Tip Of The Month: Grease In A Syringe The next time you need to grease different parts of your bike, drop by your local pharmacy or hobby shop for a syringe.
Welcome to the October newsletter. Autumn’s cool breezes are blowing our way here in Europe, and Andrew & I are already dreaming of our next trip in December. We’re leaning strongly towards Corsica, but will it be too cold? There’s also Tunisia or an off-road adventure in Morocco to consider. Decisions, decisions! As we ponder, here’s what’s been going on at TravellingTwo headquarters. »» »» »» »» »» »» »»
Tire Width: does it make a difference? Dutch Cyclists: A Photo Essay Interview With Epic Bike Tourist Heinz Stucke 10 Questions: Cycling Around The USA Making Pizza On A Bike Tour Things To Carry In Your Repair Kit A Creative Fix: Fitting A 32-spoke hub to a 36-spoke rim
Featured Bike Touring Blog: Yellow Tent Adventures If you haven’t heard of Willie Weir, you’ve been missing out. Together with his partner Kat, they’ve biked all over the world. Willie has also authored a few books on bike touring, and writes for the Adventure Cycling Association. On their blog, they post lovely descriptions of the daily ins and outs of bike touring, like this excerpt from Kat’s journal: “Today is my birthday. Today is spent confined to our small 6 x 4 foot little yellow tent as the rains come in trickles to bursts and winds come in gusts. Fortunately I love our little yellow tent. I love small spaces. I love a lazy day doing nothing more strenuous than reading and adjusting my thermarest chair. So rarely do I get the opportunity in life to do nothing and not feel guilty about it.” For more check out Yellow Tent Adventures.
Yes, that’s right: a syringe. They’re perfect for filling with grease, to create your own personal “grease gun”. With a syringe full of grease, you can easily lube up all those ball bearings and other tight spots, without getting your hands dirty. Note: we’re taking about the plastic syringes here; not the ones with needles! What you want are the syringes normally used to measure and dispense medicine in the correct quantities. Dave Moulton’s bike blog elaborates on the homemade grease gun.
Gear We Love: Pedals With Spikes When it comes to pedals, we’ve tried just about everything going: toe clips, Power Grips and SPDs (see more on pedals we’ve tried). Recently, we tried pedals with spikes and they’re our favourite type of pedals so far! Pedals with spikes are grippier than normal flat pedals. In rainy conditions your feet don’t going flying all over the place, and you get more traction during normal cycling too. When you need to stop quickly, there’s no twisting to get your feet out of cleats, cages or straps. For us, they just work. Is there a downside? Well, let’s just say that if you hit your legs against the pedals when you’re pushing the bike, it’s going to hurt. Ouch! They won’t be for everyone, but if you feel you haven’t quite found your perfect pedal yet, take a look at pedals with spikes. As a first pair, we’ve each ordered a set of these DMR Pedals with spikes.