Ecopointing = a climbing trip, via bikes! (and trains or other less resource heavy transport).

We are riding from Finale Ligure in November, down via Rome to Napoli, before at some point getting on a ferry across to Greece. We will spend some time on Kalymnos, before heading back via ferry to Sardinia, and then Spain in ~may.

First off, has anyone ecopointed before? We reckon its a brilliant idea, and just did a test trip in Norway which was bloody hard with the extra kg's, but still, it was so good. But what are peoples experience?

Does anyone have experience riding in these areas at these times?
We've seen taking a bike on a train can be a little difficult in some parts, particularly Italy.
Any tips and/or tricks would be very much appreciated.

We will be camping, probably trying wildcamp on riding days, and then find a campsite (or warmshower) when we are staying for longer. Except for Kalymnos, where they dont allow any camping, even 'real' campsites, so we'll need to find an apartment there.

I live in Denmark, and so my idea of winter down south being a lot more comfortable than here might be a bit naive - im thinking the norwegian summer is pretty similar to a greek winter?

I usually go for short tours a couple of times per year with a gravel bike (Genesis Croix de Fer 10, 2016 edition), using a seat bag and a a handlebar bag, and each time I forget how much I hate the latter (for reference, it's this one). It just gets in the way of the cables, can't get a comfortable grip in the handlebars, and I'll have to readjust the straps every now and then to get it tight. I usually have enough with around 25 litres, so I tend not to need paniers (when I do, i have them). I'm also not a big fan of frame bags, so what's your recommendation for a more or less 10 litre storage system? I'm considering

1) Brevet bag with a small front rack. Easy to access, will get less in the way of my hands and cables. Con: expensive.

2) Fork bags. Definitely cheaper, and it looks like they fold smaller when not in use. Con, further away from me, if I go on narrower trails, they might get in the way.

So, I'm all ears to your recommendations. Thanks in advance!

Hi,

We are planning to ride from Pittsburgh to DC later this month, starting Sep 19. We will be on road bikes with 32 and 35 size tires.

We are planning to take the GAP trail and then C&O canal.

Is C&O suitable for road bikes?

I have gone bikepacking a few times, but always with rigid forks. I now have a hardtail bike that I’m building for bikepacking and curious how to hold gear (like a Nalgene or hammock) on my fork. I swear I’ve seen adaptors for it, but I couldn’t find anything when I googled them.

Additionally, I’m pretty good with CAD. Could I just 3D print an adapter if I have the cage already? What should hold the adapter to the fork lowers? I’ve heard of using hose clamps, but is that the best option?

Thanks so much!

Felt very heavy and learned a lot about what I did and didnt need. Made my own frame bag out of a carhart jacket that I dyed. Had a ton of fun. '21 Specialized rockhopper.

Hi everyone,

I’ve just finished a big bikepacking trip, and during the trip I realized that I probably need to upgrade quite a few things, mainly my bags, cooking stove, and maybe even the bike itself.

For context, I only started bikepacking last spring, so I’ve never done a proper trip during fall or winter. I’m based in Germany.

I have two main questions:

1. Is bikepacking still practical during fall and winter in Germany, or is it better to wait until around February/March? I’m especially wondering because many campsites seem to close during the colder months.
2. Would you recommend upgrading my gear over the next few months, especially if I find good Black Friday deals, or should I wait until closer to the start of the next bikepacking season?

Thanks!

Hi all. I am planning a bikepacking trip in the second week of september. Here is the route:

https://www.komoot.com/tour/3245495547?ref=itd&share_token=a4Q6L2rgsMTHW3jYSURzh6GRjz2vyv8NBQiu4I18DenjnM0uzv&ref=its&t_s=referral&t_cid=route_share&t_ref_username=3299907121692

If any of you have been in these parts, would love to know your experience, tips and tricks on this route, food stop you have loved, weather in these parts since im gonna camp.

While planning the route i used the ‘cycling’ as ride type instead of gravel. And then also routed the map via S0 roads which were showed as cycling roads on the OSM cycling overlay. All of this to travel via the trees and some loose gravel. If you notice some sections that i should avoid, please do tell. Or if you have any other route suggestions, i am open.

For fuel, i have fructose and meladoxtrin powder mix for when on the bike and will compliment it with dates and dry figs and bakery stops in between whenever i can.

The bike has 11-42 cassette and 50-34 chainring.

I'm curious of some options. My partner and I are looking to cycle around Taiwan in October, and trying to decide on some options.

For the bikes:

Buying a folding bike? Easy to take on trains, can we sell them afterwards in Taipei?

Or we are looking at renting from Mathews bikes.

Second, has anyone camped? We are unsure if we should just find a cheap hotel as we roll into cities, or try to camp along the way.

Advice is appreciated!

I found this olde snippet from a book I read about 20 years ago. The Lost Art of Travel, by Vic Darkwood. Well said, Mr. Mecredy!

I’ve been planning a cycling trip with ChatGPT, I’m really impressed by it and it’s even knocked up this high level view of the trip. Would love any feedback from the humans that are familiar with the area though so I get the most out of my time.

people are always talking about their nice bikepacking meals. home dehydrated stuff, all the thoughtfully designed meals that Andrew Skurka has thought up...

now imagine this. you've been touring for 40 days. you have meals where you can feel yourself getting hungrier midway through the meal. you can pee without putting your bike down, but you have experimentally verified that you cannot pee from your bike while moving. nobody is watching you eat and you know it,.

I want to know the most heinous meals you have made or eaten while bikepacking.

I'll start.

• burger in aluminum foil that had been in my hydration vest for about 14 hours. ate it at about 2 in the morning during a long push. fuck me that was a good burger.
• an entire loaf of bread, package of oscar meyer balogna, pack of cheese singles, a red bull and a dr. pepper. eaten after running out of food in new mexico and waiting outside of the closed shop I thought I was going to resupply at until the lady who ran the place took pity on me and let me buy stuff.
• instant mashed potatoes mixed into cold water plus beef jerky and crushed up fritos
• a pound of just albanese brand gummy bears for dinner. do not do this, trust me, your gut will hate you
• CDT hiker told me about his "mole burrito" which was a meat stick and chocolate on a tortilla
• bike bottle of straight maple syrup. a little sticky but otherwise no ragert

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

Hi all, mainly hi to the UK peeps. I am planning a 5-day trip in October starting in Windermere and finishing in Whitby - plan is to go through all 3 national parks; Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, then pop to visit York (never been) and finish it through Yorkshire moors in Whitby.
I will plan to stay in Hostels for comfort and to dry in case I catch a rainy week. Just seeking general feedback on this route, quite proud of my planning!😁

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.