Touring - Please help me pimp my ride (Trek 520)

I just purchased a '07 Trek 520 23". Thanks for all the posts on that bike and this bike as it was great info.

I have been speaking with Wayne at www.thetouringstore.com about acquiring tubus racks and Ortlieb Classic Roller front and rear panniers. I am waiting to hear back on price but I feel that decision has been made. I guess I might be able to be swung to the Cordura version of the Ortlieb (Plus) but I really like the PVC style.

I am off to Japan for 2 weeks or touring with a buddy. This will be my third trip on a bike (1. Tallin, Estonia-Riga, Latvia - 2. Around the big island of Hawaii). I have been reading up here and crazyguyonabike.com

So then what do I need...
1. What fenders work the best for the 520? I believe the stock tires are 32mm wide
2. Should I get a brooks B17? or a Terry Liberator? Most likely no because I leave in 2 weeks
3. Rain gear? Showers Pass?
4. Best Mirror? Mount on bike or sunglasses?
5. Do I want a GPS on my handlebar? Why? - Yes I know what they do I have one for running and in my car
6. What about shoes? Should I buy SPD sandals? My feet get really hot.
7. Should I install cable splitters (http://www.sandsmachine.com/ac_cable.htm). Last 2 times I flew with my bike. I got a cardboard bike box from the local store and put my bike inside, but it seems to be a terrible fit. Before I had a n 1992 Trek 950 mountain bike converted tourer, but since I have a new bike, I do not want to trash in my first travel
8. How do I best travel with my bike? Cardboard bike box? Proper purchased bike box from Performance?


I am really excited about this trip. Nothing compares to the world passing you by at 12mph versus the normal 144mph that daily life feels like.

Thanks for your help!

Ryan

For Fenders I like the Freddy Fenders (http://ecom1.planetbike.com/fenders.html) from Planet Bike. For saddle I actually prefer the Champion Flyer (http://www.wallbike.com/championflyer.html) over the B-17 and make sure you get some miles on it prior to starting your tour. GPS I don't know... I have been toying with the idea of adding the DeLorme Earthmate GPS PN-20 (http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=10106&minisite=10020)to the my collection but want to come up with a solar battery charging solution first. Rain gear is personal, in warm weather I get wet, in cooler weather I wear a Campmor Rain Cape (http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=10130&memberId=12500226&storeId=226&catalogId=40000000226&langId=-1), in really crappy cold weather a gore tex suit of some type. The rest is up to you:p

Aaron:)

I like having a moving map GPS on the bars. I used a Magellen (Sportrack Pro) for several years and was never completely happy with it. At one point I upgraded the mapping software and GPS flash --and was disappointed to find it made things worse (couldn't load multiple regions anymore, other stuff). The Delorme was too new. I didn't think they would have figured out all the details yet. Below is what I settled on. After one week-long trip thru Wisconsin, I love it. It does everything better than I ever expected and all the nagging little features that didn't seem to be there on my old Magellen -were there and implemented better than expected.

Garmin GPSmap 60Cx (the CSx has barometric altimeter and stationary compass, both of which I thought were pointless drags on the battery)

3. I have the Showers Pass Elite 2.0 and would recommend it. It is fine as a regular jacket (doesn't get sweaty) but also keeps the water out in a downpour. I also have the pants.
4. I have both a drop-bar-end-mounted mirror and a Take-A-Look mirror mounted on my helmet. The bar-end one is nearly useless and I will probably soon remove it. After much experimentation and asking for advice the Take-A-Look is the best I have found so far.
5. There seems to be a sale on the Garmin Edge 305. With coupon I think it can be had for about $200 including cadence, heart rate, speed and altitude. See if it would serve your purpose. (I don't have one but was thinking about it that's how come I know about the deals.) I don't think it is particularly useful for navigation unless you download a route into it prior to setting out.

Regarding packing the bike: It partly depends on whether you are bicycling in a loop or a one-way. If a loop, you could invest in a bag and leave it for your return. If one-way, then use a cardboard box, discard it at the beginning of the biking and get a new one at the end.

1. What fenders work the best for the 520? I believe the stock tires are 32mm wide

Plastic fenders are fine, I made my own wood ones, but the planet bike type thing can be good. Some of the brands have clunkier hardware than others, so looking at a variety of makes is the best bet.

2. Should I get a brooks B17? or a Terry Liberator? Most likely no because I leave in 2 weeks

B17, you don't need to break it in, I just left on tour after denting in the sit bone area.

3. Rain gear? Showers Pass?

Poncho is my favorite

4. Best Mirror? Mount on bike or sunglasses?

Hate both.

5. Do I want a GPS on my handlebar? Why? - Yes I know what they do I have one for running and in my car

Seems stupid to me, unless you can't keep oriented, however... My cousin over there says absolutely everyone has GPS in their cars, and he travels around on foot with one and a big map book. There are unique navigation issues in Japan, and apparently the JPS helps a lot. Once read an article about off the beaten track neighborhoods in major cities where there was a lot of mistrust of outsiders. Part of the issue was that people would pressure one owner on these streets to sell, and the whole local culture would collapse, so been seen talking to foreigners was frowned upon. No idea if that is true, but the idea was that you could not find your way around by asking for local help.

6. What about shoes? Should I buy SPD sandals? My feet get really hot.

I use Lake sandals and am really hapopy with them. Nashbar stocks Lake, B17, and fenders.

Please help me pimp my ride
- Vivid metallic purple fenders
- Blue cold-cathode or neon tubes on the down tube
- 300W subwoofer on the rear rack with dual fork-mounted front speakers and a 6-stacker CD in your 3rd bottle cage, in front of the bottom bracket
- Replace all other bottle cages with cup holders. Recommend minimum 6 cup holders.
- Customized front wheel eccentric spoke pattern to make bike bounce up and down as you cruise along
- Forget the Brooks, go a saddle from a Honda touring motorcycle
- Ditto panniers. Black leather and lots of studs.
- Strongly recommend ape-hanger handlebars with leather fringe tassel bar ends. Minimum 7 mirrors on each bar.

Nice cave.... Esp. the neon.

Garmin edge is useless as a mapping GPS - it's for training. You can't load maps into it at all. You can download a route that you have ridden and repeat it, but it doesn't have street names, just a little breadcrumb trail.

I just tried a couple-day tour with a Garmin Nuvi, which is supposed to be a travel assistant, but it's useless for what I wanted it for, and I'll be returning it. I'm going to go check old threads about GPS on tour here and at CGoaB, and see if anyone has any better suggestions.

I use a brake-hood mounted mirror on my 520 - you can't use the bar-end ones, b/c it has bar end shifters. It's the oval one, i think blackburn, i got it at REI. I tried a helmet mounted one once, but it broke off in 2 days.

I like the sandals.

I'm a cardboard-boxer. But I don't care about damaging the paint, just don't want to mess up the components. I always trash my tour bikes. If I could afford a bare-naked titanium tourer, I would have one.... uh oh, somebody better hide my checkbook from me, that's a good idea.

Don't bother w/cable splitters unless you are getting S&S couplers, I would think. I just have to take the front brake cable out of the brake, the rest of the cables don't seem to be a problem for boxing it. It's pretty easy to adjust the v-brakes, and you can mark the spot on the cable with a sharpie if you are worried about getting it back in the right place.

Re travelling w. bike and valygrl's comments on damaging paint - last time I got a box from a bike shop to pack for the plane, the box (from an Orbea road bike) had thin plastic tubes rather than cardboard or foam for frame protection. I snipped it to fit around the cable bosses, taped it in place. My bike is dark in colour and the black tubes are barely visible; I've left them on, and added reflective tape for winter commuting, which worked great. It is a bit like taping the frame but without gumming everithing up, also the plastic is quite light (haven't weighed it though).

I'd go cardboard box for the plane, discard at the other end, get another one from a bike shop or at the airport for the trip back (I am assuming they'll have them at the airport in Japan, you'd have to check) (Aussie airports have them and bikes travel free on most domestic flights).

Like peterpan, I was also fine on a B17 without breaking it in. However, the B17 is pretty damn wide, if the thing ever dies (unlikely) I'll be going for the narrow (or the team) next time.
Fear Not The Brooks. If bad, Japan has the odd bike shop too, you could easily pick up a "normal" saddle.

I don't know how much it rains at this time of year in Japan. If you decide on mudguards, the SKS (plastic-coated thin metal) are also very good. A variety of sizes are available; I have 700c/45mm, which works well with 35-37 mm tyres but looks too wide on 28s (still works, just dosen't look as slick). They stay in alignment well, and if they are bent in travel you can bend them back easily with the help of some boiling water.

Also, SKSs are metallic purple, not black, only shows up in bright sunlight ;)

Ortliebs are great but the roll-top closure gets a little annoying if you have to access your bags a lot. Consider at least one easier-access bag (eg. rack top or handlebar) if you decide to go rollers both front and back. I borrowed my sister's front rollers for a while, the thing that makes Ortliebs so good is the attachment mechanism more than the roll-top.

Also, PVC is pretty nasty stuff, nylon (cordura) is a little less toxic to manufacture, if that is important to you.

Enjoy your tour! Send some pics of you and the Chopper!

What? No plasma screens?

Thanks for all of the great responses. I will start spending some dollars online and collect the goods. I just sent Wayne an email pulling the trigger on my panniers and racks. My personal favorite was the Honda motorcycle seat. I will do my best to post some photos when I am back. Maybe I could video all 288 hours of the trip and place on YouTube for your viewing pleasure. Let me know if anyone is interested.

Thanks again!

Ryan