Hey, I am seeking a little bit of advice from anyone with experience bikepacking through Thailand and Vietnam and Laos. I have bought a specialised diverge e5 with drop bars, but am now considering selling this bike to get flat bars off of the suggestion from some friends. I am just wondering if drop bars would or wouldn’t be suitable for a 2 month trek through south east Asia. thanks for any help 🙂
by Mtolympus1
2 Comments
Would, however shops that can service drop bars might be more limited. Random bike/motorbike fixers on the side of the road may be more ready to help flat bars users bc they are less complex without the brifters. If you are able to do your own maintenance, definitely go for it.
💯. Drop bars all the way. Nearly every road in Thailand and Vietnam is sealed or concrete. You have to work hard to find dirt (there’s more in TH though). Laos is different but I’ve done 10s of 1000s of km in Laos on drop bars. You’ll be fine on every road a tourist would take with 40-45c tires (tubeless). Carry extra brake pads! Don’t change anything.
Do not bring camping gear. Pack light. Listen to people who live here, not one and done overloaded bike tourers trudging up hills with the kitchen sink, two panniers, and a drone.
Food is cheap, guesthouses are $8-15 almost everywhere besides the four or five big tourist towns.
Plenty of bike shops in BKK, Chiang Mai, Vientiane, Hanoi, Da Nang, Saigon. Plan your maintenance ahead of time with your route. Change your chain once. Carry shit loads of dry lube and two sets of brake pads. I said it twice so you don’t forget. 😉