bikes

As the expedition will cover over 30,000km and last for over 16 months, durability is the key requirement for our bikes and equipment. All of the kit used en route will have to be of the highest quality as it will need to function in extreme and varied environments - from the subzero Andean passes to the baking heat of the Libyan desert and everything in between.

Although part of the route will be on nice sealed roads, there will be several thousand kilometers where there are no roads or roads that are little more than tracks - in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, the Andes in Bolivia and the deserts of Kazakhstan for example. With this in mind we opted for mountain bikes over traditional tourers as they are designed to be ridden over rough terrain and can take a good deal of punishment.

frame

The frame is the skeleton of the bike, the bit where all of interesting parts like the gears, brakes and the engine (two calf muscles) are hung from. Just like on a human body, our bikes need a skeleton that is resilient, light and strong. We've opted for aluminium bikes with hydroformed tubes (where the tubes are shaped using high pressure fluid) that ensure a good balance of strength Vs weight.

Interestingly, the basic design of our bikes will be pretty much that of the standard three-triangle safety bicycle which has remained practically unchanged since its invention in 1885 by John Starley

forks

As a large part of our route will be on bumpy tracks and roads, the bikes will be fitted with suspension forks that reduce the strain on the body that hours of constant jolting can cause.

Suspension forks also provide more grip than rigid forks. We'll be using air sprung/ oil dampened forks that are strong and reliable while being fully adjustable to suit the terrain. By using air springs we'll be able to minimise the weight of the forks that will make pedaling easier on those many long uphills.

brakes

Since our laden bikes will be heavy, it is important that we can stop quickly and reliably (we won't want to miss a good lunch spot). We will be using disk brakes like the ones on a car or motorbike. They use hydraulic fluid in place of the wires used on conventional brakes which gives us more power and less likelihood of mechanical problems.

Hydraulic disc brakes don't fade on long descents, work well in the wet, can be used when the wheel is buckled and are more powerful than rim brakes. Good brakes will be especially important when we are descending from 5,000m altitude down to sea level from the Bolivian capital of La Paz which, located in the Andes is the highest capital city in the world.

drivetrain

The drivetain is what converts leg power into the spinning of the wheels and comprises of the crank arms (the bits attached to the pedals), chainrings (the 3 toothed discs at the front), front and rear dereilleurs (that shift the chain), rear sprockets, chain and bottom bracket (a hidden part that allows the cranks to spin).

By shifting the chain to the various cogs, pedalling becomes easier or harder and allows optimum speed to be maintained. A small gear at the front and big at the back is good for going up steep hills, vice versa for zooming downhill.

tyres

On our journey around the world, our wheels will rotate about 15 million times and will roll over snow, sand, mud and rock.

We will be changing tyres for each stage of the expedition, thin smooth tyres for the asphalt roads of Europe and fat knobbly ones for when the tracks get rough in Siberia and Mongolia.

They will all be made of a super durable fabric, Kevlar, and a tough rubber compound. A layer of foam between the outer carcass and inner tube provides puncture resistance that should stave off any stray pieces of glass.

trailer

We're using trailers to carry our gear rather than panniers that are more commonly used. Trailers have a low centre of gravity, less wind resistance and don't affect steering and handling, unlike panniers.

The single large bag sits in a steel frame which attaches to the rear dropout. The trailer will also provide us with space to mount our solar panels that we'll be using to power our communications equipment.

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