Gear Update - December 15, 2025

In this blog post I discuss changes to my gear since I published Gear Update - June 11, 2025:

• Replacement of crankset
• Replacement of stuff sack for sleeping bag
• Repair of off-bike shoes
• Repair of windbreaker

Replacement of crankset

Since April of 2018 I used a Holdsworth crankset with chainrings having 48 and 34 teeth. I recently discovered the Grand Cru Crankset with chainrings having 46 and 30 teeth. The change from 34 to 30 teeth is a decrease of almost 12%, providing a much lower lowest gear, which means I would be able to ride up hills that otherwise I would have to walk. The Velo Orange website where I bought the crankset recommends using a 118mm spindle but it works perfectly on my 112mm spindle.

While installing the crankset I learned that I needed to change the orientation of the spindle (the axle that connect the left and right crank arms) so that the longer side would be to the right. I understand that that's the usual orientation, but in Gear Update - September 22, 2021 I wrote about how I needed to put the long side of the spindle to the left in order for the pedals to be equidistant from the centerline.

Now there will be fewer times that I think "Surely I must have a lower gear!".

Replacement of stuff sack for sleeping bag

As you can see in the picture below, the stuff sack for my Sea to Summit Spark SpI 40 sleeping bag (now discontinued) developed two tears in its delicate fabric.

I reported the trouble to Sea to Summit who generously sent me a free replacement of a larger size made with stronger material.

Initially I was concerned that the larger size (both length and diameter) of the replacement would take too much space in my trunk bag, but I found that after compression the fit in the trunk bag is perfect. Furthermore I can now stuff and compress my sleeping bag in about half the time it took with the original stuff sack. And because of the stronger material I won't be concerned about tearing.

Thank you, Sea to Summit!

Repair of off-bike shoes

The Softstart DASH RunAmocs I bought for use as off-bike shoes before my 90-day trip in 2019 came with 2mm soles. Before my 99-day trip last year I had Uriel Gurgov replace the soles with 4mm soles because I found the 2mm soles too thin when walking on irregular surfaces (Planning Cross Country 2024 - Update February 20, 2024). During and after that trip several repairs to the shoes were made, some by shoemakers and some by me, all of which are documented in the blog posts linked below:

Day 5: July 10, 2024 - Rest day
Day 7: July 12, 2024 - Grand Ronde, OR, to Corvallis, OR
Day 10: July 15, 2024 - Rest day
Day 22: July 27, 2024 - Rest day
Day 35: August 9, 2024 - Rest day
Day 45: August 19, 2024 - Rest day
Day 71: September 14, 2024 - Rest day
Day 89: October 2, 2024 - Rest day
Day 93: October 6, 2024 - Rest day
Gear Update - June 11, 2025

Obviously I spent a lot of time dealing with my off-bike shoes during my cross-country ride.

In October of this 2025 I asked Uriel Gurgov to replace the 4mm soles with 5mm soles. Uriel also stitched all the way around the tops, improving on the repairs during and after my 99-day trip in 2024. Don't they look great?

As I wrote in Aphorisms and Exhortations:

It's more satisfying to maintain something old than to buy something new.

Thank you, Uriel!

Repair of windbreaker

I've had a size LARGE Bontrager Race Stormshell windbreaker for many years. It fits perfectly, with its long arms and low rear, but its waterproofing had significantly reduced and much delamination had occurred on the inside.

I attempted to replace the jacket with a Trek Circuit Rain Cycling Jacket. Unfortunately there is no size that fits me. Here's a portion of the review I submitted on the Trek website:

Size L: Much too small in every way
Size XL: Torso ok, binding around shoulders, arms too short, neck too tight
Size 2X: Ridiculously large torso, shoulders ok, arms a little short, neck somewhat irritating

It's too bad that a jacket made with such beautiful material is so poorly designed.

Although the delamination of my Race Stormshell can't be repaired, I was able to refresh the waterproofing with TX.Direct Wash-In from Nikwax after washing the jacket with their Down Wash. (Nikwax makes Tech Wash for jackets but I already had their Down Wash to clean my sleeping bag, and I was told by someone at Nikwax that Down Wash would also work for my jacket.)

I look forward to my next ride in the rain to learn how effective washing my Race Stormshell windbreaker and refreshing its waterproofing has been. I suspect that water will penetrate the fabric where the lamination is missing.

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