Medium format on a bike.

[Poisson Du Jour]

Has andys talk on wine gotten you thirsty? ...

LOL!!
Might be the green tea with cinnamon...
Anybody coming on my ride? To the beach and back (62km return), with chocolate stops.

 

[df cardwell]

This afternoon, 24 miles in a light snow fall.... didn't go to the beach.

650b fixie cut through the packed snow, survived the ice, and rolled nice on the road.

The engine is toast. It's Pappy time.

.

 

[3Dfan]

I would prefer a steel frame. If a steel frame breaks you will always find someone who can bend or weld it back into shape. That may be a problem with bamboo.

That's what duck tape is for.

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

That's what duck tape is for.

!

My ride complete, 64.3km, a break for a an affagato with Baileys and orange cake, a Tobelrone, munching some jelly babies as I rattle along with very little traffic to speak off. Bliss!

 

[df cardwell]

That's what duck tape is for.

The Handyman's Secret Weapon.

I have to remember McRoo isn't having his Bamboo Bike built by Uncle Red...

.

 

[Andy K]

It's Duct tape.

 

[Steve Smith]

Or Gaffer's tape! (although to be fair there is a Duck brand of duct tape).


Steve.

 

[Andy K]

Or Gaffer's tape! (although to be fair there is a Duck brand of duct tape).


Steve.

Gaffer tape is different to duct tape. Gaffer tape can be removed without damaging whatever it was stuck to.

 

[wclark5179]

Let me tell you how it's been for my business. When I was film based, I took a fairly large cooler just for film to each gig that I did. I had it divided into compartments, trays stacked on each other, each film with a little area. I had another container to store exposed film. I had black & white film in 35mm and 120 and 220 in many ASA and brands. I had color film in 35mm and 120 and 220 in many ASA, temperatures, positive & negative and brands. I carried polaroid film for film backs to determine what I was doing. I had 35 mm and medium format cameras, lenses, accessories. With medium format many film backs.

That's all gone now.

I use one camera, it's like a 35mm body. I have two other backup cameras that I use with lenses as I see fit. I keep unexposed media in my left pocket, exposed in my right pocket. Never have to worry about losing a box of exposed film or what flavor it is.

Do you get the idea?

If you're going to use film for a trek like you're going on I would periodically mail exposed film to a predetermined destination, just to be safe. How much film are you going to take? How much color & how much B&W?

Something to think about. Especially on a wonderful journey you're going to take.

Sorry, I don't mean to offend any film users! I use film but thought I would give my take on the other stuff since this person is about to undertake perhaps a once in a lifetime experience. I do photograph, what is for some, a once in a lifetime event.

Good luck!

 

[Steve Smith]

Gaffer tape can be removed without damaging whatever it was stuck to.

Not the stuff I use!


Steve.

 

[Venchka]

Come on! 35 miles a day for a month. Anyone could do that. Even if they took seven hours a day to do it, they'd be strolling it at 5mph! I could easily ride 35 miles in a little over two hours without breaking a sweat!

To all of the "35 miles a day is too short" folks.

Agreed. In perfect weather. On perfect flat roads. On an unloaded bike.

Lets add a few variables. Wind. Elevation for those coming from sea level. Wind. Mountains. Touring load. Rain. Mountains. Wind. Get my drift? Visit GOOGLE maps. Look at the route between Logan, UT and Montpelier, ID. 26 miles up. 6 miles down. 30 miles flat. That was day 2. On the Touring Motobecane from Hell. It looked like a touring bike in the showroom. It was a limp noodle on the road. Shakiest rear triangle ever made. Never again.

During my 750 miles in 12 days tour of Utah-Wyoming-Idaho my longest day was about 75 miles & my shortest day was 35 miles. The first week ate my lunch. The second week was a piece of cake. Conditioning on the tour worked miracles. Coming from sea level I was ill prepared for the Rockies. Riding in the Rockies got me fit in a hurry.

McRoo: I had a revelation last night. Since you plan to depart Prudhoe Bay on July 1, use the month of June as a pre-trip shakedown. In the Rocky Mountains and inter-mountain high elevation desert basins of the U.S.A. & Canada. Increase your daily ride total to 100kms-120kms. Ride off pavement as much as possible. The western mountains are laced with miles and miles of graded and ungraded dirt roads. A perfect training laboratory for Central & South America. Use this month to find out what works. What doesn't work. What you really need. What you really don't need. 30 days. 2,000 miles or 3,300 kms minimum. Do that and Prudhoe Bay to Vancouver, B.C. will seem like a lark in the park.

Interesting. Calgary, AB to Fairbanks, AK is 3,233 kms or just under 2,000 miles. Vancouver-Fairbanks up the Cassiar Highway would be more adventurous and more in keeping with what you will find after you leave the relative comfort of Alaska & Canada and the US west coast.

Dead Link Removed

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

For giggles. There is a brand of tape in the US that makes duct tape, and it's called 'Duck Tape'... Then also don't forget about Gorilla tape. Stronger than glue.

It's Duct tape.

 

[df cardwell]

It's Duct tape.

My esteemed British Friend,

It is either both Duck or Duct,
or just Duck.

From the OED (1904) referring to canvas duck tape to seal seams,
or 1942, Johnson & Johnson introduced permacel ( canvas duck tape with waterproof, sticky backing) used to seal seams and everything else. Soldier lingo... duck tape.


The product was used in the construction boom after the war, and in time, became silver to go with ... ducts.

Today, duct tape is vastly different from Duck tape which is different from the various forms of Gaffers tape. I carry both Duck tape and Gaffer's tape, and use Duck Tape as label material in the darkroom.

Duct tape, however, sucts.

pax

 

[df cardwell]

On a serious note, what are you doing for wheels and tires ? Lights, and fenders ?

Can you replace broken spoke ? How much dish will the Calfee want for the back wheel ?
Are you riding repairable gear, or complicated stuff that is no longer repaired but replaced in bike shops ?

How much weight are you carrying ? Is your Calfee going to have a enough miles in its development to give you an indication where to carry your weight ? There is very little connection to designing and building a hot off road bike and building an expedition bike. Will it ride straight, and descend without shimmy... or go straight on the flats, for that matter ? I have a queasy feeling in my gut that my 30 year old Jack Taylor WILL do all these things and your bamboo bike won't, because the builders don't know how to design that kind of bike.

Ever need to shift into a derailleur's granny gear, under load, moving really slowly, or have to stop suddenly, and re-start on a hill ... on dirt ... carrying 20 pounds of photo gear and 80 pounds of everything else ? There is a reason self contained riders love the Rohloff (besides there not ever being one that broke).

I don't mean to be overly challenging, or confrontive,
but these are real issues in our bike world today,
and there are some bikes that work, and most that don't,
and - like photography - it isn't because a bit of magic gear, it is in HOW it is done.

Here is a fine resource, http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com/vbqindex.html

 

[Venchka]

Exactly the point I have been making. Or trying to make. Mr. Cardwell has done a better job of it.
What is the geometry of the Bamboo bike? Geometry matters. I made mention of my first touring bike above. While it had most of the correct features to LOOK like a touring bike, the frame lacked essential stiffness both front and rear. The wheels were probably the most touring worthy component-Belgian made Wienman (sp?) concave Mack truck rims and large flange hubs. Strong. Simple. Easily maintained. My second touring bike was a Gary Fisher mountain bike. Stiff frame. Fat tires. Useless Shimano shifter/brake levers. Worse than useless flat bars. I abhor flat mountain bike bars. When I went shopping for my third touring bike, the Co-Motion Americano stood out as a go anywhere machine. Dishless rear wheel. Oversized tandem tubing. Sealed Swiss DT hubs & spokes. Relatively fat tires. Bar end shifters. Custom fit. After 5,000+ miles of riding and 1,000+ miles of loaded touring I had figured out what worked for me and what didn't work for me.

http://www.adventurecycling.org/

Your Mileage May Vary.

 

[Vaughn]

I got lucky in my choice of a touring bike -- it was an early Trek 850, when they were still being made in the USA. The geometry was not good for a mountain bike -- up steep climbs on dirt, sitting on the seat caused the front tire to lift -- putting any weight on the handle bars would cause a loss of traction in the rear. But the slightly long wheelbase (which I think was causing the climbing problem) ended up very nice for touring -- stiff frame (steel) that could take the 300 pounds on the bike -- especially bombing down mountain passes on washboard gravel roads.

Having 1.9" hybrid tires helped, too -- needed that air volume for all that weight!

Vaughn

 

[Venchka]

Funny how critical the little things become in the Real World that can't even be noticed on the showroom floor or tame terrain.

 

[Vaughn]

Just an observation about touring and distance. Time of day has a hell of a lot to do with making distance. Case in point:

I was camping on the west coast of NZ's South Island. I got up pedaled half the day down the coast and arrived in Haast for lunch (it was Sunday and the pub was closed -- had to do with a couple sausages from the petrol station), had a nice lunch, even without the beer, along the Haast River. I then headed up the river valley with a nice breeze at my back -- one of the most pleasant days of riding I have had....shirt off, checking out waterfalls, and just plain enjoying the ride.

I had planned on camping where the road starts to climb up to Haast Pass, but I got there so refreshed (and the mossies and sandflies were obnoxious) that I headed up and over the Pass (and bombed down the back side on that washboard gravel road mentioned above). As I was bombing down I saw a group of bike-tourers camping just off the road, I waved but continued down to a motor camp a few more miles.

The next morning I has having tea at the tearoom next to the motor camp -- and joined a table of the three bikers I saw camping the previous afternoon (two lovely Canadian ladies and a Yank bloke from Arizona. We got to talking and I mentioned that being a wildlands firefighter, I knew to take advantage of the afternoon upcanyon winds for a very pleasant ride up the Haast River Valley. The two ladies looked over to the Yank who was turning red. Turns out, he was also a wildlands fire fighter, but had gotten his winds turned around. He had gotten the two ladies up at 6am to ride up the same valley -- supposively to take advantage of the upcanyon wind. But as any firefighter should know (their lives depend on it), in the mornings the winds are always down canyon, and up in the afternoon (unless weather is coming and the winds over-power the daily pattern).

So instead of a pleasant relaxing ride, after a leisurely morning around their oceanside camp. They got up early and beat themselves up fighting a headwind all the way up the valley, struggled over the pass and had a very tiring day. I had ridden much farther and had a great day.

 

[McRoo]

Hehe, thanks for all your concerns guys.

Will definitely use the last few months before the trip to go on some long trips to test the bike fully loaded as well as getting into tiptop shape.
Mountains are hard to find in Holland, but there sure is wind and rain, haha.

The geometry of the bike is conform trekking/touring bikes. We have checked this, yes. The frame itself has been tested in Germany by a bike testing facility and passed all the touring related tress points. It performed at par with modern touring bicycles, also on the issue of stiffness.
Now how this relates to practice? I don't know. Nobody knows.. But this is part of the challenge, call us stupid, naive or whatever. We are still doing it You know there is even is a guy who is penny-farthing the world, with success I might add?

Now back to camera's. I came across a Rolleicord Vb today in good shape for a decent amount of money. Fits the profile, might go for this cam..

 

[olleorama]

Hehe, thanks for all your concerns guys.

Will definitely use the last few months before the trip to go on some long trips to test the bike fully loaded as well as getting into tiptop shape.
Mountains are hard to find in Holland, but there sure is wind and rain, haha.

The geometry of the bike is conform trekking/touring bikes. We have checked this, yes. The frame itself has been tested in Germany by a bike testing facility and passed all the touring related tress points. It performed at par with modern touring bicycles, also on the issue of stiffness.
Now how this relates to practice? I don't know. Nobody knows.. But this is part of the challenge, call us stupid, naive or whatever. We are still doing it You know there is even is a guy who is penny-farthing the world, with success I might add?

Now back to camera's. I came across a Rolleicord Vb today in good shape for a decent amount of money. Fits the profile, might go for this cam..

Was it the German magazine tour who tested the frame? If so, it should be reliable.

You could go to France for practice, a lot of nice cols...

 

[Venchka]

Was it the German magazine tour who tested the frame? If so, it should be reliable.

You could go to France for practice, a lot of nice cols...

Find out where the Tour is going this year. Ride the climbs. More than once. Per day. You will find out things that no bike testing lab will ever know.

The camera you found sounds good. I know it goes against advance preparation, but used cameras are so much cheaper on this side of the Atlantic. You could almost wait until you get here.

 

[Andy K]

McRoo, if you want practice take a cycle tour through Germany's Black Forest region, or up into the Austrian Alps, or even down through the French Pyrenees.

 

[Venchka]

I just had another Lightbulb: Bill Murray said it best in Meatballs: "It just doesn't matter."

By the time you get to Fairbanks you will be touring fit. By the time you get to Vancouver, maybe sooner, you will know what works and what doesn't work.

Ride on!

 

[Vaughn]

I just had another Lightbulb: Bill Murray said it best in Meatballs: "It just doesn't matter."

I am afraid that was my philosophy on my NZ tour. I arrived in NZ, put my bike back together, loaded all my stuff on the bike (for the first time) and rode off.

I got about ten feet, put the rear derailer thru the spokes and snapped it off. And I thought..."I have never toured before, I have 6 months on the bike in front of me, and I can't even get ten feet!" The dropout, or whatever one calls the thing the derailer hangs on got bent inward on the plane.

Got a lift in the shuttle bus that dropped me off in front of the only open bike shop in Auckland (on a Saturday), bought a new derailer, screwed up the threads on the dropout trying to straighten it, so used the hook thingy that came with the derailer. And off I went through downtown Auckland heading towards a youth hostel fully loaded for the first time (much later when I broke a rear tire spoke, a bike shop retapped the dropout and I was back to "normal".)

Things got better...I started off in good physical condition (a summer of hiking and building trails in the wilderness) but not bike-fit. I soon was, though!

 

[Venchka]

There you go.