The OG:
Stock build, with Crank Bros. Candy pedals. Did and overnighter, and rode most of the first fall/winter that I had the bike.
The GAP/C&O Interation:
On-One Midge handlebars, Lame ass rear panniers, Arkel handlebar boner bag. I really like that handlebar bag. Nitto rack up front for a stuff sack.
The rear panniers made pushing the bike around kind of lame. Also, a photo of Cass Gilbert portaging his rackless Surly Ogre kind of gave me a hard-on for that aesthetic. I really like those handlebars, but I think that the actual drop portion of the bar isn't the most usable if you also want to use your hoods as a hand position.
The Current Build:
The obvious huge change is the switch to the Jones H-Bars, I haven't had a chance to add bar tape to the other grippy areas yet. Super comfy, obviously not as stretched out as drop bars, but I'm considering another 10mm of stem. Right not it's a 90mm stem, and I'm thinking about going to 100mm. Paul Thumbies hold the shifters (in super sexy friction mode), and Avid levers handle the stopping. My Brooks saddle is broken in enough to ride at least 30 miles and feel ok with no chamois. I'll have to try some longer rides.
The rear rack and Dill Pickle saddlebag are straight up thefts from Gypsy By Trade. It is pretty versatile, looks swanky, and you have room to lash things in the space between the back of the rack and the saddlebag if you want to. I carried a collapsing stool and my tent pole under the flap of the bag, and that worked out alright.
The Arkel front panniers kick some serious ass, and they look nice. That's an Old Man Mountain front rack, and it's fantastic. I'm considering trying a basket approach to an overnight, so the OMM rack would be vital to that setup.
The front-biased load makes the steering super stable, because I'm fairly upright and already putting a lot of weight on the rear wheel. I much prefer it to rear panniers, although no panniers is probably the most fun.
I'm not done fiddling, and I really want to find a small Ogre to test ride. I like the Jones bars, but an actual mountain bike might be a better fit with them, and I like the big wheels. Plus, the Ogre, or maybe even a Troll or custom built Salsa El Mariachi would probably lend themselves better to the rack-light or rackless set ups.
Through every iteration, this bike has been comfy, stable, and utterly reliable. I trust the bike to go when I push the pedals, and stop when I squeeze the brake levers, and that's what I think is the most important characteristic of a touring bike. It might not be fast, but I'm not that fast on any bike.
