On Bike Selection

Touring bikes can come in many flavors. When I started surfing the Net for touring bikes the Ken Kifer, Downtheroad, and, eventually, the Commuter Bike sites led to my selection of the Koga World Traveller. One of the main reasons was it's reliability and the possibility of several long treks in the next few years. I wanted a solid bike, designed specifically for touring, outfitted with bullet-proof components. The Koga fit that bill. It has longer chainstays allowing your feet ample room to rotate on the crank without hitting the panniers. Eric Schwartz, owner of the Commuter bikes in Santa Barbara, was truly a pleasure to work with and made even made the drive there well worth the effort. Curt and I drove down to get fitted for the Koga's and I was astonished at the amount of time both Eric and James spent orienting us with the bikes and fine tuning them. I would highly recommend them for any serious bike purchases and intend to use them for any of my own. Eric has continued to be a terrific support throughout the planning stages of this trek. For instance, Curt's bike was run over and Eric was able to send a replacement fork and front Tubus rack immediately so our training schedule was barely effected. He has offered to overnight any parts we may need on the voyage as well. I've purchased many bicycles over the years and I can say that I've never received that quality of service. I've added a link to the Commuter Bikes.