Bike

Will be riding it all day, comfortability is paramount!

Bike contain many components, but I’ve modified the bike to more like touring bike for this trip.

anatomy-road-bike

Frame

Steel frame – tough and easier to fix in less developed countries, very easy to find welding tools in any part of the world. Its a lot heavier than aluminium and carbon fibre, which isn’t much a problem for touring bike.

Long wheelbase (length between middle of the two wheels) for stability – very important when there are 20Kg of panniers in the back.

Gears

Will be going through “Roof of the world“, so will need as much gears as possible for those big mountains.

Wheels

Strong wheels that can go off road and take all those weight in the back, generally more spokes the better as it provide more support for the wheel.

Tyres

Big thick tyres that will last for a long time, withstand rough roads and small sharp objects, big tyres have more surface contact area with the road, hence its more stable.

Saddle

Will be seating on a bike for most of the time, a comfortable saddle is a must. Brooks saddles will transform itself to the shape of your ass!

Handlebar

Will be holding the handlebar all the time, contact with the handlebar is through bar tape which will act as absorber, all the energy riding through a rough road will transfer all the wall to the handlebar, bar tape and finally you, a good frame will reduce those vibration energy coming from the wheel to you. A good bar tape is a must, because it your hand contact with the bike, plus is a lot cheaper to buy more bar tapes than buying a whole frame.

Stem

Stem make how long the handlebar extend out, and the angle of your handlebar, there are very important measures, because it determine what sort of riding position you can have, its better to have lower drop handlebar for racing, so your head is pointing downward more to make it more aerodynamic, but for this trip, its better to have more upright riding position, otherwise my back might not be there after couple days!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *