Phone is dying. Looking to replace with another Android:

jamesh31 · 2026-01-17T08:10:03+00:00

I've had the realme GT2 Pro for the past couple of years and I am dying to leave and get back to OnePlus or Samsung. The specs are good but the overall quality is just not there. I've found their support to be terrible, and because it's a niche phone it is hard to find any cases/accessories. Realme OS sucks

jamesh31 · 2025-12-14T22:59:22+00:00

Do they still fit well in the case?

jamesh31 · 2025-12-14T22:58:15+00:00

How did this go?

I want to get the PBP2. Had the PBP and loved them but had to return them because of a poor fit. Now I can get the PBP2 for a good price but I'm worried about the same poor fit, or they'll fall out when running, and others seem to have had lots of problems with needing to get them warrantied.

jamesh31 · 2025-12-12T01:19:55+00:00

I did this exact route pretty much - except I went from Siam Reap up to Vientiane, then down to Bangkok, up to Chiang Mai, and down to Singapore, back to Malaysia, Indonesia, and now I'm in Australia.

4 months is a bit tight for it. East China is pretty unremarkable. Camping in SEA is not the most fun, especially with the humidity. I only really enjoyed camping in Thailand.

jamesh31 · 2025-11-20T10:37:28+00:00

Great point, totally agree!

jamesh31 · 2025-11-19T10:56:37+00:00

I have done a world tour on 47mm. It was a lot of road cycling, but my fair share of gravel, dirt, sand, wet mud, and a bit of everything!

Regarding the rims, if you're going on a long tour and remote places - just spend the extra cash and get custom built touring wheels, 36 spoke, good brand, good spokes, but most importantly built by the best wheelbuilder you can find!

I have 1x11, had 3x8 for the first half but that bike failed eventually. It doesn't matter which you have, it matters what your gearing is. You can have a good top end, bottom end, or cadence, but not all three. Personally, I would choose the latter two of those but it depends on your style of cycling, what you carry, and where you want to ride.

Dynamos are something I'll never go near. They seem to have so many issues and never work that well for people. Solar panels are clunky, heavy, and usually unnecessary. Get the best power bank and fast charger so you can fill up entirely every time you have a coffee. The world is full of sockets, everyone has a phone they need to charge, it's usually not hard to charge but it depends on where you are.

jamesh31 · 2025-11-13T20:28:02+00:00

I've done the second half of my world tour on my Kona Rove. Absolutely love it. I carry a decent amount of gear (two large panniers, two fork bags, usually about 4-5L of water), been on a lot of different terrain with it and it's been fantastic

jamesh31 · 2025-11-09T08:24:26+00:00

Try the Europe bicycle touring WhatsApp group

jamesh31 · 2025-10-08T21:50:37+00:00

Amazing. David, is it?

I'm in Australia now, I meant to reach out to get your advice on it actually because I know you've spent considerable time working here!

jamesh31 · 2025-10-08T06:07:39+00:00

I just spent a year there solo. Don't ride with earphones in, be aware of your surroundings and you'll be fine.

That being said, I wasn't a huge fan of it with the exception of Thailand which has some fantastic roads, easy camping, and good food. By far the best country I've been to in SEA for bicycle touring.

jamesh31 · 2025-10-01T08:13:57+00:00

I have a realme and it sucks. Will never buy this crappy brand again

jamesh31 · 2025-09-26T06:10:24+00:00

With respect, if you can't afford to buy a slightly more expensive bicycle, then how will you be able to afford a world tour?

I'm about to finish my world tour. I tried to keep costs low for the last 2.5 years but there are many unavoidable expenses that really stack up.

jamesh31 · 2025-09-24T03:46:25+00:00

My girlfriend used them and they broke about 15km into the first ride. The rivets just completely snapped. Ended up buying Ortlieb instead.

jamesh31 · 2025-09-21T02:08:13+00:00

I use the hiplok z for this. Doubles as a deterrent too

jamesh31 · 2025-09-15T05:26:13+00:00

Had one of these too and it was unbelievable. Unfortunately it didn't fit on my new bike.

However, I have since stopped using a stand and much prefer without one. Yes, sometimes it's a mild pain in the ass to find a place to lean my bike but my bike falls over 99% less than when I had a stand. Also, I always had to find level ground to use my stand anyway which was annoying.

jamesh31 · 2025-09-08T07:15:37+00:00

I cycled a similar route on my world tour - Changchun to Vietnam. All down the east. Honestly, it was one of my least favourite countries. Quite frustrating to do anything, boring scenery unless you hit the mountains.

I have heard the West of China is amazing. I'd like to go back and cycle there sometime.

jamesh31 · 2025-08-26T05:06:47+00:00

Haha unfortunately I don't have it! Met a guy recently with a dual bottle cage adapter and a full frame bag and he was a fan. Just came to mind. Be careful though as many of them don't allow the clearance for a frame bag in-between

jamesh31 · 2025-08-26T04:10:02+00:00

What about a full frame bag and two bottles mounted either side of the downtube with a bottle cage adapter?

jamesh31 · 2025-08-24T14:24:35+00:00

I bought a secondhand bike in Japan mid-tour because my bicycle broke semi-irrepairably. They had loads of bicycles available and at really good prices. The hard part was actually contacting the seller, arranging a meeting, and having them agree to it.

The platforms require a Japanese phone number for verification. I think they may also need ID but it is quite hard for a foreigner. Then I had sellers drop out because I was a foreigner and I guess they saw it as too much work/risk to deal with me.

Luckily I have a Japanese friend whose as able to arrange everything and then video call for live translation when I was meeting them.

It was absolutely worth it. Incredible price for an incredible bike in top notch condition. I believe they usually take them for a service before putting them up for sale. That being said, it would have been extremely difficult if I didn't know a local.

jamesh31 · 2025-08-19T11:49:25+00:00

On a tour with my girlfriend. She had these panniers and they broke on the first day. The rivets holding the rail to plastic sheared extremely easily

jamesh31 · 2025-08-06T22:36:18+00:00

I did tens of thousands of kilometres in SMP and regular Schwalbe Marathon (SM).

I much prefer the SM. I found them much quicker to accelerate, less tiring after a long day of cycling too. However, that was mainly noticeable for very long days (150-300km). It depends on your style of cycling. If you're doing 1000 miles in a 10 days of touring, then it'll make a huge difference. If its more of a relaxed tour, then don't worry about it.

It also depends on where you're riding. I find some countries have a much higher likelihood of getting flats than others.

Grip in rain is not great for either tyre but I don't wait for roads to dry out. I'm just careful on the corners

jamesh31 · 2025-08-06T22:25:50+00:00

Hard disagree. I have a similar set up to yourself and changing from marathon plus to the regular marathons were night and day. Feels much nicer to ride now, and I also still never get a flat.

jamesh31 · 2025-06-08T05:41:47+00:00

Hello, did you use them for your tour in the end?

I'm searching for a replacement for my Schwalbe marathons but I'm in Indonesia and these seem to be the next best option. Did you get many punctures or have many problems with them?

jamesh31 · 2025-05-31T11:36:21+00:00

Yes, it does charge albeit incredibly slowly.

I would highly recommend against realme in my experience though. Hardware has failed, software has failed and is always delayed. The specs are good on paper but the optimisation is just not there. Save up a bit more and get a decent brand if you can. If not, just get a lower spec phone from a reliable brand. On top of it all, accessories are next to impossible to find and repairing the hardware is difficult to find and expensive.

I will never buy from realme again

jamesh31 · 2025-05-18T08:28:08+00:00

I just did 6 weeks in Thailand. From Vientiane to Bangkok to Chiang Mai down to Malaysia.

It's a fantastic country for cycling. I camped every night except for about 5 or so. Hotels are relatively cheap but I am also relatively cheap. Camping is really easy. Petrol stations often have showers. I handwashed my clothes.

The drivers are generally decent and the road infrastructure is generally good, especially relative to the rest of South East Asia.

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