We have just one more riding day of this 2 1/2 month adventure, and we will have ridden about 2,150 miles on our bikes, carrying all our stuff in panniers. Overall, we had very few mechanical issues.
Chris broke her chain early on, shifting hard while pushing with all her force up a sudden steep hill. Actually, it was the quick-link that broke/separated and I had a new one that I had bought just before we left. Easy fix especially since I had the right tool to replace the broken link with the new one. Replaced the link I used at a bike shop a few days later.
I cleaned chains every 3-4 days with a rag and some oil. Not my favorite task but a wise man once told me that cleaning a chain is like cleaning a toilet. Not so bad if you do it often. I used up the bottle of oil I had brought with me about halfway and bought another that I’m not fond of but it works. I checked the chains for stretch 2x on this trip and all was fine.
We had 2 flats (1 each), both slow leaks that I never really located. I replaced the leaking tubes with tubes I was carrying and then bought new replacement tubes at bike shops along the way. I brought 2 with me. Along the route there are also vending machines for bike tire tubes by Schwalb, which are cool.
I rotated Chris’ front/rear tires about 1/3 of the way along since the rear tire wears a lot faster with the extra weight. While her tires had good tread when we left, they had been on her bike for a while and so were a bit dried out. I rotated my tires before we left, and they had about 4,000 miles on them before this trip.
So, I replaced both tires on both bikes in Regensburg. Both bikes’ tires were getting thin and there are some sharp edges to some of the pavements, and I just thought it was time. New tires felt amazing to both of us. The below video is of the bike shop that I went to in Regensburg for any curious bike geeks. It was amazing and huge!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/dqRL41qZFuzGKgbq7
Chris’ bike lost 3 Allen screws that rattled loose on various places holding her fender and her rack. I carry an assortment of bike nuts and bolts and so it was not an issue. I check the bikes every few days to make sure everything is tight, but probably missed some things. Probably should bring some loctite on the next trip.
I replaced the rear brake shoes on Chris’ bike and front brake pads on my bike. Chris has rim brakes and I have disk brakes. Neither set of brake pads was new when we left.
I replaced my front rack with a low-rider rack. With the weight of the bags and the placement of the load, the bike had a shimmy at speed which was greatly reduced with the lowering of the weight. Made the bike easier to handle as well by lowering the center of gravity.
I carried tools to basically do anything I needed, replacement brake and shifter cables, nuts and bolts, chain links and a few links of chain, a freehub remover, tubes, patches, duct tape, a pump and tire pressure gauge and probably other stuff that I can’t remember.
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