After the theft of our former bikes in 2005 we decided to buy new ones, with our future tours in mind. We ended up with Santos Travelmasters. A small Dutch brand that allows the buyer to customise the bike to his/her own wishes. So our Travelmasters are made of aluminium, have 28 inch-wheels, Shimano LX or SRAM-X9 drive trains, 42
mm Schwalbe
Marathon RX tyres (still the originals after app. 8000 kms, never a puncture), hydraulic
Magura brakes (perfect), bar-ends and Thudbuster saddle-suspension from Cane Creek. Eveline’s bike has a really beautiful mixed frame, 50 cms, and because she once had her thumb out of of its socket she has a SRAM X9
derailleur with grip shift. Weight 15,5 (F) en 15,8 (E) kgs.
Very stiff bikes, so lightly running but also comfortable because of the ergonomic grips, the tyres and the saddle-suspension. The chains and rear cassettes of both bikes have recently been changed and Corné van Dijk, our supplier, has given me a short extra maintenance course. For emergencies we carry a generic bike-tool, a Leatherman tool, some spare spokes, a spare inner tube and some more small stuff, among which tie-wraps and duct tape. Always handy for many purposes. Then of course we have our experience-based optimism. Yesterday I already collected the bike-boxes to pack the bikes in. We’ll soon be off!

On Gino’s car (2006)

Just bought (2005)