Equipment Review: Aiden Department

This post is for anyone who stumbles upon this humble blog and is instantly inspires to bike across Canada. Or perhaps someone who already has the seeds of wanderlust germinating in their fertile minds.

Bike: This obviously will be your most important piece of equipment. I got a 2006 model of the Trek XO1. Note: My bike does not look like the one in the picture as I will explain shortly. My bike was not a exactly a "true" touring bike so I had to upgrade it quite a bit as it was designed more for road racing and light touring rather then a cross-Canada trek. My main point here is that the frame was very strong and made it across which is what matters. Some people prefer to pick up a "true" touring bike and there is nothing wrong with that- in fact it can be better. But just because you don't have a "true" touring bike does not mean you and your bike can't make it across Canada.
The modifications my bike needed in order of importance:
New Wheels: The original wheels had 20 spokes up front and 24 in the back. Not Enough. I got Wheels that had 217-A Mavic Rims, Shimano Deore Mountain Bike Hubs, and 36 BT Swiss spokes. A substantial and worthwhile upgrade as I didn't lose a spoke and my wheel needed only the slightest of truing in Ottawa.
New Cassette (which in turn needed a new chain): I had a double crank which most people would not recommend for Cycling touring- but it is not of foremost importance if you have a large cassette. I got a new one that went up to 32 teeth as opposed to the 24 or 26 that I had before. Tyler had a triple crank but my larger cassette allowed us to move up at the same rate. Tyler could however get to a much higher gear but that generally only came into effect during monster down hills or headwinds. That being said I would have like one lower gear at least for the start of the trip. My uncle did 2 months in Thailand, Loas, and Cambodia with a double crank on a Kona Jake the Snake that he rigged up with a 34 teeth cassette and a different rear derailleur. So if I did it again I would go for a slightly bigger cassette but again I made it so it didn't make a huge difference.
Tires: I got these slick flat-resistant tires called Armadillos that were made by Specialized. They were good- I got one flat on them. Though they lasted for 9000 kilometres togeter rather then 17,000. The back one didn't make it to Winnipeg. The front one could have made it to the Maritimes but I ditched it at Montreal. After that I got from MEC kinda standard folding 700 x 32c tires made by a Japanese companies. They were convenient since they folded but got more flats. They wore out at a similar rate though.
Pannier Racks: A necessary modification for a lot of bikes esp. if they are not 'true' touring bikes. My Blackburn back rack causde me no problems. My Axiom front racks that mounted with the help of the quick release worked good- though one of them snapped in the middle sometime during the trip but since I didn't notice until I got home it was not a issue for me.
Pedals: I had basket pedals but then I got those double clip less type pedals that require a special shoe. I highly recommend them- very efficient and safer then the baskets. You'll bail a bit at the start but it becomes second nature very quickly.

Orignal things that I liked about my bike: Aside from the Bontreager stock seat this essentially boiled down to the headset. The dropdown bars that allow 2-3 hand positions are critical. Mine had two braking positions which was great for downhill. I had a slide shifter and a thumb shifter on each handle which enabled a really sweet and comfortable pistol grip. And I as already mentioned I liked my Aluminium frame. With gloves and handlebar tape you don't notice that fact that Aluminium carries vibrations better then Steel.

Whew that was intense- onto bike gear!
Panniers: I got Arkel Sakaroos- both front and back and for a lot cheaper then the site I linked to- so dont buy them from there. They were basic (which I prefer) and well made (except the mesh which goes pretty quick if you put large fuel bottles in there or have squirrel attracting treats stored there). Though the zippers of the front ones was sketch but only because I overloaded them. I would recommend both- And they were both made of recycled material if you want to feel good about your self.
Shoes: Specialized- haven't fallen apart would recommend the brand.
Clothes: Do not buy Cannondale Spandex- expensive and fall apart. Louis Garneau will fall apart but take longer to do it and are cheaper and as comfortable as Cannondales. Get some cycling jerseys cause you look like a thug. Gloves- got cheap Cannondales- got a hole after riding for a week but it never developed further so what ev. I had a fleece that I wore once and ditched in Montreal. And long johns that I wore once. My rain jacket was apparently horrifyingly heavy for Tyler who had his cycling jacket but didn't make a gain difference to me. A decent rain jacket with some layers is all your going to need. Cycling hood was needed once or twice- I would recommend carrying it causes it is very light and when you need it- you really need it.

Camping Gear
Tent: Used my 3 man North Face Bug 3 that had been set up for about a year before the trip even started. So it needed a new zipper pul in Calgary but that costed 16 bucks so no big deal. Heavy but roomy. Would not carry on a solo trip. But worth it for two guys esp. even one (Tyler) isn't a giant fan of spooning. But we got hella spooning in when Rich joined us for a week- might have been hard to do for another couple of months.
Sleeping Pad- Required- get a small Thermarest or a MEC clone.
Sleeping Bag- MEC Raven- too intense for across Canada during summer but I kinda knew that and I wanted it for colder camping after the trip.
Stove: Whisperlite Internationle. Temperamental- you need a intimate knowledge of your stove. And having a 900 ml bottle instead of a 450 ml might have been more useful. But the ability that it was down with Gasoline was convenient when we missed out on a Hardware store. Always funny buying 60 cents worse of gas.
Cookware: MSR Blacklite- no problems- would recommend though we never used that frying pan.

Thats pretty much it. There are a bunch of little tings but those are the big picture items. If anyone has specific questions we would be happy to answer them in the comments section.

Bonus Random Stats

Lamest Lake Superior related pun/ town slogan: Marathon- "Superior in the Long Run" although it was followed closely by Thunder Bay's "Superior by Nature".

Number of Ferries taken: 6- 3 in BC- Brentwood Bay to Mill Bay, Naiamo to Horseshoe Bay, Across Kootney Lake. 1 in Quebec- Quebec City to Levis. 1 between PEI and Nova Scotia and lastly the 8 hour ferry from North Sydney, NS, to Port-aux-Basques, NFLD.

Number of American States seen: 3- Washington from Sooke, BC and Osoyoos, BC. Michigan from Sault Ste. Marie, ON. And Maine For 100 kms or more in New Brunswick.

Okay now I really have to get a equipment review page up...