Hi,
I have decided to sign up for the above and looking at going January 2012. I am relatively new to biking so this is all new to me and lots to learn!!!
Getting a bike that's right for the job seems like a good first step and I was advised that asking the collective wisdom on this forum would be helpful in figuring that out, so any suggestions welcome...
Here is some information about the tour:
Overnight gear carried by tour so only need to carry what you would need during each day. Length of days varies between ~60-219kms, dependent on terrain etc.
[u]Terrain [/u]
Some relatively good to excellent pavement, flat and smooth.
Corrugated rutted loose sand and hard packed gravel, including some quite tough riding.
Loose gravel, corrugation and dirt, and this is mixed in with a lot of climbing to make it extra difficult.
Lava rock desert with terrible rutted roads.
Dirt road that can be very muddy if it rains, and can be rocky with loose gravel in parts.
Mixture of potholes and degraded pavement.
Mix of sand, hard-packed clay, dirt, loose gravel, and corrugation
[u]Bike[/u]
Regardless of the type of bike you get, try to always keep things simple (specialty parts and tools will likely not be available on the tour).
A front suspension mountain bike with a lock out front fork.
Preferably steel (but aluminum second choice) frame bikes
Choose v-brakes instead of hydraulic disc brakes if possible. If v-brakes are not available than choose cable instead of hydraulic disc brakes
Avoid complicated suspension forks
All riders should bring a set of road and a set of off road tires. Schwalbe Marathon Plus and other brands that are puncture resistant are strongly recommended
I am female (5'4), small build and have had mixed advice about whether I need a women's specific bike or not... having spent some time reading up on this forum I am happy to go either way... not going women's specific seems to open up my options.
I am from the UK but currently live in NZ... where it seems that every bike shop I go into looks at me like blankly when I ask about steel-framed bikes. I am therefore thinking it may mean that I pick up a bike when I am back in the UK next month (or in June) and fly it back with me... whether that be just the frame or whole package...
Thanks in advance for any suggestions for frame, whole bikes, parts, saddle, accessories etc 🙂
Motor bike mate LOL !
Thanks! I don't doubt that it won't be far into the tour before I start wishing I had listened to that advice!!!
In NZ?
Local brand Avanti make a steel singlespeed with a rigid fork. You could put a hubgear on that.
Don't know what their small sizes are like though.
Hi mate little advice on the frame choice but the biggest difference I found to riding any sustained distance on a bike day after day was bike fit. I went and got fitted by a really good bike shop took about three hours on the jig but that then gave me the size top tube length even stem length and number of spacers! From that the base info I then narrowed down my choices of frame etc.
Just a thought but it's the best money I have ever spent! Sounds like a great challenge what's the event name? Best of luck!
😆 google is a wonderful thing!! Tour of africa look amazing!
long haul trucker all the way!
How about a Cotic Soul? Steel, light and also known for being very forgiving.
Sounds great...
I would love to do sucha tour,... as for bike i would suggest..
A shimano alfine rear hub gear (economy version) or a rohloff one (expensive option) or at least take some spare mechs with you.
Thorn from st john dtreet cycles do good touring bikes and can offer you advice and make a custom fit one. There are also many other steel frames in the UK like on-one, cotic, dialled etc....
As for forks a simple open bath Marzocchi (2010/2011 models) will go on forever... (avoid 2008/2009 models tho)
Brooks saddle, and avid make the best cable disk brakes...
Again take plenty of spares especially if the truck will be carrying it all.
good luck
A
i also am thinking long haul trucker, as it takes fat tyres but its not as heavy as a mountain bike.
bike fit most important, 12,000km is a long way,
make sure your gears are low enough too.
you'll need braze ons to carry enough fluids too.
hope it all goes well for you.
On a related note, get hold of Riaan Manser's book, Around Africa on my Bicycle. Might help!
What tour is this?
Really interested in this....
There is an article in Spoke (NZ mag) about this. They mention the same bike choice problem.
Thanks for the comments and suggestions 🙂
Lanpinder: it's run by a Canadian company called Tour d'Afrique... Africa was their first tour and the company is named as such but they now do a whole variety or tours/routes across most continents.
Have you thought of looking at what the Africans ride?
Simple bikes and cheap to buy over there. Parts available anywhere in Africa.
The request for steel is a bit of a weird one.
I assume that they think it is less likely to fatigue and will be more repairable as it is easier to weld steel then aluminium, which is true.
But I imagine that welding thin wall high strength steel tubes is not easy at all. If African repair shops are like those I have seen in Asia then the chances of them completing a repair without completely screwing up the frame is pretty slim.
I see the point of keeping things simple, but the local supplies will be so low quality and the designs so out of date there will be no chance of interchangability.
[url= http://www.markbeaumontonline.com/gallery/ ]Mark Beaumont[/url] used hub gears and V-brakes to cycle 18000 miles round the world (good book)
If you take a mtb frame i don't think it will break, it's not the most stressfull riding for th bike, I've decided to give this ago after finding it last night, I'm just going to use the carbon tranny I have at the moment, except I'll replace the wheels as I don't think crank bros spares are readily avaliable. Probably go for xtr on crest rims, with perhaps a second set with road rims on for th road sections.
Again I don't think the forks will break, though I won't be sticking to the fox 15 hour intervals