Building a Bike for the Adventure of Missionary Exploration.

For the past two years, I have ridden my 2006 Bianchi Volpe, known as "Discovery", on our annual "Ride Across the Rez". This year I almost took my other bike, the somewhat more heavy-duty Novara Safari, due to the flooding in Marty, and road damage it caused. Fortunately, the road repairs were finished in time for our trip, but we did experience some soft areas that had been washed out by the floodwaters and recently repaired, and new, variably hard/soft paving on the steep hill down to old Greenwood and the Missouri River. I decided to increase the capability of the Volpe; which was actually a process that began before I even picked it up new, (like the bike at left) from Trailhead Cycle. I chose the largest rack they had in the store for the back of the bike, with touring in mind, added two bottle holders, and Larry, the shop owner, made some adjustments to the seat and stem to better fit me.

When I got it home, the first major change I made was to install a Wilderness Trail Bikes SST saddle to replace the ridiculous, faux-leopard trimmed Velo VT that came with the bike. (The very same SST that is now on the Safari.) The SST is not a bad saddle for long distance touring, which is why it is now on the Safari, but I read so many rave reviews of the Brooks B-17 leather touring saddle, I decided to try one on the Volpe and I am glad I did. A Greenfield rear-mount kickstand allows easier access to the panniers or rack pack without having to hold up or lay down the bike. Eventually, after several false starts, I found a suitable front rack, a Delta low-rider, and ended up with the bike at the stage you see at left, taken in Yankton, SD.

Truth be told, I am not real fond of low-rider racks. Some people like them. but I feel they do strange things to my steering and stability, which is one of the reasons I've preferred the Safari (right), with it's Old Man Mountain Cold Spring front rack for fully loaded touring. With the Novara's 26x2 inch wheels, the OMM rack makes a good combination. Jandd Mountaineering makes the expedition-grade panniers and rack packs I use on my bikes, and they also make front and rear racks to go with them for the Volpe. The Jandd front rack has two possible positions for the front panniers, high and lower, as well as a platform between the bags, where I like to carry my summer sleeping bag. That seemed to be the best choice for a new front rack. The rear rack is almost a third larger than the one that I bought with the bike, so I installed new Jandd racks, front and rear. (The old rack will go on Pastor Jeff's Giant before the 2011 trip.)

The newly "resurfaced" roads on the Reservation wreaked havoc with the 4-year old rear tire on the bike, and shortly after returning from Wagner, I endured a series of flat tires, so I decided to go with a puncture resistant, touring-specific tire, the Schwalbe Marathon Plus. Schwalbe is a sponsor of both the International Christian Cycling Club and the Adventure Cycling Association, so all the better to support the suppliers who support the organizations we are part of. The Marathon-Plus is a very highly rated, widely accepted tire, and is both slightly taller and 3mm wider than the WTB tires that come on the bike from the dealer. They also roll more smoothly and are somewhat quieter than the old tires.

Finally, I asked Larry to add a taller stem to the bike, bringing the top of the handlebars to the same level as the seat. For touring, this was, according to all of the literature I have read, a more comfortable position than the forward-leaning position found on most sport and racing bicycles, where the bars are lower than the saddle. I found it to provide a more upright seated position, with less neck stiffness.

The end result can be seen at left. (Temporary photo until spring, when I can actually get the bike out on the road.) The bike now has a taller stem, a proven leather touring saddle, larger, longer racks, front and rear, puncture resistant, touring-specific tires, frame-mounted tire pump and a rear kickstand. I am hoping this combination will make for a stong, effective 700cm expedition touring bike that will go the extra miles that may be needed as our "Ride Across the Rez" in 2011 expands to two reservations and the 50 miles in between the two.

We are proceeding on...
The Two-wheeled Explorer