The bike is a steel framed compact audax built by Longstaff Cycles of Newcastle-under-Lyme in 2005. It has a Shimano Ultegra groupset with a triple ring (52-39-30) on the front and a 10 speed cassette (11-28)on the back. The wheels are Mavic Cosmos with 25mm Conti Ultra-Gatorskin tyres. None of this is cutting edge. Nor is it a full on expedition rig. It wouldn't last five minutes on the Karakorum Highway. It should suit lightweight "credit card" touring on half decent roads in Europe. The frame is fitted with lugs for mudguards and a rear rack. The ultra lightweight Tubus fly rack will support panniers but I don't intend carrying that amount of kit. Sadly it is too narrow for most rack top bags so I have gone with a traditional Carradice saddle bag. Navigation and route data should be provided by a recently acquired Garmin Edge as and when I can get my head around it. The current saddle is a Selle Italia but that is under review. Saddles are a vexed issue and deserve more detailed comment.
