Expedition Bicycles?

[Jonathan Hanson]

. . . bicycles?

http://www.sjscycles.com/thornwebsite/Images/bikeenlargerohloffexp.jpg


I started researching these in preparation for a project I'm planning. I want to circumnavigate the Grand Canyon by bicycle, taking in as much backcountry mileage as possible, and exploring and talking to people along the way. I plan to write a book about the trip, including a lot of natural history, but also stories about the people who live and work around and in the canyon--ranchers, rangers, the Hualapai and Navajo.

Anyway, there is a very minor worldwide industry in producing bicycles like the English Thorn models, which go beyond the normal touring bike in terms of strength and reliability. These bicycles are made for people who do things like pedal from Cape town to Cairo, or around Australia.

They're almost always steel-framed, either lugged or filet-brazed for rigidity, and incorporate braze-on fittings to carry racks and extra water bottles. They can be fitted with such things as front wheel hubs which double as generators for lights, and German Rohloff rear hubs, as in this photo, that have 14 internal gears (just this hub runs around $800), obviating the need for derailleurs and multiple front chainrings.

I'm thinking about ordering one of Thorn's Nomad frames to swap my existing components to. Here's Thorn's main website for anyone who likes the idea of a Land Cruiser in bike form:

http://www.sjscycles.com/thornwebsite/index.html

[Scott Brady]

This is very exciting Jonathan. :clapsmile

Having been an avid cyclist for nearly 20 years, I will follow your progress with great interest.

I would recommend that at least a front suspension is in order. It will make a considerable difference in your comfort and mileage per day.

My bike is dual suspension, and is like a Cadillac on the trail.


I would also be interested in how, as forum members (and friends) we can support your effort. Like bringing food and supplies, riding portions with you, etc.

[BajaTaco]

Fantastic! What a neat bike. And that sounds like a great ride too. I might have a few contacts (park personnel) on the South Rim that you may be interested in meeting/interviewing.

[Jonathan Hanson]

Thanks you guys. Contacts at the park will be very helpful, and it would be a blast to have friends join me for sections.

Regarding suspension, I've been riding an aluminum-framed MTB with a suspension fork for eight or nine years. It's a great bike (has to be--it's from a company named Scott!). But suspension is extremely problematic for carrying loads. I have a BOB trailer which carries a lot of gear and does well on rough roads, but I'd rather have all my kit on the bike for this trip. It's virtually impossible to equip a suspended bike with racks suitable for touring loads of 30-50 pounds or more.

What most people don't realize is how comfortable a non-suspended steel touring bike can be, when designed with long chainstays and a proper fork. I've ridden road touring bikes such as the Bruce Gordon models, and they soak up bumps extremely well. If you need a bit more shock absorption you can install a suspension seatpost.

Touring by bicycle is the land version of sea kayaking: you can go as far as you want, and have the satisfaction of getting there under your own power.

[Jonathan Hanson]

Two excellent resources for expedition cycling are:

www.adventurecycling.org

www.biketrip.org

[BajaTaco]

There is a couple from right here in Prescott named Tim and Cindie Travis, that are currently on a mammoth bike expedition - around the globe! And they have written a book about it too. They have been all through the Americas, and are currently in Asia. Tim offers some commentary on their site about selection of an expedition bike including a section titled "Please do not Repeat my Touring Bike Mistakes." They are using Koga World Traveler bikes

http://www.downtheroad.org/images/kogaMED.jpg


http://www.downtheroad.org/



Also, here is a nice collection of links to bicycle expeditions through South America. The site is on geocities though, so make sure you have your pop-up blocker turned on. (sorry, but it's worth it - it is a great set of links). LINK (http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Island/6810/)

[Jonathan Hanson]

I had heard about Tim and Cindie, but had no idea they were from Prescott! That is a superb site with tons of information.

Don't miss the list of records on the Biketrips.org site. Some are amazing, some just plain hilarious.

[BajaTaco]

I had heard about Tim and Cindie, but had no idea they were from Prescott! That is a superb site with tons of information.

Don't miss the list of records on the Biketrips.org site. Some are amazing, some just plain hilarious.

:Wow1: :xxrotflma Excellent! Thanks for the tip!

One of the records for example...

Flat tires : 18 in 1 day
In China/Nepal in 1996. That's what I'd call a ****y day ! Check out Corax's site (http://www3.utsidan.se/corax-e/).
Record made by Janne Corax (corax@ihateclowns.com)

:xxrotflma


Wow, the record holder named Heinz Stücke is something else. Amazing! Riding continuously for 40 years and still going...

I like this part of what he says...

" Although I never intended to travel for so long, I came to the conclusion that going into an area for a short time was simply not enough. It would be very unfair to the people who lived there. You might praise or condemn a country solely on the basis of one encounter, either pleasant or unpleasant. So I decided on a minimum of two to six months per country depending on its size. I felt this period of time would permit me to get a more realistic impression of the place. But in slowing down, time just passed by and there was always another country around the corner. I was hardly ever homesick or tired of travelling, although I have to admit that sometimes I longed for domestic comforts. "


:clapsmile

[DesertRose]

Great information, BajaTaco, thanks!

Ironically, I had found Tim and Cindie's website earlier this year, looking for something unrelated to biking. I bookmarked it, it was so good.

I also just Googled Heinz Stücke, and found this wonderful article:
www.gluckman.com/Bikeman.html

Truly inspiring for all aspiring adventurers. Clearly the biggest limitation we all have for doing such things is . . . ourselves!

Roseann

[articulate]

There is a couple from right here in Prescott named Tim and Cindie Travis, that are currently on a mammoth bike expedition - around the globe! And they have written a book about it too. They have been all through the Americas, and are currently in Asia. Tim offers some commentary on their site about selection of an expedition bike including a section titled "Please do not Repeat my Touring Bike Mistakes." They are using Koga World Traveler bikes
http://www.downtheroad.org/ I don't post up much, but this thread has piqued my interest. I ran into that website years ago when they were "merely" in Mexico; and it ocurred to me that I could do what they were doing.

Partnering has been tough, though. My wife was willing to humor me for a Canyon de Chelly bike trek which only took a day to complete. Now she wants to bike across England someday soon.

So I have no social foundation to horn-in on Jonathan's trip, but I'm slobbering to do some extensive riding around the mighty Grand Canyon. :lurk:

Either way, what an interesting trip. How much time do you anticipate the full circumnavigation to require? Grand total mileage?

Cheers!
Mark

[Scott Brady]

How are things progressing with the expedition? It will be fun to follow your progress!

[upcruiser]

What are the dates that you are planning this for? Would be alot of fun. A friend of mine and I rode the White Rim Trail last spring. We made a pact to do it totally self supported. We used Bob trailers which worked great. Only issue was really the 7 gallon water tank I lugged around on my bob. Made the bike really hard to manage, especially on the steep decents. Those adventure bikes look really interesting and I'm going to look up more on those internal gear hubs. Sounds really cool. Anyway, here's a few pictures from my bike ride of the White Rim.. Only have two shots on this computer from the trip though. Last one shows my current bike. Specialized Epic. Best all around bike I've had yet. Fast racer, comfortable tourer, and sharp handling downhiller.

[Scott Brady]

A few of us here have riden the White Rim. I know Brittan has done most of it, and I did all of the downhills :)

I nearly killed myself on Shaffer Hill. There is a video somewhere...

[upcruiser]

A few of us here have riden the White Rim. I know Brittan has done most of it, and I did all of the downhills :)

I nearly killed myself on Shaffer Hill. There is a video somewhere...

Ha ha, yeah the Shaffer trail is definately formidable. We road from the Green River side around and up the Shaffer trail on the last day. I was hurting on that climb. We had about 45 miles of riding that last day with the Shafer trail climb being the last thing. My partner is a successful bike racer and she mad me look like an idiot, plain and simple. ha ha ha I was trying to be all nice and take the water tank, when in reality I should have sucked up my pride and let her drag it. It was a fun experience. We're looking to do something like that again this spring out in the Moab area. I'm spending more time this winter on my bike trainer though!:jumping:

[Colorado Ron]

http://coloradoron.com/images/pic1172.jpg

This is how I roll! Closest thing to a bike I have!!:shakin: :xxrotflma

EDIT:Not really mine. Just thought it would be a funny spot to put it!LOL

[kcowyo]

...We road from the Green River side around and up the Shaffer trail on the last day. I was hurting on that climb. We had about 45 miles of riding that last day with the Shafer trail climb being the last thing....

:Wow1: :Wow1: :Wow1:

I wouldn't have been able to walk for a week! Methinks someone has a masochistic streak....I couldn't even imagine.....:bowdown:

[upcruiser]

It wasn't really too bad other then the fact it was my first week back on my bike saddle since the previous fall. Honestly though, I'd do it again in a minute. The scenery was so spectacular and there is a pretty good sense of accomplishment after completing it, especially self supported. Alot of people ride the trail with support from either hired companies that bring tools, food, water, and supplies. Feels pretty good to drag all you need behind you, except maybe on those climbs!;)

Here's some more pictures, sorry about the hijack, but it is just up the river from the Grand Canyon, haha.

[upcruiser]

a few more here...

[Scott Brady]

Ok here is the video of me trying to kill myself on the Shaffer downhill.

I rode from the top to the bottom in just a few minutes... :smileeek:

VIDEO (http://www.4wdtrips.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1663&d=1103205960)

[Scott Brady]

Oh, and my trip report might be fun too

White Rim Trip Report (http://www.expeditionswest.com/adventures/2004/white_rim/index.html)

[Brian McVickers]

Great bike Scott!

I could not get the vid to play.

[upcruiser]

Yeah, I can't get the video to play either, but the pictures in the trip report were great!:clapsmile

[Jonathan Hanson]

Wow, I didn't realize this thread had taken off. Nice photos, everyone. Colorado Ron, we need to talk . . .

I started a page on the buildup of this bike:

http://jandrhanson.com/J-blog/?page_id=44

I'm going slowly because I want it to be reliable and strong. I'm thinking seriously about building my own wheels; it's a skill I've always wanted to learn.

As to when I'll go, I think the best time would be either late spring or early fall, when the North Rim is open and the South Rim isn't too hot. Right now I'm sort of tied to home, since we have a 15-year-old border collie who needs a lot of attention. It would be hard to leave for a month.

[Joaquin Suave]

I have a Rohloff hub on one of my bikes and love it! If you go that route, I would have someone that has lots experience with setting them up to fit it up on your bike! The whole concept is a little "out of the box" for most bike shop "wrench monkeys" (not that they'll admit it).

I'll gladly set it up for you if you want to bring it to me on the Central California coast. I've fitted about 20 of them to framesets over the last few years.

[DaveInDenver]

Long Live Long Rides!

Is this trip possible mostly on dirt? I did the North Rim many years ago start/finishing in St George and we followed mostly improved and unimproved dirt roads. That was 6 days for us and about 150 miles, although we had stashed food and didn't carry it all ourselves.

Connecting both South and North seems like a really good trip, just wondering what you're planning to do. This will be a bunch of road miles, something like St George to Lee's Ferry to Vegas and back, eh? Just sounds cool!

[Jonathan Hanson]

Wow, the thread lives!

Joaquin, thanks for the offer. I finally decided on a standard gear arrangement for this bike for cost reasons, but someday . . . Everyone who owns a Rohloff seems to love it.

I just bought a Park TS2 truing stand and I'm planning to build my own wheels, something that has always seemed vaguely magical to me. I'll probably build a standard set of wheels first (XT hubs, Mavic XC717 rims), then try a Schmidt generator hub on another front wheel. Ever used one of those?

Dave, I plan to make this trip on dirt as much as possible, only connecting on paved roads where it's unavoidable. I want to talk with ranchers and rangers and the Navajo who live and work near the rim. The South Rim section will probably be more on paved roads than not, but there are a lot of dirt trails over on the west side near the Havasupai area, and miles and miles on the North Rim as you know.

I plan to start at the South Rim and go counterclockwise, to Marble Canyon, then back roads as much as possible all the way across to the Nevada border near Mesquite, then down around through Boulder City and east again.

I'd love to hear more about your trip.

[Joaquin Suave]

J Hanson Wrote:


Joaquin, thanks for the offer. I finally decided on a standard gear arrangement for this bike for cost reasons, but someday . . . Everyone who owns a Rohloff seems to love it.


I can't say I blame you. Derailleurs are more efficient, but a word of warning...If you plan going "muy campo" on your bike, plan on taking a spare rear derailleur. Other than possibly in capitols of 3rd world countries it will be impossible to find a higher end unit that will match the shift indexing.

Derailleurs are dangley appendages that are BY FAR the weakest link on a off-road bicycle. Worst case, find a gear combo on your bike that you use without a tensioner then use 2 SRAM links in your chain.

Shimano has spent the last 15 years quietly buying up automatic transmission patients so that no one broadside their monoply. Good on Rolhoff!!!

J. Hanson Wrote:


I just bought a Park TS2 truing stand and I'm planning to build my own wheels, something that has always seemed vaguely magical to me. I'll probably build a standard set of wheels first (XT hubs, Mavic XC717 rims),

Warning: I'm going to be a little harsh here!

AH, a hobby...Sort of like basket weaving? Well, with baskets, if you have catstrophic failure...You drop a couple of nick nacks that were in the basket.

With wheels that are going to be UNDER YOUR ***, potentially failing and potentially making you highside over cliffs...Let a professional built the wheels for your travel bike!

I'm sure there must be a killer wheel builder somewhere near you. they're usually prown to share technique and insite if you bring them a 6-pack of their favorite brew ,then sit and watch.

J Hanson wrote:

then try a Schmidt generator hub on another front wheel. Ever used one of those?


Sorry, I dont know anything about them other than seeing pictures. The cool thing would be to set it up as a rechareing station for your MP3, Camera, Sat phone, etc.; I'm no electronic dood, but I think it would just take some diodes and ressistors??????

[Jonathan Hanson]

Joaquin, I'm seriously considering setting my gear train up without indexing, using Pal's thumb shifters. Also, I've chosen a pretty low range gear set that will allow me to use a short-cage rear derailleur, thus at least reducing the chance of trail damage.

On wheels: I hear you, and indeed know someone who will coach me on building. I'll have the opportunity to practice on at least two wheelsets before I build my touring set, so if I don't think I've nailed the process I'll still have the pro do those. In any case, I figure knowing how to build wheels can never be a bad skill to have.

P.S. I know how to make baskets too!

[Joaquin Suave]

Hey Jonathan, I'm glad you didn't take it the wrong way. I had more than my share of wheels fold up under me (in one case giving me 4 broken ribs) and preach caution when it comes to anything cycling related.

I haven't built a wheel in years, thanks to Poncho Herrera "my" local wheel Guru.


P.S. I know how to make baskets too!

I don't know how to make them, but I have one for my cruiser!

http://www.cookbros.com/Images/Fnt-Basket.jpg

[Scott Brady]

Any updates on the Thorn Jonathan? :lurk:

[articulate]

Any updates on the Thorn Jonathan? :lurk:

And updates on the trek.....!

I promise I'd make a friendly biking companion (http://www.markdstephens.com/grand_canyon_bike/index19.html). :ylsmoke:

[Jonathan Hanson]

Wow, sorry I missed the queries, you guys.

The bike project will be getting back on track soon with the promise of a working left knee on the horizon, thanks to modern medicine.

I did get the wheels built. Shimano XT hubs, Alpine spokes, and 36-hole Mavic XC717 rims. Wheels made to carry heavy loads thousands of miles and not go out of true. Tires will most likely be Schwalbe Marathons.

Next up will be brakes - probably Cane Creek - then derailleurs, undoubtedly Shimano XT. For handlebars I'd like a set of these:

http://jonesbikes.com/update/hbar/index.html

The Jones H-Bar.

[Kermit]

Jonathan,

My best friend Michael owns A.B.E. (Arizona Bicycle Experts). He rode across the country last year from The San Jauns to Boston on a Surly Long Haul Trucker with full Campy Chorus. You should give him a visted. They are located across the street from Rincon Market at Tucson Ave and 6th ST.

http://www.williams.edu/philosophy/fourth_layer/faculty_pages/jcruz/bicycles_files/surly1.jpg

I know he has been talking of doing the Continental Divide.

Tell him I sent you in...it should be good thing. :)

[Jonathan Hanson]

I will absolutely stop in to say hi. I know the Surly is a stout frame; I was seduced by the handmade English one mostly on aesthetics, although it's at least as strong as the LHT.

Very few bike shops show any interest in touring anymore, so it will be great to meet an owner who likes long distance rides.

[Kermit]

Is that his Surly in the photo?

No that isn't his bike...something I found....his bike is waaay sweeter than that. His dream tourer is a Waterford.

http://www.waterfordbikes.com/

[DaveInDenver]

His dream tourer is a Waterford.

Nice. Waterford makes some really, really nice stuff. Back in the day when I was still working in the shop, I remember the old Paramounts. It was a sad day when Schwinn decided to kill the Waterford-built Paramounts in '94, but by then Waterford was really just building them as a contractor anyway. When I was a kid I remember daydreaming about a new P13, P15, P10. We had one of the black & gold 50th Anniversary bikes from '88 in the store, talk about a beauty! My buddy rides a bright yellow Gunnar Roadie, just simply a sweet ride. Someday, someday...

[Kermit]

He also current owns a Moots single speed/geared hard tail. They made him a special dropout so he can run either or. The realy cool thing about owning a Moots, they have a room you stay in for free at Steamboat, CO. Which works out quite nicely if you are up that way.

I only have an old VooDoo single speed and a Santa Cruz 4X, and a couple of Dyno beach cruisers. I had a Voodoo Rada road bike, but, road riding bores the hell out of me...oh well, to each their own.

I used to really be into the bicycle thing, I got a little burned out on it and the culture, my KTM 300 has taken over. Life is about change and exploring new things, right? :)

[Jonathan Hanson]

The resurgence in handmade steel bicycle frames has paralleled the resurgence in fine mechanical watches, and for the same reasons.

The Waterford bikes are beautiful, as are those from so many other small makers. It's a great time to be interested in good bikes.

I'd like to have a 700C touring bike for road touring once the rough-stuff Thorn is finished, but I want to build the frame myself. There are a number of schools around which will take you through the entire process of lugged steel construction and send you home with a frame with your name on it.

[Kermit]

There is a local Tucsonian building lugged frames...check it! :)
http://www.bohemianbicycles.com/homepage.htm

http://flickr.com/photos/25271457@N00/?saved=1

[Jonathan Hanson]

I had no idea! How cool . . . . I'll have to go talk to him. Maybe he could be persuaded to take on a short-time apprentice.

[edgear]

Jonathan -- here is a good bicycle expedition book you should check out: Two Wheels North (http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=7-0870714856-1).

I'm almost halfway through it. It's about two teenagers who bike from Santa Rosa, CA to Seattle, WA in 1909. Definitely a good read!
:coffee:

[Jonathan Hanson]

That looks wonderful. I'll look for it. There's another story somewhere about a mother of three who rode across the country on a bet, in, I believe, 1894.

[Colorado Ron]

Wow, this thread has really inspired me. This last week I bought my son a new MTN bike for his birthday. Nothing high end, but nice. Got my wifes and I bike off the dusty hooks and gave them a good once over. Installed new tubes in all the bikes and ordered a trailer to haul the kids that cant ride yet. I think we are going to give it a good summer to see how we like it. Kids want to take their bikes on our big trip, but with room restraints we shall see. Just wanted to post to let you guys know we are going to give it a good try. So far I road about 5 blocks and was ready for :camping: haha. That about killed me, but hey!-One day at a time right.

[Flounder]

This thread sparked a couple random thoughts. I spent the better part of 15 years working on and off in bike shops. One day a guy rolled up to the back door of our shop in Colorado with a complete pile of junk. I looked at his rear tire and said, "that tire is so old, it won't last 10 miles." The guy just looked at me, smiled and said, "wish someone would have told me that when I left Seattle last month."

Along the same lines, I was living in Alaska working as a guide and one of our buds was planning a trip from AK to Mexico by way of the Continental Divide trail. He did it in absolute record time on a $500 Specialized Hardrock.

Every time I swing a leg over my team provided $7000 bike, I realize the gear is just a small part of the overall endeavor. But is sure is fun to buy gear!

[DaveInDenver]

our shop in Colorado

my team
What shop and what team?

[Flounder]

That particular shop was Lee's in Fort Collins. Currently I race for a team based in Flagstaff, AZ. Mostly road racing. Bikes are Scandium Voodoos.

[DaveInDenver]

Currently I race for a team based in Flagstaff, AZ. Mostly road racing. Bikes are Scandium Voodoos.
Grand Canyon Racing?

[Flounder]

Grand Canyon Racing?
Sorta. It's got a new name for the season and we split the squad. Looong story.

[ckkone]

So I'm looking for an exped bike and stumbled across this site:

http://www.pbase.com/canyonlands/fullyloaded

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

Any updates? I was wondering if you were familiar with the extracycle? or the surly frame with the extracycle built into it. They are very cool. I bought a Surly frame set to build into an extracycle, low and behold, Surly releases a frame with it already. IMO the extracycle is an outstanding idea.


I'm interested in hearing Joaquins thoughts on it as well...


http://www.surlybikes.com/bigdummy.html

http://www.xtracycle.com/

[riverfever]

Man...I suppose you could haul a ton of gear with that XTRA cycle. I just wouldn't want to be pulling that much weight. For those that are interested in riding trails (where the XTRA cycle might not be able to get to) check out Jeff Boatmans website. This guy makes really nice bags that are frameless and he does custom work as well. I'm going to have him make the bags I'll use in the Colorado Trail Race as soon as I get the new frame in and refine my gear list. His company is called Carousel Designs and he really knows his stuff.
http://carouseldesignworks.com/CDWpage1.html

-Chris

[Flounder]

Any updates? I was wondering if you were familiar with the extracycle? or the surly frame with the extracycle built into it. They are very cool. I bought a Surly frame set to build into an extracycle, low and behold, Surly releases a frame with it already. IMO the extracycle is an outstanding idea.


I'm interested in hearing Joaquins thoughts on it as well...


http://www.surlybikes.com/bigdummy.html

http://www.xtracycle.com/
The Xtracycle widgets are anything but "expedition." They're great for knocking around town and grabbing things from the store, but you wouldn't want to do a long haul on that thing. As for Surly bikes, they're pretty low tech. They just recently started getting away from basic 531 tubing that was one notch above what I have in my house for plumbing. I've owned a couple Surly rigs. Very cool in the sense they're dirt cheap.

With many things, there's always a feeling that certain things need to be re-invented, when really that isn't the case. A good simple bike fitted with quality panniers and racks will fit any and all touring needs.

[Guest1111]

You should check out the Riding the Spine website. Those boys are all doing that trip on either Surly Big Dummies (a variation of xtracycle innovation), or similar bikes. None of them are doing their expedition with just racks and panniers. I have a good touring bike with good racks and panniers--but there is no way I would attempt an expedition like theirs on what I have. So when you say those rigs are anything but expedition, you must mean expeditions to the next county, or the next state, or even across one continent--and all on roads or well kept trails at best. If, however, you are doing an on/off-road expedition across multiple continents, you'd be smart to consider one of those "anything-but-expedition" rigs. And all the better that you can kick around town and go to the grocery store with them as well! Keep reinventing, I say. If no one reinvented, we'd all still be riding boneshakers anyway. Kudos to xtracycle and surly.

[dieselcruiserhead]

I have a bunch of Surly components, several forks and few cogs and chain rings. Most of the comments are spot on, super basic, steel, and great... If anyone needs a fork I actually have a Karate Monkey fork that would fit a massive tire I've been meaning to get rid of...

Anyway, for anyone interested an excellent blog from a real expedition biker... This guy is a famous wheel builder as a profession and is a winter expedition biker and competes, mostly using Moots titanium products. He is also an amazing bike photographer and supplied a lot of the photos I am using for the new White Brothers fork manufacturer web site. Earlier in his posts he talks a lot about packing and keeping things light and hauling trailers. Very good information....

http://lacemine29.blogspot.com/
His wheel building company, www.lacemine29.com

[Flounder]

You should check out the Riding the Spine website. Those boys are all doing that trip on either Surly Big Dummies ...... So when you say those rigs are anything but expedition, you must mean expeditions to the next county, or the next state, or even across one continent--and all on roads or well kept trails at best. If, however, you are doing an on/off-road expedition across multiple continents, you'd be smart to consider one of those "anything-but-expedition" rigs. And all the better that you can kick around town and go to the grocery store with them as well! Keep reinventing, I say. If no one reinvented, we'd all still be riding boneshakers anyway. Kudos to xtracycle and surly.
I'd still rather not ride one for longer than a grociery run. I've done several longer tours including Prudhoe Bay to Arizona via the Continental Divide on pretty basic mountain bikes. I've ridden from Antwerp, Belgium to Sienna, Italy on my road race bike with a courier bag and from Casa Blanca, Morroco to Dakar on a $500 mountain bike. Anything is possible. That said.....you couldn't pay me to ride an Xtracycle for more than 30 miles. The best tour was on my road race rig with a courier bag. We knocked down multiple 150 mile days.

[dieselcruiserhead]

Related to the gentleman I posted about above, I just completed the new web site for White Brothers http://www.whitebrotherscycling.com - this gentleman took the vast majority of the pictures... White Brothers could easily build you a custom suspension fork for the weight carrying capacity you are looking for. They are also hand built in Colorado. The IMV forks are wonderful and stiff and have strong resitance to bumps even with loads. But their Fluid forks would be wonderful too... Take a look at their tandem forks for example, they are able to take their shock platform and build a variety of weight and resistance capabilities. In the last couple years these guys ahve also become very cutting edge. I own one of their forks and the 29er crowd absolutely loves them. I would be happy to put you in touch with as I am friends with their director of marketing...

I am also now working with a new Mountain Bike manufacturer here in Utah, building bikes a lot like Surly but higher quality steel and lighter, arguably some of the strongest frames in the country and handmade here in Utah. In addition to their web stuff looks like I will be doing some sales and marketing for them as well. If you would like to come up and hand build a frame, as soon as some of the production frames are completed and things slow down, we would be happy to have you come up and build the frame of your choice. Currently we are TIG welding our frames but we could look into lugging. One of the companies that is looking to purchase a number of frames from us to market under their own brand name is also having us look at more retro-lugged frames. In this case it would not be necessary strength-wide but certainly does add a nice asthetic feel. I will send you a PM about this Jonathan... Cheers, Andre

[DaveInDenver]

Whether or not the Xtracycle is any good for long distance touring, I dunno. I'm happy with the B.O.B. personally. A friend here at work rides his Xtra'd Cannondale about 15 miles to work and his experience is the extent of my knowledge about them. Well, other than the review of the Big Dummy in the current Dirt Rag.

But I will say this, the Soulblender is friggin' genius. My buddy put one on his Xtra and he's the pimp at the Big Wheel races. Fresh blended margaritas and smoothies are definitely the express elevator to big dog status.

http://www.bikeblender.com/

http://www.bikeblender.com/images/jamis%2Bb3%2Bxtra_lg.gif

http://www.bikeblender.com/images/howitworks.gif

[Jonathan Hanson]

The White Brothers forks look impressive, Andre. And I'm delighted to hear about any new American custom frame builder.

I do have a fondness for lugged frames, but I have to admit that from what I know about modern frames and metallurgy it's mostly an aesthetic preference.

They sure are pretty, though . . .

[efuentes]

I am hooked @ http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/

... Just can get off the site.

Check this Journey

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=3Tzut&page_id=67898&v=Dy

Saludos

[riverfever]

oohhhhhh nice find man. There's some neat stuff on there.