Show us your expedition bike

[Mark Manley]

Following my comment on the Dawes Sardar for sale thread I thought I would start another devoted to this particular type of bike.
It is fairly moot what constitutes an expedition bike and I would argue it is anything that has been or could be used on an adventurous ride so Dervla Murphy's single speed Armstrong is a good qualifier but I was thinking something more like the Dawes of the above mentioned thread.
My own contribution is a Roberts Roughstuff I had built for me in 2008 which is complete with suspension front forks although the ones on there now are a little longer than the originals and the other bike I looked at the time a Thorn Sterling one of which I have since built after acquiring a frameset a couple of years ago.
What else is out there?

 

[foz]

2003 Dave Yates custom built, here with no racks, currently used occasionally as what is now known as a "gravel bike"....

 

[Iwasgoodonce]

My Saracen Kili Flier Comp. Not specifically an expedition bike but it is mine:



This used to be my race/everything bike. I have replaced the brakes with XT V brakes (they work a lot better and are lower profile) and also fitted a shorter more upright stem. Not by today’s standards but compared to the 150mm flat rise monster that was fitted as original!
I have limpet front panniers and 170mm cranks.

 

[Tootyred]

This was version 1....now replaced by version 2! Learnt a lot from it....especially regarding riding position, bar heights etc.

 

[Tootyred]

Version 2.....tange prestige oversize with various generations of xt....from M730 to T780!....and just about everything inbetween..

Custom stem by @August Bicycles , azonic bars, x317 rims and sakae lowfat pedals, continentals....serious mixed bag...but all stuff that works and makes it really comfortable.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

My faithful hammerite Randonneur. Not sure this qualifies, if not I'm happy to remove it

 

[Takingabreak]

2003 Dave Yates custom built, here with no racks, currently used occasionally as what is now known as a "gravel bike"....


View attachment 904535

I love seeing pictures of this bike, the frame is similar to my own so I enjoy seeing what mine could be like if built in a similar way

 

[Takingabreak]

My expedition bike journey began back in the early to mid 2000's when I almost bought a Dawes Sardar but ended up buying a marin muirwoods instead. (why did I do that...)

The marin didn't end up being the bike I hoped it would be so my thoughts always went back to the bike that got away. Over the years I toyed with the idea of the Orbit Romany and Expedition, the Dave Yates expedition frame (I think it was called the Wayfarer), I even considered the Dave Yates frame building course to build my own. None of which happened for various reasons. Of course, the Roberts Rough Stuff sat up there as an unattainable dream at the time, I never seemed to have enough flash cash for a Roberts.

Then fast forward nearly 20 years and expedition frames come along like buses. One ebay browsing type of day there one was, staring back at me, a Yates expedition in a rather splendid dark green and white colour scheme. It was quite highly priced but I snapped it up anyway, my thinking being I didn't want to wait another 20 years for the next one. Then 6 months later, on another ebay browsing type of day, there it was, the actual bike that got away, the Dawes Sardar. Well it had clearly had a hard life, every component was trashed and the seatpost was stuck. Eventually I got the seatpost out and then treated it to a fresh powder coat in illusion pacific.

Now having two expedition frames, I built one as a flat bar, more off road orientated bike and the other as a drop bar, potholed roads and wet weather bike.

The pictures have been on retrobike previously but here they are again

 

[MatBH5]

I’ll add my Robin Mather to the mix…
It’s 26” wheel and based on the old Kona geometry, but with a long headtube.
I’ve now got the matching stainless steel Mather front and rear racks to fit in place of these Tubus ones. It came with a spare Mather stem which is currently being modified to have a removable faceplate to give some flatbar options.

Great category of bikes, I previously had a Roberts Roughstuff which now has a new owner in these parts.

Love the Yates above.

 

[grantoury]

My Vittorio, finished this year. I have a front rack for it too. I am not sure it will ever see a full on "expedition", but it could do it.