dahlia

Hey ya'll, just got laid off so I wanted to do a bike tour of Patagonia in early January. I am thinking of doing a 3000km trail that goes through Chile and Argentina with 60/40 split of paved/gravel roads and will probably take me ~8 weeks. I'm trying to figure out my bicycle situation, thinking of one of these...

1. I own an carbon endurance bike with shimano 105, 50-34 crank and 11-34 cassette. With a low of ~27 gear inches I'm afraid this will not be a fun experience. This is my favorite option as I can just use what I have. I have a tailfin rack + 2 panniers for this bike.
2. I can buy a new bike. I was looking at the Priority 600, which I can get for 2.1k shipped or maybe a Kona Sutra? for 1.7k shipped. Any other recs? I'd prefer to spend much less (or none at all) but I've been trying to value my comfort more.
3. Buy a used bike. any recs for what to look for?
4. Buy (or rent) a used bike when I get there.

I've never done a long bike tour before so hoping I can get some guidance. Thanks.

Tourist in MSN

Have you done any bike touring before?

How much camping experience do you have?

How many days of food would you have to carry at one time on the bike?

What kind of weather do you anticipate? And what type of clothing do you need for that?

If something breaks, do you know how to fix it?

john m flores 

Sorry you lost your job but I can't think of a better time to go on a big trip! I haven't bicycled in Patagonia but I did ride a motorcycle from Ushuaia to Temuco, including large stretch of the Carreterra Austral and Ruta 40. Here's a photo album of my trip if you want to get some sense of the terrain.

Some random thoughts to consider based on my experience:

• Yeah, a 27" low might not be enough, especially if you are carrying gear. The road up to Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, for example, has some really steep sections.
• There are also places that are very very windy. Consider aerobars.
• There are stretches of deep gravel like 3-4" deep with 1" stones. One of these stretches caught my front wheel and tossed me like a rag doll. Tire volume will be your friend here.
• As you cross repeatedly between Argentina and Chile, you'll go through kilometers of no-mans land. Figure out what paperwork you need. There are zero services in the no mans land and those stretches can be poorly maintained.
• There are very long stretches without services. No towns, no homes, just vast nothings with gas stations as the endpoints. Bring a lot of water.
• Patagonia is unbelievably and starkly beautiful. Enjoy every single mile

It's going to be an epic trip! So jealous. Please keep us up to date and let us know how we may follow your journey if you are sharing on social!

seanmccoye

At least 1.75 tires, wider if you plan on going off the main route.
34x34 gearing will work going across the USA bike packing style but not doing dirt hills of the Chilean lakes district.
As for a bike I would just send you to my local coop. 90's ATB's show up there all the time for cheap.
I would have no idea what to buy new.
If you are on the tall side of life(average dutch male) buying off of the peg in Chile will be rough.

Steve B.

Rivendell Atlantis would be the role model, or anything with a 26” wheel and a triple chainring with very low gearing. Lots of areas and roads thru Patagonia are at very high elevations, 15,000-17,000 ft. The altitude will make you want very low gears. Ditto wide tires, 2” etc….. to deal with dirt and gravel roads, which are all that exist in many areas.

GamblerGORD53

If you aren't already a MTB kind of guy, then that's the worst possible place to tour. JMO.
But yah, 2" tires NOT 559er and Pinion would be the better way to go. Poor countries won't have thru axles. One guy doing a world tour found this out in Pakistan when his hub flange disintegrated. DeFAILeurs are like that. LOL.
I have NO problems with my Rohloff14 or front SA XL-FDD dyno drum brake used on both tours.

str

I would without any doubt change right away the 34x34 gearing!

mev

In 2017, I cycled South America including Patagonia. My general route included Ruta 40 on the Argentina side to Bariloche, crossing over to Puerto Montt and cycling the Carretera Austral, crossing at Villa O'Higgins back to El Chalten, larger roads to Torres Del Paine, Puerto Natales, Puerto Arena and Tierra del Fuego to Ushuaia. It was a little over ~50/50 paved. Until Puerto Montt it was self-supported and the last 2400km was a supported ride (Tour D'Afrique South America).

A few general comments:

- I had a mountain bike with 26x1.75 tires. That was adequate for roads I was on. Occasional soft loose gravel but also some good paved sections. Not sure what "trail" you are planning but more off road, I would suggest wider tires. I did end up cracking my aluminum frame (accumulated stresses from riding from Canada heavily loaded?) and having it welded in Bariloche.

- Southern areas have remote parts with longer distances between resupply, potentially lots of wind and perhaps some cold rain. Also very beautiful areas. This should be closer to peak tourist season.

- I was using ATMs to pull out Argentinian pesos. There were limits on what I could withdraw and also fees. Some ATMs out of money and unpredictable so I needed to anticipate stretches where I couldn't pull out money. With Argentina's current economic situation I can't imagine it has gotten better.
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- I was nowhere close to 15000 ft in Patagonia (the highest point in all of Patagonia is Domuyu at 15400ft - high points for me were further north in the altiplano of Peru/Bolivia where I crossed at 14800). My high point was probably cycling over Samore Pass at 4311ft or hiking in Torres Del Paines.


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Yan 

For that I'd use a hardtail mountain bike with some fast rolling tires. Or maybe a Giant Revolt X.

saddlesores

It's now end of december, probably not enough time to plan, gather gear, get all visas and such.
your current bike is unsuitable for the terrain.
if you take a new bike, you need time to break it in.

as you've never done a long tour before, perhaps plan a tour for a less inhospitable stretch for the first time.

axolotl

I think you're confusing northern Chile/northern Argentina with Patagonia, which is in the southern part of both countries. The roads are not particularly high in Patagonia.

dahlia

Thanks for all the tips and recs. The route I'm looking at starts in Bariloche and ends in Tierra Del Fuego and I believe has a max elevation of 4-5k. You can check out the route at bicyclepatagonia.com
I'll definitely get a new bike with wide tires and will probably need a new rack + panniers. I have all my camping gear already so all good on that front!

I'm going to want to do some backpacking in Tierra Del Fuego while I'm there. I was wondering what options I have for bike storage. hostels/hotels? bike shops? hide it in the woods?

Small cog

I have only motorcycled in that part of the world but would expect a hotel or guesthouse would store your bike while you go hiking, if you can find one Thorn make some of the best heavy duty touring bikes and you could pick up a good second hand one for your budget but if not where you are Surly also make great bikes that cater for wide tyres, loads of luggage points and if you can afford one hub gears.

Indigo82

I wouldn't take carbon frame bike on such a tour. You don't use carbon frame for loaded touring of 3000km in remote areas. Also, I wouldn't take Priority 600 due to Pinion drive and belt. You don't need such a complicated system where maintenance in case of malfunction is impossible on the road in remote areas. Keep it simple, i.e. conventional drive train and use steel frame if possible. That can be fixed anywhere. Use wider tires too.

Tourist in MSN

While have never seen a Pinion equipped bike, I have no reason to suspect that there is any notable lack of reliability on a Pinion bike. In that regard, I assume it is comparable to a Rohloff hub on a bike for reliability. If I was doing a trip like that, I would take my Rohloff bike. But I would bring a spare belt if on a belt drive bike, my bike is chain driven and I carry spare chain links.

dahlia

I've been looking into carbon belt drives and from what I've read the Rohloff and Pinion are the gold standard for reliability. I'm seriously considering getting one but I probably shouldn't be so spendy... There is a used Surly Disc Trucker being sold near me for $750, I should probably take a look at that...

djb

quite possibly biting off more than you can chew in just over a weeks time, or lets say even in a month. Its great to dream of a bike trip, but you are proposing quite a last minute, what appears to be a still unplanned rather challenging cycling tour.

but none of us are your mum, so good luck.

dahlia

Most definitely am but that's part of the fun (and goal). I really do appreciate everyone's concern and I am taking this very seriously. I haven't committed to anything yet and there's a good chance this never happens.
I've been training though, doing 25 miles with 2k elevation most days (riding along the Palisades). I'm still hoping I can get strong enough that I feel comfortable climbing with my current bike's 27 gear inches!!

Tourist in MSN

Buying a used bike (which is in unknown condition) and almost immediately flying off to a different continent to do a very epic trip is rolling the dice, especially if you lack touring experience, do not know where you will be buying food, etc.

I built up my touring bikes from parts, I am confident in them, yet for the day I took the photo below, I was glad that I had my most reliable bike, as that was one less thing to worry about.



And I knew at that point how many more miles I needed to go to get to a grocery store, etc. I had put several resupply points into my GPS before I left home.

Tourist in MSN

You need multi-hour training too, that is to train your body to be able to handle long days.

Touring is not a high energy sport, it is a low to medium energy level activity.
https://www.roadbikerider.com/energy...e-intensities/

You need to train your body to be able to use fats as a fuel after you run low on carbs, that comes with lots of multi-hour training.

dahlia

That is a nice picture, and looks very remote! Those panniers look really full, do you know how much your setup weigh? I've have some lightweight gear from backpacking so I'm hoping I can keep things under 20 pounds, 25 if I bring my camera + 15lbs for food and water
I don't have an exact route planned yet but I've been reading lots of blogs and doing research. I'm probably going to follow this guide for the most part - https://www.bicyclepatagonia.com/sections/

My main priority is being able to climb since that will dictate which bike I bring. My stamina isn't amazing by any means but I can build a lot of that when I start the tour.

djb

I can't recall if I wrote specifically here, but I've toured three times in Latin America, and a 27 gear inch low just ain't low enough, and you'll want 1.75 inch tires or more. You'll need volume of panniers to fit warm clothes and food, and the winds in Patagonia etc are renowned to be frickin strong.
good luck with this idea of yours

Thigh Master

JMO: Agree with everything you said with the exception that a Pinion or Rolhoff with a Gates belt would be bombproof and no maintenance. Big gear range with exceptionally low gears with consistent steps between shifts.

djb

I've had a few occasions where due to strong winds, even on a flat road I've been in the small ring, up and down the cassette, with a MTB triple 44/32/22.

Pretty damn demoralising when you're in the granny gear on a flat road I tell ya. Beefier riders than me could probably grind out a taller gear, but that ain't me.

Not to mention that in Latin America and even places where I've biked in Scotland, road gradients are steeper than in most places in Canada, so low gears are pretty essential to me.

indyfabz

I had a few days like that in Andalucia. Heading west in the Tabernas Desert area I struggled to maintain 6-7 mph on flat ground with a 22x34 low gear, and I’m not a small guy. I wanted to cry.