Equipment
*************UPDATED NOVEMBER 2009****************
NEW! Check what’s in all my bike bags/panniers!
Bicycle gear
Camping gear
Electronics
Personal stuff
Clothing
Toolkit
Miscellaneous
*************UPDATED AUGUST 2009****************
After more than 55.000 km (3.635 km pre-WT in Morocco and Tenerife, Spain) on different surfaces of the world, my baby – The Koga Miyata Worldtraveller – has naturally seen some changes over the years. Below is a somewhat detailed list of these changes.
I’ve been riding my wonderful bike through 6 continents now, and I strongly believe that it’ll serve me all the way back to Denmark in 2010. I treat it like a woman, and I guess that’s why she’s put up with me for so long without any breakdowns…
Here goes…
I. Wheels
Rear:
1. Mavic EX 721. Lasted 13.000 km (from Denmark to China). Small cracks in rim where spokes connect. Changed (to 2) in Kashgar, Western China.
2. Giant (standard). Lasted 17.000 km (from China to Australia). 10 USD rim. Side walls totally worn. Changed (to 3) in Merimbula, Australia.
3. No-name (double-walled from Taiwan). Lasted 23.000 km (from Australia to USA). New entire wheel, incl. Taiwanese hub. 110 AUD. Changed (to 4) in Montreal, Canada.
4. WTB. So far 1.000 km (from Canada to Ghana). New entire wheel, in Shimano Deore hub. 110 USD.
Front:
1. Mavic EX 721. Lasted 53.000 km (from Denmark to USA). Changed (to 2) in Wilmington, USA. Incredible durability.
2. Sun Rim Rhyno Light. So far 3.000 km (from USA to…). New entire wheel, incl. Shimano Deore LX hub. 60 USD (special discount).
II. Tyres
Rear:
1. Continental Travel Contact. Lasted 12.000 km (from Denmark to Uzbekistan).
2. Schwalbe Marathon XR. Lasted 14.000 km (from Uzbekistan to Australia).
3. Schwalbe Marathon XR. Lasted 8.500 km (from Australia to New New Zealand).
4. Specialized. Lasted 7.500 km (from New Zealand to Ecuador).
5. Schwalbe Marathon Extreme. Lasted 8.000 km (from Ecuador to USA).
6. Bontrager. Lasted 1.500 km (from Florida to North Carolina, USA), but was changed before worn out, free of charge.
7. Bontrager. So far 3.000 km (from North Carolina, USA to Ghana)
Front:
1. Continental Travel Contact. Lasted 13.000 km (from Denmark to Kyrgyzstan)
2. Schwalbe Marathon XR. Lasted 31.000 km (from Kyrgyzstan to Peru). Unbeatable durability.
3. Schwalbe Marathon
Extreme. So far 14.000 km (from Peru to Ghana). No flats until now. Knock-on-wood.
III. Cables
Gear cables:
1. A welder in Turkey broke a gear cable trying to weld my (alu!) bottle holder.
2. Same cable changed in Chiang Rai, Thailand (not broken, but hard to use).
3. Changed again in Santiago, Chile (not broken, but hard to use).
Brake cables:
No replacement.
All cables have been cleaned and oiled a few times at bike shops when I had to make major repairs on the bike anyway.
IV. Chains.
All in all, after 56.500 km on the bike (3.500 km on pre-WT trips), I’m on my 9th chain.
I’ve used Shimano HG93 (27 speed) several times, which is my favourite. This chain normally last 8.000-14.000 km.
Due to lack of HG93-availability, I’ve used the weaker Shimano HG53 twice. They’ve lasted from 5.000-7.000 km.
I’ve used a SRAM chain once. It lasted around 8.000 km. Am carriyng an extra SRAM chain in Africa now.
V. Cassette
1. Lasted 5.000 km. Changed a little pre-mature in Hungary.
2. Lasted 16.000 km. Changed in Singapore.
3. Lasted 14.000 km. Changed in Santiago, Chile.
4. Lasted 19.000 km. Changed in Wilmington, USA.
5. So far just 1.000 km….
VI. Front chain rings.
1. Middle ring changed in Singapore after 21.000 km.
2. Middle ring changed again in Medellin, Colombia after 23.000 km.
3. Small ring changed in Medellin, Colombia after 44.000 km.
4. Big ring not changed (but sort of needs replacement)
VII. Saddle
1. My beloved Brooks leather saddle served me for 54.000 km. I changed it (slightly heart-broken) in Wilmington, USA ‘cos I got a great deal for a new one, and the leather had started tearing apart around the bolts. (Never mind, it took more than 5.000 km to sort of break it in to the shape of my ass).
2. The transition to my new saddle (an aerodynamic, non-leather one with an ergonomic whole in the center of the saddle. June 2009) has been acceptable, but not painless.
VIII. Tubes + flat tyres.
I’m not counting the number of tubes I’ve used, but I reckon around 20-25, in total.
Likewise, I don’t know how many flat tyres I’ve had. Around 30, I guess. Mostly on the rear tyre where most of the weight is.
At the moment I haven’t had a flat tyre in the front for a whopping 14.000 km, thanks to a) Schwalbe’s ironwall tyres, and – to a lesser degree – b) to my carefulness and near-constant visual nails-on-the-road scanning.
IX. Bike Shoes.
1. Diadora shoes. 60 USD. Lasted 52.000 km (minus a few thousand km of flip-flop cycling in Asia). They were a very trusty, if smelly and worn, set of friends to me. RIP in Wilmington, USA.
2. New Shimano RT51 shoes. So far 3.000 km and feeling great.
X. Brakes
No replacement or problems whatsoever.
XI. Brake pads.
Naturally, I’ve changed the brake pads numerous times. Approx. 6-7 times on rear, 4-5 times on front. I remember a steep decent in heavy rain in Turkey near Posof and the Georgian border that almost wore out a set of front brake pads from all the braking in rain. Changing pads is a 5 minute operation.
XII. Bottom Bracket.
1. The original lasted 28.500 km and was changed in Melbourne, Australia.
2. The second one lasted 26.000 km and was changed in Montreal, Canada.
3. I don’t expect another chance before I reach Denmark in 2010.
XIII. Head set.
Cleaned and re-greased in Singapore, after 22.000 km.
XIV. Pedals.
No replacement. Just occasional oil-drops.
XV. Frame.
No fiddling, welding or problems at all. It’s a Koga Miyata goddammit!
The frame has some strange surface freckles around the holes where the bottles are attached, probably due to a lot of salty sweat from me dripping on those parts. It’s only cosmetical. But the Koga is still a beauty!
XVI. Racks.
The Tubus bike racks have done an amazing and impeccable job. No break-downs, weldings etc. Super strong and reliable.
XVII. Handle bar
Still the original butterfly multi-grip handle bar. I absolutely love it, not least because of the 5-6 layers of handle bar tape/duct tape/sports tape that I’ve put on it to get a super firm and fat grip. People are ofter astounded by the thickness of the handle bar. It’s my primary showing-off part on the bike.
XVIII. Kick stand
The bike came with a Pletscher kick stand (in center of bike), and I use it all the time. Additionally, the bike came with a front kick stand (mounted on front rack) that I never used, and after travelling with it for 50.000 km (extra dead weight!), I finally had it removed in Montreal, Canada.
NB: This bike maintenance page (the above part) was made on my laptop 11 kilometers above ground level, on my way from Boston, USA to Accra, Ghana in a Boeing 747, operated by Lufthansa.
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| Brand | Koga Miyata |
| Model | Worldtraveller 2004 |
| Weight | 15,7kg |
| Frame size | 54 cm |
| Frame | Hand-built 26″ frame. Alu |
| Front Fork | Alloy Wide Bone integrated |
| Color | Dark titanium brush |
| Handlebar | ITM Freetime Multigrip 53 Black |
| Stem | ITM Trekking CNC Adj. ø22,2 Black “three bolts” |
| Grips | Koga Foam |
| Brake | Shimano Deore XT BR-M760 |
| Shift/Brake lever | Shimano Deore XT ST-M760 |
| Headset | Cane Creek A-head ZS-2 industrial-bearing 1″ Black |
| Chain | Shimano CN-HG73 108 links |
| Front Hub | Shimano Deore XT HB-M760 Black 36H 100mm |
| Rear Hub | Shimano Deore XT FH-M760 Black 36H 135mm |
| Tyres | Continental TravelContact 47-559 |
| Rims | Mavic EX 721 559×21 36H CD “single eyelet” |
| Spokes | Sapim Leader Black |
| Saddle | Brooks Conquest Black |
| Seat Post | Kalloy SP-368 “double bolts” ø31,4x250mm Black |
| Crankset | Shimano Deore XT FC-M760 44x32x22T with chainguard |
| Pedals | Shimano PD-M324 |
| CassetteX | Shimano CS-HG70 9-speed 11-12-14-16-18-21-24-28-32T |
| Rear Derailleur | Shimano Deore XT RD-M760-SGS |
| Front Derailleur | Shimano Deore XT FD-M760 T-swing ø34,9 66-69 |
| Pump | Topeak Roadmorph Small |
| Bottle | Zefal 137 Alloy Brushed 2x |
| Bottle Holder | Elite Macan Black 2x |
| Bell | Koga Widek Compact-II Silver |
| Mudguards | SKS P-50 Titan |
| Headlight | Cateye HL-EL110 Black/Brightled |
| Rear light | B&M D-Toplight senso incl. 4 dioden |
| Low-rider | Tubus |
| Kickstand | Pletscher Optima 1/260 Titan |
| Ring lock | AXA SL-7 titan |
| Saddlebag | Koga |
| Ortlieb Front-Roller Classic | Invaluable, waterproof panniers and a must for every long distance cyclist |
| Ortlieb Back-Roller Classic | The panniers are light weight and seemingly unbreakable! |
| Ortlieb Rack-Pack | I use this all-purpose bag for tent, mattress and sleeping bag on top of the back panniers. Waterproof and very solid built! |
| MSR Wind 2 Expedition Tent | |
| Ortlieb Inflatable Sleeping Mat | |
| Haglöfs Hypna 1200 Sleeping bag | |
| Utensils | Plastic knife, fork and my favourite steel spoon! |
| Haglöfs Pillow | This is a kind of luxury but highly valued! |
| Petzl Tikka Head light | Also used as the front light on my bike (Nicolai) |
| Ortlieb Water Bowl, foldable, 10L | Haven’t used this one very much as I normally just was my clothes in the shower or in the sink |
| MSR XGK Expedition multifuel burner | Very reliable and powerful this aggregate is one of the most important for kick-starting the day (couldn’t live without that morning coffee!) |
| 1 MSR pots and pans set, teflon | Pan, 1,0 + 1,5 L pot |
| Renajs AB lunch box | Incl. spice box, 2 plates, 1 cup, 1 meassure cup |
| Food, coffee, tea and spices | I try always to be wellstocked on these things |
| MSR Multifuel bottle | The bottle contains 1 L which lasts for a coupple of weeks. Very good! |
| Haglöfs Water Proof Bag | For clothes and other stuff |
| Archos AV 500 Mobile Digital Video Recorder | Hard drive for MP3s, photos, movies, sound recording |
| Canon EOS 300D SLR (primary) | |
| Sony Cyber-shot T9 (slim pocket model, secondary) | |
| Canon Ultrasonic 75-300mm | |
| Canon EFS 18-55mm | |
| Canon 50mm (fixed) | |
| 1 GB memory cards for each digital camera | |
| Sony ECM-DS70P Microphone | For perfect sound recording |
| Sundance Solar Panel Solar Energy | Still waiting for this little wonder! |
| Lowe camera bag | |
| Canon and Sony battery chargers | |
| Cardreader | For transferring photos from memorycard to Archos hard drive |
| 2 sets of headphones | |
| iPod Video 60 GB | Enogh capacity for 10500 songs! A true piece of genius! |
| Universal plug-in adaptor | |
| Tripod for camera | |
| Circular polarization filter | To make that sky seem so nice and blue! |
| 1 extra battery for both cameras | |
| Extra memory cards | 256 MB and a tiny 32 MB |
| Cables for photo transferring |
| Toiletries | Tooth brush and paste, deo, perfume, shampoo, shower gel, face cream, body cream, sun cream, razor + blades, hair wax, mirror, dental floss, condoms, lip balm, “nail cutter”, ear plugs, cotton buds |
| Medicine and first aid | Body thermometer (digital), penicillin/antibiotics, Mepyramin (insect bites and itching), pain killers, Micropur water purifying tablets, Imodium, antihistamine, Fucidin (against infections), whistle, first aid band |
| Moneybelt (from my first big tour in 1996) | Driving licence, passport, diving certificate, travel insurance papers, passport sized photos, student ID (!), int. phone card, cash (local currency and USD), credit cards (Visa + Master), photocopies (and Gmail scans) of all documents |
| Diverse | Toilet paper, pencil case, washing powder (in empty 500ml bottle), plastic bags, WT visit cards, Moleskine diaries (9×14 cm, ruled), paper, maps, 1-2 guidebooks, Sudoku, other litterature, sports tape, swiss army knife, purse, lighter, sunglasses |
| Vaccinations | Yellow fever, Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Polio, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Rabies. We both have the yellow fever, Hep. A, Tetanus and Polio vacc. from earlier travels thus saving lots of money. Nicolai (a.k.a. Ace Ventura – the Pet Detective) didn’t go for the rabies vaccine. |
| 1 pair of Fleece gloves | Probably won’t need these for a while! |
| 1 pair of Specialized Sub Zero gloves | Wind and water proof with removable inner glove. Will definitely not need those in the Turkmenistan desert | Sweat band | Mode a’la Bjorn Borg |
| Haglöfs Dual Jacket Fleece Polartec | Mid-layer, often used in the evenings |
| 1 set of thermo underwear | |
| Norrona Falketind Rain Jacket | Goretex, fantastic finish and quality! |
| Norrona Falketind Rain Trousers | Goretex, super high quality |
| Norrona Amundsen M’s Cotton Anorak | Windproof, relaxed clothing |
| Norrona Offtrack M’s Jersey | Used when cycling. Very good and aggressive on sweat! |
| Norrona Offtrack M’s Tee-Shirt | Ditto, short version |
| 1 pair Sealskinz wind and waterproof socks | Long model |
| 1 pair Sealskinz wind and waterproof socks | Short model |
| 2 pairs Sealskinz Thermal Liner Socks | Very comfy |
| 2 pair X-Socks Cycling Socks | Short model |
| 2 pairs Biemme Cycling Shorts | I’ve had a few probs with an aching crotch..Hmm |
| 5 pairs of underwear | Dark coloured |
| 1 pair of jeans | Not very practical but great for off-bike city cruising |
| Nike Air Perseus training shoes | For running and time off-bike |
| Teva Terra sandals | Solid and very comfortable sandal – very versatile |
| Sarong | For beach bumming and cover in hot climates. Bought in thailand in 1996. Very worn out! |
| Shorts | Brazilian made and multi-purpose: Off-bike, on-bike, swimming |
| Tatonka Travel Towel Micro | Small sized, fast drying |
| Hat | Cap for sun protection |
| Repair | Multitool, puncture repair kit, pump, cabel ties |
| Other | Gaffa tape, spare brake pads, wire lock |
| Ortlieb Document Bag | Waterproof see-through bag for cash, passport etc. |
| Common | Safety whistles, dental floss, sun cream, sun block for lips, fishing line, playing cards, |
PHOTO SECTION OF BIKE BAG CONTENT:
Before you proceed, I warmly recommend you check out these photos in the Flickr album I’ve made. The photos contain small descriptive notes (that don’t show up in the photos below) in semi-hidden boxes on the individual photos.
Just read the comment in the left-hand box and follow the description.
See Equipment List on Flickr
Front pannier, right side:
Front pannier, left side:
Rear pannier, right side:
Rear pannier, left side:
…and all this goes into this…
On top of rear panniers:
The Handle Bar Bag:
The Bags:
