I wear stuff out

Bike gear wears out in my use.

Mostly it was planned to wear out by the manufacturer. Not true of the lock on my father -n law's house. I bet this lock is from before I was born and still in use daily! Now that I think of it I wonder how old it is.)

I return from last trip and my rain coat is in taters, one pannier the waterproofing is gone, brake pads are worn out, pump hardly works, and it bums me out.

And we wont even mention the drive train of the bikes and tyres and tubes. Especially tubes and chains.

Is it just the Norwegian protestant in me of does this bug the average consumer?

But hey don't get me wrong here. I AM THE LUCKIEST BICYCLIST IN THE WORLD. I am only pointing out that I am fine tuning my kit. Because of the best family in the world I am going to get closer to perfection on my bikes. It might not be light and sexy or flashy, but i think it might last longer than i need it.

I have to get some of the stuff from literally half way around the world, so it is a big deal and a hassle. It almost seems like I spend more on maintenance of my bikes than on our car.

This brings me to the idea to simplify the bike thing even more. The reason I don't want a "modern bike"is gear wears out fast. I want stuff to last and feel good. I want panniers made of cotton duck and not nylon with sprayed on waterproofing.

The last trip I wore tyre sandals and platform pedals. You know how much bike shoes cost? You know how long they last on bush trips?