Even though I’m carrying 120lbs of gear, far too much in my mind, there are some things that I’ve wanted to pick up to make my experience (and yours) that much better. I’m saving up similar when I’d be at home, abstaining from that extra beer, being frugal when I can when choosing camp spots, and buying the generic alternatives instead of the brand names. Eventually I’ll get some of this stuff! Of course, this is a living post, which will change regularly.
Radio – Cost: $21
I think I’m ready for a radio. Being able to tune in the local stations to find out weather forecasts is a huge desire at this stage in the tour, and it would be nice to hear some music every once in a while that wasn’t placed on my MP3 Player at my own will. While searching for something that would be able to satisfy my budget, and reception needs, I came upon the County Comm ETFR. Smaller than a pack of cigarettes, but can tune in the world. This amazing radio tunes AM (520-1710 kHz), FM (76-109 MHz) and has two shortwave bands. Shortwave Band 1 tunes from 5.2-10.45 MHz to include the 49, 41 and 31 meter bands. Shortwave Band 2 tunes from 11.1-18.3 MHz to include the 25, 19 and 16 meter bands. Medium wave coverage is 520 to 1830 kHz and FM is 76-109 MHz. This radio also features a 12 hour format clock with radio wake up alarm. Running off of 2 ‘AA’ batteries it is quite battery efficient providing up to 150 hours of usage at 40% volume or 70 hours of illumination. with its built in LED light. It also allows for manual tuning, to generate white noise – useful for when someone is having troubles sleeping at night.
Kickstand – Cost: $28 (+$7 Side Mounting Bracket for storage while riding)
My Surly Long Haul Trucker does not come with a kickstand, or appropriate mounts so I’m forced to find a place to lean the bike and components on. If not available, I have to lay it on the ground. This causes unneeded wear and tear on my Ortlieb Panniers, and puts pressure on the pedals, and bottom bracket. I don’t want to replace any of those components, so a bit of research was done and I came up with the Click-Stand. I’m going to have to use the Click-Stand Max prouct to support the 120lbs of gear including the bike I haul around. It’s a unique prouct that uses poles similar to what you’d use in setting up a tent, and folds up into 4 or 5 pieces for compact travel. Lightweight at only 75 grams, it can satisfy any lightweight tourers desire to have their bike and contents held up. This ingenious design is custom made in Washington, USA on a per bike basis. You’ll need to provide two measurements to the designer for a precise fit. Also, to assist in stability, one or two brakes need to be activated to avoid wheel roll, and the designer includes some bands to assist in the engagement.
Cassette Remover – (Cost – $36)
I’m riding on shaky ground without all of my tools available should I encounter problems. One of the biggest problems that could derail my journey would be if I broke a spoke on my rear tire. Luckily I’ve got 36 spoke tires, but accidents do happen, and at the least opportune time. To repair a broken spoke you must remove the rear cassette (the series of gears). Typically you would use a Cassette Remover with a Chain Whip. Unfortunately, this is an awful lot of space and added weight to your toolkit. If you are only using a remover sparingly, a tool exists from Stein known as the Mini-Lock Remover. It is very easy to use, requiring no additional tools to remove the cassette.Used to remove the cassette lockring when bike shop resources are not available. This tool secures the lockring from turning by locking it to the dropout so that when the cranks are turned with the bike in low gear the pedaling force will actually break the lockring free. The tool can be used in reverse to be able to install the lockring as well.
Video Camera – (Cost $299)
I want to up my quality of videos that I’m producing in an attempt to produce some pretty gnarly cycling podcasts. Right now I use the Zoom Q3 recorder, and while it works good, it’s just not suitable for what I’m trying to do with it. The GoPro HD Hero camera. Shock Proof, Waterproof, rechargeable via USB, tying into future power generation plans and a variety of mounting options (helmet, bike frame, whatever!) this 1080p High Definition camcorder blows all competition out of the water at a reasonable price. It lacks an external microphone jack which would completely change everything – but potentially with enough demand they may add one of these features to upcoming lineups. You have to see the demonstration video to see what sort of video this outputs. I’m in absolute awe.
Audio Recorder – (Cost $149)
My Zoom Zoom Q3 vieo recorder uses the similar technology as this Zoom H2 Audio Recorder however a lot more options for recording and connecting to a computer. Specifically the addition of an external microphone jack, and the fact that this unit could be used as an external Audio Interface for low latency recording (useful for my musical aspirations) when connected to my computer makes me yearn for this device for interviews, outdoor field recordings, and an all around decent microphone. It takes “AA” batteries and the standard SD card memory format and falls into line with the other equipment I now carry. If GoPro offered an external Microphone jack on its HD Camera, I would not need this product.
Thermometer – Cost: $12
When pedaling throughout the day/night you sometimes don’t quite understand the temperature around you. Suunto offers a combination thermometer/compass solution that is compact enough, lightweight to clip onto zippers. Reviews from buyers show this as positive, and while this wouldn’t allow me to forecast what is coming and understand windchill factors, this sure would satisfy the curiosity of how warm it actually is. This is the Suunnto Comet.
i’ve got a FM receiver you can have! where do i send it? tired of it, somewhere on the road, middle of nowhere?
but seriously if you send me an address i’ll mail it for you. i’ve got two, they’re nothing special but i don’t need two of them!