Replacing Equipment

 

Did you know…

—there are options for EVERYTHING in the bike world?

—every person you talk to has a different opinion about each option?

Things to consider when replacing your 30 year old bike:

—new vs used (bike shop vs online marketplaces)

—steel vs aluminum (vs carbon and other metals that become crazy expensive)

—size-every bike design is sized differently.  I ride 52 (Kona), 55 (Salsa), S (Giant and Cannondale)…and that doesn’t even hit aggressive vs relaxed

—flat bar vs drop bar (not to mention stem length and rise or the addition of a riser on the bar itself)

—gearing…1x, 2x, 3x and then they add cog counts and your brain explodes

—mounting nubs-can you carry your panniers or do you need to add a seat stem bracket; will your water bottles fit with the angle the top tube creates; is there the option to mount “stuff carriers” to your front fork

—traditional brakes vs mechanical disc vs hydraulic disc brakes

—color (maybe not as important to some, but high on my non-negotiable list)  No, mustard yellow is not a color I will ride!!!

JB and I rode the GAPCO on 30+ year-old bikes.   We knew this could be risky, but we did not want to sink too much money into a hobby we were not sure we would continue.  Our bargain with each other was that we would make our old bikes work and, if we decided we enjoyed bikepacking enough to do it again, we would invest in updated equipment.  Needless to say, we thoroughly enjoyed the six day, 339 mile trip (even the day in the rain).  And, so the search began…

Fortunately, JB is very knowledgeable about bikes.  He, too, has an opinion about everything listed above.  He watched several marketplaces and is familiar with almost every bike shop in our area   He also understands numbers.   When he started plotting Excel graphs, I got scared.  

Yes, he really did all this!!  And he did it for his setup as well.  Ultimately, it was very helpful to see the gearing comparison between the bikes we were looking at and what we were currently riding. Another extremely useful website is https://99spokes.com/  We were able to find specs on every bike, including ride feel (rider position and terrain). 

JB kept a close eye on several online marketplaces.  With 2026 bikes coming out, it is a good time to pick up lightly used bikes as people upgrade.  What we quickly found was that large frames are more prevalent than small frames.  My interpretation of this finding: men (larger frames) tend to want the “bigger and better” as it comes out; women (smaller frames) find equipment that fits them well and ride it until it falls apart.  

Needless to say, JB was able to find a Specialized Diverge on marketplace to meet his needs. I had a harder time finding a bike, new or used, that checked off the boxes (or could be adapted).  We had been to https://www.indianaschwinn.com/, https://flattire.co/,http://www.cyclesymphony.com/ with no success. (BTW-all of these bike shops are amazing and highly recommended)  Yesterday, we took a field trip to the Greenfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh to look at a beautiful Kona Sutra.  We knew, going into the test ride, that the bike sat on the edge of meeting my needs.  The bike had A beautiful paint job that changed from brown to copper to purple, depending on how the sun hit.  But, it had a flat, wide-grip bar, steel frame and the tires were 29, not 700 (I forgot that in the list.  Tire size matters when you are trying to carry tubes for two bikes on a long trip.)  It didn’t check off boxes that needed checked off and it would cost too much to get it to be the bike for which we were looking.   

“Well, is there anything else you want to do while we are here in Pittsburgh?” “Are there any bike shops here that aren’t too difficult to get to?” “REI is on the SouthSide…and another shop I’ve heard of is somewhere in that area.”

REI really didn’t offer much in the bicycle department.  We enjoyed dreaming that someday we would be brave enough to carry all the camping paraphernalia to reach the level of highly respected bikepackers (per our GAPCO ride ranking system).  Next stop, Thick Bikes (https://thickbikes.com/) on 15th Street. 

What a gem!!  Hidden on a side street off Carson is what appears to be a small bike shop. The name made me think they wouldn’t have anything of interest.  I was so wrong!  The shop carries many brands and styles of bike. And when you think you haven’t seen anything quite right, they take you downstairs to another treasure trove of bikes.  We explained the difficulty we have had in finding a smaller frame and gave them our “wish list”.  Several bikes were pointed out and then….aaahhh…..there it was.

We had not seen the Giant Revolt nor had we researched it much.  But it checked off all the boxes.  There were a few things that were settled on (2x Shimano Sora instead of 1x Cues or GRX; mechanical disc instead of hydraulic). If I planned to race, maybe that would matter more. However, I am female and don’t really need the “bigger and better”.  It has plenty of mounting points for packing out for long rides.  And, more importantly, the color matches my shoes!! 

Here they are…there are still a few tweaks to make but we are on the way to another season of bike packing.