I’ve been planning to do the Oregon Outback ride this year with a friend, and yesterday was our first trial ride with our camp bikes.  We did the 26-mile mostly paved ride I had done on my rando bike a few weeks ago.  There is a short stretch of gravel, so it allowed us a bit of feel for the twisty dirt roads, but this was mainly an equipment shakedown.

We loaded up his Troll and my Mammoth with some bulk, but not a full level of kit. I had the hammock, sleeping bag, and stove, and John had a front bag, frame bag, and a full Ortlieb dry bag. All in, my bike was probably 10+ lbs heavier than my last ride on this loop.

Observations:

• The Thunder Burts are nice pavement tires – minimal buzz, and great float, and the tubeless setup is holding air nicely
• I will likely need to put my rear rack back on to support the bag – it rests on the fender, and there will be more weight out back when I add food, clothes, etc…
• I’m going to put a triple on the front for the extreme climbs with weight – the 48/34 compact double is good, but I want more granny
• John is checking his chain rings – threw the chain a few times
• Flat pedals rock
• Ready to tape the bars – they felt fine on the ride
• Both bikes had a bit of shimmy at ~20mph – attributed to more weight high up in the back – we should be able to sort it by adding weight in the front, and lower down
• Our speed was not too different then my solo ride of the reverse loop;  12.3 mph ave vs. 13.7 mph ave – only took an additional 12 mins over the course of 2 hrs
• The bikes are plenty comfortable
• I can’t wait for this trip!