Going travelling to bolivia...

spasypaddy

and am looking to take on the worlds most dangerous road. Unfortunately im not taking a bike and dont have a mountain bike which would be able to deal with this road so im looking at a package thingy.

Was reading their safety stuff and came across this gem:

However as a general rule, if a company is opting to run tours on cheap Chinese or Chilean made bicycles, then they are also unlikely to be bothering to use experienced and knowledgeable guides. Good giveaways are: Front and/or rear suspension make by JST, Block-shocks, or, even more revealling, without a brand-name on them, or bikes with no front suspension at all. Reliable and safe suspension forks are made by: Rock-shoxs, RST, Manitou, and Marzocchi ... note that the other companies are trying to imitate these brand names, but these cheap imitation forks are designed for children riding around cities; they are not designed for serious riding down serious roads or trails. Failures of these kinds of forks are common, and potentially disastrous!

Chinese- and Chilean-made bicycle brands such as Santosa, or Bianchi, are generally of lower quality, and again designed for children riding around cities, not serious riding. Come companies try and hide the fact that they are using these cheap, potentially dangerous bikes by painting over the brand name, or replacing it with another name that sounds better (as a hint, Shimano is not the name of a bicycle brand -- it is the name of a brand of bicycle parts!). Reliable brands currently available in Bolivia include Trek, Cannondale, Kona, Raleigh and Specialized. If you aren't being offered one of these brands be warned that the quality standards on construction and parts selection are likely to be questionable at best. Cheap, low-end parts will often also confirm whether a bike is of poor quality, or if the bike was once of good quality, short-cuts have been used in maintaining it. Shimano Alivio and Acera-X level derailleurs (the mechanism that moves the chain from gear to gear on the cogs) are low level, cheap components that do not cope well under harsh conditions. More reliable models are Shimano STX-RC, Deore, LX or XT.

can you spot the bit that made me laugh lots?

L60N

I laughed pretty much from start to finish..

I feel a law suit coming on "Go Bianchi, go get em"

spasypaddy

here are the rest of the safety standards:
http://www.gravitybolivia.com/view?page=45

oh and BANG got it in one! I didnt know bianchi were unreliable bad bikes, glad i chose to get a planet x instead now...

ricadus

I suspect the budget end of most bike companies' ranges are made in the Far East, as well as most else of the cheap-priced things people buy – clothes, kids toys, household appliances.......

spasypaddy

the bikes on offer:

Special-Edition Full-Suspension KONA USA GARBANZO COILER MOUNTAIN BIKE, 6 inches of silky smooth front and rear suspension and fantastic hydraulic disc brakes. These high-end bikes offer you MORE COMFORT, MORE STABILITY and MORE SAFETY.

im not going to come back am i?

Lbaguley

How old are the bicycles you use? More than a couple of years and they are probably getting tired.

Doesn't look too promising.

LangerDan

Having seen the email doing the rounds about that road in particular, the quality of your bike is the very least of your worries. You could have a full team-issue machine and its not going to help you if you get nudged over the side.

But don't worry about the fall - you'll have died of starvation long before you hit the bottom.

benjus

Have fun in Bolivia... I lived there for a couple of years and loved the country. I didn't do any cycling (wasn't really into it at the time) but I've been down that road a few times and it is pretty alarming.

Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking is probably the most established of the companies offering the package and they've got a good reputation.

What else are you planning to do? Don't miss the Salar de Uyuni and the surrounding area.

Having seen the email doing the rounds about that road in particular

If it's the same email I've seen (a powerpoint presentation) it's a bit weird. It gives the road a completely ficticious name, and while about half of the photos are of the Coroico road in Bolivia, the other half are of some road in China. Strange...

popette

LangerDan wrote:

Having seen the email doing the rounds about that road in particular, the quality of your bike is the very least of your worries. You could have a full team-issue machine and its not going to help you if you get nudged over the side.

But don't worry about the fall - you'll have died of starvation long before you hit the bottom.

I think I've seen that email. If it is the road I'm thinking of then I don't think that I could even crawl along it commando style on my belly nevermind on my bike.

:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: