Whats the best adventure bike? – bike packing.

At the moment I use my Planet X Kaffenback as my adventure bike but it really doesn’t have the clearance for any decent tyres.

At the weekend I had a go on a Scott Big Ed – fat bike and it was so much fun but is a fat bike just a fad and is a more conventional frame/bike a better option for general bike packing.

I did like the look of the Salsa Fargo ….. can’t decide which to save up for. or a cross bike …..

Surly ECR? I just want other people to have them, so that I don’t necessarily have to….

Just to put it this way, the next frame I’m building is going to be similar to a Fargo geometry wise (but carbon), for a very similar purpose (all round adventure/bikepacking bike)

once seen, forever smitten[/url]

Depends if you want a mountain bike or a drop bared mountain bike/gravel bike.

Are you 100% off road, mainly fireroads and singletrack, or a mix of road and off road?

I’ve a Fargo, it’s great, but it’s not the immediate love affair like I found with my Vaya.
I’m thinking of getting an ECR, and seeing how I get on with that..

I think the bike will be a mixture of gravel, roads and off road. so an all rounder. I love my 29er but want something which will be set up for bike packing souly.

that STOATER is fooking amazing. Way out of my price bracket though.

I’d also not heard of the ECR that’s looking tempting!!!

always bought bikes suitable for a bit of offroad touring (bikepacking) as it is now fashionably named.
it the past the best bike I have found for this purpose was a full rigid singular swift. nice and comfy with a bit of luggage on, ok to clock on at a bit of pace on the road.
I have run a surly lht, and now a disc trucker for a few years now….perfect also for a bit of offroad touring.

been looking at a possible new bike recently. one to cover all the bases, racks. guards, discs. the shand bikes are gorgeous, but the price puts me off. I know they are custom but it is still too much for me.
the Croix de fer genesis bikes also grabbed my attention, and for the money they seem perfect.

The Shand Stoater is indeed lovely & spendy.
The Genesis Croix de Fer 30 2015 floats my boat at the moment…
The Kinesis Tripster is a popular choice and also lovely , I think there may be a l’aal thread about it somewhere…… 🙂

A few people seem to be trying the Genesis Latitude frame but I’ve not seen any long term reports yet.

There was a posting on the Cotic blog/site about putting 650b+ wheel/3″ WTB tyres on a Solaris but again there’s no update as to how it’s gone. (the 650b+ combo comes out within a few mm of the diameter of a 29er wheel)

No-one mentioning the Genesis Longitude?

Was just going to mention the ECR! I just built one, but I can’t offer any experience since I haven’t actually been anywhere on it yet :$ I can offer pictures though! 😀 I built it up to be ideal adventure bike, and while it one hell of a machine, I find it really hard to ride still. I think it’s just like cruiser bike. If you go slowly on it you could ride for miles on end! But I am talking slow…

@MussEd Gah! Meant the Longitude 😳

Surly Ogre. A Karate Monkey with more braze ons than you can shake a stick at. Mrs Mugsy and i have them. For heavy loaded touring with kids for 3 weeks caampingper year towing trailers/ kids bikes etc. Mine also serves me as my MTB.

Sabbath September might fit the bill. Or Tripster ATR, staying with the Ti theme.

Cheaper, and faster on the roads, how about CAADX?

Lots depends on how wide the tyres need to be.

I have a Surly Ogre, it’s a great bike

P1030090 by pickers48[/url], on Flickr

But if I was buying it this year, not last year, I’d likely have a Longitude which appears to be a pretty much identical frame for less cash.

If drops and some dirt is what you’re after I’d look at a gryphon or similar first. Terrain and tyre size influence the choice a lot I think. I’ve done light load summer trips on 50-50 road dirt mix with a 40c cx bike, felt great. Light and quick. Easy to overwhelm a 40c ofc road with luggage on though. My Jones on 2.2″ is more fun off road and more comfy over long distances, say 4-5 days plus. Speed evens out as comfort becomes more of a factor.

bikes suitable for a bit of offroad touring (bikepacking) as it is now fashionably named

So true

I think it does depend on how much off road ability you want. I think 2 inch plus tyres and even suspension forks have there place if you on proper off road terrain. Personally I think that in say Scotland many tracks that aren’t that technical are still rough. An extreme example would having to stop on my descent of the corrieyairack pass as my arm hurt so much, that was on a rigid MTB

Sorry I can’t edit that to stop my bit looking like a quote

No

and is a more conventional frame/bike a better option for general bike packing.

probably.

I have a fatbike, a Ti 29er and a Ti cross/tourer. They are all suitable for bikepacking, depending on the terrain you’ll be mostly on (I even have plans for trips with my Blur). If I was to select one bike, I’d probably opt for flat bars over drops and something with either a small amount of suspension or B+ tyres/wheels.

If you really do have that complete bulletproof, “fix it in the field” necessity then you should stick with steel. However, trips to the wilds of Africa, Asia or South America are, for most of use, only distant dreams. I’d not be stuck on steel if I was likely to be somewhere less remote.

I have an Ogre which commute on and have grown to like but given the Genesis Longitude has non suspension corrected forks (which would be an advantage for me a a shortish person) and that it’s cheaper, if I were buy now I might also have had the longitude.

I’ll echo what scotroutes mentioned ^ about having a flat bar instead of drops, since fitting the Jones Loop bar and the XTR kit + clutch mech to my tripster it has totally transformed the bike for the better by a factor of X+1, it is so comfortable for riding on road and so much better for rough lanes and genuine off-road stuff with far-far greater control that there is nothing i can’t do on my tripster compared to my hummer, albeit a bit slower with 40mm tyres.

When i jump on my Hummer with it’s carbon riser bars it feels so strange and ungainly – it’s just wrong, my wrists feel like they are in the wrong position for comfort and control to the point that i can see myself buying another Jones loop bar for the hummer.

In my Tripsters previous build with the Salsa woodchippers and Ultegra build i thought it was the absolute dogs bollox for bike packing/touring etc but i now realise that the drops restricted my movement around the cockpit area as i only ever used the hoods, the narrow stance/grip compromised my off-road ability as when i wanted to brake heavy i would have to move my hands from the hoods to the drops which is not the best thing to be attempting when you need to slow down and maintain full control over sketchy terrain but i didn’t realise it at the time, unlike now when i can ride the same trails with a lot more control.

Fargo with Jones Loop bars.
Amazing

Somafunk there is a lot of food for thought there

The Jones bars do look great. On a budget I find mary bars offer at least 2 proper hand positions. One for control and the other offering a reasonable tuck

If flat bars are the answer and I think for many situations they are these represent amazing value at £650. Tyres up to 2 inches. Not much else around at that price that has the sort of spec a bike like this will need

I have Woodchippers on.my cross/tourer and regularly use the drops. In fact I prefer that when descending anything sketchy.

got jones loops on my surly disco. for some idiot reason, i was gonna rebuild it and put either flats or drops on.
i rebuilt it today after some much needed tlc. i put the jones loops back on, and rode 12 mile home with them at a bit of a steeper angle.
bloody fantastic…so comfy. they are gonna stay on it now.

I’ve put the Loops back on the fatbike for the winter. I do like the extra control they seem to offer on loose surfaces (snow, slush etc). It took me a couple of attempts to get the angle just right though. A couple of degrees out in either direction and they just feel wrong.

And those Pinnacles look to be amazing vfm. Much as folk on here are complaining about the cost of top-end bikes, while something like that exists there will always be a relatively cheap way of satisfying your riding requirements. The Arkrose looks to fulfill a similar job if you’re into drops too.

I just wish the Jones Loops weren’t so expensive 🙁

Peregrine?

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december 004[/url] by jamesanderson2010[/url], on Flickr

I just wish the Jones Loops weren’t so expensive

Mary will go most of the way

If you need more at bar ends in the middle

I recently got a Tripster ATR to replace my snapped Kaffenback frame. The ride is sublime. Slow steering will take a bit of adjustment, but after a week I’m getting used to it.

Lots of people are running 40/42 tyres, and I reckon that you’d get a 1.75 in the fork. The rear would take a bit less.

For proper rugged terrain packing, I’d go for a Spearfish.

Surly Krampus?
Lacks braze-ons, but with a decent saddle/post mounted harness, frame bag and handlebar harness, it suits the bill.
Very comfy, a bit quicker handling than the ECR, I’ll happily go all day and more on mine.

Kitted up for a short day out….

image by silly-boy[/url], on Flickr

I think the best bike is the one cobbled together with the parts bin….and just get on and camp….otherwise …a Fargo …

Yup, I think I need to rekindle my love fir my Fargo..
Need to get some trips squared away..

Stoater looks lovely. The traditional / current Brit adventure bike would prob be a Thorn, bet more have travelled to adventurous places than others. Mine, as in my ‘adventure’ (go anyway loaded up) bike is my old Stumpjumper (1980s edition) with more road orientated tyres and pannier racks back and front.

http://www.cyclesjbryant.com

Thata nice. 44 Bikes Hunstman is also drool worthy Trans-Atalantic handmade bike-packing beauty.

IMO a good bikepacking bike is the same as a good trail bike. My idea of bikepacking is extending good singletrack rides beyond a single day. For example that bike above looks horrendously overloaded and cumbersome to me, I can make do with far less than that for week long trips.

My SC highball alu is ideal for me, firstly its dimensions fit me, I don’t buy into the fashionadvantages of steel, and I want front suspension.

Many of the bikes recommended are similar :Gryphon vs Fargo etc.

For me these’d be the factors:

Drop bars vs flat.
No. of braze ons.
Tyre size.
Rigid or not.
Weight- do you mind it bring a tank if ridden unladen (and thus material)

I have an ALU 29er with drops.

Bought this to cover commuting (current set-up), light touring and bike packing. Didn’t like the bars that came with it, so went for the Jones loops, which are a revelation. For the money I doubt you will find better.
There are mounts everywhere, horizontal dropouts for versatility, clearance for 3″ tyres front and back. It rides beautifully and is surprisingly quick unloaded.
It’s a lot more capable than I am…