Category: Equipment
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Should I Use Panniers Or A Trailer On My Bike Tour?
This particular cycle touring debate – trailer or panniers? – has been running for almost as long as people have been going on bike trips. There’s a reason for this. As with so many aspects of equipment choice for a cycle tour, there’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to choosing between a trailer or panniers for your cycle touring luggage-hauling needs. But there are a lot of opinionated voices out there. Having used both setups extensively over the last 15 years, I’d rather like to bring a little objectivity to proceedings. The truth is that whether or not a… Continue reading →
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How To: Build A Bicycle Wheel In Ten Easy Steps
People fear wheel-building. None more so than touring cyclists. Nobody, apart from a tiny elite of skilled craftsmen in scattered bike shops across the world, should dare impinge on this secretive world of mechanical artistry. But we all have a capacity for art, don’t we? Could it really be all that difficult? I had a new rim to fit to Tenny’s bike, which would involve taking apart the rear wheel in its entirety and rebuilding it from scratch. So I decided to find out what this wheel-building malarkey was all about. After four and a half hours of careful labour,… Continue reading →