The other way around
Normally you see people upgrade their bikes too electric ones but for me it was the other way around. The company that I work for provides a ‘Bike Purchase Program’ to encourage employees to commute via bike. Which is great.
When I was visiting Decathlon in Rotterdam I stumbled upon a sporty looking electric hybrid mountainbike. After taking it for a spin I was really surprised how responsive and fast it was. Now at that time I didn’t really made many long trips with my bike and this bike seemed the way to go.
Hit the road
It was only after a while when I decided to buy my own bike rack for my car to take it out on longer trips. I’m using Thule OutWay Hanging 2. It’s a perfect match for my car.
During these trips I caught myself trying to save as much battery at the end of the trip as possible, almost like a competition. To be honest I found it rather annoying that you always needed to check the battery before you go somewhere.
Time to unplug🔌
Now on these trips I would always bring some food and drinks with me. I took this with me in a backpack but I wouldn’t recommend it. After a few hours the backpack really going to strain your back, it’s just uncomfortable.
Ofcourse I could solve this problem by installing a rear pannier rack but these shortcomings got me questioning if I should look around for something else instead of investing in my current bike. Maybe it was time to unplug.
I made a list of requirements and did some research on the web what bike best suits my needs. When I was doing this research I came across the super informative website of Alee Denham. Alee is a bike and travel addict who has cycled through 100+ countries. I learned a lot about different components like what’s the “best” gearbox for you bike.
After reading the article about Rohloff vs Pinion gearboxes it’s obvious that both are really good gearboxes. I ended up choosing a bike with an Rohloff Speedhub. Not this particular golden one, it’s a little too much for my taste anyway.
My first touring bike
Now bikes equipped with Rohloff or Pinion gearboxes aren’t cheap. For this reason I was searching for used one’s instead of new. That’s how I ended up finding my first touring bike, the Giant Expedition AT. The person who sold it to me was a retired surgeon who took this bike all the way to Rome in Italy on a 30 day tour. Very cool!
Anyway, he was not the first owner and it’s originally build somewhere in 2011′. I really have not idea how many total milage it has but I’m really excited about this bike because it’s equipped with a Rohloff Speedhub!
I’ve riding it for just over a year now and it’s a super comfortable and a trustworthy bike! Over the course of a year I upgraded a lot of components to make the experience even better. I will write a dedicated article about it later on.
