Bikepacking - a viable alternative to racks & panniers

Right you’ve sold me - job done. Will make some tweaks to bag some of my Cent Cols passes (explains the alias) but yeah, that’s my April sorted. Thanks so much!

no worries. make sure you don't miss:

• pen y fan descent at 20k (known as the gap ride)
  
• moorland crossing at 50k
  
• claerddu bothy at 98k and the approach round the reservoir
  
• long section from 140k to machynlleth
  
• trail centre fun at 194k
  
• ride through the valleys around 240k
  
  

you should also know:

• Penrhos Isaf Bothy is now permanently closed, but the cute woodland toilet next to it is still open and there is good wilding camping right nearby
  
• Claerddu is open and a must-visit (permanently stocked with firewood and has a toilet and kitchen with running water!)
  

Amazing! The gap has been on my to-do for a while, plus I've never stayed at a bothy so Claerddu sounds like a good spot to start. Will post my finalised route up here sometime soon - cheers again

I'd be well up for something like this, drop me a line if you're looking for a tag-along

Claerddu is open and a must-visit (permanently stocked with firewood and has a toilet and kitchen with running water!)

Don't count on firewood. There have been problems with folk using it for massive outdoor bonfires rather than the wood stove.

Ah sweet! I'll be recording the trip (GoPro), so I need to have a few practice runs this winter to see if the pace I keep is at all sociable - stopping to frame shots and self-film can be kinda agonising! Will give you a shout

So here's the route as it stands, taking in the Welsh Divide route as a baseline, adding some of the @platypus tips, and incorporating 25 Club des Cent Cols-certified passes along the way. The diversion down to Cardiff Bay is to grab a rock from the Bristol Channel to deposit in the Irish Sea when I get there - dumb ritual but something I like to do.

I have no idea what my daily off-road comfort distance is as yet, so we'll see if this is a little ambitious. There's a nice direct train from Llandudno Junction to Newport, too, so the return home will be pretty painless (and cheap).

https://www.komoot.com/tour/626365020

I completed your Norfolk route last summer. Highlights were Marsham Heath singletrack and bivvying on the beach at Blakeney (helped that the weather was on my side). Anyway my thanks for the route, I owe you a beer at some point.

1 Attachment

oh how great!
Marsham I have the legend @BareNecessities to thank for
post up more pix if you have em!

Just noticed this thing exists. Seems like a minimalist and handy bit of kit to put a bit of space between bar bags and head tube/cables.

Can the hive mind come up with any reason that this wouldn't be a decent addition to a touring set up?

4 Attachments

Can the hive mind come up with any reason that this wouldn't be a decent addition to a touring set up?

Because if the stiff-backed harness was far enough away from the bars/cables you wouldn't need it?

It wouldn't work on my Tripster anyway because the stem is on the headset so there's no room for that weird clamp mount. Something coming off the stem might be a better idea?

I like it, and certainly more pleasing then the thorn T-bar/accessory bar that does a similar job, although at significantly less cost.

@hippy I’ve had success using one of those Chinese/eBay special space mounts designed for lights/gos etc, but attached either under at 90degrees to push a bag away (and provide a place to attach a strap) or on top to lift the bag up.

Photo of the second config here: https://www.lfgss.com/comments/15500691/

I have one of those from when I used it to mount a big front light on my TT bike for 24hr TTs.

I don't need to come up with a solution now since all the paint has been rubbed off the headtubes on our frames already :D

I might be more aware when I stick something on the new MTB though. I've got a Revelate roll that I'll need to test out at some point and I don't want that taking paint off if I can help it. More spacers maybe, plus helicopter tape might help. Won't know until I start using it.

I have one, the OG made by Hesson Labs. It does a pretty good job but it doesn't fit my slammed lifestyle anymore. I'm not sure I'll ever use it again so if you happen to have a 90mm stem you'd be welcome to it. You could also have the Outer Shell handlebar bag knockoff I made for it, I can't be seen with it now I'm a(n aspiring) professional bag maker.

2 Attachments

Woah cool!

@hippy Im using the Apidura Expedition handle bar bag, so no stiffness. I find it rubs the head tube, which can be remedied by some tape but I like this idea, if there are no discernible downsides. Pretty sure ive got enough spacer space (Pic below) Its hanging quite low there, around 3kg in it...is that too heavy?

@Tijmen im wondering if it would make enough of a difference even with a 110 stem? Probably not. If a jobs worth doing n aw that.

As long as there is no potential issues with the headset and on a carbon steerer.

1 Attachment

Edit: scratch that, I'm too lazy to be faffing with this stuff anymore.

I do but they’re pretty poor quality...

4 Attachments

Can we get a route database for these? maybe a specific thread? I need these but always loose them

Not quite as good, but it would still help I'd say. Although it'd work better on a hard shelled bag, the dry bag is likely to fold around it. Especially when it's as floppy as in your picture. I used it on a carbon steerer and although I've always been a bit nervous about it, it doesn't seem to have left a mark at all.

1 Attachment

Oh, snap!

1 Attachment

I am most of the way to finishing a website where they'll be catalogued
thanks for the encouragement!

wow, I am exctied to see!

looks like a great trip!
man that cafe was good, TVH and I kept going back in for one more serving of pie/natural wine

V keen to see this too – will you have a Patreon or something associated? As user Po said, anyone benefitting would definitely owe a beer