Very nice expedition

Not loaded, I am just excited to have a real touring bike, finally.

Nice paintjob on that bike- something a little different. It looks like the same Suntour/Diacompe component mix that my RB-T came with.

Ditto!

such a good feeling, eh

Yup, good feeling indeed. Specially for $65 with pump and computer and its my size.

Surly Long Haul Trucker overlooking Yosemite Valley Sept. 2009. LHT, campy veloce shimano xt drivetrain with Jtek, Schwalbes, Ortlieb panniers, Tubus racks, Brooks B17 Ti, Bear canister.

now that is shopping.

From our last tour in Argentina and Chile (the lakes district)

Mine's the Cannondale, Hers is the KHS.

I do have a touring bike at home, but for this trip, with lots of off-road riding, we prefered the mountain bikes.

Oren

Lucky! I paid $220 and had to replace the tape and seat and get bottle cages but I am still very much in love. Just my size and my favorite bike company too.

Nice set up Oren! Tell me more about that trailer, do you like it?

i was just about to ask the same question,how does it fair under pressure like down hill and corners is it stable.thanks.

This is my second trip using a mountain-bike + trailer setup. After riding the Carretera Austral in Chile in 2005, on my touring bike, I realized MTB's are superior at this type of terrain (gravel roads with loose surface and "waves" effect)

This specific trailer was named Carry Freedom Y-frame, but is now sold under the name "Wandertec" (https://www.biketrailershop.com/catal...000-p-379.html)

Two wheel trailers have some disadvantages over the more popular single wheel BOBs:

-They are wider, which causes a problem in city rides and on technical trails;
-They don't track the rear wheel like the BOB, so you need to be cautious in tight turns;
-And the worst thing: they can flip over.

There are some advantages:

-The Y-frame is as-light-as the BOBs, but can carry more weight and bigger items;
-It doesn't affect the bike handling like single-wheel trailers (which have to tilt with the bike), so all you feel is the extra weight, but the handling is like that of an empty bike;
-You can lean the bike wherever you want, or even on the ground (a tricky task with BOBs);
-You can quickly attach / disattach the trailer while it's loaded (No-no with single wheel trailers)
-You can use the trailer to haul the bike/s on airports and bus terminals, when they are boxed (a nightmare in trips)
-And, unlike BOBs, it folds flat for transportation.

In one sentence: in smoother the terrain, the two-wheel trailers are better. On really difficult off-road terrain, single-wheels are better.

I learned that the two major guidlines for avoiding flip-over are:

a. pack the heavier items as low as possible.
b. use low-enough air pressure on the trailer wheels. High air pressure increases the chanses of flipping-over. On the last trip I used Shwalbe Big Apple tires, which are very soft and have a big volume. This allowed me to reduce air pressure to a level where they act like good suspention, and still have low enough rolling resistance.

Weight: the Y-frame weights 6kg (BOB yak is ~5.5kg) Considering you give up racks and panniers, and that you can use a light bike with light wheels, the weight penalty of the trailer is not that terrible.

Oren

Thanks for the detailed reply Oren, I did ~1000 miles of the GDT with a fully suspended superlight and a bob yak. I have not seen your trailer in use, it looks interesting, going to read up more now.

Oren,

Who makes those panniers on the KHS?

The panniers where bought at REI, in 1995. They where made by Overland Equipment, from Chico, CA. I still regeret not buying their front panniers too.

They are not waterproof like ortlieb, but from any other point of view I think they are better:

- Their shape enables you to put lots of stuff inside (You need to roll the top of the ortliebs, so they are more limited)
- They have outer pockets
- Their clamping mechanism is base on simple hooks, rings and velcro straps, which means you can fix them on any point on Earth. The ortliebs has all sort of plastic parts, which will be very hard to fix when they break down.

Link: https://www.overlandequipment.com/

I'm not sure they still make bicycle panniers.

Oren

Sorry, this is about 4-5 years too late, but, it just caught my eye, you stopped in Griffith, IN...MY HOMETOWN!

Not loaded. Hope that's ok. Latest on my Thorn Sherpa. Taking off June 20 to do a Trans-Am and then off to India and then we'll see what happens. You can see the evolution on the bike here: https://ericvithalani.wordpress.com/bike/

If you need any help in India, shoot me a mail. If in south, maybe we can have a couple of beers and lunch.

Thanks, Deepak. I have family in Gujarat (my father is from there) but want to travel south for sure.

X3

Just bought this Cannondale t700 before xmas for $175. In the middle of installing crosstop brake levers/re-wrapping bars/new cables all while saving for a new technomic stem and a brooks saddle.

The 26in wheels, campy equiped Rod cycle on tour in Scotland.

Nice Sherpa. Looks like you will be able to handle about anything with that set up. Coincidentally, I also have one...and a Cross Check.

What a beauty

Decided to de convert my '87 Kuwahara Cascade from a fixed gear tourer to a fully geared tourer (and somewhere an angel got it's wings) and am getting really close to having her finished.

I have a 1988 Shasta which is almost identical that is living life as a fixed gear and could not see the sense in having two nearly identical bikes.

The Cascade really is an expedition bike with it's hand built quad butted Ishiwata frame and touring geometry and was sold / marketed as an mtb with flat bars and an 18 speed drivetrain back in '87.

I test rode a later model Miyata 1000 and found that it just did not compare in the ride department... Kuwahara made some really nice lugged frames in the mid to late 80's and this was the crown jewel in their line up.

The Cascade rides better dry, the 26 inch wheels offer a very nice ride and are bombproof, and know from experience that this bike loves to be loaded up... with a gear range of 21 to 109 it should take me anywhere I want to go be that for 100 or 1000 miles.

I always joke that as long as I have my Kuwaharas I won't need to look at a Surly.

Crappy cel phone pic...



Now...to find or fabricate some nicer racks and wait for spring.