Bikes, builds and gear
Buying a bike is just the beginning of the project, and no bike will survive adventure enduro rides right off the production line. The two main design fundaments of the build were intertwined. One affects the other and vice versa. The final build is a delicate balance of terror between weight and endurance.
The obvious goal was to keep the bike as light as possible, which is easy with parts selection. The hard part is applying the same fundament to everything that goes on the bike.
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Adventurizing the KTM 500 EXC
The 500 EXC project page is up. It's missing some imagery, but most of the info is there now. http://therollinghobo.com/500exc
Almost there…
The bike's pretty much prepped and buttoned up for the ride, but there's still some work to be done on [...]
A shipment worth waiting for
On February 23rd I ordered a pair of 18/21 Haan Wheels with Excel A60 rims and a cush rear hub [...]
P3 Protected
The 500 is now #P3protected and looking pretty epic. The plate withe the tank, oil and hardware was 5.1 kg [...]
Going light with carbon.
The 500 is about to get a lot lighter with a P3 Carbon skid plate, pipe guard and personalized grip guard [...]
PDS vs. Linkage.
One major difference between the KTM 690 ER and 500 EXC is the construction of the rear suspension, with a [...]
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A fond farewell and recycling
My time in Berlin is up and it's time to move on. I'm moving to Tallinn, Estonia at the end [...]
Not dead yet…
My apologies for the long silence, along with the usual excuses of my professional life getting in the way of [...]
Absolute Albania and EXC touring
I’m back home. The end of the Greek trail was very nice, but Albania was truly spectacular. The riding was [...]
Until the end of the trail
Our journey from La Gruber continued west, with Felix from Deva joining us on his Transalp. We were on the [...]
KTM Ukraine interview
We sat down with KTM Ukraine in Kiev for an interview. I can't remember what I said and don't understand [...]
Into the Carpathians
The Crimson Trail continued from Kiev towards the Ukrainian Carpathians. We were both pretty done with the North European Plain, [...]