How To: Build The Perfect Expedition Bike (Part 3)

(Please check out Part 1 and Part 2 if you haven’t already done so!)

In Part 2 I looked at expedition bicycle drivetrain components, a.k.a. the bits that move when you pedal. In Part 3 I’m going to look at brakes, wheels and ‘finishing kit’ — the bits you need to finish the bike off.

Wheels

Wheel problems are amongst the most annoying and difficult to fix on a tour, especially when spokes and rims are involved. A cracked rim can really ruin your day, as Andy discovered in Bulgaria in 2007 — we rode the next 700km on Gaffa Tape. The quality of the assembled wheel components plays a huge factor in how much punishment your bike will withstand on an expedition, so it’s really worth investing in a strong pair of wheels, above almost all other considerations.

You don’t want this to happen

Almost all rims are aluminium these days — that’s fine. Look for a double-walled rim, and stay clear of wide-profile downhill rims that are built for fat, low-pressure tyres (see why). Stick with a tried and tested rim like the Sun Rhyno or Rhynolite, the latter being what I chose. These are designed for dirt-jumping and are quite heavy but well respected amongst expedition cyclists. Even if you are using disc brakes, it’s a good idea to choose a rim with a braking surface in case you need to switch in the future.

With hubs there’s a lot of choice, and two main camps to choose from: One which goes by the simplicity is best mantra and suggests cup-and-cone hubs with loose bearings, such as Shimano’s mountain-bike range, and the other which says that cartridge bearings are just fine, thank you, and a cracked bearing won’t ruin the entire hub. Long-term reports from cartridge-bearing users are harder to come by, however.

In my experience, well-sealed cup-and-cone hubs such as the XT models are ideal, as long as you service them every few thousand kilometres and pay attention to any play or clunking noises — bearings can and do crack and wear, and some manufacturers are not particularly generous with grease. Again, ease of maintenance in the developing world is a plus point. Having to carry cone-spanners, however, is inconvenient. In general, I’m yet to come across the perfect solution.

Have your wheels built by hand, or do it yourself if you’re confident. Wheel-building is an art, apparently, and a machine just can’t produce the same attention to detail.

The tyre of choice for the expeditioner has always been Schwalbe’s Marathon XR which regularly exceeds 20,000km of use and comes in widths up to 2.25-inch, but they thoughtfully discontinued it last year. The jury’s still out about the best replacement — lucky I stocked up already!

Bottom line: Invest in strong rims. Spoke count is a small point, but if in doubt, use more. Cup-and-cone hubs are simple to repair. Don’t forget the tools.

Roadside fitting instructions: Put half of your spokes in alternate flange holes from outside of hub, facing backwards. Insert other ends into matching rim holes, add nipples, tighten until thread disappears. Put other half of spokes in from the inside, facing forwards, crossing two backwards-facing spokes and wrapping behind a third and into rim. Tighten nipples equally until wheel is round. Adjust until rim is centred. Tighten until pinging of spokes sounds same as other wheel. Use your noggin. Add rim tape, tube and tyre. Ride. True every day until noises stop.

Brakes

Brakes are another point of contention. I use hydraulic disc brakes and have been told off for doing so. But I’ve had single-digit braking on a fully-loaded bike since day one, without any maintenance other than changing the brake pads (twice so far), and I can stop faster and with more control than I could on my old, unloaded, V-brake-equipped mountain bike. I use what works, which is not necessarily what everyone else uses — that’s why my bike looks a bit weird to some. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the perfect expedition bike.

Magura Louise brakes — super reliable and powerful

The fact is that superbly-reliable hydraulic brakes are now available and affordable, whereas ten years ago they were not. I could bang on about how V-brakes wear out rims, how my brake repair/maintenance kit is lighter than the V-brake equivalent, how I can replace a snapped hose in 10 minutes, how motorcyclists have used hydraulic brakes on long trips for decades… you get the idea. If you want to read more, have a look at my review of Magura’s Louise disc brakes — I can’t speak for  other brands, but I’m sure they’re working hard to compete.

Bottom line: If you’re paranoid or skint, want to wear out your rims, enjoy having reduced stopping power and like carrying heavy spares, use V-brakes. Otherwise, discs. Practice re-filling before you leave.

Finishing Kit

For most finishing kit, it’s a matter of preference and common sense — get what feels right. These are often the bits with which your body interfaces, so they’re more important than you might first think.

One thing I wouldn’t change is the Brooks Flyer saddle. This is the sprung version of the popular B17, and since the break-in period elapsed it’s been the most comfortable perch I could have imagined. Brooks is something you love or hate — there are other, lighter options too. Just choose wisely, as you’re going to be sitting on it for a very long time.

Brooks Flyer — leather saddle, made in England

Stem and handlebars depend on your preferred riding position, and it might take some chopping and changing to get this right. I use an adjustable stem and a pair of no-brand riser bars with bar-ends, but some prefer to use ‘butterfly’ bars with a variety of hand positions, and there is definitely something to be said for this. I did find that neither position was quite right for me with these, and I had some issues with the amount of flex they exhibited, so I chose a single, comfortable position rather than two less-comfortable ones. My advice here is to try a variety and take the bike for a good ride before making the final decision.

Pedals are a common point of failure as the tiny bearings get a lot of heavy punishment. Your choice will depend on whether or not you’re going to use a ‘clipless’ system. I found that my knees had issues with the reduced lateral movement that clipless pedals confer, so I switched to cheap flat pedals with cup-and-cone bearings and since then have been happily pedalling in any kind of footwear. If you’re using SPDs, Shimano’s DX pedals are pricey will take any punishment you might wish to dish out, or their one-sided option could be more practical, if a little flimsy for long trips.

Seatposts are seatposts — make sure you don’t exceed the minimum insertion point. Get an easily adjustable one. Spacers are spacers — don’t use more than 40mm. Skewers, top-caps, bottle-cages, seatpost-clamps — I haven’t wasted any time dithering over these — they either work or they don’t. For my grips I chose the lovely and comfortable ODI Yeti Hardcore lock-on model, the advantage of lock-on grips being that you can remove them in seconds to get at the controls, rather than messing around with water and soap and screwdrivers. They do take up slightly more width on the bars, however.

Bottom line: Use what feels right.

The complete bike

Disclaimer: I’m not the world’s expert on bike building! This starting-point series is an abbreviated attempt to share everything I’ve read, learnt, heard and experienced about bikes over the last 4 years of planning and conducting long bike trips. There will be disagreements, which I welcome in the comments.

In the next and final part I will take a look at fitting luggage carriers to the bike — stay tuned, or subscribe to the RSS feed and never miss an article again.