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I have never, and I really do mean never, had issues with any Shimano components and I'm not a component loyalist. I'd go with the 105 crank.

I spoke to another rider last August who just cancelled such a trip for 2015. Not able to find a route along the eastern coast, or now western coast, he pulled the plug. He had ridden several hundred miles up the east coast before, but as mentioned above, the top third of the continent is no...

Earlier this year Overland Journal completed and published an extensive and detailed test of the leading AT tires on the market. Months in the making, it consumed a full week of time for a full team of testers and facilitators. You won't find a more comprehensive evaluation of AT tires anywhere...

Sorry, I was just thinking of the new GSA. I recently priced them out for an editorial, and even with modest options and add-ons, out the door with taxes...$28,100. Average base is $23,500. Throw in panniers, a crash bar or two, and you hit that $30k digit quickly.

A $30,000 1200 GSA seems woefully overdone for a commuter. Same could be said of even a $14,000 800 GSA. You could have the same commuter comfort on just abut any adventure bike from a VStrom 650 to well...there's much to chose from. I would look at the multitudes of Triumph 800 tigers out...

And....my favorite travel shoe of all time: http://www.birkenstockexpress.com/Birkenstock/Boston.cfm/prod5.AH505/

My other go-to are Sanuks. http://www.sanuk.com/mens-sidewalk-surfers/hemp/SMF1010.html?dwvar_SMF1010_color=NAT#start=1&cgid=mens-best-sellers Great lightweight shoes I often take backpacking. Don't wear them too much. They have so little support, they kill your feet after a while. There are...

Flip flops in summer. Pakems in all other cooler seasons. I love Pakems. They're easy to clean is one thing. They have a good sole, slip on in an easy one-handed effort. They come with a bomber little bag to keep everything around them cleaned when packed up...

Another curiosity...for the better part of 20 years I used and loved Ortlieb cycling panniers. Their moto stuff seriously sucks.

If you want to hike the canyon, you will have to get in front of the permit process at the appropriate time. It's complicated, but I can help with it. The Grand Canyon is really arduous hiking. The bottom is a full 5,000 feet 1.4 km DOWN. So crawling out can be tough. I know of a few off the...

One of the most amazing wilderness landscapes we have, and one of the most amazing on earth, is the Grand Canyon. The main trail systems swarm with tourists, by design, but other areas of the park are so well regulated, you can hike some areas never seeinng another soul for days. It is very...

The Kriega 60 Overland system has been my preferred soft bag system designed to work with a rack, but they only interface with a handful of rack options. I think the Mosko bags are sharp in design, but I have yet to get a set for proper evaluation. I have somewhat struggled to like my Giant...

I ride a 650 BMW GS Dakar. It's awesome. I picked it up for a song, under $5500, with less than 5,000 miles on the odometer. It's pretty awesome for what it is. You can read about that very bike here: http://expeditionportal.com/expo-s-dakar-project-bike-is-complete/ I also recently spent a...

As Scott said, he's put a good bit of time on the Stelvio we have in the temporary fleet. I've only ridden it a bit here and there, not much off-road and I do really love it as well. I'm always interested in the impressions observed by Scott in relationship to my own. He tends to gravitate...

The marathons are incredibly durable, and most people don't realize how little tread is needed for most rides on gravel. It's more about tire volume than anything.

I think much depends on how much you ride, and how much tread you need. In some years I'll log 4-5,000 miles of gravel and just burn through tires left and right. I chew through MSO's pretty quickly. I've been using Kenda Small Block 8s in the winter in the 35c width and they've held up well. If...

I agree completely. In the very brief time bikepacking has been around, those products have eclipsed everything in the motorcycle sector - by far. Just recently Wolfman started making motorcycle bags out of sail cloth, something the bikepacking guys have been using (like me) for at least the...

Not much about his bike was known until today. Even now, we only have an idea what it might look like if it sees production, which looks likely given the advance prototype shown today in Italy. Lots of speculation abounds. Many say it will be an 85-95 hp engine with an 800-1000cc displacement...

To the OP, as others have said, it's largely just backpacking with a boat. You can carry more gear on your average boat than you can on your back, but that doesn't mean you should. And also as said above, the type of water, and the type of boat will determine how and what you pack. Packing a 20...

Not many pics of that particular trip, believe it or not. I do have a lot of pics from my Alaskan sea kayak trips. I could launch from my front yard and access thousands of miles of coastline. It was a bit of a challenging place to kayak as winds and tides could get severe. But, it was a good...