Question A question regarding the bike i bought for bike touring

[deerlybeloved]

Recently purchased this 1.3k gravel bicycle on sale. Saved 300 but it’s still the most expensive thing I own.

I did research beforehand, it does have the ability to use a rack, space and moutns for bags and such.

At the same time I also can’t find nearly any videos on YT about it, and only 2 or 3 reddit threads. Most discussion has to do with the ADV 1.1 or 3.1, the 2 is ignored. Please let me know your thoughts on if this bike is viable for long-term(years) bikepacking and bike dwelling.

 

[Joey Garbanzo]

It's the bike you have, who cares what people on the internet say. Put a rack and bags on it and go. It's a fine bike until it isn't, if it works, it works. Just go!

 

[deerlybeloved]

I don’t care what people on the internet say—up to a point. If the advice is that the thing won’t hold up to long-term wear and tear, I need to return it within 90 days and get another thing from somewhere else. No sense committing first without more information.

I do want some racks and panniers, the problem is, good durable racks, and good waterproof bags, cost a lot of money, and I spent my last dollars on this bicycle. Right now I just have a an old milsurp bag ziptied on there, but there’s not enough space in one bag for a tent, repair kit, first aid, 1 clothing change, water storage, food, baby wipes etc etc. Been looking on FBM+Offerup for used options, but apparently nobody in the Deep South really does long term bike stuff.



Basically yes, I agree with you about not taking Online Andys too seriously, but I also want to make sure I’m leaving here next month with some kind of basic level preparedness. I can’t cover every base, I am only human, but I’ve done requisite research about stealth camping so pigs don’t fuck my day, tweakers don’t eat my skin, water supplies, bike paths and rail trails, deet and permethrin for ticks, etc etc etc etc. just trying to make sure my transportation doesn’t fall apart on me at some point! But maybe you’re right and that’s too much worrying…

 

[ali]

A bike's a bike. None of them are really built for years-long touring, because that's an ultra-tiny niche. Fortunately bikes are also pretty well-understood tech that mostly use interchangeable parts so when it breaks down (and it will) most places can probably jury-rig it back together at least good enough to get you to the next big city. Putting a rack on it is the best money you'll spend and will make riding much less of a pain in the ass than strapping shit on wherever you can dangle it, but if all you got is straps at first then that's still going to suck way less than actually carrying anything on your body. Personally i wouldn't want to ride without a waterproof bag, getting rained on is inevitable and it fucking sucks to be traveling when all your shit is wet. Everything else (chain, tires, spokes, pedals, gears, cables) is liable to snap or break or wear out sooner or later, so just be prepared to fork out some cash to replace it down the line, and by then you might have a better idea of what you want, or you might be stuck in nowheresville and be forced to outfit with whatever janky shit happens to be on-hand... and then you keep riding. It's fine. Best advice is to not bring too much stuff, the lighter you are and the lighter your gear is the better. Every component will last longer with less forces applied on it.

 

[Joe Btfsplk]

(psst Ali--It's jerry rigged, not jury rigged)

!!BOINK!! You, Ali, are right. I just looked into it. Jury rigged indeed, a maritime term. Sorry.

 

[MetalBryan]

If your bike has been properly serviced, the brake & shift cables, housing, and the chain are the easiest/cheapest things to change before a long ride. These are the most frequent points of wear. You could have someone check the spoke tension on the wheel set and make sure they're true. Grease the hubs if the bike hasn't seen any service in the last 5 years. If the bike is older than 10 years maybe have someone look at the bottom bracket and grease the stem & seat post.

If the bike makes it from AL to KC, I'll give it a once over.

 

[The Toecutter]

From my experience, most new bikes tend not to be as serviceable or durable, or as stout as 20+ year-old steel-framed bikes that have been given a full tune-up job and restoration of mechanicals. Plus old bikes in good shape can be found for CHEAP.

Anything with 7/8/9 speed parts, bar-end shifters(and less preferably, grip shifters) and either V-brakes or ISO-mount cable-pull disc brakes, will have near-ubiquitous parts availability, often even in bum-fuck nowhere, because they can be replaced with low-end parts found on crappy department store bikes. Get this with a steel frame and double-walled rims, with puncture-resistant touring tires(I recommend Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour), and you can have a touring rig that can match the quality, durability, and reliability of various renown marques such as Surly, Marin, and Trek, without spending more than $500 or so, freeing up money for racks, panniers, tools, gear, ect. It will also have the advantage of not looking as shiny or new or expensive, reducing risk of theft.

That said, if the bike you already have is really the bike you want, even if it isn't precisely what you need, keep it. If you enjoy riding it, that matters as much as whether it will get you where you need to go. You're going to spend thousands of hours on it over its service life after all. If it was a compromise solution, IMO, you paid way too much and I'd look for something cheaper and used that can do the same thing, and learn to fix it up to your liking.

I built my own dream bike and don't regret it. Nothing on the market offered what I was seeking. You may find that to be your case as well. Mine is every bit as much a "car" as it is a "bicycle" though, having 3 wheels, an electric drive system, and an aerodynamic body, and while I haven't done a big tour with it yet, it has proven rock-solid reliable and I have over 80,000 miles on the frame using it to commute, visit job sites, and run errands. If I have to take a 150 mile "drive" with it, I think nothing of it. It has never left me stranded because I learned how to work on it by building it myself, always carried all of the tools I needed to rebuild it if need be, and chose mechanical components that are inexpensive, durable, and easy to find at almost any bike shop or big box store. The things most likely to leave me stranded are proprietary/unique parts like the steering spindles(one did fail at 40 mph once but I was able to drag it to a place where I could fix it with a welder), hydraulic front brakes(use a mix of motorcycle/ATV parts, and DOT3/4 brake fluid can be more easily found than brake cables), or air suspension.

 

[Matt Derrick]

i've edited the title of your thread to something relevant to the discussion. please do not use '-' and other text that does not describe the subject of your discussion.