Bike


- Germans Cycles ACID Extreme (steelframe with Columbus Zona tubeset) with brackets for carriers. In Tibet you need a mountain bike
- Magura Vidar suspension fork
- Tubus Cargo sturdy carrier out of thin steel tubes
- FAIV suspension front rack, very low mounting points to keep the center of gravity as low as possible
- Selle Italia Flite SLR with a soft nose and space in the middle. One of the most comfortable saddles for me
- Cane Creek Thudbuster suspension seat post
- Bar and stem from Ritchey, grips and bar ends are more important to prevent sore spots on your hands
- 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
- Shimano XT V-Brakes with Diacompe brake levers
- 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
- 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
- Schwalbe Extralight tubes, no problems except one ripped off valve in a large pothole doing 55 km/h (35 mph)
- Ortlieb Front and Back Roller (panniers) light
- Ortlieb handle bar bag for camera, sun lotion, map, money and passport. Big enough for power bars as well
- Spare parts: chain, tire, two tubes, 20 patches, glue, four spokes rear wheel right side (right length!) shift and brake cable, chain lube
- Tools: multitool, tire lifter, strong chain rivet tool, sturdy pump, Shimano cassette removal tool
- Light cable lock