The accessories
The bags and racks
We didn't want to take risks with bags and racks. So we started on the benchmark for travel racks namely Tubus: Tara lowriders in front and Logo Evo in the back. The Tara are known to be stronger than the Duo, although I don't doubt that the Duo would have done the job. As for the Logo, I appreciate the lower rails to lower the center of gravity. Some find it more difficult to use than the Tubus Cargo because it has only one row of rail, but I don't agree. Indeed when our backpack is fixed on the rack platform, the rails below are much more accessible than the top rails.
The safe choice for the bags is obviously the Ortlieb bags, but we still hesitated for a long time with Vaude bags. They are larger, a bit heavier, a bit cheaper and of good quality, but we didn't find many testimonials from Vaude owners, we didn't particularly need more space and colors available didn't suit us. In the Ortlieb range, we chose Sport Roller Plus and Back Roller Plus. The Cordura fabric is much more flexible than the classic models and the gray-black color match anything and especially with the color of our bikes.
On the other hand we had a problem with Ortlieb or even Vaude's handlebar bags, we find them ugly. Floriane had found a good analogy: it's like the little banana belt bag. So we look for an alternative since it's undeniably very convenient to have a lot of little things at hand.
I already had views on a retro randonneur-style bag, like Swift Industries or Gilles Berthoud. These bags must rest on a mini front rack and hang on the handlebars with straps or using a decaleur if needed. The big advantage of these bags is the volume they can hold. Since Floriane wanted a small handlebar bag, I opted for Gilles Berthoud's biggest model, the GB28 (12 liters). These bags are hand made in the France (Ain) and are known for their durability. For the mini front rack, I opted for the Velo Orange Randonneur that I could find at Pelago. I would have liked a slightly more adjustable model like a Nitto M18, but it was even more expensive.
Floriane has opted for a saddle bag that can be converted into a handlebar bag, the Carradice Zipped Roll. They are also hand made, but in Great Britain. It is small and, with a shoulder strap, looks like a handbag.
Once the choice stopped on our tent, it was clear that it wouldn't fit in a rear bag, so it should be put on the rear rack platform. By experience, it's good to be able to keep everything dry in case of rain, including the tent. In addition we wanted backpacks to go hiking for one or two days. We quickly agreed on Ortlieb X-Plorer 35L backpacks that we hang using reliable Bike24 straps.
The lighting
As we mentioned in the previous post, our bikes are equipped with a dynamo in the front hub. We looked for lights that are discreet, of good quality and pretty. As for the aesthetics, we didn't find anything better than the Busch & Müller.
We already have a good experience with the B & M Eyc front light which is small, cheap and powerful enough. The model chosen is the B & M Eyc T Senso Plus, it was almost the same price as the lower models. The ON / OFF button was essential for the USB charger, the light sensor is less important, we like to always have the lights on, it's more reassuring.
For the rear light, we preferred a light attached to the fender rather than to the rack, because of our backpack would pass in front of the light. We found the B & M Secula Plus very cute and it light very well and at very low speed.
The indispensable
Among the essential accessories we have the bottles. There are 3 bottle cages on the Surly Disc Trucker: one on the seat tube, one on the lower tube and one under the lower tube. As our bicycles aren't of the same size, we cannot equip our cages with the same bottles.
Mine easily accommodates 2 bottles of 1l each, we found Zefal Magnum, and a small Tacx Source 500ml bottle under the lower tube.
On Floriane's bike, we had maybe the space for a 1l but we chose to go with two usual 750ml Elite Super Corsa. Unfortunately there is no room for a bottle on the lower tube, even the 500ml bottle touches the muguard, therefore we equipped her bottle cage with a Lezyne toolbox containing the necessary to repair a puncture and two or three other things.
The second essential accessory that we had to bring is an air pump. The most common is to carry a mini-pump that easily attaches to the bike frame or fit into a saddlebag, but the Surly Disc Trucker features a frame pump peg under the top tube. It's an elegant and very easy way to transport a pump of very correct size easily. So I chose a safe value: the Zefal HPX.
The bonus
I mentioned in the previous post, that mudguards are for us indispensable, but I must admit that it remains luxury. At first I was thinking of SKS Bluemels, German and very common, like those equipped on Floriane's current bike. But Töölön Pyörä sell stainless steel Gilles Berthoud mudguards, very strong and with a much more pronounced look. Originally we wanted bikes that don't attract too much attention not to tempt the thieves, with these mudguards, it's not going to happen.
The bonus accessory but still serves us is a USB charger plugged on my dynamo. Sometimes we sleep in a place without electricity and our GPS or smartphones batteries are empty. There isn't much choice for this type of device, prices vary and quality too.
We chose the charger Igaro D1 model 5 for its technical characteristics, its quality / price ratio and its small size. Unfortunately, I couldn't find much advice on this product, I had to trust their product based on the information of the manufacturer.
We aren't disappointed with the result, we connect it to an external USB battery (with pass-through technology) to buffer and charge continuously. Charging is very slow if the lights are on, but much better by turning them off. The dynamo delivers power only above 11km / h, which means not while going uphill. It saved us a few times but I must say that it wasn't essential.
The safety accessories
Let's not forget the safety, the lights are part of it but we must not forget the helmet. We don't put our helmets all the time because it isn't very comfortable all day long and in all climates, but we try to put them at critical moments: in town, in case of heavy traffic, during the descent on unpaved road ...
In addition to the helmet we each have a yellow jacket that we put in case of bad weather, heavy traffic or generally when the visibility is poor. We've already noticed that the mere wearing of the yellow jacket sometimes drastically changes the behavior of drivers towards us.
The last essential safety accessory is the anti-theft device. We took with us our everyday anti-theft devices, folding locks that are stronger than chains or cables, but lighter than U locks. It's a good compromise between strength and weight.
Conclusion
We spent a lot of time choosing the right components of the bike and accessories, we aren't disappointed to have done it this way, we're very proud of our bikes and they do the job. We've also read a lot of other blogs to get an idea of what works, and we also want to help future cyclists to choose their bikes.