Here’s Why the Tout Terrain Silkroad Is Worth $6300 

Haha... a very light wallet indeed. 😂

Agreed. Very cool. The only "Dream option" I've been thinking of would be a 100w (ish) internal seat-tube mounted e-bike motor combined with a downtube battery charged by the hub. Granted, from what I've read so far this would almost double the cost of this already not-cheap bike.

@@ianfurqueron5850 I don't think a dynamo charger is the way to go, unfortunately. Dynamo hubs can charge a 5000mAh battery in about 7.5 hours of riding. Ebike batteries are 10-30x bigger than a powerbank, so you'd need to ride for 75-225 hours to get a full battery charge!

@@Cyclingabout part of the issue is I'm not thinking about a current ebike type battery. That's not what I want it for. Note I only said a 100w motor - less than half a typical e-bike motor. I don't envision the motor being used a lot. More like just a little boost to get a loaded bike over the crest of a long climb. 99% of the time it would be disengaged from the bottom bracket. So the battery wouldn't need to be quite as large. Plus, my thought is to have that battery replace the stem version in this bike.

@@ianfurqueron5850 By my napkin calculations, you might get 1-2km of assistance up a hill on a 100w motor per 7.5 hours of dynamo hub charging (17km/h for 128km). I suspect you'd actually be faster by not carrying a motor and battery, and not having the drag associated with the dynamo! Solar charging is probably the only way to generate enough charge for it to be worthwhile.

I'm glad I can introduce you to the fancy bikes of my world!

That's awesome, congrats!

My touring bike (Boskey Overlander) has this mount for a spring to attach from the bottom tube to the fork to try and do the same thing... not great execution, it scratches against the mudguards. This steering lock on the other hand is awesome.

Why in the world would anyone need a "steering lock"?

@@Gyvulys So your handlebars don't flop around when you lean the bike against something, causing the whole thing to come crashing down. No idea why they aren't standard on good bikes.

@@RobMacKendrick Do you know a thing called kickstand? Also, you don't "lean your bike on something" on a slope...

@@Gyvulys Gosh, I've only been riding a week, so you must be right!

My thoughts exactly.

That's awesome, congrats!

Where can you get it from,thanx?

Which shop? looking for a decent bike shop in Australia..

You're welcome. Freiburg is my favourite city in Germany! Totally worth the visit. 😎

That's awesome! Congrats on the new ride.

had a look at the Vivente Anatolia specifications and it appears to be a good touring bike . I ride a recumbent touring bike and I will never go back to sitting on a fence post holding my upper body weight on my hands or holding my head up to see where I am going. So one of these days when your body starts to object to all the things you felt were normal before , at least you have an option for comfort to continue to ride and tour!

yes it is expensive, but I wouldn't say overpriced. I think it's reasonably priced, given all the expensive gadgets! nice bike Anatolia

Did you find one? I'd like a decent belt-drive hub-gear bike but I don't do world tours like alee - just a few days at a time, in Europe mostly on tarmac, but the problem with my existing frame is that it's no good on the occaisional dirt surface cos it can't take a tyre biger than 32mm. Seems to me that one ought to be able to do this for a lot less then 5000€.

@@xxwookey Shimano and some other companies make gear hubs. The German company Roloff is probably one of the best brands but they’re expensive.

You're welcome!

Thanks for the kind words, John! I am passionate about bikes and adventure travel, that's for sure. 😅

@@Cyclingabout you bet back at you actually I was introduced to your channel by somebody who stayed at my house off of a reciprocal Hospitality cycling site.

I have just specked my silkroad. Rollhoff, belt ,smidht dynamo Jones bar, 27.5 andre rims. Green ofcourse. Thanks alee . It was between this and the koga world traveller but eventually I had to choose. Thanks to Damian Bradley for all your help and patience at tout terrain. Very good service and advice. Cant wait to get the beast home .

@@robertpask2897 why got you over the line compared to the Koga?

@@robertpask2897 have you got it

Thanks 👍

man I am with you, nd good luck to both if us test riding, and acquiring any of these today. or tomorrow. maybe in two years?

Currently my options are: 1. South America 2. from Europe to Nepal 😃

I checked the Tanami. Would you prefer the Silkroad or the Tanami?

Australia and New Zealand because I've traveled and seen more else where than in my home countries. Living in Europe people ask me advise about Australia and New Zealand but haven;t seen half as much as me of their home. I'm not a good ambassador to home because I tell them to discover the beauty at your doorstep before flying to the other side of the world.

South America!! Then up to Mexico.

It's obvious isn't it? Pick the road that the bike manufacturer has aptly suggested when they name the bike 😆

Glad you liked it!

Glad you like them!

Oops... sorry about that! 😂

You'll just need to fit a pair of 50 cals and a grenade launcher!

@@rolandmatters1619 Those don't come standard?

Horses bro.... Horses they feed themself and direct you to water when thete thirsty and can hold more weight and are faster than bikes or finding bike parts good luck

Won’t be much of a civil war since one side has all the guns.

Eric Johnson : yep. And the other side has all the brains. We also have guns 😚

Also thinking about ordering the blueridge, how do you like your bike?

@@floppie88 So far, I love it, but I can't give you a proper review as yet. It's winter here in France and I'm waiting for the good weather. The plan is to tour all of France little by little before tackling Europe and beyond. Have only done about 100km, without luggage, over several rides. We are still under Covid restrictions. I'll get back to you after my first tour in spring. Am hoping to tackle either Normandy or Brittany.

@@MrHombre67 Thanks for your feedback! I will testdrive the bike once covid restrictions will allow it. Hopefully soon. Enjoy your future bike adventures!

@@floppie88 I have just cycled 1800 km on my Blueridge. Two things that I noticed. Had a lot of difficulty with the drop bars. After a week I had terrible neck pain. Had to ask a shop to raise the handlebars and I shifted the seat forward a bit. Conclusion. Drop handlebars would not be a first choice if I had to buy again. Second thing. After two weeks the gates drive was making an annoying scraping sound. Only thing that resolved it was water and a toothbrush or just water itself. Oh. One more thing. It's really heavy. All that said. it's an extremely comfortable, confident machine.

I bought a new Koga WTS last month. I have considered Tout Terrain bikes as well, but Koga offers a life time warranty on the frame, where Tout Terrain seems to limit it to 3 years (extended to 5 if you register quickly after purchase). On the paintwork Koga offers 10 years guarantee, Tour Terrain just 2. Imho such service and warranty aspects don't get enough attention in reviews. The two main differences between the bikes are the integrated rear rack and the steering lock mechanism on the TT. Personally I'm not a fan of the integrated rear rack. True, there is one less point of failure, but it's quite rare to break a quality rack these days. However, *if* the rack breaks, you'd have to find a skilled welder AND you need to have the entire frame repainted afterwards. If a custom rack breaks, you simply repair or replace the rack. The Koga has a built in steering limiter - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-djw2ZDim_cM.html - which is enough to comfortably use the rear kick stand with mounted lowriders in front. That being said, the TT still is a quality bike of course.

Is your koga lighter than the TT ? Did you compare ?

@@mariamartins367 also wondering about the weight differnce

Thanks for watching!

A pair of wood blocks with half of a hole of the appropriate size work just as well as the official aluminum blocks. It only works with round tubes and will take the paint off even when you use lots of grease.

Thanks! One of my aims of this video was to maximise the shots of the bike so you could see every detail. I'm glad you liked it!

That's awesome to hear! They're two life decisions I've never regretted. 🙏🏼

Great suggestion!

Exactly, bikes (ours and many others) can have a high price tag and still be a great value!

I've got a lot of dynamo content coming over the next year... everyone will eventually become an expert!

Cheers! I'd like to highlight the details of a titanium bike in the future, that could be the one.

CYCLINGABOUT great news. I am holding back on buying the Deveron. Big outlay for what is basically just a pushbike. Getting hold of anything at the moment is unlikely anyway. Thanks for the reply. I enjoy your videos and have learned a lot. If you are ever in East Anglia in the UK, (North Norfolk Coast), give me a bell. There is always a spare bed, a meal and a shower.

When travelling in a straight line, a high centre of gravity is fine. But with your centre of gravity low, you can lean further to one side or the other without creating enough turning force to tip you over. I cannot think of many situations where a higher centre of gravity would be beneficial.

Riding both bicycles and motorcycles, I prefer a low CG. Not that important on a bicycle, but you're more free to move around on top and it's also easier when you're crawling at half the speed a human moves (necessary skill to pass riding test in Switzerland).

I was thinking the same, however I do believe the camera lens makes the cliff deceptively closer than it might actually be.

..and I was thinking the same too

Can you expand a little bit on the issues encountered? I’m looking at both options also…

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

My bz gets sponnos these days tho.

@@Cyclingabout only backdoor ones tho, no bikey and me no likeyy

No thanks, I'll ride my $150 WalMart bike and go to the same places this bike will. It will just a little longer.

Yes you can tour on just about any bike but for those that can part with the $$$ this bike will make the experience better although not $6000 better IMO 😄

The 27.5 silkroad is like riding on a pillow; love it.

I've tested the drivetrain drag with a friend in a very unscientific way. By flipping the bikes upside down and spinning the cranks, we found the belt/Rohloff drivetrain to have less noticeable resistance in the conditions we were riding in, compared to when both drivetrains were perfectly clean and spinning about as freely.

The KOGA WTS is basically a hybrid between the TT Silkroad and Outback. The KOGA will fit a 2.5" tyre with fenders, and a touch more without. Tyre volume is the main factor that determines how rough terrain you can ride. 2.3-2.6" is common on mountain bikes, so where a mountain bike can go, a KOGA WTS (or TT Outback) can go.

The mudguards can easily be spaced out further if you need, and Tout Terrain can do this from the factory. I recommend an expert mechanic to assemble any bike!

This is not mine, still rolling around on my KOGA (which I absolutely love)! 😎

Cheers! Yep, stuck in Mexico but I'm happy making videos and writing articles for the time being. 👍🏻

Thanks for your feedback Chris! Our integrated racks are made of stainless steel - the rigidity and durability, along with the ability to add the extra rails, is in our opinion ultimate rack solution. No need to upgrade later on ;)

I got a bit scared of the price, but there seems to be plenty of different options to choose from for a lot less than that 5500 EUR :-)

you produce programming that is unparalleled. thank you. not just pretty pictures. though you do this very well too..