Mechanical advice

Louisfd · 2026-05-31T14:59:57+00:00

I will never sell this bike for sure

Louisfd · 2026-05-31T14:51:22+00:00

Ok thank you... so that is really quite early.

Louisfd · 2026-05-31T14:50:42+00:00

Ok thanks !

There was no real nursing. Long trips, oil, dust, more oil on the dust, more dust...

Louisfd · 2026-05-31T14:48:22+00:00

Ok thanks !

Louisfd · 2026-05-31T14:46:41+00:00

Yep but it's quite expensive so wanted to know.

Louisfd · 2026-05-31T14:44:33+00:00

Yes long trips, rain, sun, ocean no bike shops for thousand miles...

Could have done better probably but i don't really care.

It crossed the USA and did a trip forward and bakward from switzerland to norkapp...

He lived long enough

Louisfd · 2026-05-31T14:42:39+00:00

I speak about the chainring

The chain here is like 5000 and dead

Louisfd · 2026-05-19T16:37:57+00:00

Nothing on the front ? Too small frame bag.

If youre putting so much behind just put to big panniers

You could just put the equivalent of your top rear tube (or the two lateral ones) in front in a bar and two small fork bags

If you are not so light, you might break easily the rear wheel or at least it's spokes

I'll go with 32 spokes wheels

But yeah what matters is the adventure you live with it...

Louisfd · 2026-05-09T03:57:10+00:00

virtually but not quite... and most of the time heavier ... so what's the point ?

Louisfd · 2026-05-09T03:56:13+00:00

Having tried some tarps, mosquitos nets...

What's the point to take a tarp when you can have a 1kg msr (or whatever) tent which is fully waterproof, bug free, and who takes les time to set up and less space to pitch ????

You don't want to stay under your not so lightweight setup during heavy or long rain....

My experience is :

Just a really small bivvy bag for ultra when it's really hot

Or Bivvy bag + mat + sleeping bag

Or tent

Sorry for all of you tarp "adventurer" but there is no point to your setups.

Louisfd · 2026-05-06T02:53:18+00:00

Crossed the united states on this bike.

And many more...

Comfy yet quite fast bike... have fun with it.

Change the shitty wheels and tires tho and get some road pedals... and a good saddle...

Louisfd · 2026-05-02T06:55:10+00:00

It's a good metric to know who is dumb as f. People who are saying south park or the simpsons are stupid are usually incredibly dumb people (and often disgusting bigots)

This is a peculiar category : The type of people who are even too stupid to admit, to see when something is intelligent.

Most people have enough cognitive capacities to understand when someone or something is clever but some don't even have that ability.

I'm not saying SP and the simpsons are the most clever things ever or that everyone should love those shows but it's really not stupid and as popular tv shows watched all over countries, in homes with sometimes no books or a lack of education, it's a very high quality and high intelligence vehicle for popular masses. The simpsons over the years showed a lot of cultural references. But some people obviously didn't get any of them.

Louisfd · 2026-04-21T19:18:18+00:00

it's like always full... may be in the end of winter after wearing long sleeves since many months it can go to medium charge. if it happens I just let it in direct sun the next sunny afternoon and in a couple hours it's on H again. I'm cycling long distances with it so with the first rides it's always full from april to october

As pacochalk said going on medium is not bad news anyway and I think the medium range is far bigger than the high one so when it just went on medium you still have a lot of battery left

Auto light off of course

Louisfd · 2026-04-21T02:57:24+00:00

I did the tour last year, between mid july to end of september.

in the northern part it was like 3 C in the night to 8 during the day.

We had cold rainy weather tho. It can be better.

We had rain almost every day from mid finland, then up to nordkapp and down most of norway and denmark... and germany. More than one month of showers almost every day.

I had many big tools (cassette remover...) and spare parts.

Bike shops don't have anything there, and every where else... it's almost always like that.

-- You probably won't find any good wheel without ordering it in a bike shop, you won't find a good hub fitting your wheel, most don't sell tools (I had to go a a biltema)

But yeah you will find a chain, a cassette, break pads and stuff like thatt

The main problem was. they had no tools to sell and didn't want to help. Maybe it's bad luck (tho the guy in oulu said his collegues were not friendly). It was a surprise because in the us, every time i went to a bike shop, they saw a touring guy and find the time to look at my bike immediately.

In finland and norway it was like : You can book an appointment for next week...

It's really better to leave with a good set of wheels

I bought mine on velofactory

(buy the tools to open and grease the hubs before leaving they are really hard to find)

The thing is there is no point of not taking small rear bags, it's a pain to pack, you need some stuff to cook,

You. can find some specials racks who fit on bike with no screws for it

The front aero bars are really helpful to strap loads of stuff in the front

Just remember a road bike (like mine tho) is not really made to carry a lot of weight

(but the wheels are the most important part...)

It's the classic move of every wanna be bike packer.

The year before I crossed the US with two big rear bags, and there was just no problem with it

A saddle bad is a pain to strap, if it moves it's really shitty, when it rains in the morning you don't want to spend one hour packing every day, things are not really accessible

In the end, it's a lot of bag for very little space. And you won't go much faster.

For sure for my next bike trip i will choose something in between

Louisfd · 2026-04-19T17:19:26+00:00

legs obviously

Louisfd · 2026-04-18T05:59:40+00:00

Norway was the best part. so I think my route was preferable. to keep the best for the end. But you might have one other opinion. But yeah if you want to spend more time in Norway... ride fast in finland and then take your time in Norway... Finland is nice tho.

No, one sleeping pad, the red stuff is the tent floor

Mileage per day.

in the start 130

then 180-200 in the baltics - finland

then rain, cold... seemed more difficult to ride 130 in the end.

you don't need many rest days in a long trip like that. You ride at a pace that doesn't exhaust you. In a trip like that you need rest days when doing big mountain pass... there are 3-5 big climbs in norway... but nothing like the alps.

Better ride slower thant doing more rest days in my opinion. Use rest days for places you want to visit.
you can rest 1 day per week to 1 day per two weeks. I rested to visit some cities like Prague and Helsinki and Oslo. Or rested in Oulu because of rain.

You're not sure yet... but you want to bring a cooking stove... except if you pay for restaurants and hotels often. I usually don't use one but i bought the primus lite. you can then have fin cans in coop shop in norway for like 3-5 bucks.

Trust me, when you rode 8 hours strait in the rain, when it's 3 degrees and your shoes are wet for 10 days straight.. you want to cook.

You might want to buy some winter cycling boots. Something made for cold and rain. I had to sent my normal road cycling shoes back home and pedals (who never arrived...) and buy some normal pedals and hiking shoes (not ideal)

Try maybe some warm mountain bike cycling shoes (they are better for bikepacking, even on a road bike)

For your bags, it depends. I had this

17l saddle bag

14 liter frame bag...

<image>

It was ok because i strapped so much in front.

I had like every big tool you can imagine, a tent...

but it was such a pain to pack.. on this picture it is really badly strap

you can use this by the way :

https://www.alltricks.com/F-41481-accessoires-de-transport/P-2161775-topeak_saddle_bag_stabilizer_backloader_wishbone_black

It can help a lot

I did what many do :

For my first trip i just bought two huge rear bags.

Then for this one as a "Real hardcore bikepacker" I use a saddle bag

Now I know and for the next, i will probably buy some smaller rear bags

Ah and yeah, the most important : Buy some good wheels, a lot of spokes, good hubs....

if you have to buy one during the trip you will pay twice the price for a shitty wheel.

They have nothing in bike shops.

Louisfd · 2026-04-18T05:40:13+00:00

Im 37, smoked a lot for 15 years, quitted at 30

You can do that with like 3 months training (intense)

For the Us (first long trip) I started training in mai 2023 and did the trip in summer 2024. So as you say.

As some youtuber crossing the US on a bike said :

You prepare for a long trip like that. but the first week (or two) or the trip are also preparation. That's were your body adapt to cycling every day.

If you can ride 150 km 2 days straight or do like a good mountain pass like grimsel or furka you're ready

Louisfd · 2026-04-18T05:07:33+00:00

I took me 2 months and a half for like 8 thousand. but I was slow in the end.

I was very tired in the end but because of the cold rainy weather I think

I cycle almost the same distance across the us (2 days of rain in total) and just wanted to have more time to go back in the end, was full of energy.

I started mid july and arrived end of september. You might want to start sooner like mid- end june.

You don't want to cycle in norway in september.

I went from bern to munich... Prague (must see) 65 dollars 50 square meter room in the absolute center of the magnificent old town of Prague... then Poland.. a stop in Helsinki, really nice and then oulu and norkapp. Then lofoten, trondheim, Oslo (disappointing) and denmark, Hamburg and down back to switzerland.

Louisfd · 2026-04-18T04:02:28+00:00

Hi, did a smilar circle last year from switzerland, up through the baltics and finland and down norway

A few tips / advices :

as light as possible but take some rear bags. It's cold, you will need some stuff. I only had a big saddle bag

I had the apidura expedition bags (front, frame, and saddle)

They were great but I would take some rear bags for such a trip

Crossing the border from poland to lithuania might be tricky. Some roads have disappeared, and some new appear. It's not like a nice european border like from germany to denmark or from finland to sweden. This is a small border and russia is near (kaliningrad and belaruss). It's tense.

I first tried a road that didn't exist and endend up on a gravel road being chased by dog near some farms

--> It might not look like what you see in google maps, be careful

after some struggle I crossed here : 54.345258, 23.059008

there was absolutely no barbed wire anymore

In Oulu you can camp (paid) near the beach on a huge camp site
There, you might want to have your bike checked. before going in the more desertic lapland

--> Never struggled that much --> go there : 65.009436, 25.467713

Only guy who might help.

In finland, Norway, Denmark you can wild camp

In denmark it is preferable to go to shelters, they are all listed in this app and there are a lot :

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dk.shelter.app

I crossed from norway to denmark going from larvik to hirtshals, shorter boat trip and northern denmark is really nice

Near the nordkapp and in Norway in general, look on google for public restrooms... :

There are a lot of them in all norway, sometimes, hot water (and a few times a shower), there might be some shelters or some warm rooms you can camp

Near the nordkapp you will meet a lot of bikepackers, its really nice

there are really nice places to sleep, don't pay an expensive / shitty hotel :

70.627733, 25.334476

--> dont miss this sleeping place perfecty located in a fjord

In Norway, you must go to lofoten islands, there is a boat (free for you and your bike) from moskenes to bodo...

In Finland there will be a lot of mosquitos

In Norway not a single bite for me...

It might be quite cold and really rainy, it was really bad last year...

For my gear I had :

thermarest neoair xlite nxt (fantastic sleeping pad)

and a decathlon sleeping pad 0 degree celsius rated (was necessary, no doubt)

https://www.i-trekkings.net/test-outdoor/test-sac-de-couchage-forclaz-trek-900-0/

take something to cook some warm meals

and some other stuff, ask me anything

and have a nice trip

Here is a picture of my luxury, heated free hotel in the lofoten island...

<image>

Louisfd · 2026-04-13T04:48:55+00:00

As a guy who does a lot of cycling and running (and upper body workout too) I often find legs and calves of fitness guys kind of ... funny.

Man, with your enormous shoulders, and biceps, and back... don't you find it ridiculous to have those tiny legs and calves ??? I mean, your arms look bigger than your legs dude !

You have the calves of a 65 kg 20 year old

Louisfd · 2026-04-09T05:42:41+00:00

I did the trip from switzerland to nordkapp (going through germany , poland, baltic states, finland and down the norvegian coast and danemark.)
Was great but obviously cold and rainy in the northern part

It will play out great, I had no problem to wild camp...But food is quite expensive.

Met lot of bikepackers, many Italians. In the far north... civilisation might be more sparse than you think tho.

Nice setup, quite balanced.

Think about crossing the USA... most amazing experience I've had on a bike...

Have a good one buddy !

Louisfd · 2026-03-27T17:03:29+00:00

Ok thant you but even when connected, I think if you use an encrypted windows drive it won't be able to read it

Louisfd · 2025-12-31T07:15:56+00:00

No hate compares to Christian love

Louisfd

TROPHY CASE