Maybe having a slash through the letterbox would have got their attention? 😀

Would you like me to send you a gpx file Tony? I assume you don’t mind a little but of road work to access the decent stuff?

What are you using to lie on? There’s more heat lost to the ground below than the air above 😉

There is a suggestion we’d be doing it West to East.

Should have the wind with you in that direction, although Foel Fadian won’t be much fun 😉

As Greg says, practice pushing your bike up and down big, steep, rocky hills. A failed ITT in 2013 left me unable to walk for a fortnight.I might have been unlucky but to a degree you have to make your own luck out there.

8L is about as big as you’ll really want to go.

Or you could just leave it as it is? No?

What’s the issue with the BB? Is it not a 73mm shell, so requires 1 spacer?

If you were any sort of a man you’d be running it SS 😀

Tarp Poles

Rig 3.5 guide for dummies

Tarp guide

Thermarest do an adaptor which you fit to a dry bag or similar and use the bag to fill the mat. Should fit a Numo okay … just remember it’s a DIY job though and may require a level of artistry / bodging.

On my original build I used a 2.4 X-King on the front and a 2.2 out back, worked well and the bike lived up to my expections.

Then I fitted a Dually and Chronicle up front. It does change the ride and actually lets you do some pretty stupid things. My biggest issue is bars, the Stooge has turned me into a compulsive bar swapper, there’s nothing wrong with any I’ve fitted but I’m always convinced the next pair will be that little bit better. At the moment I’ve got flipped On-One OG bars on there … don’t worry, I’ve apologised to Andy for it already. 😀

Funny you should ask

Although it doesn’t actually recommend any specific bags, it might be useful in helping you choose.

Gah. I spent an almost exactly Stooge-frame-sized fee on four new car tyres this morning. A new bike is off the list for a bit for me.

Although…..

Maybe enter this years Welsh Ride Thing? … some lucky person will be leaving with a Stooge F&F 😀

Stigheed, the Cycle2Charge isn’t a dynamo, it’s a unit that allows the dynamo to charge phones, cameras, batteries, etc.

I’ve tested a Koala previously and am testing a large Bridge Street saddlebag at the moment. They’re very different beasts but both work well. The Bridge Street is more of a bag that attaches to your bike, the Koala is a piece of bikepacking luggage, so it’s designed to be tough and light.

I’ve not had any trouble off road with the Bridge Street as long as the contents are well packed so they don’t rattle around.

The first use of the term seems to be from an article published in National Geographic in 1973 which chronicled a 3000 mile trip across Alaska and Canada.

While off road touring has been taking place for as long as there’s been bikes, I think the Australian sheep shearers might have been the first to use a set-up that somehow looks ‘bikepacky’ in the modern sense. They were crossing the outback on these things from the late 1800’s … covering some massive distances.

And yeah, use whatever bike you have … when Samafunk mentions Raleigh 20, he speaks the truth.

A couple from a Bear Bones bothy trip a few of weeks ago.

If anyone’s considering a Chronicle, this might be of some help.

Maxxis Chronicle on Bear Bones

Maybe this’ll help you decide?

http://bearbonesbikepacking.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/the-great-kit-conundrum-sleeping-mats.html

Im currently unfeasibly excited for a middle aged bloke.

You’re not alone, it does seem the attract the slightly older members of the cycling community and many of us can get quite excited over seemingly dull stuff 😉

Plenty of answers here

and some more here[/url]

The usual advice would be, don’t worry about kit yet, just get out with what you’ve got, see what works, see what doesn’t, then make some kit choices … tends to work out much cheaper that way 😉

The O/S map shows walking routes though.

The OS map shows everything, learn what all the little coloured lines mean and a whole new world will open out in front of you.

yeah had a look at the gorilla cage, but has a 1.5 kg limit and I’ll be fitting the cage with hose clamps for a year or so untill I have a new fork which rules it out too

I’ve carried around twice that amount without problems.

Salsa used to list their cages as having a 5lb max limit.

How about a Gorilla cage?

Fits to the same mounts as an Anything cage, will hold more, is QR and pretty much unbreakable. I’ve been testing one for the last couple of months, done all I can to break it inc’ overloading and it’s still going strong.

http://www.cyclemiles.co.uk/product-category/shop/cycle-products/monkii-system/

Might be a bit more choice if you go with Salsa rather than Surly?

My sliding drop-out Inbred’s set with Salsa Enabler forks and a SS rear wheel in the front. There’s nothing expensive or fragile on it, it’s covered lots of miles in all weathers and usually loaded. Never missed a beat, never let me down. It might be a little heavier than some but once you start loading bikes up things tend to equal themselves out 😉

5’7″ with what could be described as long legs / short body. Running mine with a 50mm stem, in-line post and 680mm bars. These were my thoughts are 4 back to back days.

http://bearbonesbikepacking.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/stooge-so-lets-take-ride-and-see-whats.html

Fitted a 2.4″ X-King on a Dually to mine today. I was worried about the tyre profile squaring off too much but the profile’s actually very nice.

Hopefully in the UK around the end of November, so I’m told.

just realized you are ‘bearbones’, so you probably already knew that! When’s the ‘bacon cooker’ coming out?

Hopefully a week to 10 days. It’s a centre burner design so doesn’t require a pot / pan to sit on top. In simmer mode 15ml of fuel will burn for roughly 25 minutes.

There’s a new stove due shortly that has the ability to ‘simmer’ so might be ideal for knocking up the bacon, etc 😉

GO had some Rab synthetic (Ignite?) bags cheap. Not as light / packable as down but will get you underway.

Also have a look at Field + Trek. They do a blow up mat (Gelert) for under a tenner. It’s robust, packs fairly small but is obviously a little heavy … but again it’ll get you going cheaply.

If you don’t like the idea of a tarp then look for a tent that can be pitched outer only … you’ll convince yourself you’re in a tent but really it’ll be a shaped tarp 😉

As above … remember that it’s not about taking ‘this’ and ‘that’ it’s about leaving ‘this’ and ‘that’ at home without suffering. As Matt Lee said – “Don’t pack for your fears”.

Maybe a trip to IKEA?

Or maybe MKII?

Cooking without a cooker

Cooking with wood

DIY Woodgas stove

As you say bit big and heavy really. MKettle or Backcountry Boiler would be a better bet if you want something similar.

Stooge ’Review’[/url]

any one used it for bikepacking duties yet?

Hopefully I’ll be taking Andy (Mr Stooge) out over the next few weeks for a night or two … might even drag him over some of this years BB 200 route but don’t tell him 😉

Can’t remember my login details!

An email in the right direction could sort that out: stuart@bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk