The bike and the gear

Here is a surprise (to some of the readers, at least): my bike cost me 40 euros. I wonder how many people have biked the Berlin-Copenhagen route (or Berlin-Stockholm, for that matter) with such a cheap bike. Definitely not those few bike travelers that I saw during the journey.

I bought the bike from a flea market in Berlin in last September. It was definitely not too well kept, but the basic structure and relevant parts were ok quality. Of course, I had to fix a lot of things. It didn't have the front brakes at all and back wheel brakes were not working properly. Saddle was crooked. Chains were badly worn out, as well as the casettes. Suspension fork existed but it was rusty and, needless to say, non-functional. Front derailleur needed adjustments. By and large, every single part was dirty and in need of some serious oiling.

Most of the above shortcomings I fixed either during the fall, some during the last minute fixing before the journey. The result was an ok bike, but to be honest, not such that I would use again for biking 1300 kilometers.

If some of the readers are interested in bike traveling, here are some tips considering the bike. Most important, in my opinion, is to have a rack and proper bags to attach to it. I don't recommend carrying a a backpack. On a longer trip it's best to get all weight off your back. Another very important thing is a good saddle. A thin and hard racer saddle is not a good option. You should have a wide and soft saddle, at least if it's the first time you do a biking trip. Also the grips matter. Normal round grips might be ok for some, but for me they were not, as the grips blocked my veins and caused some blood circulation problems in my left hand. In addition to these things, also the importance of the dimensions of a bike is emphasized on a longer trip. The size of the bike, as well as the height adjustments of the saddle and stem should be right. I have to admit that in my bike, they were not (screws of the stem were so rusty that it was not adjustable).

The most important gear on the trip was of course the tools to fix a broken inner tube (I needed them three times). You should also have a proper pump to re-inflate the fixed tube. My pump was too cheap to work at all (it was actually only able to get the air out of the tube, not in it). I guess I was lucky to break my tubes always close to the service stations. Regarding the rest of the gear, you can use as much money as you want to. But let me just say, that you will be quite fine without the 100e biking glasses that dim according to the sunlight.

This might be my last post on this blog, hope you enjoyed reading it! To all the readers who are planning a biking trip, I wish happy fixing and sunny roads!