About our bikes

For the next few months our bikes will be our home and we would like to tell you something about them.

We decided to buy our bikes in Germany. It is better to have a bike you know and can rely on.

After visiting a few shops in Karlsruhe we came across Andreas in the Nordstadt. He designed our bikes exatly to our demands.Here a link to his website: http://www.fahrrad-gruner.de/

Componenets 

We decided to buy custom made bikes based on the steel frame of the German company "PATRIA" Terra modell. Here some more details: http://www.patria.net/en/bicycles/terra/ 

Doro has the trapzium cross frame for easier hopping on and off the bike. Very practicle for rather short people or ladies anyway. (my personal opinion)

Andreas measured our perfect sitting position on the bike and the frame has the size fitting exactly our bodies. And we can tell you: you can really feel it! The bikes felt from the very first kilometer like they are ours ever since.

Gear

Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14. That is for both of us the first time with an internal gear and we are very satisfied. It is a great enhancement on the road and makes the tour even better and more comfortable.

Wheels

Are from a Dutch company RYDE, the modell Big Bull 25 mm. Heavy duty, down hill, extremely stable and rigid, robust... and heavy, but that is important to carry us and the heavy load!
Here some more if you would like to get the details:
About RYDE 

Tyres

We are using 26" tyres, since it is easier to get spare parts all over the world for this size. We have Schwalbe Marathon Mondial tyres, quite a few (5) tubes and repair kits.


Saddle 
We both ride Brooks leather saddle. That is Doros first Brooks and she had no problems at all with it being to hard. She decided agains a "softer" gel saddle and it proves to be a very good decision! That is the one.
Peter took his old Brooks on which he rode a few thousands kilometers aready, there was not an option to decide for anything else;-) Peters saddle

The lights & dynamo
We want to be independent in terms of energy supply and decided to get a Dynamo hub that would allow us to load some devices through a delivered USB cable. So far we have loaded our phones only via self made energy, also the GoPro batteries get loaded this way. It works perfect! If we go 19-20km on average, we can load our phone completely in ca. 2 hours... and then use it for taking pictures because most of the time there is no net anyway ;-)

Additionally if it happens that it rains or it gets a bit late we are very well visible on the street, because the lights are quite strong. If the lights are on you would not be able to load the devices, fair enough!

Front & Rear penniers

Like most of the European touring cyclists we are using the Ortlieb penniers. Doros 2 back penniers are Vaude though. Also very good quality, waterproof penniers, in use everyday! for more than 5 years now.
Our advise for long tours if choosing Ortlieb: choose Ortlieb classic models, where you can pack the bags up to the top and you can still close them. Other systems may not allow you to put stuff above a certain level in the bag, because of the lock and click system.


Racks

In the front and in the back we use Tubus front racks that are very stable and can carry the needed weight up to 40-60kg.

 

Further equipment

As mentioned in the dynamo section we would like to be independent loading our devices. Since we are in Australia, how about using the solar energy for that?? Why not! There are great companies doing a lot for freaky people walking, skiing, climbing simply being outside, to deliver lightweight solar panels and power bags.

We decided for a combination of 2 devices from different companies:
Solar panel from Goal Zero and a power bag from Powergorilla. They had the best weight and parameters for us: Go to see the shop

So far we are happy with this solution, especially in the evenings when we can watch some movies in the tent (thanks Robert!!)
 And here we are just loading it during a break: (see on the ground)

Bike transport

Depending on the airline you choose you can put the bikes in carton boxes of a certain size and put them on the aircraft. Make sure you check the luggage limitations and compare the flight/over luggage prices before you book the flight! An additional weight may cost hundreds of euros, so it is sometimes worth to decide for the (at the first glance) more expensive ticket.