UPDATE – I’ve just passed 20,000 kms but I’ll update my review after the bike has been serviced next month in the Netherlands and any parts replaced etc. That detail should be of more value to readers. I’m still super happy with the bike though !
On my five and a half month South East Asian trip, I changed the setup as I wasn’t carrying a tent or cooking gear. I also changed my setup mid trip and now have a backpack on the back rack, two fork bags for clothes and some shoes and flip flops in my handlebar harness.
Initially, instead of the backpack, I had two Ortlieb front panniers on the rear rack. The difference is interesting. They must make it far less aerodynamic, as my cruising gear on the flat is now closer to gear 11 on the Rohloff where it was previously gear 10. On downhills, I’ve hit 80km/hr a number of times where before, I rarely got up near 70.
Back to the bike…
I really do nothing to the bike except ride it. I’ll clean it when it’s really dirty, I’ll squirt some water in the belt when it’s dusty and squeaking. I now do that while riding, so it’s pretty simple.
I’ve got 700c wheels with 50mm tyres and this allows me to ride in nearly any terrain.
There are enough options to set it up how you like. E.g. I was using a handle bar sling, fork bags and fork mounted bottle cages, a full frame bag and panniers. I’ve changed that setup a couple of times already.
The only issue that I’ve had, is that the front chainring (is that the right term when you have a belt drive ?), became slightly warped. I think this happened when I transported it on one of the Ferries in Thailand. I once saw how some of the deckhands roped the bike on extremely securely as I left the ferry. They had secured the bike by roping the chainring to the barrier on the deck and must have used a lot of force to do it. It was a couple of days later, that I noticed the warp.
The warp didn’t cause any issues, but the bike shop in Bangkok recommended replacing it. I managed to get a replacement sent out but no bike shops had the right tool to install it. And that is the only issue I have with the bike – when something does go wrong, parts and expertise aren’t always readily available. In fairness, if I was riding in Europe, I doubt I’d have an issue.
I replaced the chainring eventually but not for about 4000 more kilometres.
However, that was the only issue in the first 12,500 kms with the bike. Even the wheels are still silky smooth, and they’ve endured 4 weeks on some terrible roads in Laos as well as the Mawson Trail and other rough dirt roads in Australia.
I asked the bike shop in Chiang Mai to service the front hub as they’d done the recommended 10,000kms, but the mechanic refused. He said they were running perfectly. I wish my knees were that good !
I had only two punctures with my Schwalbe Marathon GTs with tubes in more than 7,300kms in Asia. I guess this is to be expected as many of the roads were paved and in pretty good condition.
In summary, I simply can’t fault this bike. It’s perfect for what I need, it’s fun to ride and it hasn’t let me down. It also allows me to devote time to travel rather than bike maintenance, and that’s why I bought it in the first place. That’s the most important point I can make.
It’s not light, but it’s not bad and I’ve got the gearing to get up most hills. I rarely have to get off and push on any type of road.
Post Asian trip maintenance:
• I discovered that the drive side bearing in the bottom bracket needed replacing. I expect that this is due to about 4000 kms with a warped chainring.
• the front wheel bearings were cleaned and repacked with grease. That’s the first time they’ve been touched in 14,000kms.
• regreased the suspension seatpost
• serviced the pedals
• cleaned and serviced the top part of the headset
• (some of this was done by Bike Tailor in Caloundra – a great little bike maintenance shop)