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Equipment Pages Index
Introduction
How Much to Bring and Weight
Some Advice About Advice
A Note to Perspective Sponsors and Gear Suppliers
(See more
about Sponsorship Here)
START HERE for Touring Bikes and Commuting Bicycles
Custom Touring Bicycles and Bike Upgrade Buyers Guide
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
See Bicycle
Touring panniers -
See Bicycle Commuting bags -
more about our experience
with Ortlieb - All Equipment Index -
Touring Bicycle
and parts Equipment Index -
Bicycle
touring Sponsorship -
Buy on sale Waterproof Ortlieb Panniers and Bags
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. 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.
See more about
Sponsorship Here
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Gear :
Best Bicycle Touring Equipment and Spare Parts for Travel, Camping, and
Self Contained Bike Tours with Complete Packing List.
