[Music]
two months ago I had no idea that I
would be standing here in Panama with a
brand new Turing bike but as you
probably aware Koga and my personal bike
sponsor and they were super keen for me
to test ride their latest model the
world traveler 2.0 today will be going
bumper-to-bumper on this wild rig will
be taking a deep dive into the frameset
details as well as the components and
all of the small customizations that
make this my own alright let's start
with the heart of the bike which is
always the frame the first thing you
notice is the color that I've chosen
which is Madagascar Orange this is a
limited edition color for this year and
I selected it because I thought it was
elegant but at the same time quite
understated if you're a James Bond fan
this is actually the exact colour of the
villain car in the latest
double-oh-seven film the paint is a
powder coat which I've found to be the
most durable finish for touring and the
paint detailing is very exquisite before
riding kogas I didn't know that powder
coats could be this intricate the frame
is super stiff for touring and it's
constructed out of aluminium which is
lighter and more customizable than steel
thanks to the way you can shape the
tubes and budding profiles while some
people perceive aluminium to be weak
this is simply a myth frame material is
just one factor when it comes to
strength what's more important is the
frame design and the engineering and the
overall build quality I have no doubt
that my koga can handle the same or even
more abuse than what my steel bikes can
I mean you've seen the type of terrain I
ride on aluminium bikes
new for this year are the super smooth
welds and these look insane
it looks like the frame is made out of
carbon fiber because all of the frame
tubes morph into each other other new
things about the frame are their head
tube lengths which are all 25
millimeters taller and the world
traveler frame is now derailleur
compatible which just brings in a lower
entry point for the coda biker pricing
the internal cable routing is one thing
that differentiates a koga from any
other aluminium turing bike there are
guides inside the down tube all the way
to the bottom bracket shell and these
prevent the cables from rattling inside
the frame it keeps the cables hidden
away from the elements it makes the bike
look really nice and it also makes the
cables super easy to install inside the
head tube is a steering limiter which
prevents the handlebars from being able
to twist too far with the front panels
it also makes the bike much more stable
with the kickstand deployed the frame is
covered in mounts including under the
top tube inside the front triangle and
under the down tube on the fork there
are also two cargo cage mounts if you
prefer more of a backpacking setup my
signature handlebars are something I'm
super proud of I actually designed these
with coda and the idea is that you get
the best of a drop handlebar and a flat
handlebar with your hands on the bull
horns or the bar tops you make your body
much more aerodynamic which allows for
faster speeds on smooth surfaces and the
grips you can take advantage of the big
steering leverage to maneuver the front
of the bike with ease I couldn't ride
the difficult terrain I do and speed
along the highways without a handle bar
like this I use five different hand
positions on these bars so in the bull
horns which are actually angled inwards
I'm either at the very end or close to
the base on the bar tops which are
angled backwards I'm jammed by the into
the nook of the bull
or much closer than the other stem and
then there are the grips for when I need
to access the brakes or gears the ERG on
GC one grips designed specifically for a
swept back handlebar like this and they
are a game changer they actually feel
like they're being custom molded for my
hands there's a rise in the middle that
cups inside my palm and winged out the
back that distributes the hand pressure
over a larger surface area I've also cut
down the right hand grip so that I can
get a bit more space around the base of
my ball lines in the middle of the bar
I'm using a double bar tape wrap to
squeeze the maximum comfort out of the
front of the bike as I have large hands
I definitely prefer the feel of a bigger
handhold inside my head tube is my
dynamo hub USB charger by sink a little
ratcheting door reveals the USBC
charging port and this is actually the
most powerful charger available for
cycling at speeds under 20 kilometres an
hour you can generate enough power from
these to run your smartphone on full
screen brightness in navigation mode
between just 14 and 17 kilometres an
hour as the smartphone needs about 12
kilometres an hour to get a smooth
charge there's actually a buffer battery
hidden inside my head tube which
provides backup power while I crawl
slowly up hills and if I cycle at 17
kilometres an hour it takes about seven
hours to fill a 5000 mah power bank the
low stack height of my plug 5 plus
charger allows me to mount my smartphone
on my stem I use a quad lock case which
uses a spring-loaded mount to ensure the
phone will always stay on the bars even
on the rough terrain and with this kit
it's just super easy to mount and remove
my phone from my bike to power my USB
charger and my lights is a hub Dynamo
from me
these are easily the best in the
business offering unparalleled
performance and by far the best
reliability the biggest change compared
to my previous bike are the 27 point
five by two point four inch tires which
are up from 29 by 2.0 the fad of rubber
is basically a trade-off between on-road
and off-road speed but given I'm finding
myself on more off-road trails than I
initially expected these will definitely
be a welcome addition
I still do compromise by using slick
Schwab super moto X tires because my
multi-year trips still have a really big
percentage on the pavement and these
allow me to comfortably ride about a
thousand kilometers per week if I need
I run the tires at four bar on smooth
surfaces and I can drop them to about
two bar on bumpy roads
I actually prefer to use tubes with any
touring tire just because they're that
puncture resistant I haven't had a
puncture in the last 16 months in fact
but it also means I don't have to mess
around with seating a tire and I don't
have to bother with changing the sealant
you'll have noticed that I almost never
hold back when it comes to riding rough
terrain and the key to my strong wheels
are both my super stiff rims and even
spoke tension the ride rims are
definitely the stiffest and most burly
rims in existence but the downside is
that they often weigh thirty to forty
percent more than other touring rims
they're so stiff they almost never go
out of true and I rarely ever break
spokes either my wheels are laced with
36 spokes which are double buttered and
roll off hub specific I carry two front
and two rear spokes as spares the
drivetrain is centered around a rolloff
14 speed internal gearbox hub I've been
using these for the past 100,000
kilometres and would find it really hard
to travel with anything else all the
gears are sealed away from the elements
they're almost maintenance-free they're
not susceptible to external damage and
they build into a super-strong wheel the
roll of hubs usually add about
Vickey low when compared to Durrell --is
and they have a similar Drive efficiency
to a one by a drive train I'm using a
gates belt drivetrain on my bike and
again these offer almost zero
maintenance and I can get more than
thirty thousand kilometers out of a
drivetrain which is three to four times
further than I could with a chain I have
selected a fifty to twenty two tooth
drive ratio which will give me under a
ten gear inches and with that I can
cycle uphill at about five kilometers an
hour with quite a reasonable cadence I
run my belt drive trains at a super low
tension which isn't recommended by Gates
or Koga but it reduces the amount of
resistance in the belt drivetrain so
that it's comparable to that of a chain
I can get away with this because the
Koga frame has such a stiff rear
triangle and my pedaling technique is
quite smooth even at this crazy low
tension I can't make the belt skip and I
consider myself a pretty strong cyclist
I'm carrying one spare belt which is
around 80 grams and fits into the pocket
of one of my opinions if I need a new
chain ring or cog I'll have to get them
shipped in but in the last ten years I
haven't ever had to do this I'm using
the new gates crank set with a direct
mount chain ring which looks amazing and
I'm looking forward to seeing if it can
handle my abuse I'm also testing this
belt Kerr stick to see if it can keep my
belt running smoother and quieter for
longer when you travel off-road your
pedals always take a huge bedding and
the most durable clipping pedals I found
are Shimano XT I clean and Reed raised
these pedals every two years and they
always go back to feeling like new I've
put over 50000 kilometres into a set of
these before so I don't actually know
their limit contrary to popular belief
at constant rates of power on constant
gradients there is no advantage to
clipping in but I choose to clip in
because it helps me generate short
bursts of power on steep off-road climbs
it also keeps my feet in place on rough
terrain and I can optimize my foot
positioning on my pedals my brakes are
Shimano XT hydros these have been great
to me the last two years they have ample
power and I've found that they need to
be bled about once per year on average I
prefer to use sintered metal brake pads
as they tend to last about two to three
times longer than any organic pads I've
ever found
I'm currently testing the Kang Creek EE
silk suspension seatpost it's barely
heavier than a carbon flexi post but it
has an adjustable spring rate to suit
your body weight I like that it only has
20 millimeters of trouble as I found
most other suspension seat posts just
offered too much vertical movement for
my liking
my fellow seat was purchased in Cambodia
on a whim it was the only seat I could
find in a local bike shop and it turned
out to be the perfect shape for my bum
it has been on many bikes over the years
and will hopefully survive many more
bikes to come I use Schmidt dynamo
lights on all of my Turing bikes the EDA
Lux
2 front light has enough brightness to
light my way even at five kilometres an
hour while I'm crawling up a hill the
beam pattern is great for the mix of
writing I do it uses a reflector to make
sure that the light doesn't go into the
eyes of the drivers and other cyclists
coming the other way the real light is
bright and also nice and compact and the
wiring actually runs up the inside of my
rack mud guards are a must for me they
do get clogged up with mud a handful of
times per year but I don't mind because
they keep me dry and clean all the other
times when the road is super wet I use
steel racks on all of my Turing bikes
because along with your wheels they're
often the most likely component to fail
on a bike trip Cubist's definitely make
the best racks in the business I have
never broken any of mine but if you do
manage to break a rack
they'll send replacements anywhere in
the world for free for the first five
years
my bottle cages are triple-b fuel tank
excels but unfortunately these have been
discontinued I really like them though
because I can just use 1.5 liter soft
drink bottles to store 3 liters of water
all inside my frame this bike is
essentially the pinnacle of what is
available if you're into cars the
equivalent would be a top model Mercedes
Benz with every optional extra the world
traveler starts at 2600 euros with
derailleur gearing with a roll of hub
it's 3500 euros with a roll off hub and
belt Drive
it's 3800 euros and if you select every
upgrade like I have expect to pay a bit
over five thousand euros I'm really
looking forward to following the
smallest roads from Panama to Alaska if
you're interested in following my
journey hit that subscribe button or
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