Completed my first-ever bike tour
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2020
Location: Ohio
Posts: 523
Bikes: 2021 Kona Sutra, Ragley parts-cycle
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 128 Post(s)
Liked 1,242 Times
in
336 Posts
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
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.
Likes For a_d_a_m:
#3
Expired Member
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: TN
Posts: 11,539
Mentioned: 37 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3672 Post(s)
Liked 5,427 Times
in
2,757 Posts
Congrats, sounds like a fun trip. I think a clyde wheelset would be a wise investment.
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: /dev/null
Posts: 675
Bikes: Soma Double Cross Disc (2017), red Hardrock FS (circa 1996)
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 217 Post(s)
Liked 155 Times
in
102 Posts
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.
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.
#5
Sunshine
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Des Moines, IA
Posts: 16,614
Bikes: '18 class built steel roadbike, '19 Fairlight Secan, '88 Schwinn Premis , Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross V4, '89 Novara Trionfo
Mentioned: 123 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10963 Post(s)
Liked 7,489 Times
in
4,189 Posts
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.
Likes For mstateglfr:
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 1,606
Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 581 Post(s)
Liked 921 Times
in
518 Posts
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.
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.
#8
Space Ghost
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: NYC
Posts: 1,762
Bikes: Bridgestone, Fuji, Iro, Jamis, Gary Fisher, GT, Scott, Specialized and more
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 292 Post(s)
Liked 412 Times
in
318 Posts
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?
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?
#10
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: By theBeach and Palos Verdes, CA adjacent
Posts: 554
Bikes: One of each: Road, Hybrid, Trekking
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 137 Post(s)
Liked 115 Times
in
53 Posts
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, 😛
This cycling stuff gets kind of addictive, 😛
#11
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,237
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18413 Post(s)
Liked 15,536 Times
in
7,328 Posts
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.
#12
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2020
Location: Ohio
Posts: 523
Bikes: 2021 Kona Sutra, Ragley parts-cycle
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 128 Post(s)
Liked 1,242 Times
in
336 Posts
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.
32. I am upgrading to a Velocity Cliffhanger as recommended by my LBS as well as the folks at Velocity.
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).
When I have time to make a longer post, I will do so in the touring subforum and link back in this thread.
32. I am upgrading to a Velocity Cliffhanger as recommended by my LBS as well as the folks at Velocity.
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).
#13
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2020
Location: Ohio
Posts: 523
Bikes: 2021 Kona Sutra, Ragley parts-cycle
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 128 Post(s)
Liked 1,242 Times
in
336 Posts
Tour journal/review with lots of pictures here: https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/1...mber-trip.html
Likes For a_d_a_m:
#14
Mad bike riding scientist
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 27,362
Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones
Mentioned: 152 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6219 Post(s)
Liked 4,218 Times
in
2,365 Posts
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.
__________________
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
#15
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2020
Location: Ohio
Posts: 523
Bikes: 2021 Kona Sutra, Ragley parts-cycle
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 128 Post(s)
Liked 1,242 Times
in
336 Posts
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.
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.