After a long albeit relatively smooth journey, I’ve made it back to Oaxaca. And it feels good!

In part, it’s because I’m no longer living in the city, which has become increasingly congested and busy this year. The new spot is a 20-minute ride away, up a 200m climb, with the most glorious view into the Sierra Norte. San Felipe peak (3100m) feels so close you can reach and touch it, though in reality, it’s a multi-hour ascent to the top…

View from the terrace. My mind is officially blown.

Bike news:

I returned the titanium SWB I’ve had on loan forever, and I ended up leaving the steel Jones LWB I replaced it with in the UK, so I have a ready-to-ride bike when I go back in the spring. I did extract its Linkglide XT cassette though, as I plan to run it on the Spaceframe here in Mexico, via a Rivendell Silver2 friction shifter. My goal is to create a dedicated bikepacking bike that’s light, fun, easy to maintain, and hard-wearing. All being well, the Merida Big Trail I bought in Bristol will be shipped out to me at some point, so I can use it for fun times on the bigger enduro trails here.

The UK Collection.

After much deliberation, I also left my carbon wheels in the UK. But that’s ok, as I have another wheelset here, built up with Jones’ 50mm eyeletted alloy rims. It’s not as light as the C-rims, nor does it hold as true, but it’s double-walled and drilled for Shraeder valves, which makes it easy to set up tubeless and good for touring. The front wheel is laced to a SON dynamo hub, in turn wired up to a Sinewave Beacon, which is affixed to the handlebar using a new kLite mount that does double duty with the Hammerhead Karoo 2. Even if USB-lights are affordable and powerful these days, there’s nothing quite like having a dynamo light on tap, wherever you go. It’s empowering!

There’s not much more that’s changed. I brought back a 27.2mm Thomson seat post from my gear stash in the UK, because (shock horror) the Kent Erikson titanium seatpost I’ve been running for a few years has developed a crack. Bingham Built Bikes, who took over the business from Erikson, are replacing it under warranty.

All this means that I’m riding one bike right now for everything – trails and touring – bar the shared Jones HD/e e-bike for around-town chores, which is particularly useful now that we’re a big climb away from the city, and we’re going into the hot and dry season!

Spaceframe in dogpacking mode. Click the image for a larger, uncropped version, so you can read all those little annotations we took ages to draw in!

Flight controls, check. Flaps, check. Propeller, check. Ready for lift off.

Frances Cycles Farfarer trailer, decked out with padding, sunshade, and a foam pillow. Puro lujo!

Huesos + trailer + LWB.

Huesos’s new best friends, Lula and Sparky. The two of them pop by every day and bark outside the door to see him. Lula is loving and Sparky is snappy and barky.

E-bike action

The LWB HD/e has become the shared mode of transport for getting in and out of town. Honestly, I don’t really like riding in and out of town, especially in the rush hour or during the school run, and the e-bike makes short work of it. Emma used it to move house, towing the trailer up and down the hill at least a dozen times!

The LWB HD/e is approaching 3000km as an assisted bike, plus more without the removable engine and battery. I rotate chains every 1500km.

It’s such a fun e-bike, and I love the way it steers and carves across the road. The swept-back Jones riding position makes it a joy to ride. I’m not in love, though, with the Bafang’s speed sensor system – I’d really like to try out the torque-activated CYC Photon. Still, the Bafang has a hard life out here – potholes, dust, and heavy rain – and so far it’s doing great. According to forums, the Bafang BBSHD mid-drive kit is pretty repairable too. Combined with the trailer, it makes an effective car replacement. It’s quick and powerful too – this one has a 28mph assisted top speed (Class 3, in US terms) which means it’s a little like having a motorbike!

In fact, the only real downside to this combo is how heavy it is – after all, the HD/e isn’t exactly the lightest, nor is a Bafang kit. This is less of an issue when cycling, unless you’re a light rider taking it offroad, but it’s definitely unwieldy to move around the house, and makes me idly dream of a Jones LWB with a Fazua motor… or even a Spaceframe with the new Pinion Motor Gearbox Unit that could be swapped out for a Pinion Smart Shift gearbox…

The Jump Seat, office-chair-style dropper post means anyone can use the e-bike for quick errands. The trailer can be quickly swapped between e and acoustic bikes, too.

On a day trip, up and over the Libramento Norte to San Pablo Etla. Nature is slowly reclaiming this abandoned road project.

Scenes and views from the new idyll.

That’s it for now. Thanks for reading. Any questions, fire away!