Touring Equipment

Remember....it's all too easy for people to talk about how they 'assume' things will handle or perform....but until you have a decent amount of actual experience riding with specific kit, you're in no place to comment.

In all honesty I've never once noticed a single problem from cross winds. When it comes to loaded touring bikes, people always think things will behave far more strangely than they actually do....but when you actually just get on with riding them, before you know it, it just feels 'normal'. :]

That was kind of my side of the discussion... once the bike is weighed down with kit it becomes a lot more stable.

I was in no way trying to take away from mr Revelate as a business owner, was merely pointing out anyone after a frame bag like the one above, would be looking at a wait as he is busy at the moment.

Scott, I although I hasn't ridden with a frame bag, I recall that the centre of the frame is usually a dead weight, a weight you don't feel.

Is this the case with the framebag that you don't feel the extra weight on the bicycle?

The frame bags and seat packs are by Revelate designs which used to be Epic designs until the lovely folks at Specialized threatened to sue him for using the name 'Epic'.

Carousel design works also does similar stuff but slightly differently.

The frame bags are narrow and have internal dividers, so they don't normally hit your knees.
I used mine to keep all my tools in and spare food. Sometimes i'd use the top half to hold a water bladder.

Bikepacking gear like that is my preferred method for carrying stuff as it doesn't add to the width of the bike, doesn't rattle about like panniers often do, and is way more stable than a lot of traditionalists would have you believe.
I've had mine fully loaded with huge saddlebag, frame bag, and handlebar harness and never once felt unstable on the bike.
There is also the added benefit of being able to use the kit on pretty much any bike whether you have rack mounts or not.

I inquired into the seat mounted bags a while ago but they do become incredibly expensive when you take shipping costs into account, granted they're a quality product but pretty pricey. Just out of interest, will you be doing the tool rolls again? I've always hankered after one but I know you cut all ties with the last company.

I was in no way trying to take away from mr Revelate as a business owner, was merely pointing out anyone after a frame bag like the one above, would be looking at a wait as he is busy at the moment.

Ha...I didn't think you were...I was simply explaining what he's been up to. :]

Scott, I although I hasn't ridden with a frame bag, I recall that the centre of the frame is usually a dead weight, a weight you don't feel.

Is this the case with the framebag that you don't feel the extra weight on the bicycle?

You don't notice the weight handling wise as it's central. It also helps to balance things out if you have a seatpack and gas tank or handlebar bag...especially if you put the heavier stuff in the bottom half of the frame bag.

I inquired into the seat mounted bags a while ago but they do become incredibly expensive when you take shipping costs into account, granted they're a quality product but pretty pricey. Just out of interest, will you be doing the tool rolls again? I've always hankered after one but I know you cut all ties with the last company.

It's true that a quality bikepacking style seatpack seems expensive, and to be honest I underpriced my own ones.
They take a lot longer to make than people realise due to all the fiddly little pieces involved in the design. Also, the materials used are really expensive to buy...especially for a small company who can't buy in bulk.
The money you make on products like these is pretty pathetic for the work that goes into them unfortunately.

I don't have plans for tool rolls at the moment...too many other things to be working on. :]

This was one singletrack a little while ago, not bought one myself but seems like a good alternative;
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/buggybags-custom-mtb-framebag

I put my Obree hat on at the weekend and made myself a new mount for my Garmin.
The problem I have is that I like to use tri bars for long rides, but preferably without losing hand positions on the bars. This means i need to mount my Garmin in the centre. Normally that wouldn't be a problem because you'd mount it on the stem....however...if you're planning on riding longer than the Garmin battery lasts and need to use an external battery pack you're fucked with the stem mount thanks to Garmins great idea to put the charger socket underneath the bloody thing, so you can't get access to it when it's on the stem.

I ended up using a topeak moonshine light bracket which mounts at the side of the stem, but then sits the light centrally over it. I removed the part the light clips onto and replaced it with a short section of broom handle...drilled a hole for the knurled part of the bracket to sit in and bite against, then mounted the regular garmin mount to that.
A bit of colouring in with a sharpie and presto!

I now have a Garmin mount that sits centrally over the stem, but far enough forward, and high enough to allow access to the charger port...and it sits perfectly between the arm rests of my customized tri bars. :]
I also have space on the other side of the stem to mount my light bracket and have the light under the bars.

As Obree said..."Make do and mend". :]

You don't notice the weight handling wise as it's central. It also helps to balance things out if you have a seatpack and gas tank or handlebar bag...especially if you put the heavier stuff in the bottom half of the frame bag.

Precisely what I though.

Need to find a way to fabricated one for my Thorn, seemed like a good idea to reduced certain bulk.

There's a few UK people making frame bags now

http://wildcatgear.co.uk/products/frame-bags/

http://www.buggybags.co.uk/

Copied from Current Projects: maybe more appropiate in Travels in Trips, but to start a whole new thread isn't neccesary:

Finished (kinda) for my tour which will start next saturday from Eindhoven (I'm Dutch) to Sérignan, France..

A '74 Gazelle Champion Mondial, Reynolds 531, stripped from it's horrible homespray, clear lacquer.. I have yet to install the headbadge..
Components are mainly Shimano, Dura Ace (7400/7410, brakes, rear hub, front derailleur), Ultegra (6400, front hub, 6600, rear derailleur, bar end shifters), Tektro R730 brake calipers, and some Campagnolo, Athena seatpost, Veloce Compact UltraTorque Crank and BB..
Handlebars are 3ttt quite similar to Cinelli Giro d'Italia's and Syntace stem.. Fizik Arione saddle..

I'm torn on the rack.. I had a sturdier one, but that didn't fit because of the rear caliper.. I now think it might, because I adjusted the brakes.. I'll give that another try this evening.. This rack did the job last year on a small tour of several days in Limburg/Ardennes.. And I won't be taking much more stuff since I learned from that trip..

Anyway: the route: (about 1500 km)

With Reims (best cathedral in France), Verdun (WW1), Ronchamp (cathedral by Le Corbusier, I'm an architecture student), Mont Ventoux (I passed it anyway), Avignon (former pope stool (that the correct term?)), Arles (very pretty) as waypoints.. I also have a nice route through the Jura as an option after reaching Besancon..

And if all goes well I might take this extra detour: (1550km)

Via Grenoble and Gap, approaching the Mont Ventoux from the east.. Only 50 km extra, but much more climbing involved.. I'll see how it goes..

Then see the Tour pass very rapidly on the 17th in Montpellier.. Spend a weeks vacation at my grandparents in Sérignan, send the bike back, get a lift to Paris, see the Tour arrive, spend some days with the GF, train back.. Really looking forward!

Ok, to keep it to equipment.. I UTFS, but how are opinions on Schwalbe Marathon Plusses? I have a 25c in front, 28c in back.. They look and feel very sluggish.. Are they, rolling resistance wise? Besides being a major pain in the ass to mount, Randonneur's are sweet babies compared to them.. I also have the option to mount 28c Randonneurs which are in practice a bit smaller, and likely to have less rolling resistance.. Or is that a bit idea with handling and weight of the panniers in mind? Opinions please.. :)

As long as they have great puncture resistance I'd keep with them.

But in my opinion I've had no trouble with conti gatorskins, I've got 28c on my audax, they handled fine last year with 20kg on the rear and I didn't have a puncture during the whole tour.

Fantastic looking route.

Not long till mine now - about 3 weeks time.

Je suis trés emballé.

People seem to convince themselves that because they're going on a tour they're suddenly going to get more punctures than they would do normally. Obviously if you're off trekking in remote places with terrible roads this may be the case, but if you're riding on regular roads in reality you're no more likely to puncture than on your commute. Sometimes less so as there may be less glass and crap on the roads.

I'm sticking with my Maxxis Refuse 25's for now. I've hardly had any punctures on them and at least if I do they're easy as pie to take off and they don't weigh a ton and make the bike feel slow. :]

The only concern you should have over tires (like I did) is that I was wild camping so had to drag the bike in a forest with me, thankfully no thorns worked their way in to my tires!

Most tyres capable of handling the glass and bits of wire that you encounter on inner city roads should be fine with thorns too.

What's wild camping like in France - anyone have any experience? We're sticking largely to the atlantic coast. Happy to pop into a hostel if we find one or a campsite if we come across it but we're trying to wing it as much as possible so I expect there'll be plenty of nights in the woods. What are french attitudes to this sort of thing? No I will not Google it.

Camping you should be fine mate. Most of the time we just kipped in forests with bivi bags. One night people came shooting in the forest the other night (on the way back) we woke up with a deer eating our stuff. Absolutely hilarious!

P.S.

I'm now looking at catching a ferry down to Santander and cycling back, looks awesome I'm tempted to book it all up now.

My boss a keen cyclist just told me to do it!

I'm going to pack light with just a bivi (no tent)

Book early or the ferries are crazy pricey. We booked the return from Santander to the UK about 2 months ago and it was still a couple of hundred.

On the subject of tyres, I've found the Marathon Plus's to be really heavy, whereas the Marathons (with out the plus bit) are a lot lighter (and cheaper!) and more comparable to my randos on the other bike, with pretty decent puncture resistance, but with the added bonus over randos of the reflective strip which I find makes a massive difference to visability. Also they're almost always on offer at BikePlus!

Book early or the ferries are crazy pricey. We booked the return from Santander to the UK about 2 months ago and it was still a couple of hundred.

Bloody hell!

I've looked in to flying, cycling up the coast of the Atlantic then ferry or euro star it back to the UK.

Does anyone have a checklist of what they'll take with them on a (2/3 week) trip?
I'm looking for some comparison to see if I'm not taking way too much with me..

I think it was 350 total for 2 people with reclining seats (cheapest option) for a return journey. Portsmouth to Saint Malo, then 2 weeks later, Santander back to the UK. And that was the cheapest of cheap options they had available - some days were cheaper than others etc.

For a supposedly cheap idea for a holiday, cycle touring is bloody expensive if you have to cross water it seems.