A very wet 300K brevet in Trondheim, Norway

ed72

Zen MBB Master
Well done, Thor.

I suppose all of us randonneurs can easily relate to your experience. Your perseverance will serve you well because on future yucky rides you will be able to look back and say, "Hey, this is nothing compared to the Throndheim 300K brevet in the freezing rain and snow" and that knowledge will give you the essential confidence to do it. Well done!!

Are you trying for PBP qualification?
 

jond

Zen MBB Master
Putting the h in tor. Tough stuff you qualify rule 5. You need to rethink storage and lighting tor. Some aluminium bar shaped into a frame off headrest and a lightmount position to avoid foot flash .AE587019-5E2A-441A-B61F-F21561EC4DE4.jpeg
 

super slim

Zen MBB Master
Putting the h in tor. Tough stuff you qualify rule 5. You need to rethink storage and lighting tor. Some aluminium bar shaped into a frame off headrest and a lightmount position to avoid foot flash .View attachment 7837
Jond that looks like a well sorted out storage, especially for a NSW person!

What volume is each bag, and what to you put in each bag?
Do you have a water bladder in/on the brain Box?
 

jond

Zen MBB Master
Jond that looks like a well sorted out storage, especially for a NSW person!

What volume is each bag, and what to you put in each bag?
Do you have a water bladder in/on the brain Box?

Lol in the Bachetta brain box $100 Australian I carry a water bladder in the insulated vertical carrier inside brain box. It’s a 1;5 litre job fits well. Any bigger ( taller) would need to be carried outside insulation sleeve in main part of bag.

I carry food clothing phones etc in rest of bag plus 200 south Australian male human brains.

The orange frame bag bike bag dude $50 contains energy bars gels and pedalpower sic electronic charger. I can squish a Sanger in there too.

The two medium size saddle bags turned side on contain my O2 gorewear shell jacket and puncture repair kit gloves multi tool links gear cable two tubes etc

Sweat affects the zippers on the saddle bags so must be waxed routinely to prevent seizing.

I use a lanyard on the vendetta and magnets on hurricane for siting drinking hose.

I could never safely get the knack of pulling Bidons from behind my head.

Under the seat I carry topeak mini track pump and aerolab aero bottle which I can reach for electrolyte replacement.

Gosh sounds heavy till you realise south Aussie brains are all hydrogen sometimes helium. But always medicated with lithium.

Volume of bags is good enough for multiday audax in cold rain. See Bachetta site.

Touring self supported just add banana racers.

I prefer Bachetta brain bag to radical design bag which I also have as it’s a tad smaller but more practical. The radical bag though like their racer panniers which also fit on vendetta fine as you saw are higher quality and you pay for it.

In addition it’s a good mudguard and has not filled with water in rain though i am a fair weather blessed nsw rider.

One year on with brain bag I highly recommend.

Nb as you saw touring is possible with vendetta but is unweildy with front end of bike affected by weight but I was on a mission.

My touring rig is a greenspeed gto with a nice pannier set up includes banana racers red of course .6C38F140-52AF-4A4F-BE9B-0978BCE5AE17.jpegB629D235-347F-409E-9ADB-7D8AAFF36240.jpeg
 

jond

Zen MBB Master
Thanks to Eric and ratz and John t for the inspiration and cheap solutions for storage. Best ever. Cheers Jd

Of course if the Aussie dollar gets beyond pesos ever again there are factory luverly solutions. Moose all round.
 

Tor Hovland

Well-Known Member
Thanks, everybody, for the nice comments!

This weekend I completed the next event. I did get the sunny ride I deserved! See this thread for more:
https://forum.cruzbike.com/threads/400k-brevet-in-trondheim-norway.12907/

jond, as you can see in the new video, I improved on the lighting setup by mounting the light on top of the boom, at the front. The light stayed perfectly in place with the help of some handlebar tape for padding and a pair of zip ties. I cannot say for sure how well the lighting works, because it didn't get quite as dark this time, and I didn't put the light on full power. It is certainly pointing a little bit too much down, but I'm sure I can fix that by wedging the padding slightly.

Regarding storage, I do have a Bacchetta Brain Box with a worn out zipper, and a Radical Solo that I replaced it with. I haven't bothered building an aluminium frame for it. It somehow works over the Vendetta neck rest, well enough for commuting, but perhaps not for randonneuring. However, I quite like my Radical Banana Racers. Sure, they provide more room than I need, but I'm not sure that slows me down very much. Perhaps I should try riding more with the Solo, though.

I've been using the bidon cage under the boom for a while now. I have to say it makes hydration much more manageable than the cages behind the neck rest. I now use those to keep full or empty bidons.
 
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