Brian's bicycle and equipment for his ride across Australia - Aug/Sept 2008
Introduction,
Fundraising & Daily Diary with Photos
The Route
The equipment Brian used for the bicycle ride from Perth to Sydney is as follows:
Bicycle:
Frame:
Dawes Kara-Kum touring bicycle - lightweight alloy frame + Chromoly 1
1/8th'' forks with low ride and mudguard bosses
Saddle: Brooks B17 Special Copper
Seatpost: Alloy suspension
Wheels: 36h Shimano XT hubs with Rigida Sputnik rims with ACI
double butted 292mm spokes for the front wheel and rear LHS and Sapim
Strong single butted 290mm for the rear RHS.
Chainset: Shimano 175mm Deore Octalink – 48-36-22
Bottom Bracket: Octalink sealed unit
Gears: Shimano Deore 9 speed – 34-11
Shifters: Shimano Deore rapid fire
Gear Levers: Tektro
Handlebars: Alloy Butterfly
Brakes: Shimano V-brakes
Tyres: Schwalbe Evolution Marathon Supreme 700c x 35
Pedals: Shimano SPD (one sided)
Pannier Racks front and back
Chromplastic mudguards
Accessories:
Ortlieb back roller plus panniers
Ortlieb front roller plus panniers
Ortlieb ultimate 5 plus handlebar bag
Ortlieb Map case
Ortlieb rack pack bag (small)
Rear light
Front light
Cateye Vectra wireless computer
Water bottles x3
Topeak Mini Pump
Lock
Camping:
Vango Banshee 200 tent
Multimat Adventure 25 Self Inflating Mat Olive 1830x510x25mm
Multimat Cushion Pillow MOD
Cumulus Quantum 200 sleeping bag
Toilet roll
Mug
3-piece cutlery set
Petzl Tikka XP head torch
Swiss army knife
Maps
Lighter
Washing up kit
Travel wash
Ziplock bags
Rubbish Bags
Medical/Wash
Kit:
Insect repellent
Suncream
Head gear fly net
Wash kit
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Shampoo/soap
Chap
stick
Large microfibre towel
First Aid medical pack
Antihistamines
Pain killers
Assos
chamois cream
Accessories:
Digital camera
Mini tripod
iPod
Book(s)
Pen & Pencil & Notebook
Sewing Kit
Clothing:
Bell Helmet
Helmet mirror (Blackburn)
Altura Reflex Jacket
Assos F1-Mille lycra half shorts
Giordana
Tenax Carbon lycra shorts (as spare)
Casual shorts
Cycling shirts
T shirts
Pullover/top/fleece
Fingerless cycling gloves (Specialized gel)
Sun hat
4 Pairs cycling socks
Boxer underpants
Long trousers (for smarter wear)
Tracksuit trousers (for cold mornings and evenings)
Sunglasses
Pair Exustar SPD touring shoes
Casual shoes
Woollen Hat
Swimming trunks
Spares
and Repairs:
Inner tubes x2
Schwalbe Marathon Supreme foldable tyre
Brake pad pair x2
Spare nuts and bolts
Brake cable
Gear cable
Cable ends
Chain links
Chain Tool
Cassette Remover Tool
Spare spokes
Spoke Tool
Tyre Levers
Pedal Wrench
Tent spares and repairs
Bike computer battery
Duct tape
Zip-ties
Dry(ish) lubricant
Grease
Puncture repair kit
Topeak multi tool
Documents:
Passport
Photocopies of Visa, passport, insurance
Emergency contact info plus blood group etc
Plane tickets
Post-ride Comments on Equipment:
Bicycle:
Very
reliable. Not the lightest, but extremely stable both unloaded and fully
loaded.
Saddle: My Brooks B17 Special Copper saddle was excellent. Very
comfortable, and still looks like it is brand new.
Tyres: The Schwalbe Marathon Supreme tyres were excellent, both
in terms of wear, puncture resistance and smoothness of ride. I used the
same tyres for most of my training and then the whole ride. I took one
spare which I didn't use.
Panniers
& Bar Bag: The Ortlieb Front and Back Roller Plus panniers
were excellent. No problems at all and very easy to fit and remove and
use. The bar bag was equally high quality and extremely useful. [Tip:
I marked the back of my panniers with an L or R for left and right so
that when I was looking for particular items inside my tent, I would know
which bag to look in]
Tent: The Vango Banshee 200 tent was very easy to erect,
and reasonable for one person with some gear. It proved high quality and
very weather-proof, but didn't get much real rain to test it. The only
disadvantage is that it is erected 'inner' first, which can prove a problem
in rain.
Assos
F1-Mille lycra half shorts: Excellent. High quality and extremely
comfortable. I bought this version rather the the bib shorts version and
found no real problems with them staying up!
Brian and his fully loaded bike
Brian's brother, Colin, is using a Moulton bicycle. See details of his equipment and his previous epic cycle journeys on www.greenbicycle.com
Introduction,
Fundraising & Daily Diary with Photos
The
Route