The Bicycle
I finally picked up my bike - Danny the bike. It wasn't a smooth process. The bike store, located in Münster-Germany, was not as organized and service minded as you would imagine a German bike store to be. Quite the opposite actually. Nevertheless, it's in my possession now and I'm very happy with it.
It's a Bergamont Vagonda Sponsor Edition, a durable and comfortable trekking bike. Trekking bikes are sort of hybrid bikes, a mix between a road bike and a mountain bike. Danny the bike has a sturdy aluminium frame. Most gearing components are Shimano Deore XT, which is good quality stuff made for off-road biking. Other components are also Shimano, such as brakes (Altus), cranks, dynamo, etc. I also mounted an extra front-rack on it, and replaced the trekking pedals to instep pedals to ease the pedalling. It also has adjustable suspension, which is good when you go from paved roads to dirt road and back on paved roads again.
There are still a few things to be added to Danny the bike such as bottle holders, bike computer, mirror, and of course I still need to get the panniers (bike bags). The only thing that makes me a bit nervous is the saddle. I've read a lot about saddles but it doesn't matter really until you try one for a long ride, possibly over a few days. The options are unlimited and variations beyond comprehension. I will get back to this later when I have tried it out for a longer period.
