this post was submitted on 15 Nov 2023
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Bicycle Touring and Bikepacking

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For all the pedal pushers out there that love long distance cycling. There are no gear requirements and no 'minimum distances' here.

Have you ridden for a cheeky overnighter or a 3 year global trek? Doesn't matter, you're welcome here.

Have you got panniers, bikepacking bags or just a backpack with the essentials? Doesn't matter, you're welcome here.

Have you got the latest in carbon engineering or your dads old 10 speed from the 70's? Doesn't matter, you're welcome here.

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Casual Chat Quarterly 04/23 (lemmy.world)
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Since i have mod powers i am just going to try this.

This topic is meant to be a low threshold possibility for all kinds of discussion. It is not meant to keep anybody from creating a new topic, the idea is that it may enable some discussion that would otherwise not happen at all.

Just a test balloon to see if this will get used. Do you think it is a good idea?

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Wow. Someone pointed me to this, and I'm glad - I was subbed to the other bicycle touring community but it's all reposts from reddit, with no activity. This seems pretty active.

I'm not a bicycle tourer, yet. I just built a bike for doing so, though. At some point, not sure when, I'd like to ride the GAP and C&O from Pittsburgh to DC. I've been reading up on that. I can probably rustle up some local friends in the cycling community to join me, too.

In the mean time, I'm just here to learn about what I need. Bike, check. Next I'll need things like a rack and bags to carry stuff. I'm pretty sure I would not do well with a tent, so I'm planning on B&B and hotels, which at least reduces the amount of stuff I need to pack.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Credit card touring reduces the stuff by a lot, it is good way to start/tour off season. I did it few weeks back and it was realy different experience than with full bags.

When I have full bags I feel like packed mule, just steady progress on the road and the mule sometimes doesnt like it (on mud and sand it is unstable). On casual rides without them it is like riding fast horse.

Key is to not overpack, take just the stuff you need. This doesnt mean that you have to shave off every gram but after loads of years on sumercamps seeing children bring loads of luggage and using fraction of it I can guarantee you that you dont need that much stuff.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, it will be an interesting experience when I do my first tour. I'm used to riding (relatively) fast on the road, but the bike I use for that has narrow tires and no provisions for racks or anything like that. I built a gravel bike for touring that weighs about 7.5 lbs more than the road bike (steel vs aluminum frames, so that's not a surprise) and has tires that are not slick, so it's both heavier and has a higher rolling resistance. But it's supposed to be a comfortable, all-day tourer.

For packing, I think my biggest question is, how many days of clothes? For example, if I were doing that GAP/C&O trip in, say, 5 or 6 days, I think I'd want maybe 3 outfits - if it rains one day, I wouldn't want to put those on the next day, unless they've somehow dried already. Things like socks I can reuse, usually, but again if they get really wet, I'm not going to want to wear them again until they dry - but socks are also the easiest things to pack extra of. And I'd probably want at least one set of clothes to wear in the evening after a shower. Stuff like that is my biggest question.

I realize different people are going to pack differently, of course.

My brother lives just over 100 miles away by bike, and most of the trip is on either actual bike trails or at least on designated bike routes (East Coast Greenway, US Bike Routes, etc.) - only the first few miles by my house aren't, and those are roads I'm very comfortable with, and the last mile or so to his house. Riding there one day and back the next would be a good test ride, I think.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

Lay all the things you need to take out. Take half of them and twice the money. Happy days. No - but it’s pretty easy to do laundry underway, so you will use fewer clothes than you expect. Still your ass or feet won’t thank you if you re-use sweaty cycle shorts or sock so ideally two pairs. Wear on wash one. And long trousers/shirt to wear on the evening. Feet can go in sandals (also good for dodgy showers) which will let them breathe. Oh and have fun. That’s the bit I sometimes forget.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Great you have found your way here then. Why do you think have you initially not found this community? Maybe because it saw 0 traffic in the beginning so you discarded it?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

I don't recall seeing it before. I probably found one touring community and stopped looking after that!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I got new bike and today I tested it by going to Bratislava. Not recomending to go for few rides and then 130km trip.

But credit card option Wild elephants hostel in the center of Bratislava is good. >10€ bed, nobody here speaks any Slovakian and now we will go pub crawling so it is good in the end.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Nice, a new bike! Guess the butt has to get used to it. I thought you must have ridden through the rain but checked the weather report, it's not looking all that bad in Bratislava.

Took a note of your hostel recommendation, thanks for that!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Yeah I planned it for last weekend and then I checked the weather.

My boss then said " We have nothing to do so check weather and tell me day ahead when you want to go." So this is propably last chance for this trip this year (i compare to long term average). Only the wind was bad sometimes up to 30 km/h from right side it blew me in the trafic.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So I pulled the trigger on a folding bike. I have always wanted to do some bike touring, but raising kids took precedence and now I should be able to hopefully get out and do some of the things for me. So I decided I would get a folding bike for the convenience of being able to take it places, like on the train and such. I want to take the train up to Washington D.C. and spend a week or so just riding around, seeing various parts of the Smithsonian, and I feel like this would be a great way to make that happen. I will try some shakedown rides, and try and get plenty of riding on this bike so I am comfortable with it. Anyone do their touring on a folding bike?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Follow up post. I took the folding bike with me on a trip last weekend, and absolutely love it. I was able to pack it in the car for the trip ( I was just a passenger for the main trip), then borrowed my daughter's car to take the bike down to a place I could go for a ride. Just popped it out of the trunk, took it for a ride and back in the trunk when I was done. Super simple. So now the plan is to start test fitting my camping gear and things I would want to take on a tour and doing some test rides. I am pretty happy with the gearing on the bike. Once I get everything tested out I can then start planning a few quick trips.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Nice! What kind of folding bike do you have? Small wheeled one?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I picked up a Dahon Suv D6, which has 20" wheels. For years I had been concerned about the small wheel size, but after watching videos of people touring on folding bikes I decided it was worth giving it a try. So far so good. I have a couple of Specialized road bikes, (allez and roubaix) and on my crappy local roads the ride can be pretty harsh, so I wasn't expecting much with the new Dahon, but I think the wider tires and lower pressure seems to buffer some of the road bumps better. I am sure the more upright position also has something to do with it. Since all of my kids are grown and out on their own, I would like to do more travelling, and I think being able to just fold up a bike and take it with me will at least allow me to explore a lot more and maybe get in some overnight trips occasionally. I am looking to see if I can find one that might even fold up smaller, which I believe the Bromptons can do. I believe they have 16" wheel standard, which might be a little too small for comfort, but makes them pack up a little smaller. Either way, The plan is to get in more miles and so that when I do get to retire I am not just a decrepit old man.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I have a Brompton, took it from my mother since she didn't use it. It looks like it folds smaller, but yours looks pretty small folding too. I think it is comfortable and fun to ride, i just kinda feel it is a bit more "dangerous" to ride a small wheeled bike like that, although nothing bad ever happened.

There are certainly a bunch of Brompton fans happily touring with it. My father (82) is also a Brompton fan, he rides it everyday while his "regular" bike is collecting dust for decades now.

Personally, i use it only for getting by train and bike to work, for every other use case i would rather take one of my other bikes.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

This is my first folding bike so I am still getting used to how it rides compared to my regular bikes. My plan of taking it on the train to go on a vacation is really what spurred the purchase. I think this bike will be perfect for that and then travelling around wherever I get off the train, or throwing in my trunk and just randomly driving to a small town, pulling it out and riding around exploring. Not sure if that qualifies as touring, but I have wanted to take a full on, stop working, just get out and ride bike tour for decades. Maybe this will help me get closer to that goal.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

So i broke my multitool, trying to remove my pedals at the airport. I stepped onto it and tried with full force and body weight. That caused the bit adapter to break and the 6mm bit flew away, nowhere to be found. I sent pb swiss a photo of the broken adapter and told them i had lost the other bit in the process and they sent me the two replacement parts no further questions asked. Tool is kinda expensive for what it is (made in CH), but i think it’s way nicer to work with than those foldable ones, and now i am also really happy with their customer service

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That’s one of the drawbacks of multitools, but one of the plus sides of quality material (the service).

I tend to like taking some actual tools with me like a torque wrench, full size pump and full size tools with me and leave them in the bike case somewhere I can trust (hotel/friends place/car,etc). That is problematic when cycling from A to B though…

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I have actually never done a round trip. I would have, if the flight to crete went as planned, but due to the pedal / tool mishap, i ended up arriving elsewhere because i changed up the flight.

For a round trip i'd probably bring better tools now that you say it, sounds neat to have it all waiting for you. I guess you still bring a multi tool for the tour itself though? What pump are you using? My small pump is kinda annoying, but flats are also kinda rare.

I have found it no problem to have someone loosen my pedals, usually i'd be in a bike shop anyway to pick up a box. Just this time, when leaving home (first time i flew from home with a bike) i somehow forgot about it, even though i was thinking about it a few times before i left.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

stay in the box tools

SKS pump with pressure gauge

Bottom bracket tool (for disc rotors)

Torque key

Set of hex keys

trip tools

Tubeless repair kit

Lezyne pocket drive mini pump (I like that it has a flexible part)

Multitool incl chainbreaker and a few chainlinks

Tiny bit of tubeless sealant

Material for changing from tubeless to inner tires (2x)

A bit of oil for my chain

Charger for sram axs batteries

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Oh i didn't even notice you had electronic shifting. I guess it feels real good!

Actually 'what's in your tool box' would be a nice classic topic on its own, haha.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I’m definitively in for those future discussions! Yeah electronic shifting is better than I thought it would be, I’m really happy with it. But the more remote you go the bigger the risk of something happening I can’t repair myself.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Last time i was on a plane they confiscated the bits for my torque wrench (left it in my bag accidentally). They let me keep the torque wrench, just took the bits.

Did you check the tool or carry on?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Oh shit. Then you were stuck with the disassembled bike when you arrived?

This time i wrapped up all the stuff that might need to be checked with the bike (bubblewrapped it), then took the two panniers as carry on. On arrival i then ripped the wrap with my keys to get to my tools & knive.

I had also wrapped up my stove and pots with the bike, pot was filled with ground coffee, then when i was standing at the scanner i got a bit worried that they would suspect it to be another substance and have me rip my wrap apart, but all went smooth, i'll try to avoid this in the future though.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Nah, wasnt travelling with my bike, it was just the same backpack as i normally ride with. Still annoying to lose the bits though.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Do you think it would be good to keep this type of topic going, is it fulfilling its idea, or is it keeping people from creating a post? Any opinions?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

Maybe, after month there are no new comments.

Let it pinned to the top once in a while for a month could be the way forward.