Looking for 27.5 inch tires in the 2 to 2.25 inch range. I am going to costa rica and the terrain there is very diverse, but I expect a lot of loose and dusty steep uphills.

Does anyone have experience with restrap custom framebag, and do you think this cardboard fits well enough? Dont wanna cut i too tight to the frame

Hi, I'm slated to bike across the South Island of New Zealand over the holidays. I have 3 weeks, and have about the first half planned out. Was hoping to get some additional advice on a hybrid route. I want to start on the south island's Tour Aotearoa so that I can do Old Ghost Road, then take a bus from Westport to Christchurch to pick up the rest of Sounds 2 Sounds.

I have a little anxiety about where to camp / where I can get a room, I acknowledge that I've chosen the busiest time possible for this trip, so it might be nice to make a few extra reservations ahead of time.

Here's my rough itinerary, targeting about 100km a day:

• Day 1 -- in transit
• Day 2 -- arrive in Blenheim, northern part of the south island of NZ
  • Arrive at 9:15am
  • Buy any necessary gear, prep bike
  • Stay in Picton tonight [requires a few hours biking on highway]
• Day 3 --
  • Early 1-hour, 35km boat trip to Ship Cove (0 km start)
  • Bought ticket + permit for Queen Charlotte Track
  • 31km to Kenepuru Saddle
  • 15km to Portage
  • 22km to Anakiwa
  • (Start following TA Komoot trip to take me to OGR)
  • 18km to Havelock
• Day 4 --
  • 21km to Pelorus Bridge
  • 42km to Nelson (5hours+)
  • 14km to Richmond
  • 17km to WakefieldDay 5 --
• Day 5 --
  • 35km to Tapawera
  • 63km to Lake Rotaroa
  • 32km to Murchison
• Day 6 --
  • 78km to Springs Junction (6.5 hours)
  • 46km to Reefton
• Day 7 --
  • [Rest day / slack]
• Day 8 --
  • [Rest day / slack]
  • [Reservation at Lyell Saddle Hut, Old Ghost Road; will probably cancel]
• Day 9 --
  • Baggage Transfer from start of OGR to end, by Buller Adventures. Need to reserve. (https://www.bulleradventures.com/luggage-transfer)
  • Need to be making my way up OGR from Lyell
  • Arrive at Ghost Lake Hut, Old Ghost Road
• Day 10 --
  • Finish OGR in Seddonville
  • Pick up tent and extra bag from Buller Adventures transfer
  • Another 52km to Westport
• Day 11 --
  • Shuttle to Christchurch
  • https://www.eastwestcoaches.co.nz/greymouth-to-christchurch-shuttle.html
  • ^Shuttle from Westport (7am) or Greymouth to Christchurch
  • Intercity (requires bike breakdown) is an alternative Westport -> Greymouth
  • Hotel tourist day in Christchurch or move along
• Day 12 -- Start following S2S exactly:
  • 30km to Rolleston
  • 69km to Rakaia Gorge
• Day 13 --
  • 34 km to Mt Somers (280m)
  • 57 km to Geraldine (120m)
• Day 14 --
  • 117 km to Lake Tekapo (1600m)
  • ^Looks like one of my two toughest days
  • Can get a shared room this night, just want to be sure I can be here.
• Day 15 --
  • 55 km to Twizel (180m)
  • 38 km to Ohau Lodge (270m)
• Day 16 --
  • 43 km to Omarama (500m)
  • 30 km to Top Hut (1000m)
  • 49 km to Oturehua (160m)
• Day 17 --
  • 30 km to Omakau (75m)
  • 30 km to Alexandra (90m)
  • 49 km to Bannockburn (600m)
• Day 18 --
  • 74 km to Garston (1670m)
• Day 19 --
  • 60 km to Mossburn (220m)
• Day 20 --
  • 90 km to Te Anau (350m)
• Day 21 --
  • 80 km to Cascade Creek campground (500m) (must be reserved)
• Day 22 --
  • 40 km to Milford sound (1000m)
  • Tracknet shuttle back to Queenstown @ 2:30pm -> 7:45pm
• Day 23 --
  • Slack morning
  • Fly out from Queenstown in the afternoon

Some of these days look pretty tough. Should I be yolo'ing rooms in these towns with this schedule, or just wing it and assume I will always be able to find a DOC campground?

Hi! I've been lurking on this subreddit to find information about biking Japan from Hokkaido all the way Southwest to Fukuoka. I'm trying to get an itinerary and a personal Google Maps going on but it's been real difficult to find actual route information on the web (perhaps it might be because I'm searching in English).

I've done a bike trip in Korea where I referenced websites like https://www.koreabybike.com/ and https://www.bike.go.kr/content.do?key=2008068854028 where they have an entire route map. Does anyone happen to know if there are any equivalents for Japan?

I am new to this field. I am a MechE student and thus know a bit about composite materials. I woked on some parts myself, so no need to explain composites or call it "high tech" something.
I relatively spontaneously bought a Canyon Grizl SL AXS ( https://www.canyon.com/de-de/gravel-bikes/adventure/grizl/cf-sl/grizl-cf-sl-6-axs/3696.html?dwvar_3696_pv_rahmenfarbe=R095_P11 ) for 2099€ and will receive it soon. I was also considering this one: https://www.focus-bikes.com/de_de/atlas-8-7 for about the same price. Those are good offers, for sure. But I am really wondering whether going with aluminium would have been the better choice. After all, with 9,66kg there are AL frames with the identical or lower weight. Maybe I decided too quickly. I can still return it for free, so I was wondering about your experience with this material during bikepacking or crashes?

I don't want to ruin a new bike in a few years. I don't want to babysit it everywhere and keep renewing protective foils after x-months. After all, the price is about half of my overall savings and accidents happen. I remember falling because of ice during winter abour 3 times and because of pedestrians about 2 times during the last 10 years.

- Have you destroyed a frame by having it fall over on something?

- Have you damaged it through straps and bags, that were mounted to it?

- Have you had mild crashes like the following, that caused structural damage? https://youtu.be/51eZ6rvpL4A?si=FN26TWm53i1jL5_4&t=204 https://www.instagram.com/p/DCwi0jZshNh/

- Have you had hard crashes, that did NOT damage the frame?

I would be very thankful for some input. I might get the Grizl AL or any similar model for about 1500€ instead. I really liked the electronic shifting and the design of it, though.

I am starting to plan a tour down the Andes and am wondering if my 2022 Kona Sutra LTD is a good choice? It’s more of a mountain bike frame than previous models, I am wondering if anyone has an opinion on this and what bike would work if not?

The last time I went on a trip I found that my hands hurt a lot when trying to drive stakes into harder ground on campsites. I don't want to bring a mallet around, but there's got to be something small and light I can bring along to make driving those stakes in not hurt

So I have a Deore 10 (the one designed for 2x)and it's limited to 46T max in 1x.

Unfortunately, I'm not one of those people that thinks it's ever faster to walk and I guess I'm a good walking pace biker because I regularly spin up 20% grades in my granny on the gravel bike (3x) which is 16 gear inches (16.98 to be exact, but it sounds cooler to say my gear range is 16-110 vs 17 to 110).

For trails with a loaded bike my current gearing isn't getting it done. Stock it's 30x46 but I bought a 28T chainring to swap. Still, looking at the gear inches that's not low enough for loaded trail riding.

I am looking at the S-Ride M600 (12spd Shimano compatible) and either a Microshift or Sunrace cassette. Cassette would either have a low gear of 48T or 51T. 51T is preferred. 52T is also an option but they are tough to find in 10spd.

Looks like it will cost around $120 to upgrade RD and cassette, chain is still fairly new so I might get away without changing it.

If I go to 11/12spd I'll need a new shifter and a new chain. It's possible it won't cost that much more but it will still cost more. I'm thinking probably $150-175. I also think less gears isn't an issue for me but a thinner chain might wear faster. I prefer durability.

Thoughts?

https://www.campfirecycling.com/product/salsa-timberjack-frame.html

For anyone who needs to know, the salsa timberjack in sizes xs,s and xl are on sale right now for 599 with an additional $10 off at check out through campfirecycling.com. might pick this up as a fun winter build to replace my one one big dog frame that I love but is a bit burly.

Many of us face the challenge of balancing gear weight while ensuring comfort and efficiency on bikepacking trips. Whether it's minimizing weight like some users prefer, or managing heavy luxury items for comfort, packing can be overwhelming. That's why I developed the Bikepacking Weight Calculator. It allows you to:

https://preview.redd.it/urb8wut8vz4e1.png?width=1512&format=png&auto=webp&s=01dc5430f8e2d372fc4a0dc84913aad7eecd2af8

• Customize and track gear weight
• Organize gear by categories
• Instantly check your total load and balance

I’m a solo indie developer, and I’d really appreciate feedback from early adopters. If you're into bikepacking, please give it a try and let me know how it works for you!

Hello fellow bike packers! I bought my first gravel bike(Diamant Nhoma gen2) last week and I would like to have a computer on my bike. I’m used with my electrical bikes to have a speedometer, but during my research I found out that there is much more than this. I’ve read about wahoo, garmin and hammerhead computers and I am inclined to choose the Garmin Edge 840. I would like to ask you if you find these computers useful while bike packing?

Also, i have seen that there is a bundle with heart monitor, speed and cadence sensors. Are you using something like this or it would be better to invest (later) in a power meter?

Safe roads!

Hi there all! I'm curious as to how many of yall use dynamo powered lights while bikepacking. Also, what's the reason you use dynamo lights? Do you feel like riding in darkness with dynamo or battery powered lights changes the bikepacking experiences?

Hello all! I have recently decided that I am interested in a bikepack trip doing The Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Canal Towpath with a target of next July.

The thing is I have very little experience camping (been a few times) and no experience doing backpacking or any super endurance sports. I’ve been mountain biking for a few years and commute by bike pretty regularly, but haven’t really done any super long rides. My fitness is okay, not great.

I think my question is how unrealistic is this goal? What training metrics should I be looking at between now and my trip? How, as a total beginner, should I go about preparing for this?

Hi everyone! I'm trying to plan my first bikepacking trip and am looking for routes that have a mix of either gravel or single track in western washington for 2 days. The only caveat is that I'm hoping to try during December which can get quite wet here in the PNW. So far I've just been searching bikepacking.com but was curious what the community had to say.

If anyone has any routes that could be somewhat wet weather friendly (i know ill probably be soaked throughout the trip, mostly looking to avoid snow), I'd love to hear it!

Thanks in advance!

Hello, I have a Surly Bridge club, which luggage carrier do you recommend?