Originally Posted by MarkS
Can't tell what's on your bar,
Actually, if that's your setup for centuries, its pretty compact. I assume you have a pump, locks, spare tire, additional clothes, and food all in the back bag? What's in the front bag? When it gets dark, I assume you have to move the front bag to the rear to make room for the light?
Is that a generator in the back? Is that a standard item these days for long-distance bikers? Do modern generators overcome the problem s of power fluctuations that the (possibly cheap) older ones had? Where they would burn out your bulb on the down slopes and be too dim on the upslopes?
Regarding learning bike repair classes, I'm not sure where to find any. The one thing I got out of the books I'm working to is that as soon as you get beyond basic repairs (flats, tires, and chains) you start needing expensive (and heavy) tools. What kind of on-the-road repairs have your classes helped you with?
Thanks!
My computer is the only thing on my bar. And no, I don't move the handlebar bag to use my lights, my lights shine underneath my handlebar bag, as seen in the photo below.
This is my packing list:
http://www.machka.net/packinglist.htm
Although I don't carry the camping gear or the Civvy clothing when I am not touring ... and I don't always carry absolutely everything on the list. I keep the personal stuff and some of the nutrition stuff in my handlebar bag, and the rest in the back.
That is a lightspin dynamo on the back, but I will be removing it this year. It worked really well for a couple years but hasn't worked at all well lately. Most long distance riders use hub dynamos ... and I would too, if I could afford it. But I'll be using battery lights instead.
Bicycle repair classes can be found at your local bicycle shop, MEC, REI, from your local bicycle touring clubs, or possibly also from your local colleges and universities.
I haven't experienced very many on-the-road repairs but I have fixed flats, including ripped tires, I can and have adjusted my brakes, and I have a good idea of how to change out certain spokes if necessary. I can remove my chain to clean it, or to take out a link if it happened to break. When I travel with the bicycle, I know how to take it all apart (handlebars, pedals, rear derailleur, etc. etc.) to pack it in a box ... and I know how to put it all back together again. (I've done that several times - both taking it apart and putting it back together - in the middle of a busy airport with people milling around, and even standing around and watching like I'm putting on performance art or something!). Stuff like that.
Oh yes ... the worst bicycle "failure" that has every happened to me was when my freehub died. When that happens, you can't pedal anymore ... well, you can pedal, it just isn't going to help you any! Fortunately, it decided to die just as I was pulling into the suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, where I was going to spend the night and I coasted into the place I was staying. Then I was able to get a new freehub at a bicycle shop in Hobart. However, if something like that had happened earlier that day ....... I would have resigned myself to walking, and coasting downhill when I could.
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