Tip of the Month: Stainless steel versus steel racks
Tubus make some of the sturdiest touring racks available and their trusty performance during the last four years of our travels is proof enough of this. In 2004, I was faced with the decision of whether to purchase a 25CrM4 steel or a stainless steel front low rider. Besides the extra outlay for stainless steel, I had no idea what the difference would be then. Here's what I discovered.

All steel Tubus racks come with a strong polyester-based coating. However, modern panniers have plastic hooks containing fiberglass. Combined with sand and dirt, the continual grind can wear down the metal, which can lead to erosion. Tubus's advice: "Always affix our Art. 79000 Anti-scratch set before using bags" and "If your carrier has already scratched areas, you can repair it with a common paint stick. Such a repair is not necessary for the fatigue of the carrier, it is only for a nicer visual impression."

The pictures on the right are taken after four years of continual travel. It shows how extremely resistance the stainless steel version is compared with the 25CrM4 steel. The only disadvantages of the stainless steel carrier is that they are a bit heavier and have a slightly lower maximum load capacity. And if you are faced with having to weld it at some stage, the metal requires a different solder and depending on the set-up, quite possibly another gas source. Likelihood of a local garage having suitable equipment is not high.

Paraty - Belo Horizonte (Brazil)
Kilometres: 849 kilometres and 510 metres
Riding days: 12
Alti meters: 10,213 metres !
Weather: sun, finally
Best accommodation: Tatiana and Rodrigo's penthouse at Ipanema

Special thanks to:
Klaus for the little book and roadside chat • Rodrigo and Tatia for their incredibly warm hospitality while staying in their beautiful apartment overlooking Ipanema Beach, Rio de Janiero • Pedro for taking the time to meet up with us one evening in Rio de Janiero • Julio Macedo for helping us out of a sticky situation in Três Rios when we discovered our bank card had been skimmed • The owners of Hotel Olivier for letting us stay overnight for half the price • To Benjamin, Sonya's Mum and Dad and sister, Racquel, who offered to wire us money at a moments notice • Raquel for her bubbly welcome in her farmhouse in Rio Acima • Rachel and Cristiano for absolutely everything they organised for us, the delicious meals and a friendly roof over our heads in Belo Horizonte • Bruno for repairing both our bikes at such short notice • Ricardo for the lift to the bus station in Belo Horizonte at the ungodly hour of 5.30am.

Breakdowns:
16: flat tyre x 2 (Son)
22: broken chain (Ali)
25: flat tyre (Ali)
25: broken chain (Ali)
29: replacement cassette, chain, crank set, gear cables & full maintenance (Ali)