The Atlantis is a masterfully designed touring bike, in all its rugged, lugged splendor. It is incredibly versatile, and can be set up in almost any fashion. The forks were built with enough clearance to accommodate tires more than two inches wide, so you can pop some knobbly mountain bike tires on it and head for the hills. Its stout frame can carry a lot of weight, as it practically begs you to lade it with camping gear. The frame geometry makes for a smooth and very stable ride when traveling, fully loaded or not. This is the kind of bike that you would want between your legs if you wanted to do a trip from, say, Alaska to Patagonia. This is not to say that other bikes couldn't do it, sure, but the simple fact of the matter is that no other bike could do it as well.
To say that I am in love with my bicycle is to do a grave injustice to the concept of love. We have been inseparable since 2005, and we made our vows for life. This is the first road bike of my life, and if it ends up being the last, I will consider my life successful.
Hot as fuck. What more needs be said?
The Seat
When you spend six or more hours of the day, every day, perching your body weight on a seat approximately one-third the size of your posterior, it's pretty damned important to have a comfortable one. For this job, there will simply never be a finer seat than the Brooks saddle.
Forget the padding, forget patented "cooling" technology, or other silly bells and whistles. A Brooks saddles is just a piece of shaped leather (sorry, vegans) stretched out on a metal frame, but its functional elegance cannot be overstated. It takes a while to break in, but over time, it slowly conforms to the shape of your butt. Of course, it's a well-known fact that my Brooks saddle is the sexiest piece of skin this side of the Mississippi. Coincidence? I'll let you decide.
The Handlebars
I've got mine wrapped with Brooks handlebar tape, because hey, coordination is key, right? It's strong, comfortable, rewrappable and lasts forever, and, like the seat, stays quite cool in hot weather. I once rode through a stretch of eastern Oregon desert that was hot enough to melt the adhesive that held the tape on, but the tape itself was still quite pleasant to the touch. 'Nuff said.
The Pedals
Nothing fancy here. Just some functional platforms and decrepit toe clips. I hate hate hate clip-in pedals, and am downright philosophically opposed to them for a handful of reasons, but I've never been unsatisfied with the simplicity and performance of my platforms.
The Tires
It took me far too long to learn my lesson, but after experimenting with several different brands and tire designs, I finally invested in a pair of Schwalbe Marathons, generally considered to be the industry standard for bicycle touring. They are practically bomb-proof; the interwebs are full of stories and reviews from cyclists who have ridden a fully loaded bike with a pair of these for 10,000 miles, without a single flat. I've put about 2000 city miles on them so far, and no flats yet! (For those who care, Continental Gatorskins, Specialized Armadillos, and anything by Panaracer or Bontrager have problems.)
