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Germans Cycles ACID Extreme (steelframe with Columbus Zona tubeset) with brackets for carriers. In Tibet you need a mountain bike |
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Magura Vidar suspension fork |
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Tubus Cargo sturdy carrier out of thin steel tubes |
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FAIV suspension front rack, very low mounting points to keep the center of gravity as low as possible |
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Selle Italia Flite SLR with a soft nose and space in the middle. One of the most comfortable saddles for me |
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Cane Creek Thudbuster suspension seat post |
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Bar and stem from Ritchey, grips and bar ends are more important to prevent sore spots on your hands |
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Shimano XT front hub and XTR rear hub with 36 holes and 1,8/2,0 DT spokes on Mavic X618 rims. The wheels are the most important part after frame and fork. Mine are handbuilt by Werner Richter www.betterbike.de and were still 100% straight and true after 2500 km (1550 mi) on Chinese gravel roads |
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Shimano XT V-Brakes with Diacompe brake levers |
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Shimano LX/XT shifters and derailleurs, GripShift or RapidFire is a matter of taste. I used GripShifts in South America and had ellbow trouble. With Rapidfire in Tibet the skin broke and didn´t heal until Nepal |
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Schwalbe Marathon XR tires 1.9 (2.25 would be better), I didn´t have a single flat tire or snake bite. The spare tire wasn´t used |
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Schwalbe Extralight tubes, no problems except one ripped off valve in a large pothole doing 55 km/h (35 mph) |
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Ortlieb Front and Back Roller (panniers) light |
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Ortlieb handle bar bag for camera, sun lotion, map, money and passport. Big enough for power bars as well |
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Spare parts: chain, tire, two tubes, 20 patches, glue, four spokes rear wheel right side (right length!) shift and brake cable, chain lube |
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Tools: multitool, tire lifter, strong chain rivet tool, sturdy pump, Shimano cassette removal tool |
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Light cable lock |
