7500 Miles

Gear

This is more-or-less the gear I brought with me, along with some notes about each item’s performance/usefulness.

The bike:

• Trek 7000 19.5″ aluminum mountain bike frame. 1996 or 1997. 26″ wheels.
This is my existing mountain bike. I’ve had it for about 13 years. Most of the
components were old and worn and had to be replaced with rugged versions for Africa.
The frame, however, is solid–if a bit heavy–and performed well for the full tour.
The only downside: a very rare seatpost clamp size. Trek finally made a special run of
them. There were 3 seatpost clamps left in the US. I bought 2 of them. The frame
also had an integrated (non-replaceable) derailleur hanger–a bit of a risk, but it never
bent or broke.
• Rock Shox Tora 302 front suspension fork.
These shocks performed well. Probably the best price/value ratio on the market.
The lockout feature was essential for the paved roads. I wouldn’t consider riding
through the rougher roads in Sudan, Kenya, and Tanzania without shocks.
• Cane Creek Thudbuster LT XL seat post
The seat post provided very welcome extra cushioning for the endless corrugation
in some areas. By the end of the tour, the elastomers had softened enough that
it became difficult not to bounce while riding, even with the maximum pretension setting.
I also have no idea how I ended up with the “XL” version. This extra long version just
added extra weight to an already heavy seat post.
• Shimano Deore derailleurs
The Deore line was rugged enough to survive much abuse. The front derailleur eventually
developed a loud rattle, and the rear derailleur became clogged with sand and mud a few
times, though. It’s definitely a good idea to carry a spare set (plus some extra pulley
wheels for good measure).
• Shimano Alivio crankset: 22, 32, 42 teeth
If I were to do it again, I would get a larger chain ring than 42, especially with 26-inch wheels.
There was a lot of paved road that could benefit from higher gearing. The 22-tooth ring was
helpful in Ethiopia. I replaced the entire drive train at the half-way point of the tour.
• SRAM 8-speed rear cassette: 11-32 teeth
This provided a good range of gearing. I was happy to have the 11-tooth gear. I
replaced the entire drive train at the half-way point of the tour.
• Tires:
  • Schwalbe Marathon Plus 26 x 1.35.
  Durable. Survived the entire trip, but barely. By the end, the blue puncture guard was
  clearly visible as a stripe down the middle of the tire. The only punctures were in the form of
  staples/sharp wires. I cringed when an Ethiopian school teacher pulled one out with his teeth.
  Lesson: always carry needle-nose pliers.
  • Specialized Crossroads Armadillo Elite 26 x 1.95
  Knobbies started tearing off in the harsh roads of Tanzania. Eventually a sidewall split
  in Namibia, requiring me to borrow a bike to get through the day. It would have been better
  to save these tires for fine mud/clay conditions only.
  • Schwalbe Big Apple 26 x 2.35.
  These worked well for most off-road conditions, including sharp rocks and sand. If I were to
  do it again, I would use these tires in Dinder, and not on the clay roads near Marsabit. The
  tires were also susceptible to punctures from the omnipresent thorns.
  A general note on tires: My selection required that I carry three different sizes of tubes. I
  would have much preferred to only carry one size, or two at most.
• Shimano Rapidfire shifters & V-brakes.
These eventually became clogged and had to be opened and cleaned a few times. I carried
a spare set of cheap friction shifters just in case. I didn’t need them, but someone else did.
• PowerGrips pedal straps – no fancy shoes required.
I thought these worked great. I didn’t have to worry about losing/breaking a specific set of
cycling shoes, or clogging the SPD cleats. This solution was just a simple strap. It also allows
for easy “clipping/unclipping.” I carried a spare set, which I used. These are a big step up from
toe clips (baskets), and just a small step down from cleats.
• Topeak MTX rear rack and EXP trunk bag.
I liked the capacity of this. The side panniers folded down when I needed to carry a jacket
for the day or pick up groceries, and stowed out of the way otherwise. The rear water bottle
holder was useless for off-road conditions, or whenever potholes or speed bumps existed (often).
I lost a few water bottles this way. The fabric started splitting in a few places by the
half-way mark, though, and the zippers were useless the last month of the tour.

Camping equipment:

• REI Half Dome 2HC tent with footprint.
This was an excellent tent design. I could (and did) set it up in the dark and with
with one hand when necessary. It is a very simple two-pole design. My one problem was
that the poles became “welded” together from all the sand and oxidation the last month of
the trip and I could no longer store them in my locker. Ants also ate their way through the
floor in Zambia, but they did that to a lot of tents. REI changed the design the day after
I bought the tent, and the reviews have not been so positive (extra poles, more
condensation, leaky doors).
• Haglöfs Travelite 7C (0C extreme) sleeping bag.
The sleeping bag packs up small and provides comfort in a good range of temperatures.
It still works when wet, which is a good thing. On the warmer days, I would just sleep
on top of it in my Cool-Max liner. On the coldest days, I would wear an extra layer to bed.
• Closed-cell foam sleeping pad
I didn’t bring one of these because of space. I brought a small Thermarest. Bad choice.
It developed many holes. The holes are hard to find/patch on the road.
• Steripen Adventurer UV water purifier & solar charger.
For the amount of use this got, it was hardly worth bringing. It did come
in handy a couple of times in the desert. For the most part, bottled water and sodas
were plentiful enough that this was not needed. I didn’t bring the solar charger after all.
I brought a separate 12-volt CR123 battery charger that worked with my existing solar
panel setup. A much better choice, but I still didn’t use it.
• Zip-Lock bags to keep everything dry/dust free.
• Dishes.

Electronics:

• iPhone 3G (phone/GPS/translator/wifi/blog updater)
• Eee PC Netbook computer–12V, 9 hours battery life.
• Canon camera w/ spare batteries
• ContourHD Helmet Cam w/ spare battery
• Lights: bike headlight & tail light, head lamp, extra flash light.
• Sunlinq 12W folding solar panel.
• 12-volt chargers for AAA, AA, N4BL, and CR123 batteries, plus USB.

Clothing:

• Bike shorts – 3-5 pair
• Jerseys – long and short sleeve
• Helmet
• Shoes – hiking boots, tennis shoes, sandals
• North Face jacket–Gore-Tex shell, removable fleece liner.
• Hats: Cold-weather balaclava, sun-hat.

Tools:

• Tire levers (plastic-coated steel).
• Tire mounting tool (not necessary, but helpful).
• Mini-pump.
• Multi-tool w/ spare derailleur hanger.
• 6″ Adjustable wrench.
• Spoke wrench.
• Compact lock-ring tool.
• Wire ties.

Spares:

• Tubes: 4 small, 4 medium, 4 large.
The suggestion of bringing four tubes was way too low. Many people needed more.
There are lots of thorns in Africa! Unfortunately, my tire sizes were different enough that
I actually had to carry 3 sizes of tubes. That takes up space and weight. I also opted
for Schrader valves, thinking it would be easier to find a Shrader pump. Almost everyone
used Presta valves, however. The TDA pumps also worked much better with Presta valves.
Most of the local bikes were fitted with Woods valves anyway.
• Spokes–8.
All my spokes were the same size, so I thought I could get away with 8. I really needed
23. This was an exceptional case. It turns out my rear hub was causing all the spokes to
break.
• 2 Kevlar FiberFix temporary spokes
I was breaking so many spokes that these helped a lot. They got me through the days
where 3 adjacent spokes were broken, and filled the gap between when I could get new
“real” spokes.
• Rim tape.
This was good to have. I changed a rim once, fixed lots of spokes, and sometimes
the tape would just slip after many tire changes.
• 1 Rim (front and rear are identical).
It turns out that my rims were durable enough to survive, but I had broken so many
spokes that we tried changing the rear rim. The hub was the actual culprit.
• Seat post collar. (Very rare 32.7mm size.)
I didn’t actually need it, but not having one was too risky since no other bike
uses this size.
• Rear derailleur.
I replaced my derailleur at the half-way point. The original could have survived,
but it was in bad condition after all the sand, dust, and mud it had been through.
• Chain.
I replaced this with the rest of the drive train at the half-way point. A second
chain wouldn’t have been a bad idea. Regular cleaning/lubing is key.
• Rear cassette.
This had to be replaced around the half-way point.
• Chainrings?
These had to be replaced around the half-way point.
• Friction shifters.
I managed to keep my shifters working (barely) by frequent cleaning and lubricating
near the end of the tour. Someone else made use of these spares.
• Brake and shifter cables.
These were good to have. I only needed to replace the rear shifter cable and
housing.
• Bike computer.
I needed my spare. Lots of people needed spares. My second unit disappeared off
my bike near the end of the tour. My advise: bring two spares. If you don’t need them,
you can always sell them to someone who does.
• Bottom Bracket
I didn’t actually use my spare bottom bracket. My original bracket did have to be
removed and cleaned, however. Several people had to replace theirs.
• Frame (kidding)

Other:

• Anti-malarial medication.
I was taking doxycycline because it was the most affordable, but it caused too
much sensitivity to the sun. I eventually switched to Malorone when we got to Nairobi and
it was available. Medications are much cheaper in Africa.
• Emergency antibiotics.
I never actually needed to take any, but most people on the trip needed to at one point
or another.
• Sunglasses & lots of sunblock.
Definitely necessary. We were in the sun all day, nearly every day. Much of the
sunblock available on the street didn’t actually work well. Bring your own. Sunglasses
get pitted easily from all the blowing sand, so bring an extra set.
• Guidebooks.
I brought the Lonely Planet Africa book. It was helpful in a couple of the major
towns where we had rest days, but most of the time we were on the road and sleeping
in bush camps. The book was heavy, and I think I would tear out irrelevant sections next
time.

Detailed bike configuration

Questions? Comments? Contact me.