Bikes, bike parts and bags

As a Dutchie, a bike is just a means to get from A to B. Until recently, we would be happy if there were wheels and 2 or 3 working gears. For our bikes we did tons of research online (googling how to spell derailleur), asking friends, but our best idea was to contact a shop in Berlin (Radspannerei), where they basically told us what we needed and subsequently built our bikes.

Of course, since we will gather some experience ourselves now, we will try to update this part with our new-found knowledge. For now, for all you bike nerds out there, a list with the components!

Kevin´s bike

• Frame: Surly Disc Trucker 2020 edition, 26“
• Drivetrain: Shimano Deore 3×10
• Brakes: mechanical disc brakes TRP Spyre
• Handlebar: Salsa Cowbell 12 Flare
• Tyres: Schwalbe Marathon Mondial 50-559
• Cargo rack: Tubus Logo Evo
• Saddle: Brooks B17
• Lowrider rack: Tubus Tara (later addition)

Julia´s bike

• Frame: Surly Disc Trucker 2020 edition, 26“
• Drivetrain: Shimano Deore 3×10
• Brakes: mechanical disc brakes TRP Spyre
• Handlebar: Surly Moloko bar
• Tyres: Schwalbe Marathon Mondial 50-559
• Cargo rack: Tubus Logo Evo
• Lowrider rack: Tubus Tara (later addition)
• Saddle: Terry Fisio Gel
• USB-Hub: Cycle2Charge

Bags and panniers

We are huge fans of the Ortlieb bags! Kevin has cycled to work the last 3 years (40 km a day, almost 30000km in total!) with the Ortlieb city backrollers and they are still holding up fine. So we both have 2 of those on the back. When we got our bikes, we were still optimistic that it would be enough, but now we opted for lowriders as well; the Sport-Roller city bags (also from Ortlieb). Since Julia has the Moloko bar from Surly, there is ample space and therefore she will use the Ortlieb Handlebar Pack (15L), which is actually more for bikepacking. It is very stable, the only downside is that it is ment to stay on the bike, so it’s a hassle to get it off and on. We both use a bottlebag from Decathlon for assorted small stuff mounted on the handlebars.

Spare parts

We did bring some spare parts to be on the safe side.

• 1 Schwalbe Marathon Mondial, the folding type
• 2 chains
• Several sets of brake pads. As we use resin based brake pads (Shimano B0S1), we need to replace them fairy often.
• Cables and spokes
• Inner tubes, 3