Wife bike

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Whenever my wife and I go camping, we always bring a bike. We always go to an autocamp site, so we always don’t even know if we are going to ride, but we load our bikes anyways.

We can fit both of our bikes and camp gear like this in a car this size. You just need to take off the front wheel.

Ever since I got my hands on Jackie-san’s hammock, I never go camping with a tent now. Hence, all the gear I need is in the blue box you can see in the picture above.

My wife rides to work everyday, but she is not the type to ride a bicycle for enjoyment. She just rides to get around. Riding off-road is definitely not her thing as well.

We never go on a ride like a typical Blue Lug ride whenever we go out camping.

On average, we only ride about 2-3 km. There are even times that we only ride our bikes to get to the restrooms in the camp ground.

Just cruising looking at the sunlight filtering through the trees and feeling the wind.

Oddly enough, this short ride is fun and always puts smile on our faces. I am not sure why, but we feel like we’re someone important.

Most of camp ground here is up in the mountain, so it’s typically the perfect temperature. We don’t have to break a sweat.

Riding to feel the lake that’s too far on foot, but not too far to go with a car is also nice.

Just riding around on a bike in places you don’t know can give you that feeling of adventure, even though if it’s just a couple of kilometers. You find more things you can’t find when you are in a car.

Encountering wild life.

It’s really not much, but enough to feel that special feeling of expedition.

The ground of the camp ground is an “off-road” path to my wife. She gets excited just riding the few square meters of dirt, which makes me happy that she enjoys riding besides here daily commute.

I built this bike specifically for her to ride in the camp trips we often go together. I made sure that the build was suitable for those occasions and felt different compared to the Velo Orange Neutrino, her commuter.

The frame I chose for my 154cm wife is the Surly Straggler size 38.

I made sure I chose the right handlebar, tires and brakes for her to feel safe riding a little bit of off-road.

Handlebar,

Instead of a handlebar that is swept way back, I chose the Nitto B802 AAF-SSB riser bar it has just the right amount of ride and sweep.

By the time I was choosing parts for this build, I was also working on the video which you can see below.

Cent’s Wombat

Kaneyan’s Scape Goat

Colonel’s Evasion

All the riders in the video had this bar on their builds and I thought that this was it.

Tires,

*ULTRADYNAMICO* rose race tire

The Race series, is Ultradynamico’s most supple tire models in their selection, which means they are grippy and they all have tan side walls. I chose these tires wishing that she’d feel safe riding on gravel. I didn’t want to her to feel unsafe while riding.

These tires look like they were designed specifically for off-road, but if you look closely, the centers basically a semi-slick, so these tires also roll very well on pavement.

That being all said, the main reason why I chose these tires is because they look good.

Brakes,

*PAUL* klamper disc calliper

The one and only choice I had in mind.

I had a lot of experience in not feeling safe when riding down hill in the rain or snow. In situations where my hands are cold and not moving, brakes are super important. I always choose the best of the best when it comes to brake calipers. I know for a fact my wife will not be riding in the same type of situations, but again, I wanted her to feel safe and comfortable riding.

If you only plan on riding pavement with the bike, the brakes can be something a bit more less-pricy, but since this bike was built for somewhat of an off-road riding, so I chose these top notch brakes.

↑This is her Neutrino

She likes both bikes, which I am very happy about. Apparently, she rides both bikes to work, depending on how she feels that day. If she wants to get to work quickly, she takes the Straggler to work. If she’s going grocery shopping on her way back home from work, she rides the Neutrino. If she’s wearing a skirt she rides the Neutrino. When we’re going camping, she goes with the Straggler.

Lastly, I would like to share the list of bikes I was considering to build for her before making the decision.

*SURLY* preamble (xs) ↓↓