Retrobike Touring.

[hamster]

Or spend £500 on the bike and kit, and £9500 on travel and time off?

Hmm, buy a fancy wankbike and stay in municipal campsites and be worried about locking it it every time you stop...
...or ride a steel 1996 Rockhopper across SE Asia / Karakoram / Camino / Pacific Coast / North Sea Route / whatever.

I gave up on bikepacking groups as they became discussions about the lightest brand of Tyvek groundsheet rather than about DOING stuff.

 

[Imlach]

Or spend £500 on the bike and kit, and £9500 on travel and time off?

Hmm, buy a fancy wankbike and stay in municipal campsites and be worried about locking it it every time you stop...
...or bike across SE Asia / Karakoram / Camino / Pacific Coast / North Sea Route / whatever.

I gave up on bikepacking groups as they became discussions about the lightest brand of Tyvek groundsheet rather than about DOING stuff.

10k should be sufficient for a pub bike, poodling about Aldi parking lots.

Yeah bikepacking suffers the same fate as any other outdoor activity, often the focus becomes kit and people spend a fecking year finding all the right stuff, buying expensive shit that might be better, but all that time and money could have been invested into getting out there. Even bushcraft, which is seen as a real barebones outdoor experience, using your knowledge and your surroundings, even those circles have folks spending more of their time arguing basic survival kit than actually going out there and experiencing the woods.

 

[hamster]

10k should be sufficient for a pub bike, poodling about Aldi parking lots.

Do you write for a mountain bike magazine? They seem to suggest that unless you have 140mm of suspension travel, you are likely to die riding to Tesco Express.

You are too right about Univega - splendid bikes that are desperately under-appreciated. The thinking man's Kona.

 

[Imlach]

Do you write for a mountain bike magazine? They seem to suggest that unless you have 140mm of suspension travel, you are likely to die riding to Tesco Express.

You are too right about Univega - splendid bikes that are desperately under-appreciated. The thinking man's Kona.

Aspiring magazine writer here, yes. I honestly think 170mm should be the new norm, you should see the size of the speedbumps we have in front of Aldi! Full suspension is a requirement to be frank with you.

Yeah, univega, solid. For a brief period I'd say they outperformed Kona's. And it is very, very rare that I've seen one cracked.

 

[hamster]

Yeah, univega, solid. For a brief period I'd say they outperformed Kona's. And it is very, very rare that I've seen one cracked.

Sadly there is something that looks all to much like a crack on my wife's Aluminium 800 from the bottom of the head tube into the downtube. A beautifully light frame, so not surprising I guess.

 

[pw_pw_la]

I finished my low budget bikepacking steed yesterday. The bag for the top tube is still missing, damn delivery times....
So far, only smaller tours in tame terrain are planned. Unfortunately, I don't have the time for bigger adventures at the moment.View attachment 718915

Everything about this is just right! Down to the bag choice and placement.

Still looks fast, even loaded down.

 

[KayOs]

Everything about this is just right! Down to the bag choice and placement.

Still looks fast, even loaded down.

Thank you. I also think it looks very sporty and sufficiently technical thanks to the fork.
I've done a few small laps on it now and it rides super comfortably, almost like a cruiser. Awesome!

 

[widowmaker]

I have been testing my sleep set up in the house, ready for a few 'tours' in the spring.

Sleeping bag, pillow etc all ok.

One things I cannot live with is the sleep-mat, IIRC its an early thermarest type/Mountain warehouse ?

Its killing my back, I wont be doing very long tours and weight not an issue - I would rather cut down somewhere else and have a decent sleep.

Any recommendations ?

 

[The History Man]

I have been testing my sleep set up in the house, ready for a few 'tours' in the spring.

Sleeping bag, pillow etc all ok.

One things I cannot live with is the sleep-mat, IIRC its an early thermarest type/Mountain warehouse ?

Its killing my back, I wont be doing very long tours and weight not an issue - I would rather cut down somewhere else and have a decent sleep.

Any recommendations ?

Over the years I have done exactly the same thing ending up making sacrifices to carry a very thick alpkit dozer.

You’ll thank me for it.

https://alpkit.com/products/dozer

 

[widowmaker]

Thanks, ill check them out.

Its the one thing that I have endured over the years, but If I cant get a decent nights sleep after a day in the saddle what's the point.

I know that the straightforward pads are more durable, less prone to leaks but I am suffering.

Its a bit personal but what pillow do you use