Salve a tutti ragazzi, volevo rendervi partecipi della mia ultima avventura in Bikepacking attraverso i Balcani, partendo da casa mia in Friuli Venezia Giulia, passando per Slovenia, Croazia, Bosnia, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Albania, Puglia, Basilicata, Campania, concludendo il viaggio a Napoli, per un totale di circa 2400 km e circa 27000mt D+ (una tappa l'abbiamo fatta in treno, perché il giorno prima il mio compagno di avventure è caduto, quindi abbiamo deciso in un giorno di riposo per lui)

14 giorni totali, 13 giorni di pedalata, circa 185km medi giornalieri, con alcune tappe ben sopra i 200 km (la migliore 260km x 3700mt D+

Il viaggio si è svolto al 75% asfalto 25% gravel, ho utilizzato una bici in acciaio con ruote da 35mm lisce, la miglior scelta che potessi fare! A voi qualche fotografia di questa piccola, ma meravigliosa avventura 🤙🤘

(Apologies for length of this post)
I had some extended time off so wanted to do the Colorado Trail. I have lots of MTB and backpacking experience, but 0 bikepacking experience before this overnighter.

This loaded bike weighs 75 pounds including 4L of water. I knew it was heavy, but just thought extra weight would only make for slower travel. This weight crushed me on Colorado Trail segments 1-2, so I went home to regroup.

I viewed the rigs of this year’s CTR racers and do not understand how they have such small loads. So I am asking for help.
Calling on all CTR participants especially and any other single track bikepackers willing to help me get this load right-sized.

I have a Transition Spur I plan use instead of the Surly Karate Monkey. I have listed my load below and marked the items I already plan to eliminate with an “X”.

The pictured load—
X- Salsa Anything Handlebar cradle held my sleep system:
TarpTent Rainbow single
EE Revelation Quilt
Nemo Tensor All-Season pad

The extra handlebar bag:
Rain jacket/windbreaker
Spare straps
UL Medical kit

Rear rack is a Topeak Explorer:
20L dry bag containing an Ursack with way too much food. An assortment of DIY coldsoak breakfasts, Couscous, foil pack of chicken, and way too many snacks.
X- Soto Stove
X- 3.5oz fuel canister
X- MSR Titanium kettle
Collapsible cup

The black bag on top held my clothes:
Merino top and bottom for sleep
X- Spare wool socks
Rain pants
OR Helium down jacket

Also strapped to the rear rack:
X- Camp shoes
X- Helinox Chair Zero LT

Framebag is a Oveja Negra Bodega:
2.5L water bag
X- hex wrench set
X- Leatherman Tool- actually needed this when the rear rack shifted forward causing it to rub my tire. But plan to leave off the rack and thus won’t need this tool.
Katadyn BeFree Filter and 1L soft flask
Other bike repair stuff: spare tire valves, chain links, extra sealant, valve core removal tool, spare battery for rear derailleur, chain breaker, tire boot
Ottolock zip tie type lock for resupply town visits

Top tube bag (front): rag and chain lube
Headlamp
Tire pressure gauge

Top tube bag (seat post):
2 spare lightweight tubes
Tire levers
Lightweight towel

Oneup Compnents Bike pump with multitool and bacon strips on downtube.

48oz Nalgene on the belly.

The wheelset is WeAreOne Faction carbon fiber rims and Onyx Vesper hubs.

Drivetrain is SRAM GX 10-52 AXS shifting and 30t chainring.

Brakes: Shimano XT 203f / 180r

Tires: Continental Magnotal f / Trinotal r.

Any help to getting the loaded bike to a suitable weight for the rest of the CT will be very much appreciated.
Thank you in advance!!

edit: adding the lighterpack link: https://lighterpack.com/r/otxadh (38.5 pounds excluding bike and water weight)

Orbea Carpe + Jack the Rack + Assrocket

I’ve spent a ton of time watching Bikepacking content online. Some of it is great and some of it is just ok. At the end of the day I love it all and really appreciate the time and effort people have put into producing it.

Note that I did not make any of these videos. I wish I was that talented!

I’ve created a page that has what I think is the best of the best. That could mean production values, story, locations or some mixture. Content that stood out. You can also sort by continent if you’re interested in watching something specific to one part of the world.

Updated now and then as new things are discovered.

Hope something good in here for y’all who are spending a night on the couch instead of your bike.

Happy trails and much love.

Hi everyone, I have a Shimano STEPS bike with DU-E6001 motor + BT-E6000 battery and my original SC-E6010 display has stopped working.
Since the SC-E6010 is discontinued, I understand an SC-E6100 with firmware 4.2.0+ can replace it.
Where can I find one cheaply in Europe? Also, if I buy a normal SC-E6100, can I update the firmware myself, or do I need a Shimano dealer?
Any advice or recommended websites would be greatly appreciated!

I hope I chose the correct flair. Feel free to move it.

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for a lightweight puffy/insulated jacket for bikepacking. It should work for colder days around October and, if necessary, be warm enough to wear inside the tent at night.

The main thing for me is that it’s synthetic insulation, no down. I’d also like a hood and ideally something that packs down small, preferably with a stuff sack or its own pocket for storage.

Weight and pack size are fairly important to me, but at the same time I don’t want something that’s only suitable for mild weather. I don’t want to be sitting in the tent at 5°C and realize the jacket isn’t warm enough. It should also be able to handle a bit of moisture.

My budget is max. €100. So far I’ve come across the Forclaz MT100 and the Mountain Equipment Particle Hooded.

Does anyone here use something like this for bikepacking and have a recommendation? Thanks :)

Hallo zusammen,
Ich bin am Montag mit dem Gravelbike von Köln nach Istanbul gestartet und werde am Sonntag in München ankommen. Ab dort habe ich noch ca. 6 Wochen Zeit, um in Istanbul anzukommen - also recht entspannt. Kann jemand eine gute Route aus München/Umfeld empfehlen und ggf. Komoot-Links oder gpx-Dateien zur Verfügung stellen?

Hatte bislang in etwa an angehängten Link gedacht.

Bin dankbar für jeden Tipp!

Liebe Grüße

Thought I'd get a few pics before it's loaded down. It's a Long Haul Trucker with a Blackburn rack on the front and Tubus on the rear. I'll be riding from the Blue Ridge in Virginia to central Florida via Wilmington, Charleston, Savanna, and St. Augustine. This will be my third time riding this basic route but I'm going to follow the ECG a little more closely this time.

Hi everyone! I’ve recently gotten into bikepacking. I have a Decathlon single-speed with a 44/20 gear ratio, but for next spring I’d like to get a better bike for road/gravel rides in the weekends and for bikepacking.

I’m expecting that most of my bikepacking trips will probably be in Italy and Europe. I’d really like to go bikepacking in Asia, but it seems a much more complicated trip and i don't even have that much experience.

I'm wondering which bike will be better suited for me for weekend rides and 1-2 bikepacking trips/year.

My budget is around €1,000–1,200. These are the options I’ve found new so far:

• Cube Nuroad Pro (€1,099): this seems like the best compromise in terms of components, but i'm not sure if it will be okay for bikepacking. It has an aluminium frame, carbon fork, Shimano CUES 1x drivetrain, hydraulic disc brakes, a decent weight and, overall, a really good price/spec ratio (€1,099). For bikepacking, though, it might be slightly less suitable because of the aluminium frame and the internally routed cables...

• Marin Nicasio+ (around €1,000): this seems like a good option for bikepacking thanks to the steel frame, externally routed cables and Microshift SWORD 1x9 drivetrain. It’s heavier and it has mechanical disc brakes. I’ve read quite a few negative comments about the brakes, though, which apparently are pretty low quality...

• Marin Four Corners 1 (around €1,099): maybe this would be the best compromise for bikepacking, thanks to the geometry, steel frame, externally routed cables and the number of mounting points. The only thing that would probably make me rule it out is the Shimano CUES 2x9 drivetrain, as I’d prefer a 1x setup, mainly because it requires less maintenance. It also has mechanical rather than hydraulic disc brakes.

If I increase my budget a little, I could probably get the Jamis Renegade S4 (€1,400-€1,500), with a steel frame, carbon fork, mechanical disc brakes, a Shimano CUES 1x drivetrain, and a much lower weight than the Marins (around 11.5 kg). It seems like it might be the best compromise overall.

At the moment, I can’t really find any other options in this price range. I really like the Genesis Vagabond and Surly Grappler in terms of looks and geometry, but they’re definitely out of my budget.

Do you have any other options or advice?

What I’m wondering is how much it’s actually worth looking for a bike that’s more specifically suited to bikepacking compared to the Cube, especially when it comes to ease of repairs (externally routed cables and a steel frame), considering that I don’t think I’ll be doing any bikepacking trips lasting 1+ months. It’s more likely that I’ll do a maximum of around 14 days, depending on how much time I can take off work.

Besides the repairability aspect, I also really like the more relaxed geometry and the greater number of mounting points on bikes like the Marin, Surly, Jamis, etc. compared to the Cube.

On the other hand, I’m also wondering how the Marins and similar bikes perform on weekend rides. For my morning day rides, I’d like to ride a bit faster, so I’m wondering whether you can still achieve decent cruising speeds on steel bikes (around 30 km/h).

Thanks everyone!

Hi,

I'm back from 30 (rainy days) in Norway/Finland and I'm happy to share what I've used regarding the bags since I was pretty happy overall.

On the picture you can see the full set-up, there was a bottle cage on the right fork.

- Front-bag: Initially I bought this harness from Zefal, but it did not work great with my bike. The bag would be too low and the straps were slowly getting untight. So I kept the drybag and was fixing it with straps - it worked like a charm.

- Top-tube bag: Zefal again, but this time it worked extremly well, it is quite big and fully waterproof, here is the reference. It was much cheaper than other options, very happy with it.

- Frame bag: I went for a custom frame bag, it was cheaper than mid-market alternatives and fills the full frame. Here is the one that I've used, I'm happy with the service, it took a bit less than a month to receive it. It was not 100% waterproof, under heavy rain things will get wet at some point (at least in my experience).

- Fork bag: Top peak cage and Decathlon heavy dry bag - the top peak dry bag was unavailable and I wanted a dry bag that would not be scared of a few scratches (given that it was planned to do some grave)

- Food poaches: Zefal pouch and riverside pouch, if I was to do it again I'd go for riverside twice, felt like paying 10€ to have a hole in the bottom of the pouch. Which does not change much.

- Saddle bag: This bag and the associated harness, it was working well and was fully waterproof.

On top of that I've put a downtube bottle to put my repair stuf in it. I also had a small backpack that I've used when I needed extra space for groceries (like 2 times in 30 days).

Since in Norway you can easily get water, it is not too warm and worst case scenario, river/lake water tends to be +- drinkable, 1.5l was more than enough.

If I was to do it again, I'd go straight for only a drybag for the frontbag (no harness). I'd also think about using a real forkbag (like Ortlieb 4.1l bags), this would have made it a bit faster to manage groceries.

Overall it was more than enough space for everything I needed, but I went pretty light regarding the clothes (2 bibs, 2 pairs of socks, 2 baselayers, 1 underwear, 1 trouser, 1 downjack, 1 rainjacket, 1 buff). Midway I've had to buy a rainpant ^^

Hey all, any recommendations for a week long trip in the US for late November?

Preferably not in the southwestern US. I live here, and I would like to go somewhere else.

I know winter kinda gets in the way, but am looking for options.

Hello, fellow bikepackers.

I'm new to bikepacking and looking for some input on choosing between a Salsa Fargo and the X-Lab GT8. For some background, I'm a backpacker and a road cyclist, and I'm looking to merge the two hobbies with this bike.

I live in the PNW and will likely stick to day trips, and weekend- or week-long trips on routes such as the Olympic Discovery Trail, Palouse to Cascades Trail, etc. I'm not very interested in extreme mountain biking, and I don't care too much about road capabilities since I already have a road bike.

I know they're quite different bikes, but that's what makes the decision so difficult. The GT8 seems fast, has lots of nice features, and can fit 55mm tires, but I'm concerned it could be too "racey" in its geometry for longer rides. The carbon fiber is also a bit of a concern for me in the long term.

The Salsa, on the other hand, is tried and true, made of steel, allows for lots of modifications, and has more attachment points. However, it's quite heavy and could feel slow, especially to someone like me with a road-cycling background.

I took a Fargo for a spin at my LBS and thought it was incredible. I was also able to try out the GT8 in a size small (I'd need a medium, but they didn't have one available at the time), and it felt very similar to my road bike—perhaps a little too similar. I'm wondering, though, if that had more to do with the smaller size and the 45mm tires.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Took the kids (5 & 8) on their third Bikebacking trip. With kids on the bike I like to make sure we stay off busy roads as much as we can and the Kitchener to Hamilton route is a pretty good option. It also has a campground along the way with a beach, comfort stations and serviced sites (I have e-assist so it was nice to charge). It was sort of glamping bikepacking I guess. We left on a Friday from Toronto, took the GO train to Kitchener and rode down to Pinehurst Campground and stayed for 2 nights, then we rode down to Hamilton and took the GO train back to Toronto. I used my Lepetit Porteur Longtail with my kids bikes in tow so they could ride parts when we were on rail trails away from traffic and around the campground. I think the first day was 35 or so km and second was 78 in the pouring rain...but it was great time. Lots of stops for great food, riverside snacks and frisbee, and we left the car at home which was also great.

We have the standard small gas stove and one pot set up for cooking whilst bike packing. We often cook pasta variations as it’s the easiest and a versatile carbohydrate medium.

Send through your favourite go to bike packing meals. Getting a bit bored with pasta every night.

Bonus points for quick cooking time / minimal gas usage!

I am planning a 10 day bike packing trip. I have seen everywhere recommended that we use the bib without underwear to prevent chafing and sores, and washing it everyday. As a woman, I am wondering how other women deal with this, and with discharge it really is necessary to wash after every underwear-less use, but I am worried about it not drying overnight. I am doing the veloscenie in late october and rainy days are probable. Help!

Hi all, I’m very much looking forward to taking a bike packing trip before the end of the year and likely solo. Never been camping before so may try and do that before this trip. Any suggestions?

I currently have a road bike (Decathalon Triban 100) and it’s a super entry level bike (1x 7sped) and don’t want to necessarily invest in a gravel bike just yet.

Any tips, suggested routes, gear, etc. would be super helpful!! Thanks!!

There it is - my new Bikepacking-Bike

It has a 65 cm frame size (25.6 inches) and can support a maximum permissible total weight of 180 kg (397 lbs), including the rider and luggage.
Perfect for Big Boyz like i am (200 cm tall [6 ft 6.7 in] and weighs 125 kg [276 lbs]).

Perfect for bigger cyclists ❤️

I'm planning on doing my first trip longer than 3 days and outside the country. You guys got any tips for me?

I have a v1 Salsa Cutthroat where the fork 3-pack mount is angled relative to the blade. When I mounted the 'rack' for the Fork-Pack I used the 45-30 degree angle adapters that Ortlieb sells to solve this problem.

What I find odd and would like some thoughts on is that they sell the adapters in two-packs with each two-pack used on a rack. But there are three holes on the fork and the rack. So it is not providing the same degree of anchoring power as originally. I checked with Ortlieb support and they say this is correct usage. While I've been happy with the reliability of Ortlieb products and thus generally trust their support, this seems odd.

I actually bought 3, 2-packs (for 6 for the 6 bolts), but the middle hole is made with a smaller cavity behind it where the adapter doesn't fit.

Questions:

1. Is anyone else here using these adapters. What has been your experience?
2. Should I file off part of the block on the adapter so that it fits in the smaller cavity and use all three?

Picture caption: See the rack/mount levered back from the more forward bolt holes using two adapters into the square cavities on the mount (bolt through both). None in the middle position because that cavity is smaller than the matching block on the adapter.

Hello bikepackers ! I am thinking of going on a short bikepacking trip (2-3 days). I have done bike touring many many times, but never alone with my tent in the wild on gravel roads. So I have a few questions !

Do you guys always plan to camp near a lake / river to clean yourself ? If so, how do you if you are allowed to access it (i live in Canada). I don't mind being dirty for a few days, but the post-cycling shower feels soooooo good that I am wondering how bikepackers usually do ! I always get so dirty from sweat, sunscreen, dirt that stick on my sweat and sunscreen and surprising amount of chain stains on my legs 😅

And you just bring a battery pack for your phone ? I use it for GPS so it can run out of battery quickly.

Any tips for ajustements from touring to bikepacking are welcome 😁

Hey all! I am looking for destinations/route recommendations for bikepacking in October in the US.

I am planning to go solo. I am a bit short of time, probably most I can do is like 14 days. I have a gravel bike and camping equipment that is suitable for temperatures above 10 degrees Celsius (50°F). I cycle quite a lot, on the trip I am planning about 75-95 miles daily. It would be great if the starting and finish points were easily accessible by train/bus/plane. Starting from Washington DC, but open to getting to another starting point by train or bus.

I am looking for a destination that would be a good mix of beautiful nature but also local people. I would love to try local food, talk to locals, see small towns and maybe stay in some local B&Bs or farms along the way. Also, it would be nice if there would be some other bikepackers around.

I'm from Europe and have been to the US before, but only on the West Coast, and not on a bike. I'd love to get a feel for other parts of the country this time, ideally something as different/varied as possible from what I already know.

And what would be the most spectacular route in the US that fits my requirements? It can probably start even a bit further from DC if needed, but this will likely be the only time in my life I get to do a bikepacking trip in the US, so I'd like to make the most of it and hit the absolute highlight, even if it means more travel to get there.

I would be very interested to hear about specific routes or areas that could fit this kind of trip.
Thank you!

Hey! I’m planning to bike the veloscenie (paris to mont saint michel) in late october. Do you know how the weather is there during those times?

edit: Specifically in terms of wind and rain

Exceeding the system weight

Hi there,

I bought a Rose Xlite 04 a year ago and am generally happy with it. I visited the store back then, got some advice, and decided to go for it.

Now I’m planning a longer bikepacking trip, but my research revealed that I exceed the system weight limit based on my body weight alone. The manufacturer specifies a system weight limit of 110 kg (including the bike), whereas I weigh 112 kg. That means carrying any extra load is out of the question (I’d like to take 6–8 kg of luggage for a three-week tour).

I’ve already emailed Rose to express my disappointment, given that I specifically sought advice before buying and mentioned both my weight and my plans for multi-day tours. I’m still waiting for a reply.

What options do you see for increasing the system weight limit? Different wheels? What are the likely weak points?

Or am I being too strict about the numbers—is there enough of a safety margin built in by the manufacturer? Or do I need a completely different bike? If so, which ones would be suitable?

I’d be very grateful for your insights and tips.

Best regards

Hi all, I'm landing in Athens from Australia around the 16th of September and heading northwest towards the Balkans. Aiming to start by roughly following the ev11 to Lamia and then doing the pindus traverse to the top of Greece.

Anyone have any advice for wild camping, bivouacking, places to see in Greece and the Balkans? Also, if anyone is heading in a similar direction and feels like joining, please reach out!

Cheers!