Bike Touring: Seeing the world via pedal power

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > The Great Outdoors > Bike Touring: Seeing the world via pedal power

The Wiggly Wizard: Aug 21, 2008

Great OP Cox. Bookmarking and hoping I can get out for at least one multiday tour and a couple sub 24 hour overnights before the end of the year.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2020 17:26

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# ¿ May 17, 2024 20:11

The Wiggly Wizard: Aug 21, 2008

SimonSays posted:

I think nobody makes a tourer that can take 180mm because you'd have to beef up the fork blades so much they'd become even more uncomfortable. I'm jealous of the springy forks on Sagas from before they went disc, a friend has one and it looks so good.

Actually it looks like the Montreal Bassi dealer has a Soma D/C left in one size.

My Crust Evasion takes a 180mm front disc on a decently raked fork.

rope kid posted:

I'm in SoCal and I gotta tour in this Covid-cursed world. I wish I knew of a good guide to 1 or 2 day tours in the Angeles Forest area.

Have you read any of the bikepacking.com writeups before? If you're equipped for fire roads you might scope these out

https://bikepacking.com/routes/baldy-bruiser/
https://bikepacking.com/routes/la-observer/
https://bikepacking.com/routes/socal-desert-ramble/

# ¿ Jul 26, 2020 18:55

The Wiggly Wizard: Aug 21, 2008

rope kid posted:

For my Romeo build, I'm using 26" wheels with Rat Trap Passes as the main tires. What would be some good knobby tires for bikepacking in muddy conditions?

When I did Tour de Chequamegon a couple of years ago my slick 650b 42mm Babyshoe Pass tires floated over a lot of stuff but they absolutely sucked if I was in any significant amount of mud. I know of a lot of 650b options for that bike but I'm not that familiar with touring-oriented 26" knobbies/semi-knobbies.

Are you going tubeless? Thunder Burts are popular- they would give you a little bite but still roll pretty well. I have Ikons on my off road wheelset and while I haven't used them in a while the sidewalls have survived a lot of pokes. If you want a true mountain tire then you might ask that thread.

Not even sure if they make them in 26" but avoid tanwalls for bikepacking. You need that rubber on the sidewalls.

# ¿ Jul 27, 2020 23:48

The Wiggly Wizard: Aug 21, 2008

i say swears online posted:

my frame is almost 40 years old and rusty so i'm saving for a new one. i have good wheels and some other components. is there a reason not to look for a long haul trucker frame? my main purpose is touring but most of my time on the bike is neighborhood rides and i need at least a little agility. is the crosscheck the surly frame most comparable to a trek 520? is there another brand i should consider? $525 for a new frame seems reasonable for the LHT since i'll likely keep it for twenty years

Trek still makes a 520 model and a 520 disc now. Framesets and complete

# ¿ Aug 15, 2020 23:13

The Wiggly Wizard: Aug 21, 2008

In the 70s Viscount made a batch of bad aluminum forks pinned to steel steerers that failed spectacularly (people losing all of their loving teeth etc). But other than having a harsh ride I don't think fear of modern aluminum forks exploding is founded. Knowing all that I would still prefer a steel fork. Not sure why Trek would want to switch it up.

quote:

The "Death Fork"

The bikes (both Lamberts and Viscounts) came with a cast aluminium (aluminum) fork which was pinned to a steel steerer tube. Early production didn't even have the pin. This fork was the main problem as it had a tendency to snap off the steerer tube with predictably unfortunate consequences to the rider.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD A LAMBERT OR VISCOUNT BE RIDDEN WITH THE ORIGINAL CAST ALUMINUM FORK!!!!!!!!!

(Having said that, I ignorantly rode my Viscount with the original fork for 8 years including many 40-45 mph descents in the bluff country of southeastern Minnesota for 6 of those years. The patron saints were working overtime for me!).

Yamaha purchased the Viscount in 1978 or so and promptly recalled every cast aluminum fork ever sold on a Viscount or Lambert, replacing them with a chromed steel Tange fork.

# ¿ Aug 16, 2020 00:21

The Wiggly Wizard: Aug 21, 2008

rope kid posted:

I'm going to be building up my Crust Romance�r this weekend and I'm still on the fence about whether or not I should install the wide Velo Orange wavy fenders I originally bought for it.

They're beautiful, but IDK if they're really necessary and I wonder if I'll just find them to be a hassle.

Just enjoy it without fenders for a while. Maybe January or whenever the forecast says rain.

# ¿ Aug 24, 2020 19:06

The Wiggly Wizard: Aug 21, 2008

FireTora posted:

Nifty idea, but those are drat pricey. I'm using some 2mm solder on banana plugs that CopperHound had. Super easy connection, and they're not much bigger than the wire after they're heatshrinked. Sets of 20 of them only run 3-4 bucks from china.

I should probably get a soldering iron and do mine at some point because I have 6 or so spade connectors across 2 bikes that are just crimped + shrink tubing

# ¿ Aug 27, 2020 16:23

The Wiggly Wizard: Aug 21, 2008

Bottom Liner posted:

TNGA report

Close to 60 hours moving, 40k elevation, and about 9 hours of sleep.

I was stupidly optimistic about the route conditions given previous rider reports despite the lack of maintenance this year and the hurricane remnants going through the area the previous week. That made the jeep roads washed out and the singletrack a tree ridden mess. I was hiking about 1/4th of the first two days which killed my speed and increased my food and water needs.

Food was tight because I was trying to carry everything and not go for a resupply but I ended up needing to stop once into a rural town. Water was fine, Sawyer Flow did a great job and there was a ton of mountain streams and rivers to filter from (all crystal clear too). I had 96oz of bottles in gatorade bottles and an addition 24 oz in a mtn dew bottle I used for the filtering and in some stretches I would drink all 96 oz and drink more straight from the filter on the soda bottle.

Weather was a mix of brutal 99 degree heat and 90% humidity and perfect riding conditions. Nights never got chilly either to the point of never even needing a jacket. I got the slightest hint of rain for about 15 minutes but otherwise skies were clear. No animals, but I did see plenty of bear droppings.

At about 48 hours I stopped being able to swallow solid food which ended up being from acid reflux. I didn't feel any other symptoms but the constant exertion had worked acid up my throat and burned it raw, so when I took a bite of a bar with cinnamon in it it lit me up and I couldn't choke anything down. Tums helped a little but I had to rely on liquid calories for a while (also from my resupply).

Flats and trail runners continue to be the pro choice for bikepacking these routes. They dry out way faster and the comfort is a huge help on and off the bike. There were so many stream crossings I would have lost hours with clipless and the hiking would have murdered my calves in them as well.

Bike was a champ, 2.6 rigid was fine even though some of the singletrack got a little gnarly for me, but it was good to be forced to go slower and take safe lines instead of being risky while out there alone. Dynamo hub and AXA 70 light combo was ace, recharging my battery pack during the day and providing tons of light at night, even when slowly hiking the bike up a steep 20% grade.

I would definitely do the route again but likely not solo, hopefully the official race happens next year and it's safe to be out there, and I hope the route conditions improve before going through that again. I rode through so many spiderwebs I stopped bothering to wipe them off my face unless I saw a spider in them.

These are just some phone pics, I'll have a lot better from my film camera when I get the roll developed.

Lol sounds miserable but nice job. How many miles?

# ¿ Sep 7, 2020 23:55

The Wiggly Wizard: Aug 21, 2008

Looks beautiful and now I'm pining for a rainy day ride. Are some of those roads rural bike paths or just narrow?

# ¿ Sep 11, 2020 16:11

The Wiggly Wizard: Aug 21, 2008

Nice park, nice dog, nice whip. Riding and sleeping on turf sounds really comfy.

# ¿ Sep 30, 2020 19:22

The Wiggly Wizard: Aug 21, 2008

Can't vouch for them myself but the Jones SWB's cost comes in a little more than an Ogre. Not sure about putting 700c wheels on it though.

# ¿ Mar 10, 2021 19:42

The Wiggly Wizard: Aug 21, 2008

Cannon_Fodder posted:

This will be my first time toying with bags and racks. How well do they fit together? Are there any sizing/compatible gotchas to know about?

You might have problems with your heels hitting your bags, or rim brake clearance issues. I had this problem and needed to buy a rack with long setback

# ¿ Mar 16, 2021 04:34

The Wiggly Wizard: Aug 21, 2008

Remarkable but also looks loving miserable. That sleeping bag pic gives strong Chris McCandless / Everest corpse vibes

# ¿ Jul 3, 2021 18:51

The Wiggly Wizard: Aug 21, 2008

pantslesswithwolves posted:

https://twitter.com/BBCWorld/status/1413245827586400256

Looks like someone got killed by a grizzly bear on the Tour Divide.

quote:

The FWP said the bear first approached the campers at around 03:00 local time (09:00 GMT), but initially ran away.

Ms Lokan and her two companions, who were staying in a separate tent, then removed food from their tents and secured them before going back to sleep. But the bear returned shortly afterwards, leading to the fatal attack.

That will do it though it sounds like the bear was already a troublemaker. Pretty awful way to go

# ¿ Jul 8, 2021 23:05

The Wiggly Wizard: Aug 21, 2008

Bottom Liner posted:

. Seen quite a few biking around here too.

Honestly good for them moving up from tricycles finally

# ¿ Jul 9, 2021 15:32

The Wiggly Wizard: Aug 21, 2008

Not especially high quality footage, but this guy bikepacks with his dog Mira up and down North America. It's good for some chill vicarious sightseeing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTv8AjSFzL4

# ¿ Aug 9, 2021 18:58

The Wiggly Wizard: Aug 21, 2008

This guy makes good bags by himself and is having a sale. The black feed bag is deeply discounted to $19.99 for some reason!

I have some if his blems and they have held up great.

https://www.nukesunrise.com/store/p46/SILO2.html

# ¿ Nov 8, 2022 18:27

The Wiggly Wizard: Aug 21, 2008

Owling Howl posted:

I spent most of January riding 1800 km from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City with my 75 year old father. It was hotel/credit card touring with minimal packs. We bought a couple of city bikes in Hanoi and sold them in Ho Chi Minh City. Old man did great.

I'm trash garbage that can't proper photography but

This is beautiful in more than a few ways. Congrats to you and papa owling

# ¿ Feb 12, 2023 14:50

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# ¿ May 17, 2024 20:11

The Wiggly Wizard: Aug 21, 2008

SplitDestiny posted:

I did a thing.

Completed all 2700 miles of the Tour Divide in ~22 days through some pretty gnarly peanut butter mud, head winds, heat, and storms. Proud to have completed on my first attempt!

# ¿ Jul 4, 2023 21:39

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > The Great Outdoors > Bike Touring: Seeing the world via pedal power