Cycling Around the World, Sadly had to return for major repairs

[John Peel]

Remember the journey is mostly for you, and daily updates to back home may detract from that.

This is true, it is more a personal thing than something for sharing, but I'm loving the sharing. People I have met on my cycle thus far are loving being kept up to speed on my journey too. I've met dozens of amazing people.

 

[John Peel]

What's your view of Koga as a manufacturer after all the hassle?

I like the bike, it has to be said. I like the look of it and it comfortable and sure it feels. It weighs in at 22kg and feels like a tank, but in a good way. Sadly, its the customer support and the way they have dealt with my problem that has turned me completely off them. They were aware of this issue before I even bought the bike, as were Rohloff and Gates. My dealer says he wasn't, and I believe him, because of the way he had reacted throughout.

KOGA have not so much as sent me a direct email to apologise, and I was left to deal with people who supply parts for the bike, not KOGA themselves. If I bought a Mercedes brand new, and the gearbox failed and if the gearbox was made by another manufacturer, Mercedes would not leave me to deal with the gearbox manufacturer. They offered no support for getting the bike back, no offer to take the bike in at the closest dealership, and basically left me to it.

I know exactly were I stand now, and know that if have any more trouble, they will not be interested. I have put an article on my website on what I would suggest to anyone wanting a bike to take them around the world.

 

[John Peel]

Glad you finally sorted out your bike. So it was a problem with the Rohloff albeit with the sprocket carrier for the belt rather than the hub itself? Pretty poor of Koga given the bike you bought was is probably one of the best touring expedition bikes on paper. I used to run mine with a chain which was fine but now have belt as I wanted zero maintenance, but have not had a problem so mine must be an older/different type of carrier? Anyway you seem to have negotiated a good deal in getting it sorted. Hopefully you will start off in the new year where you left off. I wouldn't try and do too many miles at first, build up. 206kg is a huge weight to haul on a bike maybe far too much, less is more. I am guessing this includes you? As some one above has said you can always just use Twitter. Maybe do this and if you want to make videos just upload them when you are back and have had the time to edit them, cutting out the less interesting stuff, but this all takes time which you can't really do while on the road very well with pressures to keep riding. It will take enough of your time just setting up the shots to make a half decent film of 5 minutes. Whist you don't want to make films like other cycle tourers maybe check some out to get an idea, but it is time intensive and once you start and have an audience they will expect regular updates. Either you make them for your own pleasure or you make them like many Youtubers do, to make a little pocket money.

The problem is not with the actual main unit, but the new carrier / components. My own view after all this investigation, is that it is too loose a fitting and a few days of rain washed any grease out, but that's just my simplistic view of the issue, its likely far more technical than that, if it is even that. But from talking with bike shops all over the country, one in Scotland tells me that because of the weather there, they are getting calls from customers about noise, so take from that what you will. The older threaded carrier / components didn't have this issue but was too hard to take off, you needed a special too, whereas the new splined carrier / components can be removed by the rider fairly easily. Its funny, but I'm already owed nearly 50 sobs from YouTube/Google for my videos, as I am a verified partner. I'm hoping to capture that moment that nets me a million views = £1k , I can dream hey. The weight includes me, but I'm a huge bulk of a man, strong for my work as a builder, but all that bulk is useless for this cycle, unless I have to carry the bike and all the gear. I weighted in at 151kg at the start, and now weight 132kg. But I'm in no rush, its not a race, and I am what I am. I think my size is what has kept me safe

 

[John Peel]

All credit for giving it a try but you have got a madly complicated set up.

If I were to give anyone advice or start all over again, I would go with derailleur gearing with plenty of granny gears, loads of them in fact, as lugging so much gear up steep hills is damn hard work. Rohloff for the shorter trips of a few weeks or a few months, were getting it back was on the cards anyway if it went t#ts up. The big plus for me with the Rohloff is being able to stop to catch my breath on a steep hill, then change gear without having to turn the pedals so I can move off again easily. I hope this setup last longer than the last one, a lot longer. If this KOGA fails me again in a big way again, I will likely post it back home and buy another bike from a bike builder offering better support, and will derailleur gearing. I have even tried to estimate how much it would cost to just buy a different cheap bike in each country have to fly to, to get me across that country for a few months then dump it before flying to the next country. It would only have to last a few months at most. After all, my 4k KOGA will be worth nothing in 3 years anyway, its barely worth anything now.

 

[John Peel]

Best of luck. And, in a way, good to get the mechanical snafu out of the way.

Thanks. Lets hope it gets me a bit farther this time hey

 

[John Peel]

sorry, and the 206 kg? Lets assume you are a solid lad and weigh 120..

I'm solid alright. To see me in real life, you wouldn't believe I weighed in at 151kg when I set out, as I'm not all belly. I strength train and a life in the building industry has shaped me. That said, I now weigh in at 132kg after just 3 months on my tour, a huge difference. It has come of my chest, shoulders and arms more notably, which I'm not too happy about, but I expected to lose muscle if I wasn't using it like before. If I were to prepare for a few weeks or a few months, knowing that my flight is sorted for my return from he destination I had planed, I would go a hell of a lot lighter, taking next to nothing really because it would only be a little discomfort for a little while, but as I was not planning on returning for many years, I wanted as much comfort as I could, I didn't want to spend years scratching about and wanting, so I'm basically taking my home with me. That said, I am looking at scaling things down a bit for the next stage of Europe to see how I go, because once I reach Cyprus from Turkey, I'm going to be needing to sort out packing for multiple flights, to India, Thailand, Australia, and so on. But I just can't bare the thought of going so light for such a long time, will make my trip feel crappy, and if all this weight loses me 10miles on a day, I'm cool with that as long as I am comfortable. My camera gear and laptop all weigh in at nearly 8kg. Photography is my hobby, and using my laptop to plan my trip while on the move has proven important. Trying to book flights and organise things in advance with just a mobile phone would be hard work, but I'm looking in to it all the same. I'm looking at seeing how I get on without my laptop, and buy a phone that I will work better with transferring images from my Sony A7rii phone to it via wifi, instead of doing the editing on my laptop. We will see, its all new to me and I'm learning something new every day.

 

[John Peel]

I have been asked what the new setup will include:

The main Rohloff hub unit will remain, as that is fine I'm told, and it has been serviced and oil changed. It was components connected to the hub and also involving the belt drive setup that have been changed to best suit my needs regarding a world cycle. Front and rear sprockets and components will be replaced to handle a chain drive instead of the existing belt. Spare sprockets front and rear 42 front 17 rear will be supplied, and spare sprockets belt capable will be supplied in case I wish to return to belt on my return or any time, which I may well do. Hebie Chainglider cover, spare carrier, heavy duty chain, spline carrier clip, tools, will also be provided.

My dealer will be doing all the work at the shop which I am happy about and believe it will all be done to a very high standard. A brand new bottom bracket, 2 new Schwalbe tyres and tubes, a full service, and I will be on my way. My dealer has been constantly on the phone between Rohloff, KOGA, and Gates, and I'm glad that he will be putting everything together. The bike is only now 5 months old and 3300 km's in, and it has carried me over some crazy hard terrain. Basque Country hills and mountains, wide open plains and rocky camino tracks and trail, the mountains north of Madrid, and again north of Valencia, tracks and no tracks at all on some really harsh ground, deep mud and sand, carrying me and all my gear, so it has worked really hard already, this this full makeover I will expect to get me quite far, especially that I am now a fairly experience touring rider and not the absolute beginner I was when I set out.

 

[dodgy]

Great work John. Have you considered putting heavy stuff like spares and infrequently needed kit in a cardboard box, sort of like a 'care package' that can be Fedex'd to you wherever you happen to be? It's not expensive. I plan to cycle to the French alps in the next few years and I'm going ultra light, just flip flops, T Shirt and shorts for the evening and a credit card in my back pocket. If I need anything, it can be posted out to me.

Best of luck!

 

[r04DiE]

Thanks, I didn't know about the increased character count, I have had a Twitter account for a long time under stephenjohnpeel. I rarely post to it because of the limit in characters, not even enough space to throw in the hashtags, but I've just checked it now and its so much better. My preferred is Google+, having a few thousand followers there and some great friends. My social media links can be located on my webpage. Thanks again.

Thank you and I am following you on Twitter. All the best

 

[Lonestar]

This is great to give it a try even if it didn't go wonderfully this is still something.

 

[Leaway2]

Kudos, I would probably have thrown it in the Atlantic. I wonder if the advantage of a Rolhoff is outweighed by the simplicity and the ability of any bike shop to repair or supply parts for a deraillier type system.

 

[John Peel]

This is great to give it a try even if it didn't go wonderfully this is still something.

Thanks, and its only a pit stop, I'll be back on the road before you know it.

 

[Lonestar]

Thanks, and its only a pit stop, I'll be back on the road before you know it.

Better than I have ever done.

 

[John Peel]

Kudos, I would probably have thrown it in the Atlantic.

I know what you mean. If it goes pear shaped again in a big way and I'm as far away as say Malaysia, I'm going to send it back home and buy another one from a builder or manufacturer who can offer me real support, and it will be derailleur based too, and half the price.

 

[Ticktockmy]

Well done, for your achievement thus far, as a newbie to long distance touring you have done well, and your travels so far will have taught you much, whilst I think setting out on a RTW trip without having a few shake down tours to find out the weak spots of yourself and your bike was a tad rash.

You have now achieved that and will be better equipped for the rest of your RTW when you start off again. Personally, whilst I think the Rohloff hub is a brilliant piece of engineering and in itself a great bit of kit for touring through countries where is something goes wrong with it you can get it fixed.

On a tour where you will be travelling through many countries which will find you miles from any repair facilities then simplicity has to be the answer, Dérailleur gears and chain is the answer, though many will disagree with me on that.

From my personally experiences of touring down through Africa and across Asia, you need to have the knowledge to carry out your own repairs, to that end I would recommend arranging a cycle repair course, because spokes and chains can break at any time and wheels go out of true, Racks fittings and pannier fittings have a habit of snapping, and bottom brackets fail at the most inconvenient often when you are bumping along some rough track(Main Road) of which there are many around the world.

As to blogging a ride, something I have never bothered with, as my tours are about me and my personal experiences and just seems to be a waste of time when you could be relaxing and not worrying what Joe Blogg's thinks. As long as you contact your family once a week then that stops them worrying. So I wish you well in your RTW tour, when you return you will be a much wiser and knowledgable guy and a lot slimmer..LOL