I’ve had a few people ask me gear that was really important to the bike trip.
Here are a few things…
- Cycling gloves with a lot of padding. The gloves I normally use aren’t expensive, and they have a lot of padding in the meaty part of the palms. My gloves were temporarily lost, so I replaced them with a different pair. I hated the new pair. At the end of the trip, I could barely extend my fingers and my wrists were killing me. Hand and wrist pain was a constant problem for me on the trip. While I think I would have had some discomfort even with my normal gloves, I think it would have been less. So if you have hand and wrist issues, good, padded gloves are important.
- A pump with an easy-to-convert head from Schrader to Presta. Here’s the one I like. I accidentally lost my pump along the way, and every other pump I used that wasn’t mine was a real pain to switch from Schrader to Presta. This pump has a really nice design, in that you unscrew the connector, flip it, and reattach it to go from one to the other. Easy peasy, and not too expensive.
- Ditto for a pressure gauge for the same reasons. I like this one.
- If you are going to be in cold weather, a buff. This little tube of cloth can be worn so many ways, and it can really contribute to warmth. Even in hot weather, it can provide your neck protection from the sun. I used it as a sleep mask to block light. I find they are pricey for what they are, but considering I used mine so much I feel Ok about replacing the one that was temporarily lost. And they come in all kinds of colors and designs for whatever strikes your mood.
- A visor. The helmet I bought didn’t have one, so I ended up buying a cycling cap to wear underneath (something else I replaced on the trip thanks to TSA’s temporary misplace of my bag). My eyes are pretty sensitive to the sun, so I need that extra layer of protection if I’m facing the sun while riding.
- Good tires. I wanted a relatively maintenance free trip. It was my birthday trip, after all! I didn’t want to mess with a bunch of flats along the way. So I invested in Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour tires. No flats. Barely had to pump them up the entire trip.
- A versatile toolkit. Mine included: a hex set ranging from 10-2 mm, a crescent wrench, chain lube, a pedal wrench (for reassembly after the flight), a flat change/patch kit, a screwdriver with multiple heads, a bike multi-tool, a Gerber multi-tool, and electrical tape. I didn’t use everything in the toolkit this time, but over time I have.
- Camera. Use your iPhone. Take a real camera. Whatever. Stop to take pictures…
- Earplugs. If you are a light sleeper and you’ll be camping, take ear plugs. As delightful as the birds are, they get up damn early.
- Eye mask. I already mentioned this in the buff description, but if you are camping you might want something to block light. Your buff can do double (or triple) duty.
– If at the end of a long trip you have problems with your hands and wrists,the solution is not a pair of more padded gloves,but that of adjusting your bike position (raising the handlebars etc …) a visit to a bikeshop or rather a biomechanics it is highly recommended.
– Marathon are heavy as f…,harsh as rock and hard to mount… commuter crap.
Gigi
Interesting advice, considering my bike was professionally fitted to me. I have hand and wrist issues on a day-to-day basis, so it’s no wonder I needed a little extra cushioning over the 500 miles.
My recommendation for tires was: good tires. I chose the Marathons. I found that they gave a lot of traction, they weren’t that hard to mount, and they were recommended by a few people who have done big tours. There are others out there. Go choose yours if you already know you don’t like them.
This is my list of suggested “must haves.” Use what works for you, leave the rest.
Cheers!
Comments are closed.