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Daniel Moser has contributed 155 entries to our website, so far.

Day 2: Rain in Shiraz

Mar 25, 2017

When you hear about Iran, you probably think about heat and dry desert. However, today we experienced the complete opposite. It was basically pouring down all day, it was windy and chilly, and for those who have read my previous posts, I still don’t have a rain jacket as it is in Doha together with most of my luggage. So we restricted sightseeing to the Karim Khan Citadel, an old fortress. The rest of the day we either spent with our hosts Masoud and Zahra or we ran for some errands such as exchanging money or getting our SIM-cards to work.

The good news I just got from the airport: my luggage should be on the way to Shiraz and I can pick up my things tomorrow morning when we will hit the road towards Persepolis. Probably still in the rain, but it should get better towards the afternoon. And this will also mean that I might not be able to post every single day on this page.

Day 1: Arriving in Shiraz

Mar 24, 2017

Layover in Doha

After the difficulties with the checking the previous day in Zurich I was hoping that the rest of my trip would go smooth. And actually when I boarded the plane, more than 50% of the seats were not occupied so I could choose my favorite seat in the economy class: in the first row with additional legroom and a window. However when we were approaching Doha for the layover, the night sky was beautifully illuminated by countless thunderstorms over the Persian Gulf. While this nature spectacle was nice to watch, it also delayed our landing by 20 minutes. This does not sound too bad, but if the original layover time was only 55 min (officially suggested by Qatar Airways), then it got tight. And after running through half the airport and an additional security check I made it with the last call into the aircraft.

Flight to Shiraz

The thunderstorms were still active over the Persian Gulf, so the flight that should have taken less than an hour had an additional delay of 45 minutes. I did not mind so much however because I know I will arrive at the final destination eventually. Once landed in Shiraz, I made my way quickly through the immigration and was hoping to retrieve my two boxes quickly and assemble the bike. However, it turned out that the layover time in Doha was two short, no boxes arrived. However, I was not alone, a whole travel group from Switzerland were also missing their luggage. The unfortunate point is, the next flight only arrives in 2 days, this means wearing the same clothes for 3 days in total.

Sightseeing in Shiraz

With just my hand luggage in my hand, which consisted mainly of my electronic equipment and the travel documents, I met Lucie, my bike partner for the next three months. She already organized accommodation with some locals, and I was glad that I could simply drop off my luggage at their place and go sightseeing afterwards.

The historical center of Shiraz is really beautiful, especially the mosques and the famous bazaars, where you can choose between hundreds if not thousands of small vendors for carpets, sweets, clothes, and other traditional goods. However, the bazaar was also very crowded, so we were glad to visit the famous and impressive Shahcheragh Holy Shrine, the Vakil Mosque as well as other well-known historical sites. Our hosts Masoud and Zahra accompanied us the whole day and their support was priceless as only the minority of the people in the streets speak reasonable English.

After a day full of impressions, I finally get my well-deserved sleep to catch up from the last night during which I basically did not sleep at all.

Day 0: Packing and leaving Zurich

Mar 23, 2017

Packing everything into two boxes

All the equipment that I have collected piece by piece in the past weeks had to fit in two cardboard boxes. To be honest, until yesterday, it was not completely clear yet what I will bring along on my trip. I wanted to bring along my paraglider for some flights in the Pamir later on, but when packing, I realized that it would take up too much space and I rather leave some room for food and water in the bags than filling it with a glider that I might use only a few times in the next three months, or not at all.

The result of all the packing was satisfying. I could fit everything I need into the two boxes which weighed in the end 32kg (bike box) and 27 kg (all the rest) which was perfectly within the allowance of the airline. And I took one of the front panniers and my photo bag that I bought 2 hours before leaving as hand luggage.

Getting to the airport

There was no way the bike box would fit in my small Mazda 3, so I either had the choice to call a taxi or to go with public transportation. I chose the latter option because it is not unlikely that the bike box would also not fit into the taxi. Luckily I only live 5 km from the airport and I have a bus stop right next to my apartment building. With the kind help of Ilinca we managed to carry everything to the airport.

Check-In refused due to no return flight

Two hours before departure I arrived at the check-in with plenty of time for everything – that’s what I thought. The first surprise came quickly. The lady at the check-in asked me if I did not have a return flight, which I did not because I do not know yet where my adventure is going to end. This was a serious problem because Qatar Airways does not transport passengers to Iran without a return flight. The lady at the counter suggested to buy a cheap flight out of Iran with a low-cost carrier, which is what I did in the end for $70. The interesting point of the story is that it said nowhere during the booking process that one-way flights to Iran are not allowed and that the lady at the counter actually helped me circumvent this restriction, even by redirecting me to competitors. In the end I was happy to pay the $70 and I am now on the plane towards Doha, where I will have a 55 min layover and then continue to Shiraz.

Warming Up: From Zurich to Basel

Mar 6, 2017

After having assembled my bike this week together with my friend Phil, the time has come to put the material and also myself to the test. Because I had a meeting later in the evening in my hometown Basel, it was convenient to cycle from Zurich to Basel. This route had everything to offer that you can expect on a multi-day tour:

Beautiful sunshine and tail wind for the first 20 km
Fascinating cloud formations combined with strong head winds for the next 30 km
A very steep 400m climb up to the top of the Jura chain
A good descent down towards Basel
Strong rain for the last 15 km

Detailed Route

Total distance: 113.43 km
Max elevation: 804 m
Min elevation: 212 m
Total climbing: 1397 m
Total descent: -1607 m
Total time: 06:39:55

Conclusions

The bike was all fine with one exception: the cables for the mechanical disc brakes were not tightened enough and the breaks got weaker km after km. And since I did not bring the tools, I was lucky that right before the steep ascent I met someone along the road with the necesseary tools to tighten the breaks, otherwise the well-deserved descent on the other side would have been not that enjoyable.

Some fine-tuning is however still necessary: The angle of the saddle is not perfect yet and the handle bar needs to be adjusted a bit.

My rain pants and shoes did not pass the test. I was soaking wet from my legs downwards. Luckily I already ordered some replacement pants last week.

I am not in best shape yet. While the first 70 km including the ascent and descent went fine, the last 40 km were getting tougher and tougher and my average speed was constantly going down. I was glad when I finally arrived in Basel. Some more practice until the start of my big tour in 2.5 weeks is absolutely necessary.

My Trekking Bike from Tout Terrain

Feb 28, 2017

I am the owner of two aged hardtail bikes, one 20 years old, the other one 10 years old. While they are still perfect for getting around in Zurich and leaving them at the train station, I definitely wouldn’t trust them to hold for another 5000 km on a multi-month tour through Iran and Central Asia on the Pamir Highway where I will be hundreds of kilometers away from the next bike shop to get replacement parts or any other help.

So the time has come to go shopping for a new trekking bike! Or more precisely, shopping for components as I want to assemble the bike myself (with the kind help of Philipp, a bike enthusiast with his own bike garage and around 12 bikes!). There are three reasons why I don’t want to buy a bike off the shelf:

I like building things
If I want to be able to fix my bike on the tour, there is no better way to learn than assembling it yourself
None of the manufacturers had exactly all the components I wanted

So in this post I would like to share my reasons why I chose the particular components.

Frame

I chose a frame from the German manufacturer Tout Terrain, more precisely the Tanami Xplore. I was looking for a solid steel frame which can withstand the tough terrain of my tour and a total weight of up to 160 kg. And I wanted a manufacturer which is close to me, so in case there is something wrong with the frame, I don’t have to send it overseas.

Of course there are also a few other manufacturers with suitable frames, but I decided for Tout Terrain of some really nice features on the frame such as the rock-solid and built-in carrier and the way the Pinion Gearbox can be mounted without the need of an additional chain tensioner. Also I was really satisfied with their pre-sale customer service and Tout Terrain supports world travelers with a discount on their materials.

Tout Terrain Tanami Xplore

Drive System

The choices when it comes to drive systems were:

Shimano XT (3 x 10) or similar
The well-proven Rohloff gear hub
The relatively new Pinion P1.18 Gearbox

There are already enough comparisons between the various drive systems on the web, some of them sponsored, so I will refrain from comparing all of them again. I will rather explain my considerations when I chose the Pinion P1.18 Gearbox. And during the trip I will provide my personal feedback.

Why Pinion?

I wanted a system that requires as little maintenance as possible. The Pinion is completely encapsulated and is supposed to be protected from dust, sand, mud, etc. Also compared to a derailleur, it is less sensitive to deformation during transport.
Being a startup founder myself, I like innovation. The Rohloff hub is well-proven, but I wanted to try out the new Pinion because on the paper it seemed clearly superior to the Rohloff.
The range of the gears is unique. 18 real gears distributed over 636% is simply perfect for my adventure.

Doubts about Pinion

Long Term experience

The Pinion Gearbox is relatively new and I could not find a lot of neutral feedback from long-distance travelers. There are of course a few positive test reports in the magazines, but honestly these are not relevant to me as it is well known that it is both in the interests of the manufacturer and the magazines to get along with each other. And these tests are usually a few hundred kilometers, which does not tell that much about the life span of a product. And the two long distance travelers I have found were both sponsored by Pinion.

Customer Service

When I decided to go with Pinion, I contacted them by e-mail if they supported me on my planned adventure, both financially and also in case of problems with the gearbox. Result: No response.

After I called them a week later I was told to resend the e-mail and someone would get back to me. Result: No response for another week, then I was told that their budget is already used for this year, but the second part of my e-mail remained unanswered. So I wrote a third e-mail about how they would support me in case of problems with the Gearbox. Result: No response at all.

It is really a shame that Pinion, at least in my case, has not realized that customer support is a very important part of their business. If Stephanie Römer from Tout Terrain had not assured me their support in case of problems with the Pinion Gearbox and organized a repair kit, I would have decided against the Pinion and chosen the Rohloff. Thank you for your efforts Stephanie, even though this would have been Pinion’s job.

Pinion Gearbox on Tanami Xplore

Gates Drive Belt or Chain

I decided to go with a chain instead of the Gates drive belt because I wanted a system that is as easy to fix as possible, especially in the Pamirs. Carrying a replacement belt with me is difficult because it is very delicate and cannot be folder arbitrarily, whereas a spare chain is small and easy transport. Of course a chain is more prone to pollution, but because I only have one chain ring in the front and back, cleaning it is not such a big problem. And as a side effect, the chain is a much cheaper solution.

Brakes

The last decision was: Disc brakes or not. I chose the Avid BB7 mechanical disk brakes because they have similar breaking power than a hydraulic disc brake but don’t carry the risks of damaging the hydraulic system, making it difficult to repair in very remote areas.