[Closed] Sick as a dog so, show me you Bivi / Bikepacking / Adventure racing gear.....

One for the novices and newbies that find this thread a bit daunting;

Backcountrybiking in Aviemore are running [url= http://www.backcountrybiking.co.uk/backcountry-learning/backcountry-biking-courses/bikepacking-2-day/ ]a two-day introductory bikepacking course[/url] based around the Cairngorms. The guys really know what they're talking about and have a range of gear you can rent out to try your hand. This might reduce the chance of making some elementary purchasing mistakes.

If they can sort out a fatbike trip in the snow that would interest me. Even got all my own stuff.

Heading out kitted up tomorrow as a test ride for the Bear Bones Ford Fiesta event in less than 2 weeks time.

Did a Ford Fiesta trial run on Sunday night, although due to frozen conditions I managed to keep my feet dry.....

[url= https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8604/16136623842_cdd7d17e85_o.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8604/16136623842_cdd7d17e85_o.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/qzWq5s ]Last Night's Bedroom #redlake #dartmoor #bikepacking #bivi #brass****inmonkeys[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/8308384@N06/ ]Dittisham Stickleback Breeding Station[/url], on Flickr

[url= https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7475/15951333909_fb4d213c3b_o.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7475/15951333909_fb4d213c3b_o.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/qiyKQr ]Frosty Bike #dartmoor #redlake #trek #frostybivi[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/8308384@N06/ ]Dittisham Stickleback Breeding Station[/url], on Flickr

[url= https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7570/15955135749_723fd57e5d_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7570/15955135749_723fd57e5d_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/qiUeZp ]Redlake - Monday Morning[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/8308384@N06/ ]Dittisham Stickleback Breeding Station[/url], on Flickr

very helpful thread indeed.

For the guy who said he would not recommend the larig ghru on a bike he must be on drugs its a must ride trail for most people i know. If i remember correctly it was voted trail of the year by one magazine.

slugwash - Very impressive and beautiful. Well done for getting out!

slugwash - Very impressive and beautiful. Well done for getting out!

For the guy who said he would not recommend the larig ghru on a bike he must be on drugs its a must ride trail for most people i know. If i remember correctly it was voted trail of the year by one magazine.

There is the little bit down in to Rothiemurchus and there is the complete thing. One is a lot of fun and one involves a lot of hike a bike over boulder fields. I suspect that most people you know haven't done one of the options above. 🙂

[quote=gfrew88 ]very helpful thread indeed.
For the guy who said he would not recommend the larig ghru on a bike he must be on drugs its a must ride trail for most people i know. If i remember correctly it was voted trail of the year by one magazine.That would be me. Did you read my blog entry about the trip? http://www.blog.scotroutes.com/2014/06/twa-lairigs.html

Do go and ride the Lairig Ghru though. Remember to start from Linn of Dee or Derry Lodge though, not just do the 2km section of path that runs[i] to and from[/i] the Lairig Ghru from Rothiemurchus Lodge through the forest. It would be great to have a few more opinions on it.

For the guy who said he would not recommend the larig ghru on a bike he must be on drugs its a must ride trail for most people i know. If i remember correctly it was voted trail of the year by one magazine.

That's just the bottom section of it. Not many people recommend it as a through route.

I shouldn't be looking in this thread, it'll only give me ideas.

[quote=doh ]If they can sort out a fatbike trip in the snow that would interest me. Even got all my own stuff. 😆 I don't think they yet have control over the local weather!

Apologies if this has already been covered in the thread. Can someone recommend somewhere to buy sheet of tin foil to make a windshield from. The baking trays in supermarkets are too small.
Ta

If you drop me an email, and I can find it in the garage, I've got a roll of really thick tin folk in the garage, we used to use it on air cooling pipes on aircraft engines to show blown joints, I'll post you a couple of A4 sized sheets if you want. Email in profile.

scotroutes - Member

I don't think they yet have control over the local weather!

For 200 quid a head for an overnighter I would expect them to sort out any kind of weather I ask for.

That would be great thanks. I'll email you now. Cheers.

Well. That took me a while to get through 77 pages but I am now officially obsessed with the idea of Bikepacking. Thanks to all the contributors to this thread who have inspired me on this most miserable of days to look ahead and start planning. Looks like the alpine pilgrimage is being binned for adventure in the wilds of Scotland and Northern England. And also a couple of blogs and Twitter feeds have added to the reading material/inspiration...

Well. That took me a while to get through 77 pages but I am now officially obsessed with the idea of Bikepacking

Ditto, have spent the last few weeks getting my old gear together, and buying some shiney new stuff, and test fitting to bike etc.

Planning a couple of local Devon trips as soon as it gets above freezing overnight to test my setup out before heading further out onto Dartmoor, which I know pretty well anyway but the idea of being able to kip out and extend some loops appeals massively!

Will post pics and let you all know how I get on 🙂

Thought I'd post in here rather than start a new thread of my own - after some advice on target weights for kit. i.e what are considered ideal for a)one berth tent and b) sleeping bag - for use in Scottish summer overnighters.... I've got a decent down bag but it's a winter felly and probably way heavier than I'd need.

I've read the debates on tarp v tent but I've decided the tent is for me as I start out on the off road touring journey...

So having seen a variety of tents and bags, and also a massive variation in prices, what would be the upper limit on weight for each of these items to be carried on the bike? then hopefully I can find some stuff which won't cost me fortunes!

Thanks in advance for any advice.

As ever: it depends.

You can get a 2 season bag that is snug that feels warmer than a loose fitting 3 season bag, the reason being that in the looser bag each time you turn in your sleep you push out some of the warm air in your sleeping bag and it gets replaced with cold air that you then have to heat up. It also depends on how "warm" you sleep, some people don't need much insulation, others need a lot.

Next variable is the weather: you can get near zero temps at any time of the year but sometimes the night time temps are warm enough to hardly need a sleeping bag at all.

For lightweight (and decent) bags, check out PHD designs - http://www.phdesigns.co.uk/down-sleeping-bags?osCsid=h4ca523jd7i2q5cn05joka5467

Yep, looked at them when Chipps mentioned he'd gotten a delivery a couple of weeks back, doubt I'd be able to stretch to those prices being honest!

Definitely not cheap!!

Warm, light/compact, cheap: pick two 🙄

My summer bag is some cheap (< £50) hollowfill model. It's fairly snug on me so it's quite warm despite only being rated as 2 seasons. I can squeeze it in to a 3 litre dry bag

Alpkit have just said they'll be doing doss bags again this year..

I cannot believe i have not read this thread? I just got a tarp and some extra carry bag system .I need a mat ,i got a Bivvy ,i got a stove (its big) not too worried about weight right now .I just want to get under the stars - How awesome has my hobby just become ?

"This is great and might be the solution I've been looking for for a long time! What's your rear axle configuration? 10mm thru axle? do you ever hit those nuts to trail obstacles while doing the "supertech trail ride"?"

Many apologies affe!! 3 months late with a reply here, sigh.

12mm rear - it's got a through hole. You'll probably have to buy the Extrawheel "extra long" skewer though. Never had a problem with obstacles - too far off the ground :-). Great bit of kit - go for it.

Summer's coming...
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Tis indeed
[url= https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8713/16277963553_b2857625a6.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8713/16277963553_b2857625a6.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/qNqPs2 ]11039844_10153217461171474_8108566200838869172_n-2[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/22534490@N00/ ]Richard Munro[/url], on Flickr

Certainly is! My preference is a Coleman Craz x1 tent and a 2 season vango bag. Always got the thermarest as well, lose a lot of heat into the floor otherwise.
[IMG] [/IMG]

Harking back to the debate about Lairig Ghru routes further up the page. Here's a link a to write up of a trip I tool a while back. You can make your own minds up if you fancy it.

[url] http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/anyone-remember-my-asking-for-route-advice-re-aviemore-to-blair-atholl-last-week [/url]

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Finally got my set up complete after taking tips and tricks from this forum for a while. Bar ends on the handlebars support the front dry bag. The rear is supported by a stem mounted rack, bought off ebay for about ten quid. A shakedown is scheduled in for a couple of weeks time, just for a safe overnighter.

SO when I say stem I mean seatpost mounted rack!
Front bag is an Alpkit Airlok Dual 20l, rear is an Alpkit Airlok Extra 20l, tent is a Force Ten Helium 100.
Strapped on with some basic webbing straps from the army surplus store. Thought it might be strange to ride but even with the weight on the handlebars it seems ok. ASk me what I think of it after 80 miles though and I might change my mind.

[url= http://tracksterman.tumblr.com ]Tracksterman, well worth a read[/url]

No suspension. No GPS, digital mapping or SPOT. No backup, support or resupply. No posting food ahead. No hotels, hostels or B&Bs. No sponsorship, no freebies. No padded shorts. No bullshit.

Good Morning!

I bet you didn't think I'd be over here did you 😆

Well, simply I've been looking for a seat bag and bar bag for overnight stop rides, whilst not bivi'ing just staying in poncy hotels and such. I know you'll pour scourn on that but hey 😀
So I started a thread about alpkit seat bags and got some great feed back, I know I should have looked here first but it was late last night and y'know I was falling asleep. Now I'm going to scan this thread for tips/hints and anything CX touring/offroad touring related.

Intend using my Giant TCX Adv1 which has no rack mounts (carbon race frame) and am seeking out offroad/gravel/lanes type rides over weekends or 2/3days kinda thing then heading out to do the Santiago de Compastella in early Oct.

Kit, well alpkit koala and a bar bag I think will do for what I want/need. Just enough carry space for spare jerseys/tools/food/phone & charger, GPX charger/gloves and that kinda thing.

So my rides will be more adventure CX than up in the Caingorns kinda thing, but then you've got some great forest tracks and gravel access roads so why not. Hopefully a nice hotel or two to.

8)

Well its arrived, order placed to deliver in 2 day ain't all that bad is it now.

I went for Apidura Saddle pack (compact) and their Handlebar bag in the end simply because both were in stock. As for liners I'll sort something out soon, if it rains.

Looking to try these out on DrP's Gnarmac B-L-B early Aug, will fill them with cake and stuff just to try them out.

Cool eh.

Ok so I've fitted the Apidura compact to the saddle/seat post and that looks excellent, filled it with 4 jerseys to get an idea of shape and capacity and kinda think I've not packed enough stuff in it to get it to fit properly 😆
I will continue experimenting 8)
As for the front bar bag I've filled that too, but one question if anyone's got experiance of these..
I have filled the bag, rolled the ends and clipped them, attached the bag to the bars but on the bag there are 3 spare "female" clips, clips I can't seem the fathom what goes in them. Assume they are there for additional big that can be fitted on top of this one, not sure... Anyone any thoughts ?

Ta.

Looking good so far, will post pics 😀

Gonna guess this http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/p/19644/apidura-accessory-pack

Yeah, as I thought, cheers 😀

bedmaker

- Member
Tracksterman, well worth a read

No suspension. No GPS, digital mapping or SPOT. No backup, support or resupply. No posting food ahead. No hotels, hostels or B&Bs. No sponsorship, no freebies. No padded shorts. No bullshit.

POSTED 2 WEEKS AGO # REPORT-POST

Yep its a good read and I like his no nosence non navel gazing approach. I'm impressed by his navigating all that way. Not because it is hard but because in England (Wales and Scotland I have no problems, less dense less to check all the time) I find navigating so time consuming. I've only just bought a GPS after years of using maps and s I'll will carry maps with me on rides but I I have just got sick of checking the map so often down here in the south.

Well and truly inspired, just spent the last couple of days working my through this thread, checking a few links and reading a couple of blogs. I proceeded to spend half my day looking at bivi bags online and looking at maps for potential locations for test runs. Thanks guys.

[img] https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8Y1SfbTGQ8mjsIGT80EAgRzGMJbkRd3WR6tzS1NO7SY=w1442-h1103-no [/img]

All ready for c2c this weekend.

I really must get round to writing up this trip
[img] https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8pWWO7LCJABLfWceYboJWiDUcVRcRKRLL5t0X1odk0tS=w724-h965-no [/img]
[url= https://goo.gl/photos/ZyzRrrozw4uKxdew5 ][img] https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8__8ISlcRrejWi9SK7X8ZvwzupaHiJ9KLXi-lPuF3b5R=w1287-h965-no [/img][/url]

Wow, that looks beautiful, to camp right by the beach like that...

Are most for you using down of synthetic for your biving? I have a alpkit down bag that I love but I'm nervous of using it biving so only use it when tenting. Used my old light weigh synthetic last nigh and was cold as its so old, thin and broken down. Trying to decide if I should by a 2 season synthetic for late spring -> early autumn biving or just use my down bag.

@TheBrick

I've two down bags and one synthetic. The synthetic is a Snugpack 2 season. One down bag is a Rab 1200, it's at least a 4 season bag which I use in winter - I originally got it for Alpine winter climbing, the other is a PHD Minimus 300, which is probably best rated as a 1 or 2 season bag. However with a silk liner (always worth using with a down bag to stop sweat/dirt fouling the down) and a Goretex bivvy bag it's quite a bit better than that. I was out last night and was fine with that set up.

[quote=officerfriendly ]Wow, that looks beautiful, to camp right by the beach like that...
It was - until I woke up about 3am and noticed that the tide had come right in and was just a few feet from the tent!

TheBrick - I have both synthetic and down bags and had been using the synthetics all the time until recently. My previous thoughts were that down, being difficult to clean and then subject to drop-off in performance, was best saved for when I wasn't likely to be climbing into it covered in mud. The additional "wet" performance of synthetic is also a consideration.

However, I've been using down more often recently as I don't see the point of having something I'm "saving for good" if it never gets used 🙂 The silk liner is a good extra to consider.

If still considering synthetic, I can recommend the Mountain Hardware Lamina series. You'll often see them on sale and you'll pick up a (zero-rated) Lamina 35 for less than £80.

@TheBrick

If you're nervous about down bags for bivi use then have a look at one with a Pertex Microlight outer shell. Or a Pertex Quantum shell.
Much better in likelihood of dampness.

As whitestone, use a liner to prolong the bags life before needing a clean.