I prepared my trusty Koga Worldtraveller (2021) for the current adventure from Bangkok to Europe. Before starting, it had done more than 34,000kms and it was time to change a few things.
Gearing
I’ve lowered the gearing to make it easier to get up the big hills in the Stans. Lowest gear is now almost 16 gear inches.
Handlebars
First up I changed my Jones (Copies) bars for the real thing. I got the 710mm Jones bars with 51mm of rise. That makes me more upright which is something I’d wanted to do for a while – and I love it so far. The extra width also provides more control for rough roads New green grips finish the bars nicely.
Cables and brake lines
Next, I wanted to lengthen the brake lines and Rohloff cables to fit a larger dry bag under the handlebars. I also updated my Bike Bag Dude Handlebar Sling with a new one. The old one was wearing out a little, but it had been foolproof for the three year trip I finished in 2024. So the bag setup is essentially the same as before.
Pedals
I’m going with some grippy flat pedals for a change. It should be simpler but it’ll be different, not being clipped in. I’ll see how the pins rip into the soles of my sandals and shoes.
Suspension Seatpost
The bushings on my suspension seat post, a Cane Creek eeSilk+, were cracked and worn, so they had to be replaced.
Rohloff cables
I replaced my Rohloff cables and installed a new twist shifter. To be honest, I jammed a cable in the old twist shifter and had to throw it out. Probably needed replacement anyway …
Mudguards / Fenders / tyres / tubes
For my Bangkok to Europe trip, I’ll go without mudguards / fenders and that will enable me to fit some new 622 X 57 Schwalbe Mondials. I’m doing this for comfort and to handle the rough roads in the Stans.
I’ve also switched to TPU tubes. I probably shouldn’t experiment on a trip like this, but let’s see.
Camera
I’m bringing an Insta360 camera this time, so there are new brackets to mount it. It’s going to take some getting used to in terms of the mounting on the bars, and there’s also the learning curve associated with how to create videos on the road.
Bike Computer
My old Lezyne MegaXL gracefully died. It had served me well on the three year trip and I was sad to see it go.
I replaced it with a Coros Dura which has solar charging and amazing battery life while offering integration with Komoot, my navigation app of choice.
Thoughts so far …
I’m loving the bars and the Inst360 camera. The camera is brilliant. I can just hit the record button, then frame the video later. It makes a minimal impact to bike riding.
Everything else is really familiar apart from the handlebar bag hanging off the main part of the bars and not the loop section. That makes them slightly more inconvenient but by the time I hit north west China, it’ll be back in the familiar position.
The Coros Dura has taken a bit of learning – well, unlearning the Lezyne way of doing things and learning the Coros way. It’s brilliant, I love it. The maps are fantastic, even the rerouting works well, although, you need to get used to it.
After not charging it for the first 1,100kms, it still had 39% battery left. That’s amazing. Admittedly it was sunny, but it just means that I don’t have to think about it.
I also don’t miss being clipped in to the pedals and I’m surprised at that. Security for my feet is good due to the pins on the pedals holding my sandals in place. I don’t expect the sandals to last the whole way to Europe though.
