
personal taste and philosophy. Even determining what the bare
necessities are is highly debatable. We carry much more than most
bicycle tourist we have met. Our trip is also very different than most others.
Most long distance bicycle tourist have a set amount of time to travel.
Many of them are taking a few weeks to a year off from work or school for their adventure.
The vast majority know when they are going home and usually already have
their airline tickets with them. Because they have a set amount of
time these bicycle tourist
want to see as much as they can in their limited time. For this reason
lightness and speed are very important to them.
We have a much different limitation for our
trip. We can travel until our money runs out. (see
FINANCES) We have no airline
tickets and therefore no real schedule. When we want to fly we buy the
tickets on the internet at that time. This shifts our emphasis from
light and fast to asking ourselves "how can we travel on the least amount of daily money
and still be comfortable enough to not burn out?" We are
completely self contained for "free"
camping in all types of
weather. Not staying in hotels or
campgrounds every night saves us the most money.
Filtering water in
developing countries and cooking our own food in expensive countries saves
us a substantial amount of money as well. This requires a lot
of gear. I have a saying that I often repeat to Cindie. "I would
rather carry a pound than spend a dollar".
SOME ADVICE ABOUT ADVICE
Bicycle touring is a classic noncompetitive
sport yet many people involved in bicycle touring desperately need to
satisfy their competitive nature. This competition is all to often
played out in the equipment arena. The one who has the best set
up must be the "smartest" and therefore wins. I
believe that best set up is highly individualized to each bike tourist and does not take
any cyclist long to figure out what is best for them. If you have
taken a couple of multi-week trips you are already fairly experienced and
this is all it takes to figure out what you like and do not like. This
is not rocket science. Of course, your likes and dislikes will change
as you mature through the years or branch out to more difficult routes our
countries.
A Note to
Prospective Sponsors and Gear Suppliers
We receive frequent offers from equipment
manufactures for sponsorship or review. Most of these offers we turn down
because we refuse to use or promote anything we do not fully believe in. We
do not carry much so what we carry is important to us. Over the years we
have accepted free items to use and review on our web site. Some of these
products have been excellent and others not adequate on an extended trip
like ours. If you think we would prefer your product over something we
currently use write us and we can discuss your offer. Please be aware that
we are never under any obligation to give a positive review. If we like your
product we will happily communicate this and sell it on www.downtheroad.org.
If we do not like your product we will reflect this as well. It is a true
test that only the most confident equipment manufactures should accept.
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