Bikepacking: Routes, queries, gear, etc.

Harrybelafonte · 02-02-2020 10:35am #1

Thought I'd start a thread on general bikepacking here. There's been a few queries about routes, less about gear maybe, but every time the idea comes up, much useful knowledge is shared. Personally, I've only done the two canals and the Barrow Way and these have really only been trial runs and had some glitches along the way. I've stayed in hostels, but would rather camp and only managed one night in a forest outside Edenderry the night of a storm which went fine all said. This year I'm hoping to get to the Caringorms, but would also like to find some more routes around the country.

So, play away.

cletus · 02-02-2020 12:50pm

Great idea. Quick question for you, what's your setup when bike packing? What bags, tents, other gear, do you bring or have

Harrybelafonte · 02-02-2020 12:56pm

I use a Specilaized Fat Boy, with Apidura handlebar bag and seatpost bag, both large. My sleeping bag is currently too big and drags the handlebar bag donw to the wheel, soakinf it (fat bikes have tiny head tubes), so I'm looking for a Vango Ultralite Pro 100 at this stage. No tent, only a tarp, but probably getting a Quick Hiker two man from Decathlon for future trips.

Harrybelafonte · 02-02-2020 2:45pm

I got a stove off Alibaba, but it's not great as I also use a white spirits burner and have burned myself on it a few times already. Planet X have a good range of stuff to get started and from associates who have used them, they seem quite good.

Harrybelafonte · 02-02-2020 3:04pm

As for upgrades, new bars (On-One Geoffs: https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/HBOOGBV2/on-one-geoff-handlebar)

Hoping also to get a packraft

nak · 02-02-2020 7:07pm

Alpkit have some great camping stuff for reasonable prices. My sleeping bag is awesome and small enough for bikepacking, very happy with the tent we got too (only suited to car camping).

iwillhtfu · 02-02-2020 9:14pm

A great light weight tent for the price. I have one and use it from time to time no issues.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32843362059.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.4b0c78652DuTDP&algo_pvid=d43381d3-aaea-4b29-915b-301889bb54c4&algo_expid=d43381d3-aaea-4b29-915b-301889bb54c4-12&btsid=c3e82a53-b8f2-4eab-b102-ac1c06c1a4dd&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_3,searchweb201603_53

As for stove I had the titanium twig stove and a trangia. The twig stove is great if you'll be cycling by a fuel source and the trangia is very handy but you have to carry spare fuel as they can be thirsty buggers.

DD hammocks 3x3 light weight tarp is very handy to have and can be set up as a shelter.

I usually use a down sleeping bag as they pack up very small although they are expensive.

Carawaystick · 03-02-2020 1:03am

I've ortlieb saddle and handlebar packs, I can only get my summer sleeping bag in the handlebar pack, might get a down bag, or maybe a down jacket would be better.

got a bluegaz stove and a small canister, and my pot fits around the sleeping bag in the ortlieb handlebar pack.

Going to try get some of the Barrow this year, and maybe a Grand/Royal loop

davidsatelle100 · 03-02-2020 8:09am

How was the Barrow way in terms of the quality of the route - do you need a Gravel\CX bike or is it doable on a road bike?

Thanks

CantGetNoSleep · 03-02-2020 9:24am

What sort of bags would you need for a long trip but staying in hotels?

I live in France and have a bike that I'd like to bring home so I have it in my head to cycle to the port and take the ferry instead of going to the hassle of putting it on a plane.

Would be about 550km though and can't see me getting that done in less than 5 days. Would a large saddle bag and top tube bag for food do it? Guess I'd just need one evening set of clothes, a rain jacket and maybe spare bibs?

iwillhtfu · 03-02-2020 9:44am

davidsatelle100 wrote: »

How was the Barrow way in terms of the quality of the route - do you need a Gravel\CX bike or is it doable on a road bike?

Thanks

Depends on the time of year I cycle parts of it regularly and it's a bit swampy at the minute. Id say gravel bike all year round though as the surface is rough and id say a bit unforgiving.

cdaly_ · 03-02-2020 11:28am

I've done (hammock, heavy sleeping bag, tarp) or (hammock, light bag, emergency bivvy bag and tarp). My tarp is actually a Lidl 'shade sail' with poles so it's nearly as heavy as a tent. Hammock is a light 'parachute nylon' one, packs up nice and small but you need tree straps also both for reach and to protect bark.

Advantage of a hammock is you can hang it anywhere. I've done:

between trees
In the crook of a fence on a roadside
Farm gate to fence with a bull on one side and a railway track on the other
Railway platform shelter in Carrick on Shannon
Roadsign to tree in the wilds of Brittany
Bus shelter in a Breton village
Railings of a church wheelchair ramp

No worries about soft or stony ground.
Disadvantage of a hammock is the breeze cools the underside. Hammockers typically use some kind of quilt underneath. My solution is to run the hammock through the sleeping bag so there's insulation underneath. I've also used my cycling rain cape hung underneath to insulate from the breeze.

cdaly_ · 03-02-2020 11:32am

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

What sort of bags would you need for a long trip but staying in hotels?

I live in France and have a bike that I'd like to bring home so I have it in my head to cycle to the port and take the ferry instead of going to the hassle of putting it on a plane.

Would be about 550km though and can't see me getting that done in less than 5 days. Would a large saddle bag and top tube bag for food do it? Guess I'd just need one evening set of clothes, a rain jacket and maybe spare bibs?

Do it, do it...

I did a 6-day 600k trip in france a couple of years ago. Apart from the camping gear, I brought one pannier, a handlebar bag and a phone mount for GPS purposes.

Large bottle small glass · 03-02-2020 11:41am

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

What sort of bags would you need for a long trip but staying in hotels?

I live in France and have a bike that I'd like to bring home so I have it in my head to cycle to the port and take the ferry instead of going to the hassle of putting it on a plane.

Would be about 550km though and can't see me getting that done in less than 5 days. Would a large saddle bag and top tube bag for food do it? Guess I'd just need one evening set of clothes, a rain jacket and maybe spare bibs?

If credit card touring, and travel on road. Travel light and fast.

Assuming no major mountain passes that's a 2-4 day ride. Anything over 200km a day is hardship for most but most fit cyclist should easy manage 150km-200km per day.

Cycling, eating and sleeping is all you are doing you'll do a lot in 24hrs!

Seaswimmer · 03-02-2020 12:33pm

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

What sort of bags would you need for a long trip but staying in hotels?

I live in France and have a bike that I'd like to bring home so I have it in my head to cycle to the port and take the ferry instead of going to the hassle of putting it on a plane.

Would be about 550km though and can't see me getting that done in less than 5 days. Would a large saddle bag and top tube bag for food do it? Guess I'd just need one evening set of clothes, a rain jacket and maybe spare bibs?

A large saddle bag and handlebar bag would be fine. I use Carradice 24 litre saddle bag and 7 litre bar bag. However it probably depends on the time of year as well. We always go away in warm weather so no need to bring long trousers, fleece etc. We just bring a couple of sets of cycling gear and a pair or 2 of casual shorts and a couple of teeshirts. For longer trips (10 or 12 days) we wash everything at the half way point.
We did a cycling trip in France in 2018 (Beauvais to Biarritz) and were surprised by how poorly serviced it was in rural areas compared to Spain/Portugal but given that you live there you probably know that. Good luck.

Peterx · 03-02-2020 1:09pm

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

...I live in France and have a bike that I'd like to bring home so I have it in my head to cycle to the port and take the ferry...Would be about 550km though and can't see me getting that done in less than 5 days.

Large bottle small glass wrote: »

If credit card touring, and travel on road. Travel light and fast...Assuming no major mountain passes that's a 2-4 day ride. Anything over 200km a day is hardship for most but most fit cyclist should easy manage 150km-200km per day...

For me that's also a 5 day trip. Any more than 100km a day and you are into hardship. I suppose hardship is a piece of string question.

Also leaving very early in the day and arriving early in the afternoon makes for a very pleasant trip.

El Vino · 03-02-2020 4:37pm

Consider taking the train for a bit of it - to skip the boring bit for example. I do London to Waterford once a year but take train to get out of London.
For bikepacking I use the Planet X stuff, I did Fort William to Inverness last year along the Great Glen Way with my daughter. Great introduction to bikepacking. Hoping to do more this year, I have been looking at new tents as the Vango one I use is around 1.5kg. Alpkit have some good light ones, an American brand Big Agnes have one that would fit nicely on a drop handle bar bike but is a bit $$$$https://www.bigagnes.com/Gear/Tents/Bikepacking

Harrybelafonte · 03-02-2020 4:48pm

El Vino wrote: »

Consider taking the train for a bit of it - to skip the boring bit for example. I do London to Waterford once a year but take train to get out of London.
For bikepacking I use the Planet X stuff, I did Fort William to Inverness last year along the Great Glen Way with my daughter. Great introduction to bikepacking. Hoping to do more this year, I have been looking at new tents as the Vango one I use is around 1.5kg. Alpkit have some good light ones, an American brand Big Agnes have one that would fit nicely on a drop handle bar bike but is a bit $$$$https://www.bigagnes.com/Gear/Tents/Bikepacking

Check out YouTube and there’s some reviews comparing the Big Agnes to an alibaba version that comes recommended. Much cheaper and a little heavier but seems a decent compromise.

cletus · 03-02-2020 5:52pm

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

Check out YouTube and there’s some reviews comparing the Big Agnes to an alibaba version that comes recommended. Much cheaper and a little heavier but seems a decent compromise.

Have you a name or a link, I did a (very quick) Google, but couldn't come up with anything

Harrybelafonte · 03-02-2020 6:10pm

cletus wrote: »

Have you a name or a link, I did a (very quick) Google, but couldn't come up with anything

I can’t find now either. But the tent is I believe the NatureHike Cloud-Up

gwakamoley · 03-02-2020 6:16pm

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

I can’t find now either. But the tent is I believe the NatureHike Cloud-Up

Not sure if its the video you were thinking of, but this video compares a NatureHike with a Big Agnes, as well as some other comparions of expensive versus cheap copies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kb_iW88Mdo&t=698s

iwillhtfu · 03-02-2020 9:35pm

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

I can’t find now either. But the tent is I believe the NatureHike Cloud-Up

I posted about this the other day with a link

Here it is again

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32843362059.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.4b0c78652DuTDP&algo_pvid=d43381d3-aaea-4b29-915b-301889bb54c4&algo_expid=d43381d3-aaea-4b29-915b-301889bb54c4-12&btsid=c3e82a53-b8f2-4eab-b102-ac1c06c1a4dd&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_3,searchweb201603_53

Resoguy · 03-02-2020 9:46pm

Had my first go at bikepacking last summer, 4 days cycling around trails in Snowdonia, headed for Wales as its an easy ride for me to the ferry in Dublin and from Holyhead its only 50km to get to the hills. There are plenty of towns on route and around Snowdonia so no worries about finding food/cafes and camping. Rode a mix of road, fireroads, walking trails, UK cycle routes, bridleways and the odd roman road, also managed to make it up the Worlds Steepest Road Climb in Harlech.

I'm heading for Tuscany Trail this year at the end of May, allegedly one of the biggest bikepacking events around, 550km @ ~9000m with 65% offroad, I'm hoping to complete it in 4 days but have a few spare days built into the trip just in case.

My kit is fairly entry level, I got a Aliexpress 12L Newboler saddle bag €18 which was mentioned here in a WAW thread a while back, I use Regatta dry bags in this for waterproofing. I also got a 7L Newboler handlebar roll bag €18, the bag itself is fairly waterproof, the harness straps onto the bars didn't look great so I back these up with some 1mx25mm quick release straps around the whole thing. There's a fair bit of Aldi stuff e.g. frame/toptube bags, lightweight sleeping bag, microfibre towel, bike lights and a few other bits.
See photo below.

My main upgrade for this year will be a decent tent, a Naturehike Taga 2 from Aliexpress which I have on order, it gets good reviews when comparing quality against price.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32992201484.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.5ce64c4dT0ASA0
For Tuscany Trail I'm going to change my shimano 105 chainrings from 50/34 to GRX 46/30, hopefully this is enough with 11/34 on the back.

A few photos from Wales
An old slate quarry near Llanberis, not sure if I had right of access here

Watkins Path

Cycle Route 82 Lon Las Ogwen

Test run up in Cruagh

Harrybelafonte · 11-02-2020 4:25pm

Anyone picked up a pack raft ?

Arequipa · 11-02-2020 10:13pm

Evening!
I am looking at touring Mizen to Malin or vice versa this Spring or Summer .
I live in Dublin & plan on getting to the starting point from Dublin... Cycle the route & then get from the finishing point back to Dublin.

I will just be packing my bike, a few frame bags and myself...

Any ideas of how to get there & home?

Thank u!

A

iwillhtfu · 11-02-2020 10:25pm

Arequipa wrote: »

Evening!
I am looking at touring Mizen to Malin or vice versa this Spring or Summer .
I live in Dublin & plan on getting to the starting point from Dublin... Cycle the route & then get from the finishing point back to Dublin.

I will just be packing my bike, a few frame bags and myself...

Any ideas of how to get there & home?

Thank u!

A

That will be a nightmare if you have public transport in mind. I've no idea how good this site is but I'm sure there are similar apps also. Basically virtual hitch hiking https://getthere.ie/

Arequipa · 11-02-2020 11:11pm

H! Yea.,. They are x2 fairly remote spots..
An option would be to pay a friend or sibling to drive u to a).... Cycle to b) then cycle to the nearest big town for public transport home or rent a car x1 way....

LennoxR · 11-02-2020 11:13pm

Is bike packing by definition off road?

Harrybelafonte · 11-02-2020 11:17pm

LennoxR wrote: »

Is bike packing by definition off road?

Mixed afaik. Road is touring?

iwillhtfu · 11-02-2020 11:20pm

Arequipa wrote: »

H! Yea.,. They are x2 fairly remote spots..
An option would be to pay a friend or sibling to drive u to a).... Cycle to b) then cycle to the nearest big town for public transport home or rent a car x1 way....

Put a post up here when you've firmer dates I regularly head to the extremities of the country so might be able to sort something out. Something I'd like to do myself one day.

LennoxR · 11-02-2020 11:22pm

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

Mixed afaik. Road is touring?

I see. I mean I've done gravel riding without bags. And I've been touring on both my road and gravel bikes on road with saddle bag. But not touring off road with luggage. So I suppose that counts me out of this discussion!

I mean to ride the length of the Royal canal and back this year though, so that might qualify me. Edit here's a picture of me touring on my gravel bike.

https://dorneythoughts.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/image25.jpg?w=636.

Bikepacking: Routes, queries, gear, etc.

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