Frannie is a 2019 Salsa Vaya.
Steel frame with a Shimano 105 drivetrain. We roll tubeless. She typically hauls between 20 and 40 pounds of gear depending on the season. I used to ride carbon, but once I hit my 40s every ride started to hurt a little more, so I moved to steel. Unloaded, the frame weighs about 19 lbs, but it handles smooth as silk.
I would spend 8 hours a day on this thing if I didn’t have a job.
Dat azzzz
That’s cool, it looks a little painful to use as a daily driver though ! I’ll stick with city bikes (also known as a fiets) with a lower saddle and higher handlebars.
Looks very cool! How is steering with the bags on the sides of the front wheel?
Yep. Had a similar setup back when I had a weekly commute of 350km by bike. Plus visiting friends and grocery shopping. For the latter, I even had a trailer. Went through a number of bearings, gears, and chains over the years…
Nice rig! I’ve seen several bike tourer using these leather saddles instead of the foamy ones? What are the advantages of those? I assume they dont soak up water when driving through rain
Those leather saddles are designed to fit to the rider and last forever. It’s thick leather stretched over a steel frame. There’s a break-in period of about 100 miles, and then it just fits you forever.
The leather breathes, so you don’t sweat as much, but the shock absorbtion is much better. If I hit a big bump, I’ll feel it in my wrists but the rest of my body just bounces in the saddle.
They don’t like getting wet though. If I have to leave it outside in the rain I’ll put a bag over it.
very interesting, would need check where I can get one of those saddles in my area
Sick dude i really want to try bike camping someday and move to someplace that has green. I like the eyes too
I have a 2020 Vaya and I am convinced that the Vaya is one of the best bikes ever made. I got a Fargo last year also, and I love it just as much. The Vaya has been so many places with me, I even took it on my honeymoon to the Azores.
It’s just an absolute joy to ride, right? The Fargo looks like a beast though, how’s it handle in winter?
It sure is a joy, and as much as I love my orange red one I really like your green one a lot too.
I have only had the Fargo for a few months now, I got it before they switched to 32” wheels, so I imagine the newer version is even more of a beast. My winter experience on the Fargo is limited mostly to commutes, but it has been extremely comfortable. It’s definitely a bit more in the ATB realm and feels more upright than the Vaya.
I do feel like I will probably still bikepack on the Vaya. The mounts are a bit more favorable for the racks and bags that I have. My wife works for Nemo and has documented a few of our bike adventures on the Nemo blog if you’re curious to see a picture of mine. Nemo makes an awesome bikepacking tent.
Dude! That blog is awesome, y’all sound fun as hell. Good to know about the Nemo too, I’ve been curious about those. I tend to solo it, so I’ve always hammock camped when I bikepack, but it would be nice to be less tree-dependent.
Haha thank you, we do alright, my wife is pretty cool. Nemo makes great gear. The later version of that tent (used on our Nova Scotia trip) was well improved. I think they called the new fabric Osmo. Shoot me a DM if you’re interested, I might be able to sneak a 40% code from her.
My brother has a similar type of bike that he uses for almost everything for over the last 25 years.
Granted, it has had lots of maintenance over the years and it’s a little bit a ship of Theseus situation with tires, brakes, chain, sprockets, etc, but the frame and wheels, steering bar etc. are still original.
Good bikes be good bikes for life
I have a 20-year-old Trek 4200 with about 70K miles on it. The thing is fucking immortal and it wasn’t even close to being a top-end bike in 2006 (I think it cost around $500 new). Drivetrain, tires and brakes are the only things I’ve ever replaced, obviously many times over.
That’s awesome! Bike goals.
All the maintenance and tweaking are part of the Zen of the whole thing, for sure. Sounds like your brother knows what’s up.
At that age, all the wear items have worn multiple times, still having the original wheels is pretty good though. They’re one of the easiest components on a bike to damage.
I had the rim of my rear wheel crack last week, first time I’ve ever had a wheel problem in 20 years/100K miles of riding.
Hello fellow old person!
once I hit my 40s every ride started to hurt a little more, so I moved to steel. Unloaded, the frame weighs about 19 lbs, but it handles smooth as silk.
Was it the vibration? Because I have some crappy joints and now I’m thinking I should try some steel…
Howdy! Sorry, thought I responded already. Carbon vs steel is night and day. There’s pretty much zero energy absorbtion with carbon, so you feel every bump and crack.
Steel, for as hard and durable as it is, has a decent amount of give. You’ll still feel the bumps, but significantly less.
If you’re just looking to make your current ride more comfortable, though, that leather saddle is a massive upgrade. Seriously. It’s everything.
Less comfort and more my shitty knee (which per the doctor I’m trying to keep as long as I can, but will need a replacement before my 60s guaranteed)
I’m also considering getting electric going as a backup, in case I need to give my knee a break for a few. My longer (60+mi/100+km) rides I just can’t do anymore because of it, and I am trying to think of ways I can. Right now even 25mi/40km can be a bit of a stretch, so when I do ride its only for an hour or so. I miss the long rides.
Magnificent beast!
And (for some reason) still how a proper bike looks like in my mind :).
Who dis?
Well spotted! That’s Gizzy Gator, the mascot for King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
