Wish List Continued...
A Rohloff Tourer
I have come to the conclusion that i need a touring bike. Something i can hook fenders, low-riders and a rear rack to. Going for longer rides, bringing stuff to eat and sleep and a change of clothes is out of the questions with my current bikes.
For maintenance free riding a Rolhoff Speed Hub seems like a really good thing. A bit pricy up front, but i guess if you compare it with buying a regular deraillure system and changing chains, cassette etc. at regular intervals you will perhaps land on the same price/kilometer in the end.
I have glanced at my Kona Dr. Dew, my flat-bar speed bike, from time to time wondering if it could do the trick. But i feel that a tourer should have drop bars and I'm uncertain if i could fit drop bars to the Dr. Dew. If anybody has experiences in doing this on a Dr. Dew or another flat bar bike please drop me a comment to this post.
Another alternative is to keep my Dr. Dew slim and fit and buy a new frame. Sheldon Brown's shop Harri's Cyclery has put together a bike based on Surly's Karate Monkey frame and a Rohloff Speed Hub that looks really crazy. But if you can imagine it with only drop bars (not both drop and flat) i think it looks really cool.
Harri's bike got disc brakes, an another thing i like with my Dr. Dew. My future touring bike will definitely have disc brakes since they are good in practically any weather and require very little maintenance. There is a problem though with the Karate Monkey frame. If you want to use disc brakes you cant use the eyelets and drops for fenders and racks which leaves you with using clip on fenders and a seat post mounted rack. If anyone out there knows of a good alternative that will fit both disc brakes, fenders and racks in a more robust way, please drop me a comment.
Read more about the Rolhoff Speed Hub over at Sheldon Brown.
Former wishes...
I have come to the conclusion that i need a touring bike. Something i can hook fenders, low-riders and a rear rack to. Going for longer rides, bringing stuff to eat and sleep and a change of clothes is out of the questions with my current bikes.
I have glanced at my Kona Dr. Dew, my flat-bar speed bike, from time to time wondering if it could do the trick. But i feel that a tourer should have drop bars and I'm uncertain if i could fit drop bars to the Dr. Dew. If anybody has experiences in doing this on a Dr. Dew or another flat bar bike please drop me a comment to this post.
Another alternative is to keep my Dr. Dew slim and fit and buy a new frame. Sheldon Brown's shop Harri's Cyclery has put together a bike based on Surly's Karate Monkey frame and a Rohloff Speed Hub that looks really crazy. But if you can imagine it with only drop bars (not both drop and flat) i think it looks really cool.
Harri's bike got disc brakes, an another thing i like with my Dr. Dew. My future touring bike will definitely have disc brakes since they are good in practically any weather and require very little maintenance. There is a problem though with the Karate Monkey frame. If you want to use disc brakes you cant use the eyelets and drops for fenders and racks which leaves you with using clip on fenders and a seat post mounted rack. If anyone out there knows of a good alternative that will fit both disc brakes, fenders and racks in a more robust way, please drop me a comment.
Read more about the Rolhoff Speed Hub over at Sheldon Brown.
Former wishes...
posted by Johan Mörén at 9:51 am PermaLink
6 Comments:
The problem with using an internally-geared hub for touring is that if something DOES go wrong with it, you will be totally stranded as most bike shops don't have the knowledge or equipment to service it. This isn't a problem on a commuter, but a 1000 miles from home it could really cause some hassle.
Andy
Yeah, I can imagine that. But I will mainly go for shorter trips (300-500 km) here in Sweden. Also the Rohloff hubs seems to have a really good track record when it comes to durability.
/Johan
Johan,
I say: WOO HOO to getting a touring bike. For general riding around, commutting and going out on longer rides to look at things, they are the best. I love mine.
That hub looks cool, but one thing to keep in mind is that while you may start out on 300-500k rides, you will most likely find yourself thinking of taking months off at a time and riding across the American Southwest or going to Moscow or some crazy adventure. It gets under your skin that way.
I've actually had a bit of issue getting my campy gearing fixed out on the road, for example. So when I finally get ready for Moscow, I am getting things as basic and simple as I can.
One other thing, when I get back to Boston next month, I am going to Harris to get a Brooks saddle.
Knox,
I'm a father of two girls, six and two years old. I guess my ride to Moscow will be possible 15 years from now :)
/Johan
Johan,
I can't help but think you're going to have a family that cycles together.
Late comment, I'm doing research on building a Karate Monkey up in the vein of an old Raleigh Roadster/Superbe/etc ... I was looking at running a Shimano generator hub with a disc upfront - but ran into the issue of the fenders... but I was thinking about using the Bethoud chrome fenders, they come undrilled, so with a clamp you could potentially mount the struts higher on the fork (or the seatstays in the rear) and drill strut mounting holes accordingly on the fender probably lower down on them... http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/berthoudinst.asp
Post a Comment
<< Home