Generic Touring Thread

Most of our tours have been around that time of year. We went through peak-dutch-invasion-no-room-at-the-inn in the south of France at that time of year, and we never booked. The campsites were ludicrously accommodating in fitting us in (prioritising us over car family pitches because it'd be harder for us to ride on and find somewhere else, shuffling things around and giving us a weird little corner to fit in because we had a tiny footprint, that sort of thing). I reckon with some charmingly-rubbish french and a bit of hand waving you'll be fine.

you've got a really big frame triangle - try attaching some bottle cages to the inside with hose clamps, that'll take some weight off the rear

I've done this route in full, in July last year. It's really nice, we did it in 7 days but that was pushing it, 14 would be lovely. Good choice!

We wild camped every night, and I would strongly recommend it, there are so many amazing spots (by the Nantes-Brest canal, on the dunes outside La Rochelle, etc), if you're comfortable with it.

Two bike shops to recommend:
-Sardines a Velo in Nantes is a wicked shop, really friendly guys, lovely pizza next door too
-Cool Bike in Bordeux hooked me up with a cardboard box for my flight home, and were very helpful servicing my mate's gears

Can anyone reccommend me a rigid hardtail mountainbike for someone who wants to get into some dirt-road touring and bikepacking around Denmark and Sweden?

Priorities:

• Fully rigid
  
• Available in small sizes (fit for a 5,4 person)
  
• Preferably 27,5 ich/650b wheels
  
• Eyelets and mounts for racks
  
• Disc Brakes
  
• Somewhat affordable
  
  

I have looked at the Sonder Frontier as an option, but I am unsure if the boost hub spacing is going to be a pain further down the road. Apart from that it ticks a lot of boxes, at a bearable price.
link: https://www.alpkit.com/sonder/bikes/sonder-frontier-nx1-rigid-rumpus-650b

Cheers :)

Wouldn't worry about Boost, it's a standard that's not going anywhere. Not sure how well NX1 stands up compared to better 11/12 speed groupsets or reliable 10sp.

Other options include the Marin Pine Mountain and Genesis Tarn or Longitude.

Kona Unit 2017? Reynolds 520 tubing, around £600 if any left. Comes as singlespeed but if you shop around you could get an 11 speed XT mech. chain, shifter and cassette for £100.
Rims and tyres are tubeless ready.

Thanks a lot for the reply!
I figured that the NX1 would be fine for a beginner, even if the weight is a little high. It seems to be fairly well reviewed also.

I've pondered the Genesis options, as well but finding one that ships to Denmark for a reasonable price has been challenging. Especially the Tarn.

Is there more bang for your buck to be had with the Pine Mountain compared to the Sonder Frontier, in your opinion? https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Marin-Pine-Mountain-27-5-Mountain-Bike-2018-Hardtail-MTB_109999.htm

Cheers Elgato

That's definately an option as well, but I am fairly sure that I am after a bike that can be ridden (geared) straight out of the box.

It's a tricky one. I like the Pine Mountain frameset a lot better than the Sonder (especially as it seems to have an aluminium fork, which is a bit off-putting), but not having triple bosses on the fork seems an oversight. On the Pine Mountain, Deore with a Sunrace 11-42 is a sensible spec, and cheap to run and maintain, and the Acera brakes, while not as nice as Deore, are probably decent and mineral oil is easier to deal with than DOT in the SRAM levels. On the other hand, the wheels on the Sonder look to be a better spec, with a 45 mm internal width over the Marin's 38. Tricky stuff!

Thanks for the input!
Hmm.. Decisions, decisions. The alu fork is a concern for sure, but i figured it would be less relevant with the massive tyres. It sounds like the Pine Mountain wins, but they don't seem to be available at any LBS where i am, and I've just noticed that Tredz charges 140 quid for postage to EU :/

Rutland Cycling are a bit cheaper to Denmark, if that's where you are

And JE James appear to be even cheaper at £18.40, but you'd have to wait for them to order the bike in

The alu fork is a concern for sure...

A common experience among cyclists, but Stu from Bearbones reckons it may not be an issue on the Frontier:
http://bearbonesbikepacking.blogspot.com/2017/07/sonder-frontier-tried-and-tested.html#!/2017/07/sonder-frontier-tried-and-tested.html

I am in Denmark, yes. Nice find!

I've seen this and it sounds quite encouraging, but it also a bit anecdotal :) Is he an authority on this sort of thing?

Just seen this as well. Very well specced.

https://www.evanscycles.com/en-dk/pinnacle-ramin-3-plus-2017-mountain-bike-EV264163

Just needs a wide-range cassette

but it also a bit anecdotal

As is the vast majority of the "alu forks are too stiff" thing - in terms of pure material physics, aluminium has less stiffness than steel. ;-)
I think bicycle engineering and aluminium forks have moved on greatly from the early days of manufacturers overbuilding for strength, and thus ending up with very stiff frames. Genesis used an aluminium fork recently for one of their Longitude or Latitude models (I forget which), and that didn't seem to cause people any great problems.

As to Stu's credentials, I don't know him personally, but he runs what's probably the most popular off-road bikepacking events (Bear Bones 200, Welsh Ride Thing, the Winter Event) and website in the UK, he lives in mid-Wales, and rides bikes a lot. I'd take his opinion over a regurgitated press release in Cycling Weakly or the like.

I've considered that too, and have suggested it to my partner. Something about it makes it look like a proper fat bike, compared to the other bikes mentioned earlier though. I'm not even sure you can find terrain that requires such massively wide tyres anywhere around here..

Thanks, you're right! Great info!

I have a steel on-one Inbred myself and I like it most of the time, but I've always been a bit skeptical of the whole "steel is real"-thing as well. Anyways, it's probably a massive rabbit-hole of a debate to dive into.
Mr Stu must know what he is talking about I guess - and he seems to like the frontier.

I guess I am left wondering if it's possible to get a 650b rigid hardtail that isn't made with plus-sized tyres in mind. Maybe I'm actually looking for a surly troll or something..

I guess I am left wondering if it's possible to get a 650b rigid hardtail that isn't made with plus-sized tyres in mind

None that I know of off the shelf. Little point, when 29" wheels serve the purpose better

Cotic Soul with rigid forks of your choice?

Maybe not, I suppose. I figured that the smaller diameter was more suited to someone shorter.

the pinnacle ramin 3 plus is awesome, I've ridden one very briefly. I think it's what you need

Cheers Platypus.
Would i be completely silly to get one and stick some more allround-ish tyres on it for touring on less rugged surfaces or even tarmac?

no! it's great value, with a few easy component swaps you could have a great ride. wouldn't say it would be perfect for tarmac tho.