Bicycle Setups
Frame: Kona Unit X 2022:
An excellent value steel all-rounder with progressive trail geometry and the ability to take a 100mm suspension fork.
I have the XL size and am 185cm tall with relatively long arms.
Hazel has a near-new second-hand size Small..This size has barely any frame bag space and minimal room for most pannier racks hence she had to get the fat-tyre version of the Blackburn outpost rear rack to fit it and even this sat initially in a structurally questionable manner before we modified it after the lower bolt snapped.
I also have a Blackburn outpost rear rack in the regular model and have loved it. Very strong and light.
Outside of NZ other alternatives would be available such as from Tubus or Old Man Mountain.
Handlebar: Jones H bar:
Serious backsweep and a double bar up front gives a comfortable touring position, numerous hand positions and numerous attachment points for a secure front roll and Handlebar bags. With straight handlenars I had struggled with secure attachments which needed daily adjustment and/or running out of handlebar real estate for GPS and lights etc.
The huge backsweep is excessive and I think my ideal would be more like 25-30degrees to be more versatile with technical riding, but I am content for now on this trip so far.
Hazel has a straight MTB style alloy bar by preference for improved handling.
Grips: Ergon cork GP1
I have had the same ones for 6 years and they're still going strong. I love them. Admittedly they're chunky and grip limiting on technical rides but I'm happy with the compromise.
Hazel has Ergon GA3 grips for firmer mountain-bike-style grip whilst still having some wing to distribute load on all day touring .
Saddle: Brooks B17
Excellent. The short break-in period was uncomfortable but after only a few weeks of regular commuting it started to feel great.
I have had to reproof it on the trip, to protect the leather, using simple paraffin wax as I have no proofide with me, and it is going well. I cannot use beeswax as it is not allowed across the Chilean border. The tensioner bolt has only needed a few adjustments to tighten over several months.
I ride without a padded liner and have only had problems around the lagunas route washboard where I did start using the liner I brought just in case.
Brakes: TRP Spyke.
Excellent mechanical brakes (easily serviceable en route) with dual action. To clarify, most mechanical brakes are single action and as a result have an asymmetric compression on the rotor with less power, uneven pad wear and sometimes even bent rotors. I do like hydraulic brakes and back home will put them back on for proper mountain biking but on tour these are more than adequate.
Hazel's bike has the original Shimano MT410 hydraulic brakes on by preference. At least if these completely failed we could put one of my mech brakes on her frame, in a dire situation.
Both take the readily available Shimano B01 pad
Fork: Rockshox Judy Silver 2019
Bought near new second hand in excellent condition and serviced. For its price within my budget this is an excellent value lightweight short travel fork that can fit tyres of our size (the key decision criteria). There are not many alternatives that are affordable. Long-term I will need to either upgrade or return to a rigid fork but for now this is good enough and has functioned very well on the trip. I am glad to have had front suspension on the routes we have done so far. I admire the simplicity and durability of a rigid fork but for the traction and comfort benefits on the variety of terrain we are exploring, with flexibility to go on day mountain bike side trips or take rough alternate routes I like the suspension. Many people have managed this style of trip on rigid forks with plus tyres no problem. Indeed I was impressed with the capability of my bike as originally setup rigid in Nelson NZ, however for now I am enjoying its additional capability.
Hazel has a near-new condition second hand SID Brain 2019 100mm fork. This performs much better than the Judy and will likely last longer.
Tyres. Vittoria Mezcal 29x2.6 Graphene
Brilliant traction on all sorts of surfaces so far. Fast rolling on asphalt too. Excellent seal right from setup and what very few punctures it has taken (5 in one go when I crashed into a vicious acacia in Argentina) sealed immediately and so far remain strong. Peatys sealant.
Wheelset: Shimano hubs and WTB ST i30 2.0 rims
Basic and likely to wear out long-term but intended to be serviceable in rural South America and easy to source replacements. So far so good.
Drivetrain: 30t x 11-52t (1x12) Shimano Deore
Parts much more interchangeable and easier to replace in South America than the SRAM eagle offerings.
I replaced the original 32T for a 30T and certainly need the granny gear when fully loaded, particularly in the steep climbs of the Andes. We carried the 32T and swapped it out when on the Salars but gained little from the higher gear on the flat in comparison to the tremendous benefit of the low gears on the hills so I swapped it back. So far we have used Squirt wax lube. This has done an excellent job in dry conditions so far. I've now run out so will have to find a similar alternative for Patagonia, however the wet conditions may require a change of approach. In NZ with wet conditions I have found squirt to be inadequate and normally use Juice Lubes Viking.
Packing Lists
Dougal Clothing:
Nylon canvas allpurpose shorts (Earth Sea Sky/ESS "Crank Shorts")
Ultralight running shorts (Macpac)
Fleece pants (ESS)
Overtrousers-VentX Extreme (ESS)
Merino underwear x3 (Icebreaker)
Merino Padded Short liner -Enduro- (Mons Royale)
Merino leggings (Icebreaker)
Calf height Gaiters (Sea To Summit/S2S)
Merino long socks x2 (Icebreaker)
Merino short socks x2 (Icebreaker)
Merino long sleeve top (Macpac)
Merino ultralight 140gsm/blend t-shirt x2 (Icebreaker)
Merino 180gsm tshirt (Macpac)
Arm sun guards (Tineli)
Merino long sleeve hoodie (Icebreaker)
Down jacket (Montane Janhukot)
Raincoat (ESS Zeal Guide)
Rain/Cold gloves (Showa 406)
Alpaca knitted gloves (From La Paz, maybe acrylic fakes but warm)
Fingerless MTB gloves (Mammoth ?cheap brand but fine)
Merino Beanie (ESS)
Buff (lightweight hot weather version
Legionnaires type cap with flap (ESS)
Sunglasses (Wraparound Edge fishing glasses modified with extra tape flaps and a pair of cheap Wayfarer style spares)
Eye mask
Earplugs
Dougal Camping Gear
One Planet Bushlite -15C 4 Season Sleeping Bag
Sea to Summit Ultralight Insulated Mat [Since failed and replaced with below]
Thermarest Trailscout regular Mat
SeatoSummit CoolMax Liner
Sea to Summit Aeros Pillow Large
MSR whisperlite universal
1.6l pot (Macpac)
Spork (Doite folding titanium)
Swiss army knife (Victorinox SwissChamp)
Collapsible 480ml mug/bowl (S2S)
Sawyer Squeeze
Old 1.5l CamelBak reservoir as squeeze bag for sawyer.
Steripen Classic 3
[ Subsequently CamelBak AllClear UV USB charged Purifier]
Chlorine tabs
Dougal Tech
Sony A6500
Sigma 56mm 1.4
Sony 11mm 1.8
Sony 18-135
26mm extension tube
4 spare camera batteries and charger
Lexar RW310 SD card reader
SanDisk extreme portable 1tb SSD
SanDisk 128gb ultra usb stick
Sensor cleaning swabs x3
Lens cloth x2
Numerous spare SD cards, all Sandisk Extreme Plus 32gb+
Travel adapter
USB wall adapter x2
2xUSB-C, 1xUSB-A, 2x MicroUSB cables
20,000mah ADATA power bank
Small AA/AAA USB Charger (Klarus K1)
Knog 10w folding solar panel
Samsung Galaxy A14
Kobo Nia
Surface Go 2 8/128+wallcharger
Fenix headlamp HM65R
Front and back bike lights (Specialized)
Garmin inReach mini [Subsequently stolen in Bolivia]
Garmin etrex 20
EPIRB/PLB Safety Alert brand
Top Performers
Showa 406 Gloves
Excellent fully rubberised and insulated gloves for wet weather, cold alpine winds. Brilliant dexterity despite their bulk and traction on grips/brake levers is excellent. Very inexpensive too.
Overtrousers-VentX Extreme (Earth Sea Sky)
Brilliant high quality, heavy duty overtrousers that do an excellent job of keeping legs warm and dry despite cycling in heavy rain and strong alpine winds, yet remain breathable even on long uphill climbs in the humid Yungas. Articulated knee is brilliant for cycling.
The velcro tab at the ankle is only just long enough to cinch it down well for cycling but is good enough.
Showa 706 gloves making excellent hand protection in the freezing alpine wind at 4500m. They worked equally well in the heavy Yungas rain.
Disappointments:
Steripen Classic 3
Unfortunately, despite a fantastic experience with this for the first 10 days this unexpectedly developed a UV lamp failure, confirmed by the troubleshooting material from Katadyn. Unfortunately they needed proof of purchase to process any warranty claim. This is of course back in New Zealand not here on my travels. There also were no stockists of Steripens in Bolivia to replace it and we had no fixed address for postage (also unreliable in Bolivia).
Ultimately we were left stranded by this and needed to use our sawyer filter backup instead. Very disappointing and very frustrating that a product designed for travellers is so challenging to repair, replace or claim under warranty when travelling.
We found a CamelBak All Clear UV device in La Paz which is USB rechargeable, and designed in what intuitively seems a much more durable style. It screws onto a standard Nalgene or Camelbak bottle 63mm thread and water is dirrectly irradiated like this with the lamp protected within the lid. So far it has worked brilliantly.
Sea to Summit Ultralight Insulated Mat
To be fair this is not so much a disappointing product as a disappointing experience that was inevitable for the age of the product. I had owned this mat and had 3 years of excellent regular use from it before starting on this trip. I appreciated its compact packed size and weight and excellent performance even in alpine winter conditions. Unfortunately soon after starting our trip into the Sur Yungas one of the dimples that glue to the top side to bottom side of the mat delaminated. This tears away the airtight layer of the fabric and allows a leak. I tried first the supplied repair kit to no effect, they easily peeled away. Followed by Tenacious tape reinforcement and leaving Seamgrip on overnight. The silicon SeamGrip worked well but did not restore the dimple and securement to the bottom side so the pressure on surrounding dimples was increased. They too subsequently ripped over the following 10 days and I spent almost all of those nights without a sleeping mat as the seamgrip had to dry. Even those dimples which I had prophylactically coated in sealant ripped. I made do with cheap blankets I bought in remote villages but the whole experience was very uncomfortable and could have been more dangerous in colder conditions. Unfortunately the product would be unlikely to meet warranty conditions given the age of it and general accumulated 'wear/tear'. Availability of sleeping mat products in Bolivia is minimal to say the least. We returned to La Paz for numerous reasons but this was one of them. The only mat of a decent brand available was a self inflating style mat from Thermarest which was very bulky but would do what I needed and had the benefit of added durability. If available I would have bought the same Sea to Summit mat again.
Merino Padded Short liner -Enduro- (Mons Royale)
The merino is excellent even in hot weather and has the benefit of improved hygiene over several days of riding.
Unfortunately both of us agree the placement of the padding is not quite right. It is placed too far posteriorly to match our saddles and riding position. A such there is almost no padding where I need it over the ischial tuberosity.
When we finish I will write a follow up post to recap the highlights and lowlights of the gear and recommendations for others doing this in future.
The much repaired and repeatedly failing air mat
The end of a nasty contact dermatitis from all the glues and solvents used to repair the air mat. If you have them with you, use gloves.
The stainless steel proprietary lower mounting bolt of this Blackburn rack snapped off inside the braze-on, completely disabling the whole pannier rack, necessitating an improvised attachment to limp to the next town.
The bolt which runs through the hole which is threaded above snapped unexpectedly, causing a 2000m vertical detour.
The Steripen pretending to work whilst the UV lamp doesn't illuminate, suboptimal to happen in the middle of rural Bolivia.
Well used brake pads after a long descent into La Paz
These poorly fitting Kathmandu ultralight travel trousers were indeed fast-drying and ultralight but had no stretch or knee articulation. This had the result of rubbing up a pre-patellar bursitis which forced me to abandon the trousers.
