The bicycle:
Branch Winora Dakar with many alterations

  • Fork has been broken at the beginning of the journey and had been replaced by an improvised 28'' fork (actually 26'') in Chile
  • Brakes: Hydraulic Magura HS33. I had a repair kit with me that was never used

  • Generator: Hub dynamo from Shimano. Not used so often but worked well.

  • Carrier: Tubus Cargo. Unbelievable robust but LanChile managed it to get it a little bit damaged.

  • Lowrider: Cordo from Holland.

  • Bottle Carriers: Minoura from Japan. Very expensive but vital in deserts because it is possible to carry large quantities of water with it. Unfortunately they are of aluminium and can't be repaired.

  • Gear: SRAM 3.0 Unbelievable robust. The only part at my bicycle that I still use after 5 years!

  • Lights: Front Retro Halogen Plus, back Toplight diode with battery.

  • Tyres: Schwalbe Cross. Really good and unbreakable on bad roads but not so good for sand (too (too narrow)

  • Lock: Abus Manhattan. May have helped - I don't know...

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    Bags:

  • back: Ortlieb Classic Backroller with the old robust Quicklock-System. Very reliable.
  • front: Ortlieb Classic Frontroller. Same as above.

  • Front bag: Vaude

  • backpack: X-Plorer by Ortlieb. Actually supposed to be used as a backpack it was also possible to use this one as a "Rack-Pack" for the bicycle. Inside is enough space for a tend and some further camping equipment. Furthermore it is very good for trekking and a food carrier in thermal baths (better don't fill chocolate in there... :o)

  • Water bag: 10 litres water bag by Ortlieb. Was really good for carring large quantities of water. So I had always enough water for the needs of up to three days with me.

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    Camping:

  • Tent: Vaude Ultralight. 2-person tent, which offers me space and living room for all the journeys in the past 3 years. Don't use it as a 2-person tent of you don't like your companion very much...
  • Ground Isolation: 2cm Evazote by Globetrotter. Offers enough comfort and keeps you warm at very cold temperatures.

  • Sleeping Bag: Ajungilak Winter 2000. Used with n Cocoon Inlet. If you use both together you can easily stand -20°C in dry air. For extremely hot areas it would be better to use the inlet only.

  • Cooker: MSR Dragonfly. This multifuel cooker is very good for the whole globe; you won't have any problems to get fuel. But the cooker is extremely loud.

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    Photography:

  • Camera: Canon EOS 300. I'm using this camera for 3 years now. After all the usage it's really possible to describe it as extremely robust. It is the common student camera all over the world.
  • Filters: POL-Filter by Hama. For a better sky.

  • Tripod: Mini-Tripod by Hama

  • Slides: I always use Kodak EliteChrome slides. The offer extremely good colours and contours. But I also had had good results with Fujifilm (the only Fujifilm photos at this journey are from the flight Frankfurt-Santiago)

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