30
votes
How can I prevent bicycle theft while bikepacking?
With multiple bikes, locking them together prevents them being picked up or ridden off. The latter is often the biggest risk when camping - simple opportunism.
A reasonably long cable lock would lock ...
- 62.4k
25
votes
Reasonable daily distance for cycle touring?
I can think of worse things to get a mate to do without training, but not many.
If you told me your mate ran a marathon last week, this answer would not change. It is not about how fit they are, it is ...
- 53.1k
20
votes
Reasonable daily distance for cycle touring?
In addition to the other good answers, I think you should ask yourself if you just want to be on the road, or that you want to enjoy other things as well.
I have been on several (camping) cycle ...
- 1,083
19
votes
Accepted
When bikepacking solo, how to handle luggage when shopping?
Four options:
Only take what you do not worry about and leave it on the bike when you shop.
Lock your bike and take your luggage into the shop with you.
Check into a hotel and leave your luggage in ...
- 5,182
13
votes
Accepted
How do I calculate how many days I need for a bike tour?
One thing I'll add from my experience is that just because you can do 2 days back-to-back at a certain distance, that doesn't mean you can do 3 or 4. Camping also imposes time penalties that eat into ...
- 62.4k
12
votes
Accepted
How do I plan the cycle routes so that I avoid major roads?
https://brouter.de/brouter-web/ has several profiles which avoid major roads and also allows you to customize the profiles. There is also an Android version available which can act as a routing ...
- 29.3k
12
votes
When bikepacking solo, how to handle luggage when shopping?
I agree on leaving low-value, replaceable items on the bike.
You can further reduce the risk of losing them by making it harder for the thieve to take them discreetly:
Make the bags difficult to ...
- 1,847
11
votes
How can I prevent bicycle theft while bikepacking?
I would suggest a Pacsafe Security Web or similar product to cover your gear. It is basically a net made of small gauge steel cables. It is designed to cover a backpack along with a long cable to ...
- 19k
11
votes
Accepted
Should I cover my bicycle overnight while bikepacking?
As Daniel indicates - overnight moisture on a well maintained bike isn't a concern. A little rain won't hurt. Others may disagree but I wouldn't get a cover.
But, depending on how much rain there is ...
- 24.2k
11
votes
Reasonable daily distance for cycle touring?
The "reasonable distance" for such travel is the one that the least trained member of the team is sure to able to cover day after day, and there's no way to know it without training/...
- 24.6k
11
votes
How do I calculate how many days I need for a bike tour?
When planning for a long ride, I look at a few of things:
Surface Type
Elevation and equipment weight
Time spent riding
Overall fitness
It then becomes a guessing game trying to figure out how each ...
- 211
11
votes
When bikepacking solo, how to handle luggage when shopping?
The most important thing is to keep your valuables on your person, as others have implied. In my case, that means taking my phone off the bars - my wallet and keys stay in my jersey pockets. At ...
- 62.4k
9
votes
Accepted
What are velcro alternatives for frame mounted bag?
I do not know of any commercially available products alternative to velcro, but I'm a DIY-er, And have successfully mounted some accessories to the frame and handlebars using hose clamps.
Their ...
- 13k
9
votes
Accepted
9-Speed Ultegra (6500) with Mountainbike Derailleur
All nine speed Shimano shifters index with all pre-ten-speed Shimano MTB derailleurs.
All nine speed long cage MTB derailleurs with long (SGS) cages will have total capacity sufficient to run any ...
- 88.2k
9
votes
When bikepacking solo, how to handle luggage when shopping?
When I traveled alone, where there was a possibility of theft, when I go shopping for supplies, I looked for nearby bike shops, normally the owners were always very eager and would let me leave the ...
- 307
9
votes
Accepted
What are the advantages of a trekking bike versus a touring bike?
There's no consensus on the difference between touring and trekking, and this word can be used to name two distinct categories of bikes, and depending on the country/manufacturer, one or the other can ...
- 24.6k
8
votes
Accepted
What are the advantages of bikepacking bags?
They usually keep the bike narrow, suitable for trail riding where branches might snag panniers.
They use soft attachments (usually), so extreme vibration doesn't make undue noise or wear things out. ...
- 2,378
8
votes
How can I prevent bicycle theft while bikepacking?
The subtle use of the "Bisley Mine", which uses a trip wire to fire a BLANK 12 bore cartridge could be just the thing! Wakes you up and scares the hell out of the thief at the same time. ...
- 89
8
votes
What are velcro alternatives for frame mounted bag?
One possibility for what you saw is bag attachment bolts. Much like bottle bosses and rack attachment points, they are part of the frame.
One interesting non-velcro option was what appeared to be a ...
- 978
8
votes
Accepted
Protection against saddlebag straps
There are several things that I can imagine to achieve what you want.
Use frame bags that have "grippy" straps, such as those with silicone strips or similar. This should suffice unless you ...
- 14.4k
8
votes
Risk for road bike to gravel bike conversion
The frame itself is no concern at all. You are likely remembering statements that aluminum has a fatigue life but steel and titanium don't. What this means is that the latter materials will never fail ...
- 36k
7
votes
Should I cover my bicycle overnight while bikepacking?
The bike will be fine as is. I have personally never bothered to cover, or do much maintenance to touring bikes (beyond wiping and lubing the chain occasionally). If a bike was so delicate that a ...
- 30.8k
7
votes
How can I prevent bicycle theft while bikepacking?
Many places have a lockup area suitable for securing bikes overnight, this would be my first choice.
Depending on the culture where you are, in the crowded camp ground environment, striking up a ...
- 53.1k
7
votes
What are velcro alternatives for frame mounted bag?
Much thinner (so less obvious) and less prone to rubbing than velcro straps are cable ties (zip ties). You can get a range of colours but in black or white you can also buy releasable ones that allow ...
- 62.4k
7
votes
When bikepacking solo, how to handle luggage when shopping?
If you can, bring the bike into the shop or at least anteroom with you.
Bring the luggage with you if you can. Easier if your bags are easy to take off. For example a pair of panniers is easy to take ...
- 29.3k
6
votes
How can I prevent bicycle theft while bikepacking?
I've done a couple of long radoneuring style rides, where you have to go into every shop in a chain of coffee shops. First time, I was alone and locked my bike up everywhere, which added time.
Later ...
- 131k
6
votes
What are the advantages of bikepacking bags?
For road bikes, bikepacking bags are better for going fast since they are lighter and keep the bike narrow which helps with aerodynamics. This may make a significant difference going fast and far, as ...
- 61
6
votes
What are the reasons for using a cradle with a handlebar mounted drybag?
Having now toured for two weeks using a dry bag strapped directly to my own handlebars, I can now sort of answer this question. I still haven't toured with a cradle, so I can't give a full side-by ...
- 1,506
6
votes
Full suspension bikepacking. can it be done?
There are rear racks such as the Thule Tour Rack which attach directly to the “seat stays” or fork of a full suspension MTB:
I’m not an expert on MTBs and don’t own one myself, but apparently a ...
- 29.3k
6
votes
Accepted
Bikepacking With A Carbon Bike
Yes it's reasonable, assuming your bike is in good condition when you leave home. Frame failures end most trips regardless of frame material (the bravado of "A village mechanic welded my frame&...
- 2,378
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible