My Bike For Darjeeling 2019

I used a Surly Long Haul Trucker for my Darjeeling trip of 2019. It was almost new when I went, with about 600 kms on the odo. I will give here a brief description of the bike, in case you are interested. 

My Surly is almost stock (although I bought it in late 2018, it's a 2014 model as per the frame number) except a few critical components. Let me first give you a brief introduction to the various components that I changed, hopefully for the better. A stock Surly LHT comes with cantilever rim brakes, 9x3 gears and bar end shifters. None of these were tinkered with.  

The first thing I bought for the Surly was a touring pedal. It was a pair of MKS pedals. It's a very famous pedal in the touring circuit. Its all metal construction makes it very durable. I think it will survive a nuclear holocaust. 

My next upgrade was a Probike Griffon saddle. It's made by Shimano. On the Darjeeling ride it performed pretty well. Of course I had burning bums after 4/5 hours on it. But that's not the saddle's fault. I have since switched over to Brooks B17, more for its aesthetics and reputation in the touring circuit. 

Just prior to the trip I changed my tyres to Schwalbe Marthon Tour Plus - both front and rear. Although I was not very happy with the old stock of tyre that they sold me, it behaved pretty well on the road. Touch wood, there was no puncture during the trip. 

I also changed the stock Tektro brake pads and replaced them with KoolStop because I knew there would lot of steep climb downs, particularly the section from Ghum to Rambibazaar via Mungpoo. And if it rains better brakes would be even more critical. Koolstop dual rubber brake pads are reputed to be very good. The brakes behaved pretty well. I have no complaints. I kept the Tektro pads as my spare. 

Apart from these I added a few things like a rear carrier and three bottle cages (had to take off one as it fouls against the mudguard). I bought these from B-twin. I didn't want to invest a lot of money into the carrier because a big brand pannier rack like Tubus or Surly would cost me the equivalent of an entry level bicycle. I wasn't too sure at that time if bicycle touring would suit me. Now that I know it will, I will have to invest in a rack and panniers. 

To add to the look and feel of a touring bike and also to save myself from getting sprayed by mud, I installed a pair of SKS Bluemels mudguards. I cannot say I like them. They are plastic and look very flimsy. I will possibly invest in a pair of stainless steel Velo Orange mudguards.