Arkel Panniers:
We are so pleased with our panniers and handlebar bag, with the numerous 2 litter dry bags to keep our things sorted, clean, and dry. We have spoken with other travellers who have the Ortlibs and they complain about fuel that leaked inside the bag and saturated everything else, or the lack of pockets, or the difficulty in getting things out of the one large bag. We, on the other hand, have numerous pockets with zippers, large pockets on the outside, accessible anytime with 'industrial strength' zippers. We have taken them on and off 100's of times and the attachments are holding up well, although there is a little issue of the Tubus rack which bulges at the welded cross piece and causes a fitting difficulty. We also weighted the bags to the back by putting out tent into the long tubes which were meant for Thermarest mattresses. Sometimes, after long bumpy stretches, the front hook comes off. The formed plastic backing that prevents the bag from hitting the derailler is maintaining its shape even after being left standing for days on end, thrown on chicken buses, pick up trucks, etc. Today we took a hose to the bags and they look like new! Water is not an issue since these bags are water resistant, dry so quickly and everything inside that we want dry is sorted into its own dry bag! Our handlebar bag was crushed/deformed when we crashed in Mexico. The good news: we were able to take off the cloth cover and reshape the metal form to bring it back to its original shape. It looks like new today.
Schwalbe Tires:
Amazing is the only word for the Marathon XR's. Over 3,500 miles and we have tread left. And this is a HEAVILY laden tandem we are riding!!! We are still carrying our spare folding tires.
Velocity Rims:
Terrific service! They mailed a new rim to our 'home team' who got it to us in Guanajuato after 3,000 miles of too many cobblestones, pot holes, curbs, topes, and too many down hills on mountains that made for hot, hot brakes! The old rim just fell into 3 pieces!

Added testimonial from Perul:  When we took the rear wheel off to make the new wheel, the rim had split in two opposing places, each crack over 4" long, causing the rim to spread and the weld to separate so much that the brake couldn't operate at all. Velocity, our rim sponsor sent us a new type of rim. Hopefully, this one will last more than the 5,000 miles like the last two! We have nothing but thanks to Velocity for supporting our adventure and sending us replacements. We didn't realize how difficult it would be to get 40 spoke rims to go with our special tandem hub!! Thanks, again, Velocityand Matt!

Rough Guides:

We have used the Rough Guides for Central America and Mexico since we started our adventure. We really didn't know how much we depended on its information until we lost our Mexico edition in Guadalajara. We contacted Rough Guides and they quickly sent us another copy and new material for the next leg of our journey.

The background information on each country, their culture andattractions (must sees) are invaluable. Without the valuable descriptions, we would not know what is down the road, where there are accomodations or things to see and do. We rely on the city maps to get into and out of cities as well as find food and lodging at our price level.