Is my Cross Check good enough to traverse the american continent?
09-25-13, 09:23 AM
#26
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My main point on that paragraph was that the O.P. could pick up a very nice wheelset (Mavic, Velocity, etc. with excellent hubs) on eBay/craigslist for a little more than a brand new thrifty wheelset. I don't see anything wrong with that, especially if the OP is already planning a trip to the U.S. next month.
But on to your response...
Fine with your choice of rim and spokes (i.e., as long as they are double-butted.) In the case of a road hub like the Tiagra you propose, it is an adequate choice for a Transcontinental tour (e.g., California to New York) on mostly paved roads. For a Pan-American tour, I personally would not use a road hub. The terrain and conditions in certain areas of Latin America are just too harsh for a road hub like the Tiagra. One needs a hub with better seals to keep away water, sand and dirt to avoid premature pitting of the hub(s). I've even had issues with Deore MTB hubs on off-road tours. The one good thing about Shimano hubs is that they are pretty inexpensive and ubiquitous virtually anywhere in the world, but that goes at the expense of the higher odds of needing to replace the hubs and rebuild the wheels -- often by someone who has no clue on how to lace a wheel correctly (an art in itself.)
These are obviously decisions that need to be made given one's budget (or if you happen to score a good deal on places like eBay.)
But on to your response...
Fine with your choice of rim and spokes (i.e., as long as they are double-butted.) In the case of a road hub like the Tiagra you propose, it is an adequate choice for a Transcontinental tour (e.g., California to New York) on mostly paved roads. For a Pan-American tour, I personally would not use a road hub. The terrain and conditions in certain areas of Latin America are just too harsh for a road hub like the Tiagra. One needs a hub with better seals to keep away water, sand and dirt to avoid premature pitting of the hub(s). I've even had issues with Deore MTB hubs on off-road tours. The one good thing about Shimano hubs is that they are pretty inexpensive and ubiquitous virtually anywhere in the world, but that goes at the expense of the higher odds of needing to replace the hubs and rebuild the wheels -- often by someone who has no clue on how to lace a wheel correctly (an art in itself.)
These are obviously decisions that need to be made given one's budget (or if you happen to score a good deal on places like eBay.)
09-25-13, 11:17 AM
#27
Senior Member
Qué tal Ollin,
El gusto también es mío. Me da placer poder ayudar a otro cicloturista, sobretodo uno de México.
In regard to your question about hubs. Gosh, there are so many hubs out there, but my personal ranking goes like this:
* Inexpensive (don't care about the likelihood of replacing at one point) - Shimano XT. Great hubs for the money for extreme conditions, basic maintenance can be performed, but in my experience when they're gone they're gone. Consider them as a good-quality disposable item.
After that, it's basically a big jump into the high-end hubs:
* White Industries - Excellent quality hubs, company has a good reputation standing behind their products, not as expensive as Phil Wood, fully serviceable without the need of special tools, parts available from the factory so you can keep using them virtually forever, etc.
* Phil Wood hubs - Excellent quality, among the most expensive hubs in the market, great warranty (they're known to assist tourers traveling around the world if you run into any issues with their hubs), fully serviceable without the need of special tools, parts available from the manufacturer for long-term use. This, I believe, is "the" hub of choice for North-American tourers going around the world.
There is also Chris King hubs which I personally have. I have not had a single issue with them in over 9 years (8 years in my MTB and about year and a half in my touring bike.) You can perform basic maintenance without the need of tools, but if you want to perform "the full works" maintenance, you'll need to buy/carry their proprietary USD $180 tool. Although I love mine as they have proven to be bullet-proof, I don't think I could recommend them for the kind of tour you're planning because of this reason: easy serviceability.
All of the above have disc hubs available on either 32h or 36h. For W.I., their model # is MI6 for their disc hubs.
In regard to generator front hubs, I don't have one. My understanding about them is as follows...
The Pros:
* 24-hour lighting - You can run daytime running lights for extra safety on the road without any fear of having to charge batteries.
* You can buy a special adaptor to charge your mobile devices as you go. I know there are people who invest in these hubs because they always want to be "connected" while on tour (a personal choice.)
The Cons:
* Lighting is fixed and only good as you are on the bike. Most tourers only ride when there is day light for various obvious reasons. A safety vest plus a front/rear blinky is enough during bad weather. You still need to carry an extra flashlight for tent-camping or to fix the bike at night time. Many tourers prefer to have a multipurpose rechargeable bicycle headlight. You can easily remove it from the bike and use anywhere.
* You'll need to plan on charging devices - If you're doing a tour through various countries, there is no need to be charging cell phones too often. Most people ride for several days and stop at a cheap hostel/hotel (or internet café) to catch up with friends/relatives and charge devices.
* You need to be diligent about remembering to unplug the cable from the generator hub every time you remove the front wheel (e.g., flat.) Otherwise, damage to the cable can easily occur. These hubs are very popular among randonneurs. A few report having damaged the cable while removing the front wheel due to extreme tiredness. The good part is that in Latin America you can easily find "electrónicas" to fix these things if that ever happens.
* For touring purposes it is likely that you would need to go with a SON hub generator (due to their excellent reputation) which costs slightly more than a front Phil Wood hub. You do need to consider the rest of the costs such as the special dynamo lights, special adaptor for mobile devices, etc. Yes, it can get pricey.
El gusto también es mío. Me da placer poder ayudar a otro cicloturista, sobretodo uno de México.
In regard to your question about hubs. Gosh, there are so many hubs out there, but my personal ranking goes like this:
* Inexpensive (don't care about the likelihood of replacing at one point) - Shimano XT. Great hubs for the money for extreme conditions, basic maintenance can be performed, but in my experience when they're gone they're gone. Consider them as a good-quality disposable item.
After that, it's basically a big jump into the high-end hubs:
* White Industries - Excellent quality hubs, company has a good reputation standing behind their products, not as expensive as Phil Wood, fully serviceable without the need of special tools, parts available from the factory so you can keep using them virtually forever, etc.
* Phil Wood hubs - Excellent quality, among the most expensive hubs in the market, great warranty (they're known to assist tourers traveling around the world if you run into any issues with their hubs), fully serviceable without the need of special tools, parts available from the manufacturer for long-term use. This, I believe, is "the" hub of choice for North-American tourers going around the world.
There is also Chris King hubs which I personally have. I have not had a single issue with them in over 9 years (8 years in my MTB and about year and a half in my touring bike.) You can perform basic maintenance without the need of tools, but if you want to perform "the full works" maintenance, you'll need to buy/carry their proprietary USD $180 tool. Although I love mine as they have proven to be bullet-proof, I don't think I could recommend them for the kind of tour you're planning because of this reason: easy serviceability.
All of the above have disc hubs available on either 32h or 36h. For W.I., their model # is MI6 for their disc hubs.
In regard to generator front hubs, I don't have one. My understanding about them is as follows...
The Pros:
* 24-hour lighting - You can run daytime running lights for extra safety on the road without any fear of having to charge batteries.
* You can buy a special adaptor to charge your mobile devices as you go. I know there are people who invest in these hubs because they always want to be "connected" while on tour (a personal choice.)
The Cons:
* Lighting is fixed and only good as you are on the bike. Most tourers only ride when there is day light for various obvious reasons. A safety vest plus a front/rear blinky is enough during bad weather. You still need to carry an extra flashlight for tent-camping or to fix the bike at night time. Many tourers prefer to have a multipurpose rechargeable bicycle headlight. You can easily remove it from the bike and use anywhere.
* You'll need to plan on charging devices - If you're doing a tour through various countries, there is no need to be charging cell phones too often. Most people ride for several days and stop at a cheap hostel/hotel (or internet café) to catch up with friends/relatives and charge devices.
* You need to be diligent about remembering to unplug the cable from the generator hub every time you remove the front wheel (e.g., flat.) Otherwise, damage to the cable can easily occur. These hubs are very popular among randonneurs. A few report having damaged the cable while removing the front wheel due to extreme tiredness. The good part is that in Latin America you can easily find "electrónicas" to fix these things if that ever happens.
* For touring purposes it is likely that you would need to go with a SON hub generator (due to their excellent reputation) which costs slightly more than a front Phil Wood hub. You do need to consider the rest of the costs such as the special dynamo lights, special adaptor for mobile devices, etc. Yes, it can get pricey.
Last edited by Chris Pringle; 09-25-13 at 12:51 PM.
09-25-13, 01:17 PM
#28
Banned
for packing the bike to return or to the start of the trip the Centerlock disc setup seems a winner ,
because the disc comes off with a lock ring , so as to pack it separately and so keep it flat, un bent.
I have that on a SON dyno hub on my Bike Friday, there is also one , in their Alfine series ,
if you want a Shimano made Hub .
the use during the day as a trickle charger for your electronic widgets is popular , these days ..
some of the latest top of the line LED headlights offer a USB connection in them .
others sell a Buffer battery which may work better when the power need
exceeds the typical 6v3w output of bike generators.
because the disc comes off with a lock ring , so as to pack it separately and so keep it flat, un bent.
I have that on a SON dyno hub on my Bike Friday, there is also one , in their Alfine series ,
if you want a Shimano made Hub .
the use during the day as a trickle charger for your electronic widgets is popular , these days ..
some of the latest top of the line LED headlights offer a USB connection in them .
others sell a Buffer battery which may work better when the power need
exceeds the typical 6v3w output of bike generators.
Last edited by fietsbob; 09-25-13 at 01:22 PM.
09-27-13, 03:00 AM
#29
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To Patagonia??? No question but that I would go with the Disc Trucker. 26" wheels which by virtue of their size will be much stronger and easier to replace. Not sure I'd do disc but if I did I'd also carry a spare rotor or two. Throwing the bike in a pickup or something to get past horrendour weather or other danger can easily result in a bent rotor which to me is the big downside of discs.
09-29-13, 10:36 AM
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Most of the best routes through the Andes are dirt roads. I would look into getting a surly troll, or an LHT with a flat bar setup. I spend 7 months on a 26" surly LHT in south america. It worked great, except I don't like riding drop bars on rough roads, and I would have liked clearance for even bigger tires.
09-29-13, 03:43 PM
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I'd be inclined to turn a triple into a wide range double with the outer ring position holding a chainring guard for that reason. I remember needing to bend a couple teeth back into position after manhandling the bike over obstacles and into trucks. 28/42 offers a good range with a wide range cassette .
