Ed Noonan's '96 Final Equipment Report

From Jasper, Alberta, I offered you my preliminary observations about the equipment I was carrying with me. Now that I've ridden more than 6,000 miles with the gear, I have even more to say about it. I've rated major products and services on a 5 star scale: 1 star being poor and 5 stars being perfect. The producers of the four and five star products ought to be real proud. These reviews are subjective on my part, but they are not influenced by any sponsorship relationship. The products are not in any particular order. Links checked and updated 4/98.

• Cannondale T700 bicycle
  Including training miles and my DALMAC side-trip, I rode this Cannondale T-700 about 7,000 miles in this (its first) year. It was amazingly well-built. I experienced NO significant mechanical problems. A few years ago, I took my Cannondale mountain bike with me to work, intending to ride after work, but because it was raining in the afternoon, I decided to head straight home instead. I forgot the bicycle was on my roof rack and drove into the garage. My BMW sustained about $3,000 in damage (the rain gutters were torn right off the car and the bike & rack were thrust through the rear window) and even the house was damaged, but the aluminum Cannondale was unscathed. They're tough bikes.
  
  In the not-real-significant category on this trip were the following difficulties:
  • Front hub--after 7,000 miles--had a bad bearing. On my return to Michigan, I took the bike to Central Park Bicycles for an overhaul. They replaced 2 front bearing cones and 1 rear cone, checked the bottom bracket (good), replaced the headset, the handlebar tape and the Shimano SPD pedals (under warranty) which failed when they tried to check them. Central Park indicated that the hubs were of a lower quality than advisable for my sort of use, so recommended that I get Phil Wood hubs instead. The hubs cost the Cannondale half a star in my rating scheme.
  • Chain--I massacred my chain at Moon Lake, Alaska when I shifted the wrong way going up a steep gravel road. That incident occurred because this bike has bar-end shifters and my road bike had shifters on the down tube. To help avoid a repetition of this sort of coordination error, I changed the road bike to bar-end shifters. The Sachs chain I purchased in Whitehorse to replace the original is still running strong.
  • Nicks & scrapes--The paint managed to hold up quite well despite several mishaps: the bicycle crashed on the road in Tennessee, and, fell on the ground several times; it received the impact of numerous rocks along the Alaska Highway; and, endured the friction of loads ranging from 40 to 90 lbs.
    
• North Face Tadpole tent
  For a tent weighing only about 4 lbs (including the rainfly and ground cloth), this tent served me real well from Alaska to Michigan. I didn't take it with me from Michigan to Florida and wished I had. In the future, I'll take it wherever I go. I love the tent. It is perfect for long bicycle tours.
  
  There is some evidence, however, of structural failure: several of the aluminum tent pole sections (connected by shock cord) have started to split for about 1/2-3/4 inch near the ends (it is 3 years old). I've taped them up and will try to order replacements. [After the end of my trip, I sent the defective poles to North Face and all 3 were replaced under warranty] This defect (and the fact that North Face doesn't have a website) cost North Face a star. For descriptions of North Face products see the Campmor catalog.
  
• Casio QV-30 digital camera
  In my Jasper preliminary report, I was not fully supportive of the Casio. Subsequently, I learned to use the Casio more effectively by utilizing the editing capabilities of Photoshop expertly and have received a number of positive comments from viewers, so, I've changed my mind about the Casio and now give it my endorsement.
  
  The resolution of the Casio QV-30 was only half as much as the Kodak DC-50, but the Casio is far more compact, simpler to use, stores 95 pictures and you can view them on the built-in LCD monitor. And the good news is that Casio has released a couple of new models (the new QV-100 and QV-300) which have resolution (640x480) similar to the Kodak. I've examined the new products and feel they'll resolve most of my objections to the QV-30 (or QV-10), but I still believe that the Kodak DC-50 is a better camera, as is the Olympus D-300 (which I just purchased--1,024 x 768 dpi) and the new Kodak DC-120 (with even better resolution).
  
  I recently made a "slide show" presentation to the Tri-County Bicycle Association utilizing nothing but the Casio QV-30, by uploading 92 images from my computer to the camera and then connecting the camera to a classroom monitor. That is a nice feature of the Casio (and the Olympus).
  
  Casio's reliance exclusively on an LCD monitor and lack of an optical viewfinder, is a serious flaw. In bright sun, it is impossible to to see the LCD viewfinder. The better CCD's of the Kodak and Olympus offerings cost the Casio another star.
  
• Cannondale panniers
  I was told to buy more expensive panniers, but decided I could only afford Cannondale panniers and found some positive reviews from other bicyclists on the Internet, so went with the Cannondales front and back. I was very pleased with the results. They worked just fine.
  
  The panniers didn't leak much even in heavy rain. I don't believe in rain covers on panniers. Instead, I put everything inside the panniers into OneZip bags and clear garbage bags or waterproof OR (Outdoor Research) bags. After all day rains, some things did manage to get wet, but I experienced no significant problem. The computer and high tech gear all stayed absolutely dry.
  
  Only one pannier showed any sign of wear, but that was the computer pannier where the weight is particularly concentrated, and the damage was confined to the failure of a few stitches in the seam. I mended the seam in Michigan with my wife's carpet needle and some heavy duty button thread. The repair lasted all the way to Key West. The seam failure cost Cannondale a star.
  
• Blackburn racks
  I used Blackburn expedition weight racks front and rear. I used "low riders" on the front and initially, I also had a Blackburn front rack on top of the front wheel, but any weight at all up there destroyed my steering control to the point that I stopped loading anything there but food before I even left Fairbanks. When I got to Michigan, I removed the upper front rack.
  
• Macintosh PowerBook® 5300c
  I am completely pleased with the performance of my Apple Macintosh PowerBook computer. I firmly believe that I couldn't have produced this website with any other computer. No Windows machine could have done it.
  
  I purchased this 100 mhz 5300c (active-matrix color monitor) with 16 Mb of soldered-in RAM and a 750 Mb hard drive. When I got back to Michigan in August, I increased the RAM to 48 Mb (75 Mb virtual memory--using hard disk space as RAM--for Photoshop). This is my first experience with a trackpad instead of a mouse and I love it. In fact, I like everything about this computer. Early on, 5300s tested out as slower than 100 mhz Intel machines, but Apple revised the operating software and this Mac now screams along; I believe faster than a similarly configured Intel lap-top.
  
  I am certain in retrospect that the keyboard trouble I experienced at Kluane Lake was due to faulty power. When the Macintosh PowerBook receives inadequate power, the power management component of the operating system shuts down some of the hardware. In my case, it was the keyboard. As I understand it, when the human body is threatened by some unfamiliar protein, such as a bee sting, it does the same thing by going into anaphylactic shock; it shuts down the extremities to protect the heart and brain.
  
  The BTI power supply that I purchased to replace Apple's heavier original seemed to suffer a bit more from bad power than the Apple power supply. The BTI is smaller, lighter and doesn't need a 3 prong outlet or extension cord, but it may be too light for the job.
  
  Somehow, the computer was a bit the worse for wear when I got to Michigan. After riding 4,321 miles on the back of a bicycle (385 miles on unpaved roads), I expected trouble and I got it. The hard drive crashed. I called Apple's repair hotline (1-800-SOS-APPL) and the computer was picked up by Airborne Express the next day (Tuesday at Noon) and shipped at Apple expense to its Rochester, New York PowerBook repair facility. Just 75 hours later (Friday at 3:00), the computer was returned to me fully repaired under warranty: new hard drive; new main logic board; new keyboard; and a partially new case. The only major component not replaced was the monitor. I don't blame Apple or the computer for the problem.
• VST 230 Mb Magneto-Optical Drive
  Just a week before departing for Alaska, I bought a 230 Mb Magneto-Optical Drive from VST which I installed into the disk drive slot of my PowerBook in place of the 1.44 Mb floppy disk drive. In addition to disk space needs, I was looking for a bullet-proof data backup system. Magneto optical drives are slow (hence one star mark-down), but, the big advantage to them is that, like CDs, they are impervious to influence from magnetic fields, sunlight, water, etc. I intended to rely on the VST drive for backups and emergency startup, but 2 of the 5 MO-230 diskettes I had with me failed, leaving me without my primary backup system. I can't blame VST for that though: one disk was a Fujitsu MO-230 and the other was a Komag brand. I spent a day in Grand Prairie, Alberta trying unsuccessfully to recover my data from the first failed disk (some of the problem with recovery may have been due to the fact that these are IDE, not SCSI, drives and Norton Utilities is aimed at SCSI drives). Then, I discovered to my dismay that I couldn't rely on another MO-230 in attempting to recover from the effects of a PowerBook hard drive crash at home in Michigan. The VST drive itself has always seemed to be working just fine. After all the bumpy roads, my MO-230 disks are now starting to show wear. There is a film of white powder on the diskettes which appears to be caused by the disks rubbing against their carrying cases for such a long period of time. VST technical support has been excellent.
  
• Global Village Platinum PC card modem
  I have been real pleased with my Global Village PowerPort Platinum pc card (formerly known as PCMCIA cards) modem and have just upgraded to the PowerPort Platinum Pro version so I can access my cable "modem" via an Ethernet network at home (it works great). While some folks have complained of software conflict problems with Global Village PC card modems, I've not experienced any of them. A modem is a lot like a telephone, in that the best thing you can say about it is that it functioned invisibly. My Global Village modem has performed flawlessly in its MOdulating and DEModulating function, so I am very happy with it.
  
  Global Village's fax software is superb too; including excellent OCR (optical character recognition) software for use with incoming faxes.
  
  Over the years, I've owned about a dozen brands of modem. I've found Global Village modems to be the very best. Global Village modems (I have 3), the software that comes with them, and the support behind the products, is all first rate.
  
  I have had some trouble getting the Global Village PC card to eject. I don't know whether that is the fault of the modem or the computer, but pushing the modem into the slot causes it to eject, so the problem is minimal. The failure of GV to produce a "cellular connection kit" as promised and the ejection problem cost GV a star.
  
• Web Networks
  I was dropped frequently (typically every 5 minutes) by my Canadian internet service provider Web Networks (Toronto), and often couldn't connect to their 800 number (it typically took me 4-5 tries to get connected). I did not attribute the drops or access difficulty to the modem or computer, because I did just fine when I got fed up with WebNet and dialed long-distance to Voyager in Michigan (the bad news was that one call to Voyager cost $53). I was very dissatisfied with the services provided by Web Net and wouldn't recommend them. It seemed as though Web Net was just too small to handle the volume of traffic coming to it through the 800 number.
  
• Earthlink
  I was always fully satisfied with Earthlink as an internet service provider. I never even heard a ring when dialing in to Earthlink's 800 number. It worked almost flawlessly from Montana to Florida. When in urban areas like Covington, KY and Atlanta, I was able to access Earthlink via local POP's (Points of Presence) thereby avoiding the hourly 800 access charges.
  
  I had difficulty accessing Earthlink only a few times and always felt that the problem was "dirty" lines. Some rural lines had obvious static. I failed, for instance, to connect to Earthlink from Clewiston, Florida, but could hear considerable static whenever I picked up the telephone.
  
• Voyager
  I was always fully satisfied with Voyager, my local internet service provider, but if Voyager had offered 800# access throughout the US and Canada, I wouldn't have needed WebNet or Earthlink, so for that I reduced Voyager's rating by a star. From home, I have 500 kps Ethernet cable internet access through Horizon Cablevision and Voyager.
  
• Polarnet & YukonWeb
  I was also always fully satisfied with my internet service providers in Alaska and the Yukon: Polarnet and YukonWeb, but they had very few remote POPs (Points of Presence), so I was forced to use my 800 accounts or call them or Voyager long-distance.
  
• Hefty OneZip plastic bags
  This is one of my favorite products. Instead of the usual plastic bag groove closure, these bags have zippers. The zippers simplify opening and closing and provide a very good waterproof seal (they're so airtight that you must open the zippers a bit to let air out before you put them in the panniers). I buy the OneZip freezer version as opposed to their food storage bags; they are thicker and more durable. The OneZip bags I packed everything in when I left Alaska, made it all the way to Florida. All of the zippers had failed by the end of the trip, but, they fared far better than their competitors' products ever would have.
  
• Adobe PageMill
  After riding a bicycle an average of 67 miles a day, I can't imagine programming effectively in straight HTML code. At the end of the day, I was too tired and my thinking was too muddled. I needed a web "processor" and there's really one only such product: Adobe PageMill for the Macintosh. I started out with version 1.0, upgraded along the way to several experimental "Beta" versions and now use version 2.0. This product is as revolutionary to web publishing as PageMaker was to desktop publishing. It is early in the evolution of web publishing tools, so I realize there are limitations, but I must say I couldn't have produced this website without PageMill. It is a great product.
  
• Adobe Photoshop
  This is another great product I couldn't live without. I edit every picture with Photoshop. I made the Tailwinds logo with Photoshop. It is powerful and thus relatively complex, but I took a couple of short Photoshop courses at Michigan State University and after hammering away at Photoshop for thousands of pictures, feel I am expert now at using the program. I grade Photoshop down one-half star because it requires huge amounts of RAM (random access memory). I've upped my PowerBook to 48 Mb of RAM, but still manage to have insufficient memory sometimes when using Photoshop.
  
• OR (Outdoor Research) Hydroseal® Stuff Sacks
  I am using 3 OR waterproof Hydroseal® bags to protect my gear (sleeping bag, computer) from rain, dust, dirt, etc. I am real impressed with them. After Jasper, where the roads were a bit smoother, I sent the Clam computer case home to save weight. I pack my PowerBook, in two OR waterproof bags: one with the Velcro roll-top closure (advanced stuff sack--model) and one without (standard stuff sack). Not one drop of water ever got through to the PowerBook.
  
  
• Continental "Conti Top Touring" tires
  In my mind, there is no doubt at all that these are the best tires made. From Delta to Dawson Creek, 7 of the 10 of us used Conti's and didn't have a single flat with them. That's approximately 10,500 miles on one of the worst roads imaginable--I'm impressed.
  
  I changed my rear tire at Havre, Montana (just so I wouldn't have to carry a spare anymore) and my front tire at Duluth, Minnesota (because it was looking a bit ragged, but hadn't failed) and went on all the way to Key West on those tires. More than 7,000 miles (including my training miles and DALMAC miles) on 2 sets of tires with only 4 flats is unbelievable. I won't ever use any other brand. I've noticed that almost all the serious bicycle tourists I've seen on this trip use Conti's. My thanks go to Al and Dave at Central Park Bicycles (sponsor) for suggesting them. I even like the big 37 mm tires I used; they're great on bad roads and railroad tracks. As I write this, I have 4,700 miles on the tire I bought in Havre, Montana and it doesn't appear to need replacing--just amazing!
  
• Girvin (now K2) Flex Stem
  I tore the rotator cuff of my left shoulder last year when I hit a serious pothole riding at dusk. I underwent physical therapy all winter and was afraid a normal handlebar stem would transmit too much road shock to my sore shoulder, so I had a Girvin Flex Stem installed on both my Trek road bike and my Cannondale touring bike. The road shock didn't bother my torn rotator cuff at all on this trip, thanks I believe, to my Girvin Flex Stem. It adds a bit of weight, but has made the washboard roads tolerable to my shoulder.
  
• Wigwam Ultimax socks
  On those cold wet days riding (or walking with my Teva sandals--the only street shoes I take with me) I've been wearing Ultimax socks. They keep my feet toasty warm (but not usually too hot) even though they're wet. I didn't bring any neoprene booties (I recommend taking booties on a trip in cooler temperatures). See Campmor catalog for description.
  
• Sierra Stove
  I love my little (1 lb) AA battery powered wood burner blast furnace. It truly does boil water in 4 minutes without having to haul fuel. Instead of hauling flammable liquid fuel, I've used bark, twigs, little pieces of wood left over from wood-chopping, pine cones and charcoal--all work real well--to power my Sierra stove. This was an excellent choice thanks to Cartwright & Danewell (sponsor).
  
  
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• Oakley sunglasses
  High quality sunglasses are essential to bicycle touring. The cheap ones I bought at Delta wore out by the time I reached Ft. Nelson, BC (the coating was worn through by use). Your eyes are at risk from more than the sun on the road. I took a blow from a serious rock (about 1.5"-2" in diameter) in the chest one day from a semi traveling in the opposite direction on the Alaska Highway. The bullet-proof nature of Oakleys might have protected me if it had hit me in the eye; others wouldn't have.
  
  Also, the Oakleys do a better job of channeling the airflow to keep the glasses from steaming up. My iridium Oakley M-Frame sunglasses do quite well as the sun sets. They don't seem too dark even though they work well in the bright sun. They're expensive ($135 each), but they're guaranteed. I broke two Oakley frames on the trip and Oakley replaced them free of charge under warranty.
  
• The Clam hard carrying case
  The Clam computer case performed its job flawlessly--protecting my computer from vibrations, dust and moisture for the month of Alaska Highway and Big Horn Highway travel. Once I was on paved roads though, I couldn't justify its 3 lb weight, so I sent the Clam home from Jasper (I switched to a neoprene Wetsuit case instead). There wasn't a millimeter to spare front to back and just enough room for the BTI power supply on the side, but I would have preferred a bit less depth (top to bottom) filled with foam. I've knocked one star off for weight and another for excessive depth.
  
  
• Wetsuit PowerBook carrying case
  After I sent my Clam hard case home from Jasper, Alberta, I switched over to a Wetsuit PowerBook carrying case. The nearly weightless form-fitting neoprene Wetsuit is perfect for protecting just the PowerBook, nothing else. I've used the small pocket on top of the Wetsuit to carry my PC card modem, but there is really no extra room in the Wetsuit case. Where weight is my primary concern, that's how I want it. Despite the name, the Wetsuit does not protect the PowerBook from the wet; it is just good padding and a means of carrying the PowerBook away from the bike. I insert the PowerBook into the Wetsuit case and then the Wetsuit into a waterproof OR bag (see above). As I understand it, SILICON SPORTS, 2855 Campus Dr., San Mateo, CA 94403 , maker of the Wetsuit, has been acquired by Kensington, but the Wetsuit does not appear on Kensington's website. Most of the computer mail-order catalogs list the Wetsuit, however.
  
• Marmot Wizard sleeping bag
  I chose to use a synthetic sleeping bag instead of down because traveling every day on my bicycle, I knew I would never have an opportunity to dry out my bag. The human body produces moisture all night long and unless the bag is dried out, it will hold that moisture. Over time a down bag subjected to such conditions would become saturated and unusable. Also, down tends over time to pulverize and disintegrate, reducing its insulation value. Synthetic sleeping bags need no longer be bulkier and heavier than down. My Marmot Wizard 3D (Polarguard 3D) is one of the very best of the new synthetic bags. It has a regular stuff size of 9.5 x 15 in. (24 x 41 cm)--a large loaf of bread. I use a Granite Gear Tubular Rock Solid Compression Sack to compress the Marmot bag to about 6" x 17"--a small loaf of french bread--just a couple of inches longer than the down bag. Because Polarguard 3D compresses less than down, I need less padding below me, so I use a lightweight backpacker ThermaRest pad, thereby cutting back on bulk and weight in another part of my load. With a weight of 3 lbs. 4 oz. and a temperature rating of 15° to 25°, the Marmot Wizard compares well with down.

© Ed Noonan 1996-2002

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