Bike and equipment

The following information is about the bike and equipment I used for my tour along the east coast of Australia in 2004.

Trek 7100 FX Rigid - mine has racks and other accessories fitted

I investigated a range of bikes before I decided on buying a Trek 7100 FX Rigid (2004 model). One of the main reasons for the choice of this model was the reasonable price. I bought it from Cecil Walker Cycles in Melbourne for AU$599 in July 2004. Although it is not specifically a touring bike it was easy to fit racks and panniers and it was generally quite suitable for the riding that I wanted to do.

The front chainring is 48/38/28 while the rear 7-speed cluster is 14-34. This gives an extra low "granny gear" which enables me to climb all but the steepest hills even while loaded. It has a rigid front fork which is fairly important if you are going to fit racks and panniers on the front. Most mountain bikes and hybrid bikes these days come with front suspension forks regardless of the price of the bike. This was another one of the reasons for choosing this model of bike.

The frame is aluminium and looks very strong. The components are all Shimano, but at the lower end of the Shimano range. I basically figure that I will have to replace some of the components in time, but the frame should last many years.

I had a number of accessories fitted to make the bike ready for touring. These were front and rear racks, panniers, two bidon (water bottle) cages, a pump, bar ends, front and rear LED lights and toe clips. I also put a cycle computer on the bike. All up the various accessories cost almost as much as the bike itself. The accessories were all add-ons. I didn't replace or modify any parts on the bike as it came off the rack.

I tried to keep the load I carried as light as possible. I didn't weigh the bike while it was loaded for touring, but I guess the weight of gear I carried would usually have been less than 20 kilograms. It would vary a bit depending on the amount of food and water I was carrying. The original front rack I had fitted was a Sherpa. It broke several times. The first time I had it welded, but it broke a few days later. I replaced it with a Zefal rack.

The camping equipment I carried was a Snowgum Walkabout tent, Roman Palm IV sleeping bag, closed cell foam mattress and Trangia stove.

Based on the experience of the first tour the bike performed without fault. I didn't need to do any maintenance other than oil the chain. The brake pads were fairly worn and need replacing. I also replaced the rear tire after about 3,000 kilometres. The only thing I would change before going on another long tour would be replacing the conventional pedals with toe clips and straps with some sort of clipless pedal. I would also wear proper cycling shoes rather than just wearing running shoes.

As far as camping equipment goes my biggest regret was only taking the blue foam mattress and leaving my Thermarest at home. On my most recent tour in northern Victoria I used my 3/4 length Thermarest in conjunction with the blue foam mattress and slept much better as a result. The Roman Palm IV sleeping bag is very lightweight and compact, but its temperature rating makes it only suitable for mild climates. I often encountered night time temperatures around 5°C and the sleeping bag was not quite warm enough. I would also like to investigate alternatives to the Trangia stove.