(Part 2) Top products from r/bikepacking

I like these wet wipes a lot. They get very high marks for biodegrading/composting quickly and they're actually flushable unlike many brands of wipes.

I wouldn't overthink your first aid kit too much. Bring along some cloth medical tape, a bandanna, and some NSAIDs and you'll have enough of a kit to deal with injuries at least until you can get real medical help. If you are blister-prone one or two pieces of this paper will be plenty for your trip.

I'm not sure on the legality of this in the UK but I would also consider a small folding knife a good addition to your first aid kit.

I like to bring along a pair of sandals or something similar for camp shoes. It REALLY hurts wearing the same shoes all day.

You might also want to buy a small hand torch if you plan to make camp after dark. This is the one I just picked up.

A food bag like this would be good for snacks - I would just stuff it in the webbing above your seat pack.

Sorry for all the amazon links. Your setup looks great. Beautiful bike!

I just came across this post. What you want is this map: http://www.amazon.com/Benchmark-Oregon-Road-Recreation-Atlas/dp/092959150X

This has all the forest service roads in Oregon reliably marked. These are mostly gravel, and they're much more extensive than velodirt and oregonbikepacking. You can pick your own route too, which is a plus. I've spent a few months total on gravel roads, between Patagonia and winding down gravel roads on the stretch of the Cascades between Seattle and Eugene, on my Surly LHT. It's great fun. Even single track can be fun. If you're worried about it, maybe fit some knobby tires and lower the tire pressure. It is a chore sometimes, and I've now bought a Pugsley because I want to make it a bit easier on myself, but some of the most fun I've had while touring is hauling my bike over stretches of nasty gravel roads/singletrack that I didn't anticipate being as difficult as they were.

Just go look for the forest service/gravel roads in that atlas. They go everywhere, and they're often a great compromise between single track stuff and pavement.

My journeys in the NW are here. I didn't do much in Oregon because I'd been on the road for a long time and just wanted to be home, but I did a lot in Washington with a similar atlas and it was awesome.

I'm got an alcohol stove, GSI Tea Kettle, and a titanium spork. I take a little aluminum cup that I use for instant coffee/tea but I've been thinking about getting a sea to summit xmug because they pack down nice. One of my favorite things is a little table by cascade wild.

One of the tours that I want to do (and where a stable bike maybe useful) is the Bavarian Beer Tour. It is something like https://www.eurobike.at/en/destinations/bike-tours-germany/bavarian-beer-tour-9-days . That is on fast roads though so I may end up taking my roadie there. There are plenty of interesting rides on this book Epic Rides of the World:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Epic-Bike-Rides-World-Thrilling/dp/1760340839/ and I hope to do at least a few of those with this bike.

For some reference I fit my entire sleeping system into a Regular Handlebar Bag which consists of:

Tent not freestanding $90
Sleeping Pad $50
Sleeping Bag $114
Silk Liner $40? can't remember

Picture of bike packed up, I can fit some clothes in the front as well. Everything else goes into the saddle bag.
Running drop bars will limit how worthwhile the handle bar bag is unless you pile stuff on top of the drops then you'll have ton of carry capacity.

I have a set of Fix It Sticks that include a chain tool and tire levers, a Leatherman Skeletool, patch kit, spare tube, pump, zip ties, duct tape, chain link and compact pliers, a tiny tube of chain lube, latex gloves and a hand cleaner packet.

As far as spokes go, I carry a Kevlar spoke repair kit https://www.amazon.com/FiberFix-Emergency-Spoke-Replacement-Kit/dp/B001GSMQZC




If I'm really out in the boonies, I take my hiking survival essentials and I always have a small first aid kit. I have a headlight mount on my helmet and stash the light in my tool bag.




And wear shoes you can walk in!

Look at the Martin Backpacker guitar. It’s a lot more packable and sounds surprisingly good given its small body.
Martin Steel String Backpacker Travel Guitar with Bag https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000P63U74/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_izmqDbZGHTSW0

An alternative is the Bikamper which uses the front wheel to support one end and the handlebars for the other. I saw someone using one of these. Looked a little fiddly and slower than setting up my tent. About the size of a coffin, no thanks I'll be spending a lot of time in one later.

Ok, here are the numbers:

Tarp: 522 grams. (Without mounting rope, so add approx. 10-20m of paracord to the weight, 65-130 grams).

Hammock: 412 grams.

Mounting hardware for hammock: 212 grams. Those with the buckles sawed off plus two wooden sticks for a marlinspike hitch. Doesn't flex, doesn't move around on the tree at all when wrapped twice. 10 m total, very versatile. Usually long enough to be used as ridgeline as well and hold up the mosquito net.

Sleeping Bag: Cheap Quechua Forclaz 10, 1070 grams, Sleeping mat is the thin one from Decathlon with 215 grams.

Amounts to a total of 2496 grams. I think it will be hard to beat with a tent.

Compression sack + sleeping bag straps. Depending on what compression sack you want, you could probably finagle the straps on the around your bars, then tighten it on so you wouldn't even need the straps. My alps cyclone bag could easily do that.

I’ve stayed in the same hotel on the first and last nights of my trip and had them store the box (a Trico IronCasefor me. A few years ago I left from a different city than I started in, so I shipped the box (again, the IronCase) to myself at the hotel I was staying at the night before I flew out. When I did a trip in Europe last year I took a leap of faith and put my bike in a plastic bag for the flight over and back. It packed down small enough that I could stuff it into a large Royal Mail envelope and send it to the airport hotel. (My bike was fine, but the bag was totaled when I got back to Chicago, so I just stuffed it in a trash can and wheeled my bike through the airport.) In all cases I communicated with with the hotel way in advance, at the time I made my reservation.

>Those Mountain House dehydrated meals only have about 400 calories a bag

Skip the bag, save some money and buy a can. I'm trying this and a large carton of hash browns for a 4 day trip next month.

I'm going to dump the contents of both into their own gallon sized ziplock bags.


https://www.amazon.com/GOLDEN-Premium-Hashbrown-Potatoes-Servings/dp/B0051HHUL4/ref=sr_1_2_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1493732285&sr=8-2&keywords=hash+browns

https://www.amazon.com/Mountain-House-Lasagna-Meat-Sauce/dp/B000M7V1AE/ref=sr_1_22?ie=UTF8&qid=1493732250&sr=8-22&keywords=mountain+house

I was able to fit these on my bike (same one but a year older). It took a little bit of finagling, and the plastic was snug up against the frame, but it worked for a very wet trip of a few hundred miles. I would consider this a semi-disposable option tbh.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000X5ZK66/

How sturdy is that front rack? Would you put a case of beer in it? I'm guessing it's this one

https://www.amazon.com/M-Wave-Front-Pannier-Bicycle-Black/dp/B007Y5EPUA/ref=pd_cp_468_3/140-4680180-6490158?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B007Y5EPUA&pd_rd_r=3b0f8cd6-9941-401e-bb31-6df2cd3a5675&pd_rd_w=CRcEf&pd_rd_wg=j58F2&pf_rd_p=ef4dc990-a9ca-4945-ae0b-f8d549198ed6&pf_rd_r=YAA7EP5MSCTSVRVYBYFE&psc=1&refRID=YAA7EP5MSCTSVRVYBYFE

I just bought an old Specialized Hardrock and I'm building it into my commuter

Depends on the ride:

• S240 - Starbucks doubleshot, and then plan on sit down coffee when I get back into town.
  
• Solo single cups - A mix of Medaglia D'Oro instant espresso and Mt Hagen instant coffee
  
• Group trips Ortlieb pour over kit

Seam Grip +WP

You might consider carrying a dromedary bag, fill it with ice, put the meat inside (in plastic), and wrap the whole thing in a coat/sweater. Even on 100F degree days I am able to keep ice in a camelbak for a few hours, as long as it is wrapped in a coat/sweater.

You really need to read The Dispossessed.

I rode through deserts and sun that lasers you dead. These items might help:

• arm coolers
  
• leg coolers
  
• a cool hat
  
  ...or something similar