The Workhorse Bike was specced by Will of Cadence bike shop - it drew on his considerable I suspect that it was a bike that it was a bike that was specced for him and one that we would like to have ridden half way around the world. But seeing it was almost 30 years since I last owned a touring bike, I was happy to heed his advice.
I wanted a bike that I would enjoy riding and keep on my return to the UK, so we started off with a Titanium Enigma Escape 56cm frame.
https://www.enigmabikes.com/pages/enigma-escape
The standard Carbon Fork from the Enigma will not accept a front rack so it was replaced with a Niner Fork
The wheels were handbuilt by cadence using
DT Swiss rear hub built onto DT 545D Touring rims.
36 spoke rear, 32 spoke front
The front hub is a Son Hub Dynamo, this neat bit of kit is a 3W dynamo connected to a USB port on the stem. This can be used to charge lights, gamins, mobile phones or a battery pack.
https://nabendynamo.de/en/products/hub-dynamos/for-thru-axles/
Panaracer Gravel King tyres 42mm
Shimano Ultegra 8000 series RX shifting group
Rotor Chainset with inPower Power meter. Gearing choice is 30/46 chainrings , 172mm cranks, 11-34 cassette.
TRP Spyre mechanical disc brakes with 160mm rotors. The choice of Mechanical discs over Hydraulic was for ease of maintenance when in remote locations.
Deda Zero 2 stem, Deda Gravel flared bars (42cm) with Pro gel bar tape, Deda Zero 2 seatpost (aluminium)
Saddle started out with the same saddle as on my racing bike (Fizik Arione), but after the first couple of weeks of use, i decided that my riding position was different and had a saddle fit. The extra width of a Brooks B17 was a lot more comfortable in the more upright touring position,
Racks: Tubus Cargo Evo rear, Tubus Tara lowrider front
the final weight of the bike with pannier racks is 12.5kgs.
