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bikes

transmission: Rohloff Speedhub 500/14

For more than 17 000km our Rohloff Speedhubs keep us going now, no matter whether it was steep hills in New Zealand or bumpy and dusty outback roads in Australia. We just treated ourselves with new bikes with the Speedhub for this adventure, not really sure if it will be worth the money over a conventional derailleur system. The higher initial investment made the choice difficult, especially on a student budget.

After about eight months on the road we are convinced of having made the right decision. We were never that heavily packed before and the option to change gears while standing is a life-saver, especially when you stop abruptly. This was something we did not think about much before but do not want to live without anymore. Our main reason to choose Rohloff was the longevity and low maintenance effort. The only thing we had to do so far was change the chain and the oil in the hub once, even after cycling stretches like the infamous Gibb River Road in Western Australia.

We have changed from our 16 teeth sprocket to 19 teeth to be ready for steep hills in Asia but so far the combination of 42:16 has done well for us. The new 42:19 makes steep hills a bit more bearable. Let's hope our Speedhubs will enable to do another couple thousand of kilometers from now on as well.

frame: Norwid Gotland
panniers: VAUDE Aqua Back Plus, Aqua Front and Top Case
racks: Tubus Logo and Tubus Duo
tyres: Schwalbe Marathon GT Tour 50-559
saddles: Brooks Flyer
brakes: Magura HS33
grips and bar ends: Ergon GP5

tent and sleeping

tent: Wechsel Outpost 3 Travel Line

We chose the Wechsel Outpost 3 Travel Line for a couple of reasons. First of all we liked the versatility that you get with the different zippers and changable size of the inner tent. Set up normally, the inner tent has an asymmetrical footprint with one side being longer which is nice for tall people. If you do not need the extra space in the inner tent, you can collapse the asymmetrical part, giving you more space in the vestibule (lobby) to cook or store equipment. The price is also not too crazy and we did not think the extra 300€ for the 1kg lighter Zero-G line was worth it. With its 4,6kg it is not a lightweight but on the bike a kg more or less does not really cut it for us.

Even though there is no official way to only pitch the inner tent alone, with some slings to put in the tent poles you can set it up just by itself. We loved that in the hot areas of Australia where we knew that it would not be raining. 

sleeping bags: Deuter Neosphere -4°
sleeping mats: Sea to Summit Comfort Light Insulated sleeping mat
pillows: Sea to Summit Aeros Ultralight pillow

camera and electronics

drone: DJI Mavic Pro

Droni (our DJI Mavic Pro) has become a full member of our group and helps us to capture our journey from a totally new dimension. It is an amazing tool for photography and videography and brings up a new challenge: Working in three dimensions. The Mavic Pro offers an amazing package of size, weight, image quality and flight time. The bag is just the size of a small camera bag, you can shoot up to 4k video or 12 megapixel photos and you get up to 30 min flight time on one charge. If you want a drone that offers amazing quality in a small package, this is the one for you!

camera: Canon EOS M50
filters: Rollei filter holder, circular polarizer, 100x150mm soft graduated ND8, 100x150mm reverse graduated ND8, circular ND1000
action camera: Xiaomi Yi 4k on Feiyutech G5 gimbal
laptop: Asus Zenbook UX310UQ (UX310UQ-GL420R)
power bank: XT Power XT-16000QC2
power bank: Cinq5 The Plug III and Smart Power Pack II
solar panel: GoalZero Nomad 7

outdoor and camping gear

chairs: Therm A Rest Trekker Chair

These "chairs" are one of the nicest pieces of equipment that we carry. You just take your sleeping mat, fold it up and put it into the slings and it gives you a really comfy chair that also has a BACK REST! Having something to lean on is great and we do not want to live without them. Very little weight with great value for us.

chairs: foldable foam mats
water supply: 10 liter MSR Dromedary Bags (2)
water filter: Katadyn Hiker Pro
stove: Trangia 25-4HA with X2 Multifuel burner
tent lamp: MoKo LED outdoor lamp
energy and electrolytes: GoMo energy drink powder

websites, apps and software

hospitality website: Warmshowers

Warmshowers is a community of cyclists offering hospitality to other cyclists on tour. It is based on a give and take, meaning you are being hosted while on tour and you should be hosting other cyclists if you have the opportunity back home. We have stayed with WarmShowers hosts for more than 60 nights in 2017 and it was amazing to get in touch with like-minded people. We learned a lot about their cycling experiences and the recommendations you get are great as these people know the needs of cyclists.

navigation and route planning: Google Maps, maps.me and OSM And+
photo organizing and editing: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5
video editing: Adobe Premiere Pro
planning and lists: Google Sheets
wind app: Windy
wind statistics Australia: Bureau of Meteorology Australia (BOM)
GPS tracks: Strava
weather app: YR
finances app: Monefy

little useful things and gadgets

pool noodles

Our pool noodles are probably the one piece of equipment we are being asked about the most. We got our first pair of pool noddles from two other cyclists in Australia that left for Indonesia and did not want to bring them along. They were great to have for swimming in rivers and water holes close to Darwin. Now we have found an even better use for them than just swimming. We have our Dromedary Bags with our water sitting on our rear racks, wedged in between our rear panniers. Fitting our top cases on top of that would put a lot of pressone on our water bags and we do not want that. We use the pool noodles to cushion our water bags and have the weight sitting on the pool noodles that are fixed to both panniers. They are light-weight and super versatile and in Bali we got a new pair as our first ones were crumbling and falling apart.

cable organizer bag
cotton cloths (to cool your head under the helmet)
parachute cord
USB extension cable
little carabiners
velcro cable ties
baby powder