Trip length: 1500 miles approx
Trip time: 30 days approx - early July to early August.
Approximate percent on road: 70
Approximate percent on dirt, gravel, mud: 30
Accommodation: hotels where available, otherwise camping
Weather: first 1000 miles should be warm to hot and humid, but after that potential for warm or cold to freezing and wet or dry.
Other info: first 750 miles or so will be on Chinese pavement, (rough, rippled, scattered with glass, gravel wood and metal debris). Terrain will be mixed, but generally flat to low rolling hills. After that things will get progressively steeper, rougher and colder. Owing to the recent earthquake, sections of road along the original choice of route have been damaged and their state of repair is uncertain at this time. We will take either the Chuanzang or Qingzang Road.


I have done some basic research and have an idea about what to bring (as little as possible) in terms of clothing (hat to cover ears and neck from high altitude sun, 2 long sleeve shirts to protect arms, 1 pair cycling shorts, 1 pair tights, fleece top for cold, raingear jacket, decent gloves (possibly lobster type) basic medical supplies and tools (multi-tool, puncture kit with extra patches, spare tube, decent pump, chain tool, spare links, lube, maybe a couple of spokes, extra brake pads). I am however torn about a tent because of the bulk/weight factor. I'm leaning towards a "bivvie bag" for my sleeping bag. Obviously I'm taking other stuff, but the list is long.

Oh, and I don't have a bike yet. I live and work in China and will not re-import a bike from overseas, nor will I fly overseas and bring one back with me. That means I can buy what is locally available and there's no Craigslist/Ebay to rely on. I have searched taobao (Chinese Craigslist) and not found what I'm looking for there, either.

Locally, there are LOTS of Giant and Merida dealers and there is a Trek dealer (who I'm going to look for tomorrow) in the city. There is the POSSIBILITY of going to Hong Kong to buy a Salsa Fargo which would seem to meet requirements in terms of size, strength, load carrying capacity and pavement and off-road ride-ability. However, the bike, which may or may not be available from the Salsa dealer in HK, is a tad pricey in the US and I have no idea about its price in Asia until the HK dealer gets back to me, but I suspect that I could be looking at over $2500.

Local manufacturers have no equivalent of the Salsa available and if I can't get one out of HK for a reasonable price (below $1600), I'll stick to what I can buy here or maybe special order from the factory. I'm currently looking at a cyclo-x bike (possibly Giant TCX 1) modified to accept a rear rack and panniers. I need to check on prices of Giants and Meridas and maybe Treks tomorrow but I anticipate prices in the $750-$1300 range.

Does anybody have any thoughts, specifically about a bike? After the trip, I will keep and use the bike. Obviously, If I buy a cyclo-x bike, it has a greater daily rider potential than a salsa or any mtb. I currently own a Merida Challenger Pro mtb and a Giant OCR 3500 (my daily, or rather 4 days/week, ride).

I will be keeping an eye on this thread as I am keen to get a touring bike as well, and start touring here.

I live in Chengdu.

z

Hey HowieInChina,
what city are you in? I found a lot of high end bicycle shops in China. I even found a Specialized dealer in Jinan, who also carried all the best group sets from Japan. Everything was about 10% higher compared to Canada, but that's really cheap considering the hassles of importing yourself. A lot of the shops are not official dealers, and therefore can't be found on the manufacturers' websites. I found my first one by asking some Chinese roadies when they stopped at a cafe in Qingdao.

I'm in Zhengzhou. I'm in the process of ordering a Giant TCX 1 or 0 depending on price. That bike will become a daily rider and possibly used on a round trip to Shanghai (1200 miles). I want a Salsa Fargo, but prices in HK are $2050 plus shipping from the US plus extras - so I'm imagining around $2500. Oh, they don't ship from HK so I must go and pick it up and then import it and POSSIBLY pay duty at the border if the bike is still boxed. If it has been used, it is free. A lot of expensive bother from my point of view.

I never made it to the Trek dealer because I cycled in with two others (one on a Chinese recumbent!) and one on a my old hardtail mtb. I was in bike shorts and long-sleeve T, they were wearing long pants, t shirt, long sleeve shirt, sweater and jacket...it was 75F. The Chinese really seem to feel the cold. The mtb rider was absolutely knackered after a few kms. Needless to say, we quickly fell hours behind schedule. There is a Specialized store in town as well as Trek. I want to get some stronger wheels on the TCX though, god knows where I'll find those.

If you're not Chinese, you cannot enter Tibet without a guide and support vehicle. This costs $5000 US for a month.

I would have offered for you to come with us in mid June, but the timing is off. If anyone else is interested, contact me. We're all meeting in Kunming during the first week of June.

Yan, though that is the easiest way it is by far not the only way. Foreign nationals can enter Lhasa without a travel guide or support vehicle, they only need to be on a tour. It can be an independent tour, as long as it is provided by an approved tour company. They generally meet you at the airport or train station and get your permits issued, and then you never hear from them again.

It is true that officially you need several permits to cycle along the Tibetan plateau, and some of these may only officially be attainable in Lhasa. However several cyclists have gone just with their Lhasa permit and surrounding regions permit. They need/needed to be stamped in Lhasa (ie people train/fly their bicycle into Lhasa and then ride out... I've never met a foreign national who rode in).
Howie, if you speak Chinese I think you'll find other opportunities can be had.

Cyclists used to be able to bike between Lhasa and Nepal unimpeded. Prior to the 2008 protests it was possible to illegally cycle from Yunnan to Lhasa by crossing the border checkpoint during the pre-dawn hours. Since 2008 neither of these have been possible. I have spent months reasearching this topic online in preperation for my trip this summer, and have not discovered an account of independent bicycle touring within Tibet by foreign nationals since 2008. If you find such an account, let me know. Western Sichuan is also closed intermittently (as it is currently).

I do speak Chinese, but I don't see how that would help when I've been caught. Further, the three other cyclists I'm going with are all white, so we don't exactly blend in.

I haven't seen anything posted online about people doing such after 2008. I've only been able to talk with cyclists (both nationals and locals) in China who have done so (post 2008 protests). Speaking Chinese isn't supposed to help when you're caught if you're doing something stupid, though it will help in pretty much every other circumstance. However speaking Chinese will allow you to talk with local cyclists and inventive agents and officials who can provide insight and official documents. It's not like Australia or Canada yet, all those great little pieces of paper from officials don't come with a barcode or RFID and aren't traced in a computer system (well, some of them are). You're always taking a risk with this kind of travel, it's about risk mitigation and finding the work arounds. Those are a significant part of what makes it an adventure, at least for me.
Anyway, I'm sure you'll have an awesome time Yan. Ride safe.

I got a 2008 TCX built up for touring and it handles quite well on the fire roads and mild jeep trails of northern Arizona. Tire clearance is a little bit of an issue with fenders. The newer model years may have a little more room, not sure. I'm guessing for the rough conditions of the roads in the region, you would want clearance for 38mm tires with fenders. The 2008 definitely does not have it. Maybe someone else can chime in on the '09 and '10 models.

The wheels are pretty strong... if you have them de-tensioned and re-tensioned/trued by someone who knows what they are doing. Spoke length on my Xero XSR-4 is 289mm. Carry a few extra spokes for insurance against low-spoke count but fairly tough, reliable wheels.

What about the Chinese made Giant Trooper 3500, its a hybrid/touring bike, comes with 700x40c wheels, fenders, front and rear racks. Not sure of the cost, but if you could pick up an earlier, rim brake model which must still be in stock it would be less than 300USD.

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/zh-ht/....m/6741/42628/

An Italian guy and his partner rode over 7,000kms across China on these bikes last year, with no problems at all. Check their journal in cgoab:

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/p...id=112822&v=X8

I don`t know about the availability of good panniers in China, but you could get a friend to post you a set of say, Ortliebs, and maybe a set of foldable Marathon XRs and you`d be good to go.

Yeah, I am having problems finding good panniers. There are very few Ortliebs on Taobao, and those there are not for touring.

I will be in KL come July, and will see if I can find some there.

z