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Completed my first-ever bike tour

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Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) Looking to lose that spare tire? Ideal weight 200+? Frustrated being a large cyclist in a sport geared for the ultra-light? Learn about the bikes and parts that can take the abuse of a heavier cyclist, how to keep your body going while losing the weight, and get support from others who've been successful.

Completed my first-ever bike tour

Old 09-05-21, 09:44 AM
  #1  
a_d_a_m
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Completed my first-ever bike tour

334mi total. What an adventure on the Ohio-To-Erie Trail!

My Kona Sutra was pretty good except for a broken spoke on the rear wheel on day 1, followed by a blown tube up front (sounded like a gun shot). I'll have to have a Clyde wheelset built if I want to keep touring.



I'll have a longer post once I have time to process my thoughts...right now I'm in recovery mode!


Strava links:
Day 1 - Cincinnati to Xenia
Day 2 - Xenia to Columbus
Day 3- Columbus to Mt. Vernon
Day 4 - Mt. Vernon to Millersburg
Day 5 - Millersburg to Massillon
Day 6 - Massillon to Akron
Day 7 - Akron to Cleveland

Last edited by a_d_a_m; 09-05-21 at 09:50 AM.
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Old 09-05-21, 01:34 PM
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257 roberts
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Fantastic, congratulations.....that was a lot of miles for your first
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Old 09-05-21, 03:38 PM
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Congrats, sounds like a fun trip. I think a clyde wheelset would be a wise investment.
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Old 09-05-21, 09:58 PM
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Congratulations!

Do the wheels have 36 spokes? In addition to the higher spoke count the spokes need to be tensioned properly. For a heavy rider the tension needs to be on the high side, otherwise the spokes will loosen when they are at the bottom of the wheel, and they will fatigue and break. You need a strong rim in order to be able to tension the spokes properly. Also, butted spokes help. For the rear wheel (which gives most of the problems) the tension of the spokes on the drive side and the non-drive side is significantly different, and it makes sense to use spokes of different thickness.

I have destroyed my rear wheel with Alex DH19 rim, will be building a one with Ryde Andra 30.
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Old 09-07-21, 09:11 AM
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Very neat to see. 7 days in a row of riding, especially when you arent at home each night, can be more than just a physical challenge.
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Old 09-07-21, 09:32 AM
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Very cool. Congratulations!
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Old 09-07-21, 09:36 AM
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Well done!

Broken spokes are usually caused by an improperly tensioned wheel. But if you only had one break, then no subsequent breaks, then it might have been just bad luck. If you get more, consider just relacing your current hub and rim with new spokes to max tension recommended by the rim manufacturer, properly stress relive, and retension. THis should get you tens of thousands of kms without another problem.
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Old 09-07-21, 09:47 AM
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Congratulations! That was heroic.

Let us know your thoughts post tour/when you’re up to it.
How are you feeling? Was it worth it? Did you have fun?
And are you gonna do it again?
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Old 09-08-21, 05:50 PM
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Nice job. Looks like nice trip.
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Old 09-08-21, 11:32 PM
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Congrats! I hope it inspires you to keep going. I’ve only done a one week tour similar to yours. Now I want to go coast to coast when I get to a place I can take a few months off of work.

This cycling stuff gets kind of addictive, 😛
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Old 09-10-21, 07:29 AM
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Originally Posted by mstateglfr
Very neat to see. 7 days in a row of riding, especially when you arent at home each night, can be more than just a physical challenge.
Taking Amtrak up to northern Vermont tomorrow to star a tour home to Philly on Sunday. Best case scenario is 11 days of riding, with 12 days on the road. (I have an old friend who lives in Burlington, so I will be hanging out there on Sunday and Monday.) But I will likely split up one day and end up with 12 days of riding. All camping and cooking dinners is the plan. Going to cruise through my former high school in western Mass. one day.

When I crossed the country and then some way back in '99 I was out there for close to 4 months. Some days it got old.
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Old 09-10-21, 07:30 AM
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Thanks for the comments, all.

When I have time to make a longer post, I will do so in the touring subforum and link back in this thread.

Originally Posted by csport
Do the wheels have 36 spokes?
32. I am upgrading to a Velocity Cliffhanger as recommended by my LBS as well as the folks at Velocity.

Originally Posted by Rage
How are you feeling? Was it worth it? Did you have fun?
And are you gonna do it again?
Feeling great now that my body has recovered. Absolutely worth it and mostly fun. I will do it again. Touring is fun if you do it within your abilities (or just outside of them, for a challenge).
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Old 09-15-21, 12:06 PM
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Tour journal/review with lots of pictures here: https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/1...mber-trip.html
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Old 09-16-21, 10:41 PM
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Originally Posted by a_d_a_m
32. I am upgrading to a Velocity Cliffhanger as recommended by my LBS as well as the folks at Velocity.
The 32 spokes is part of your problem…but only part. The solution to broken spokes isn’t solved by changing the rim. The rim has very little to do with the overall strength of the wheel. The solution to broken spokes is to replace the existing spokes with stronger spokes. I have built all my wheels with DT Swiss Alpine III which are a 2.3/1.8/2.0mm triple butted spokes. The thicker head makes them roughly 25% stronger than straight gauge. I regularly use very lightweight rims…Velocity A23 and Mavic XC717 mountain bike rims…without constantly breaking spokes. But I use triple butted spokes exclusively.

This article explains why we should use triple butted spokes. You might even be able to use your existing wheels but going to a 36 spoke wheel would make for a more durable wheel.
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Old 09-17-21, 01:38 PM
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Originally Posted by cyccommute
The 32 spokes is part of your problem…but only part. The solution to broken spokes isn’t solved by changing the rim. The rim has very little to do with the overall strength of the wheel. The solution to broken spokes is to replace the existing spokes with stronger spokes. I have built all my wheels with DT Swiss Alpine III which are a 2.3/1.8/2.0mm triple butted spokes. The thicker head makes them roughly 25% stronger than straight gauge. I regularly use very lightweight rims…Velocity A23 and Mavic XC717 mountain bike rims…without constantly breaking spokes. But I use triple butted spokes exclusively.

This article explains why we should use triple butted spokes. You might even be able to use your existing wheels but going to a 36 spoke wheel would make for a more durable wheel.
Appreciate the insight on this. I have relayed this to my LBS and made the request that the Cliffhanger I've ordered is built as such.
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