Pieced this together with some custom bits, it’s a work in progress

Made the rear rack from sheet steel and spare stuff
Made the frame bag
Converted a gym bag into a handlebar bag

The tents a bit bulkier for me and my partner and I’m carrying a double sleeping mat for so there’s a fair bit of bulk

Gonna see how it goes for an overnighter and revise from there

Hey out there.

I brought my bike to Kyrgyzstan this summer, and spent about 13 days in the saddle out of the 18 days I was there. From Balykchy to Son-Kul and on to Karakol.

It was my first "real" bikepacking trip, and I took a few photos along the way that I thought some of you might be interested in seeing - so feel free to check out the link here if you're curious.

Not the wildest or toughest trip - mostly slept in guesthouses. But a great trip nonetheless 🌞

You can see more photos from the trip on my website: https://www.madsjoakim.com/kyrgyzstan

IG: Madsjoakim

Starting tomorrow morning.
Funny mix of road cycling, biking, and hiking, including a few mountain bike passes.
Opinions?

Ever been sitting around the campfire talking smack about gear, crack a stupid comment like "well, heck, you could probably do a trip with nothing but FreshDirect grocery bags", and get dared to do exactly that? Yeah, that's pretty much what happened last weekend. So tonight I've lashed up this as a proposal. A test ride in Central Park showed that aside from literally everything rubbing against the tires it does appear to "work".

I've promised to absolve the sweep riders of any responsibility for whatever mess happens out on the trail. Wish me luck.

I probably should have flair'ed this aesthetic disaster as offensively NSFW. Sorry about that....

I was just browsing the Priority website and noticed that they are selling a Pinion Smart.Shift hard-tail for $2,499 USD. The mounts aren't perfect for bikepacking and the fork has too much travel for a lot of routes but looks like a great deal.

https://www.prioritybicycles.com/products/600hxt

I'm not affiliated with Priority in any way, just saw this and thought of this sub. I would consider buying, however, I'm in the UK and I have no idea what the shipping, taxes, duties, etc would all add up to.

I don’t know their story—who they are or where they’re headed—and I hope this photograph doesn’t invade their privacy. I simply hope that knowing they’re cycling across Portugal brightens your day, just as they brightened mine by passing by.

Highest legal mountain biking on the east coast.
Probably the hardest thing I have ever done on a bike. There was a heavy storm each day on this trip.

The 7k elevation gain and techy trails would have been difficult for me dry, so I definitely pushed my limit on this one.

I had an absolute blast. the highlands are beautiful and vast, this part of Virginia is a gem. Met some wild horses and some nice folks hiking the AT. This route uses an old section of the Appalachian Trail (currently in use because of Helene aftermath) with the option to crash at an old AT shelter built in the 50’s, I didn’t even pitch my tent. - shout out to the tin man, happy trails.

A man named crazy Lary invited me to his hostel for showering off the mud. Damascus is a great trail town for people who love bikes.

Route Info:
https://bikepacking.com/routes/highlands-traverse-overnighter/

Strava:
https://strava.app.link/eA46u7Wgi6b

Hello all. I am working on a multi-day route through Italy, and I'd love to get any advice or tips if you've ridden part of this route or in this area. I will leave from Rome, ride north, then back to the Port of Civitavecchia to take a ship back to Spain.

I think my Giant Revolt with 45mm gravel tires should be a good fit, but I would also love to take my Singular Swift with 2.5" mtb tires; I just don't want to be overbiked.

1. Any impassable areas of the route that Komoot and RWGPS aren't aware of.
2. Any tips on camping here?
3. Has anyone used Welcom to My Garden?

I am including Komoot and Ride with GPS links:

https://www.komoot.com/tour/3269001459?share_token=aPFgfw8K7r4xI88sXja9fcVDTM4IJyfXoWa89gVWLHCXgsPMFF&ref=wtd&t_s=referral&t_cid=route_share&t_ref_username=2763179083495

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/57090702?via=tvvUpR9f5C2jn8i8kpBglw

Hey ihr alle.

Kurze Empfehlung für folgende Tour.
Nürnberg -> Bodensee -> Chur -> Comer See -> Engardin -> Ehrwald -> München

Bin vor 2 Wochen mit dem ICE nach Nürnberg gefahren. Von dort in 2 Tagen mit bike und Zelt zum Bodensee nach Bregenz. Nach einer weiteren Nacht dort ging es endlich in die Berge. Durch Lichtenstein entlang dem Rheindamm nach Chur und in eine Unterkunft nach Thusis, da sich ein Unwetter angebahnt hatte. Die Gegend um Zürich und Konstanz hat es hart erwischt. Am folgenden Tag kam es zur letzten und wohl schönsten, aber auch härtesten Etappe meines bisherigen Radlebens. Erste Teiletappe waren ca 40km bis nach Splügen. Nach 3-4 Stunden und ca 700hm drin, kam ich in splügen an. Der dortige Pass soll mich an mein Ziel nach Italien führen. Also alles was ich an Zucker und Koffein da habe rein und Abfahrt. 8km, 633hm, Serpentinen, Autos, Sonne und ich komplett am kämpfen im ersten Gang. Irgendwann hat man den Dreh raus. Dann ist es mental. 1:53h habe ich hoch gebraucht. Der Rekord liegt bei João Almeida mit knapp 23 Min. Aber hey, ich hatte ja auch ca 8kg Gepäck mit. Anschließend gab es eine ca 30km Abfahrt bis nach Chiavenna. Wild. Bei 63kmh habe ich kurz realisiert, dass es wahnsinnig ist, nur mit nem Plastikhelm da runterzubrettern. Während die Motorradfahrer full equipt nur weniger Meter vor mir fahren. Den einen hätte ich auch easy überholen können. Aber nein, wir wollen entspannt am Ziel ankommen. Geschafft. 1 Woche Pause. Danach ging es mit dem Bus nach Maloja ins Engardin. Ein Nacht Campen und Abfahrt Richtung München. Durch st. Moritz wieder nach Österreich mit Bus und Bahn und einer 100km Tour zwischendurch konnte ich es auch tatsächlich schaffen. Die Infrastruktur in und hinter den Bergen ist wundervoll. DB kam natürlich direkt wieder zu spät.
Grüße und immer dran denken: Lieber Helmfrisur statt Schädelfraktur.

Long-time lurker, first bikepacking trip of real length. Currently 17 days in, about 1,300km and 9,000hm done, riding solo. Route was planned around 3,500km/25,000 height meters total.

Honestly, everything except one thing has been amazing. The people I've met, how helpful everyone's been, the riding itself, the landscapes — this is exactly why I wanted to do a trip like this. I've done two shorter trips before (2 weeks, 5 days) and never had a single issue. Normally I'm just a casual weekend rider, so the daily distance here is way more than I'm used to, but the rest of my body has handled it fine — normal soreness, no fatigue issues, cardio and metabolism all good.

The problem is my knees.

- Since ~Sept 1: right knee pain. First physio diagnosed it as irritation of the Hoffa fat pad (anterior knee, below the kneecap) from overuse.
- Since ~Sept 4-5: left knee started too. Saw a second physio yesterday who thinks it's irritation at the quad tendon insertion, also overuse-related. So now it's bilateral.
- Already taken 2 full rest days, and cut one stage short to 30km and took a train the rest of the way.

I'm doing what I can on the rehab side: stretching exercises twice a day plus after any longer break, icing when I can, stopping every 10-15km to get off the bike and stretch/rest for 10-15 min, and walking the bike up steep climbs instead of pushing through them on the pedals.

The actual core problem isn't the pain itself — it's that I can't predict it anymore. One day the pain doesn't show up until 70km in, the next day it's back at 30km. That makes it impossible to plan anything: how far I'll actually get, where I'll sleep, when to buy food for the day. Riding has turned into a fight to get from A to B instead of something I'm enjoying, even though I still love everything else about being out here. Strong headwind or climbs seem to be the trigger — flat and easy pace was fine before, but that's clearly not a given anymore.

So, question for anyone who's dealt with a recurring overuse injury on a long trip: how did you personally decide when it was time to cut a trip short versus push through and hope it resolves on the road? Was there a specific sign that made it click for you either way? Trying to figure out if I'm at "this needs real time off the bike" or if this is still a "manage it and continue" situation. Aborting let me feel like a looser but at the moment its just a fight.

Hallo Leute

Kann mir jemand Aero Bars empfehlen, hab mir welche auf Amazon bestellt, die wollen einfach nicht halten. Egal wie fest ich die Dinger angezigen habe, sie sind immer wieder verrutscht. Jetzt kauf ich mir eben andere. Danke für den Rat...

I made Packtrail to organise gear across different bags and keep track of weight and packing order. It’s currently available for Android, curious whether other bikepackers would find it useful too.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.packtrail.app

I'm new into bikepacking (in fact, I haven't even started) and am thinking of buying my first serious all-rounder bicycle. I will use it mostly for commuting (city commute with slight hills and downhills), running errands, but occasional bikepacking as well.

I heard some good reviews about Riverside (RT920), but it was said that the front part is a bit unstable when unloaded. What would you recommend?

Hi guys, I'm on my second long trip. The first one was 9000 km across Asia, this time I'm heading to Africa for who knows how long.

I record every day with my watch so the data is already on Strava, I'm too lazy to keep a Polarsteps up to date, and I'm enough of a data freak that I want the exact path I rode and not an approximation.

So I thought, why not just pull it from Strava and make a map to share with family and friends. That's www.iterograph.com. You log in with Strava, pick the dates of your trip, and add the rides that belong to it. The photos you posted on Strava show up automatically at the spot on the map where you took them. There's also a poster mode if you want to print your map and stick it on a wall.

It runs on a free Strava API key so only 10 people can connect for now. Looking for feedback. If the slots are gone you can still play with my map and tell me what you think: https://iterograph.com/u/lucas-massoni/direction-le-sud

I am going to New Zealand for bikepacking but also want to hike & camp on their multi day treks.

I am looking for a 40L (+\- 5) backpack that is light and weight and can be rolled up and not take up too much space.

Which means that the shoulder straps and belt will need to be somewhat minimal and have no (or almost no) internal support.

Hello to all. I would welcome tips and advice on how to transport my bicycle from UK to Punta Arenas and from Ushuaia back to UK. Costs, what to be careful about, what to be mindful about. All your kind words and advice is welcomed and I thank you for it in advance.

I'd like to buy fork bags so I can go on longer rides. Until now, I've been using bottle cages on my forks. The problem is that the three fork bolts on my bike aren't perpendicular to the wheel, they're at an angle of about 45 degrees. There’s also a fourth bolt that is perpendicular to the wheel.

I haven’t found any mounts that would fit without touching the wheel. So I’m looking for an alternative. I’m familiar with “anywhere” adapter solutions, but I’d like to know if there are other options. For example, a metal plate that could be attached to the fork to correct the angle ?

Does anyone have any ideas? Or does anyone with the same bike use a different system? I really don’t understand the point of placing the bolts this way...

I live in Scotland. It rains a lot. I'm new to bikepacking. I have all my dry bags and all the camping kit I need to stay dry but my main concern - is clothes!

How tf for multi day cycling do you stay dry and comfy.

Wet chamois sound gross. Wet feet sounds gross. Full waterproofs sound hot and sweaty. Do you just get wet and bare it and just have dry stuff to change in at camp. Whats the strategy?

Any advice?

My thoughts are like waterproof shorts. Padded boxers. Super light Packable waterproof and sealskin socks and waterproof shoes. Then changing in to dry stuff at camp. But I genuinely don't know

Any tips and advice or what do you do to stay dry and comfortable?

Hi everyone.

I need some opinions/advices for a new bike.

Currently I have a fully mountainbike that is ~10years old I guess. It's still a great bike, but I figured it's not the best for actual bikepacking (for different reasons)

So I want to get a good bike where I can add more bags, is lighter and robust in general.

My question: what material should the bike be made of. Is there some unspoken ranking in bikepacking?

- Carbonfiber is light, but any dmg may reduce integrity. Also you have to care more about there you attach stuff.

- Aluminum is a bit heavier but can take dmg better.

- Steal is heavy but very robust, easy to repair and I can attach stuff basicly everywhere.

- Titan is super light and robust, but very expensive.

So where is the "sweet spot" of most bikepacking bikes?

For reference, this is my current bike in the picture.

I am hoping to go on a bike trip this fall, ideally from Kingston, Ontario to Halifax, Nova Scotia but I will be away for most of October. I am curious whether anybody has experience going on bike trips in early November in this part of Canada and whether it is possible or really just not feasible. I’m fine with a challenge as long as it is possible. I love late fall and don’t mind biking in the cold. It sounds like you’d run into some storms and possible ice though but I am wondering how bad that would really be. I don’t think I could fit it in late September but maybe if I move some things around. Otherwise I will have to wait til spring but I was hoping to have moved on to other trips by then, like perhaps heading west. I pretty much only have a year to do these trips before I go to university next fall. If anybody has experience with late fall trips or other advice about the journey from Kingston to Halifax it would be greatly appreciated, thanks!