Asher McRae

Estimated Kilometers: 3,860
Estimated Trip Duration: 54 days
Estimated Cycling Days: 43 days
Average Distance/Cycling day: 90km
Bicycle Used: Modified Trek 3900

States Crossed:
- Tamil Nadu (83 km)
- Kerala (620 km)
- Karnataka (301 km)
- Goa (138 km)
- Maharashtra (615 km)
- Gujarat (517 km)
- Rajasthan (691)
- Haryana (38)
- Delhi (54 km)
- Uttar Pradesh (150 km)
- Uttaranchal (653 km)

The bike I will be using to cross India is a modified Trek 3900.  Why this bike? A few reasons:

• The frame:  I bought my 3900 about a year and a half ago, I wanted something durable and high quality but something that wouldn't empty my wallet.  Basically all of the larger mountain bike companies that invest in R&D (Trek, Kona, Giant, Specialized, Gary Fisher) have quality frames on their bikes and can generally be trusted.  There is alot of discussion about steel vs aluminium frames for touring, many argue that steel frames are better because in the event of your frame breaking you should be able to put it back together again in almost any part of the world with a simple welding machine.  Also steel frames generally ride smoother than an aluminium frame of the same strength.  There is truth in this since steel is a more ductile material, but in regards to strength, most mountain frames built these days should not be falling apart on you, I've put my 3900 through quite a bit on rocks, trails, curbs, e.t.c and it has held up nicely so far.  If my sole interest was in touring then probably a steel touring frame would be the best selection but since I also hope to be doing a bit of mountain biking on the route I want a frame that is also capable of getting off the road.  Plus I'm cheap...why buy another frame when you've got a frame already, so there you have it, I've stuck with my Alpha Aluminium 3900 frame.  I should say though, If I was rich and famous I'd buy myself a shiny expensive steel frame....or just go all-out and get a titanium frame.
• The Brakes:  There are alot of different styles of brakes, side/center pull caliper brakes, cantelever, C/V Brakes, mechanical disc brakes, hydraulic disc brakes and they all have their own advantages.  I think the linear pull (V-brake) is the most ideal for what I intend to do.  First of all it is fairly powerful compared to other non-disc options which is important in both mountain biking and touring when you're carring a lot of weight.  I stayed away from hydraulic disk brakes for the simple reason that they disobey the law of simplicity in touring.  I would have to carry extra parts/fluid for repair even apart from the extra weight of the disc and components, it's just another component to worry about.  I stayed away from mechanical disc brakes for the same reasons, though I was seriously considering them for a while as they would not require many addtional parts.  Another reason to shy away from mechanical and hydraulic disc brakes is that most mountain bike frames cannot accomodate both a rear rack and a disc on the rear wheel without modifying the rack.  The 3900 stock bike comes with V-brakes so I just loaded up on some extra brake pads and a couple extra cables and covers.
• The Fork:  The 3900 stock front shock is no good here, I promptly took off the Spinner Grino 1's that came on the bike and canned them.  Apart from being a low-end product they've only got 70mm of travel and no lock-out.  Lock out is important for touring on a hard-tail as the front suspension soaks up alot of the energy you're putting in when climbing a steep grade.  I selected the Rockshox Dart 3 for the front fork.  Rockshox have a good track record and the Dart 3 is overall a quality fork that is on the affordable side.  It has 100mm of travel and comes with adjustable spring preload (again important for switching between touring and mountain biking) and turnkey lockout.  I was amazed at how much a nice pair of front shocks go for, but for long distance touring I wanted something simple that would not require constant adjusting or maintainance and the Dart 3 seems to fit my requirements.  One thing to note is that mountain bike forks do not come with bolts in them for front racks, so if you plan to have one you'll have to modify it.  I will only have a rear rack with panniers so this is not an issue for me.
• The Tyres:  The stock 3900 comes with lower end Bontager knobbies.  Selection of tyres was an important for me because in touring becuase the last thing you want to do is constantly be fixing flats, a tube is a tube and the only real way of minimizing flats is selecting the right tyre.  For touring I was looking for tyres under two parameters, first they had to be bullet-proof, so a little heavier, kevlar reinforced tyres, as well as tyres with a little less rolling-resistance but still able to perform on trails.  I settled for Specialized Hemisphere's as they fell under the parameters I was looking for.  So far it has worked out, in the three months I had the Bontager's I got 6 flats and in the 9 months I've had the Hemisphere's I've only had one (a heavy staple that probably would have punctured a Hummer).
• The Deraileurs:  Like the front suspension on the stock bike, the deraileurs are low-end.  The stock rear deraileur is a Shimano Acera and after a bit of research a upgraded them to Shimao Deore's.  One of the limits of the 3900 is that it's only got an 8 speed cassette on the back whereas most higher end mountain bikes have a 9 speed cassette, but the Deore is compatable with an 8 or 9 speed so it works for me.
• The Rear Hub:  The standard hub on the 3900 is pretty much bottom line Shimano and definitely not something you want to rely on for 4000 km.  My standard hub actually broke a couple weeks before I planned to leave the States.  I upgraded to a Shimano Deore rear hub which is decent quality and reasonably priced.
• The Rims:  I wasn't too worried about my front rim, I've beaten it up pretty good with no problems and it has never gone out of alignment.  I won't have any front-wheel bags so there will not be too much weight on the front, the front shock also absorbs alot of the abuse on the front.  However the back rim definitely needs to be a quality rim.  I snapped two spokes on my back wheel just trail riding with no bags, and my back wheel will be very heavily loaded with all my gear and myself.  So I switched the stock single-walled low end rim to a better quality double-walled rim ........ I sleep better at night now.
• The Pedals:  Switching to clip-in pedals is apparently one of the best decisions you can make if you are trying improve your performance and overall efficiency as a cyclist. After deciding to go with clip-in pedals I settled for the Shimano M520L ATB Pedal.  They've worked well so far, it took a while (and a few crashes) to get used to.
• Accessories:  I definitely had to spend some time thinking before slapping on accessories as I did not want to add any weight unless I absolutely had to.  I decided to add aerobars as I'm undoubtibly going to need them on long days against the wind, I threw on a couple bar ends as well as just to have a few different wrist positions.  The rear rack was ofcourse a necessity, a couple water bottle cages, a rear light (I've got a headlight for riding at night) and a bicycle computer.