raphael88

Hey there,

I've spent a long time reading through the very helpful newbie guides and various threads here and have a few questions that aren't totally covered.

Next summer I plan to spend 3 months cycling around Alaska. I won't bore you with the details but my rough dates are June 12ish to September 12ish. I've got no touring experience but, I've got modest travelling experience (I'm only 20 so there's only so much I can have done!) having backpacked alone the whole way across Canada, amongst other things.

I'm a really keen hiker, so a lot of my holidays are hiking related, but I commute on my bike and love riding it so wanted to take a longer trip with it. Unfortunately, I know zero about bikes.

So, my questions are:
(1) The obligatory "I have £X, what bike can I get?" question. I'm told by other cyclists that the roads in Alaska, outside of the big towns are fairly poor, mainly gravel surfaced and that this needs an especially tough bike. I intend to go find some out-of-the-way places so anticipate I'll be on gravel quite a lot.

I ideally have a budget of £500 or so (but if pressed will go higher, it's just the more I spend on a bike, the less I spend on the trip!). I've read that options are buying a new touring bike, or converting a 2nd hand mountain bike with good new components. I'd be happy to build the bike myself (I have 5 months to learn the inner workings of a bike anyway- this would help), but have no idea what base to start with, or what stuff to buy (I guess it needs to be tough though?)

(2) I love hiking, and there are some wonderful multi-day hiking trails in Alaska. I need some REALLY inspired help on how I'm going to carry stuff on my bike, and then convert the bags to carry them (comfortably) on my back as I hike(while I leave my bike in a safe place!). I have all the relevant backpacking gear, but as I'm only going to be hiking every so often (there's about 10-15 days of trails I want to do) it seems silly to lug my fairly bulky hiking rucksack on the back of my bike for the rest of the time.

So if anyone often does hiking and biking, how do you go about taking all your stuff with you when you hike?

Also, I've ordered a good all-things-bicycle book to read and I've got an old bike to practice taking apart and fixing. Will this be enough to learn all the repair skills I'll need or should I get some sort of human instruction?

Sorry if these are stupid questions or are covered a lot but I did spend 2 hours reading the forum to try and pick up tips but I think my questions (especially the 2nd one) are fairly specific.. And sorry in advance for the undoubtedly stupid questions I'll ask in the future!

Thanks a million!

Raph

Bacciagalupe

If you like drop bars, look into a steel cross or cross-influenced bike. Binachi Volpe, Surly Cross Check, Specialized Tricross, Jamis Aurora are some of the usual suspects. Add wide tires, fenders, and make sure the gearing is low.

If you are OK with or prefer flat bars, MTB will be a good choice and more affordable. MTB's typically already have low gearing.

You may also want to check in with Adventure Cycling. They do a Denali tour and can likely give you a few options.

mrhedges

Any bike that can mount wide tires could work. check this out:

https://www.vwvagabonds.com/Bike/BikeTheBikes.html

it will give you a good ideal of how easy it is to modify a mountain bike to tour on. that site has alot of info on touring.

now for hiking are you gonna park your bike set up camp then go on day hikes? if so you probably only need one bag that has a strap to carry, if you plan to hike longer you might have to figure something else out.

jamawani 

Bike in Alaska -

I have hiked into the backcountry on nearly every long bike trip I have taken - including hiking in Denali.

Here's my set-up:


I have a lightweight, internal-frame, backpack that I strap across the back rack on top of the panniers. When I bike it has all the essentials to set up a tent fast - so if I get caught in bad weather, I can have the ten up in about two minutes. I have to repack carefully for hiking - strapping on tend and pad to the outside of the pack. But I've hiked from rim to rim in the Grand Canyon, up to Tuolumne Meadows from Yosemite Valley, into the backcountry of Banff and Jasper.

I used to use a simpler backpack which was lighter and less bulky for cycling but not quite enough for hiking.

<<<>>>

As for roads, Alaska and Yukon paved roads are pretty good. Of course, they are always working on them during the short summer - so there are long stretches that may have the pavement ripped up - esp, the Alaska Highway. The Stuart-Cassiar and Top-of-the-World are rougher - but are mostly blacktop. The Denali Highway, Dalton, and Dempster are tough gravel roads. If you are going to stick to pavement, you may be able to do it on a touring bike, but if you want to ride into Denali National Park or Wrangell-St. Elias, then you should be touring on a mountain bike.

My bike is a Trek 8000 modified for touring.

CameraMan

There is panpack in Quebec who do a pannier system that converts into a backpack.
https://www.panpack.com/

I bought the smallest size daypack, primarily as a front pannier set that had a non-hook velcro mounting system (that actually really works well). The quality is good, though I would have preferred if they had roll tops - like ortliebs, but at least the zips are strong.

If you are going to doing real hiking though, you would be better adding an adventure racing ultralight pack to your kit ( see OMM, Inov8, Raidlight etc. )

https://www.theomm.com/products/packs.html

https://www.raidlight.com/boutique_us...&code_lg=lg_us

https://www.inov-8.com/Products.asp?PG=PG2&L=26

raphael88

Thank you very much for your help everybody!

This may sound silly, but how does one make sure gearing is low? Is it just a case of replacing the whole gear mechanism, or is there a way to "tack-on" lower gears? And how wide should wide tires be?

mrhedges: That's a really great site- especially how they managed to get everything so cheap, I'll have a more detailed study tomorrow. In terms of hiking, the trails tend to be multiple days and linear, so I won't be able to have a base camp, I'll need to chain up my bike somewhere and carry all my gear on my back, so I'm going to need something relatively substantial.

jamawani: I assume you don't leave anything behind with your bike when you hike, so do you manage to stuff all of your pannier gear along with the panniers themselves into your lightweight backpack? How many litres is this internal-frame backpack you have? (And by the way, in terms of packing light, do you find front and back panniers necessary for everything you have?)

I definately want to ride into denali national park, and am sorely tempted to fly out to deadhorse and cycle the dalton back, so you suggest I need a mountain bike for the bad roads. I see you've modified your bike- could you possibly tell me what you've modified it with so I can get an idea of what sort of stuff I'm aiming for?

cameraman: I do intend to do "real hiking" as you so nicely put it! I like the look of the inov-8 race pro 30 rucksack (or a smaller one) but am not sure that it'll hold all my gear. In your experience do you think 30L with tent + mat strapped on is sufficient for everything you need?


Once again, thank you all!

Bacciagalupe

You may need to read up on gearing, so you can learn the difference between "standard" and "low" gearing. Long story short though: you want a low number of teeth on the smallest front chainring (e.g. 50-36-28 front chainrings), and a high number of teeth on the largest cassette (e.g. a 12-34T cassette).

That kind of setup is typical on mountain bikes and most touring bikes. It's less common on cross bikes, but if you tell the LBS "I'm touring the wilds of Alaska, so give me low gearing" they will know what to do and will swap parts without charging extra.

Low gearing means that you can spin the pedals faster while moving slower. As a result, you can maintain a high cadence (spinning speed) while climbing hills. A low cadence, known as "mashing," is bad for your knees and can cause injuries. Again, you may want to read up on that and find out max tire widths for different bikes.

32c is the minimum tire width you want. There are two limiting factors here: the rims and the frame. Rims can only take a certain range of widths, and frames will only allow a certain maximum width. Fenders will narrow that a little bit. Most cross and touring bikes will handle fairly wide tires.

By the way, I recommend you try to do a "dry run" and tour for a long weekend prior to the big trip. That way you can shake out any issues, make sure stuff works, and make sure the bike is comfortable.

bikebuddha 

I do some combo hiking and biking. Usually I ride out on my imitation Novara Safari (an old mountain bike frame I've converted to touring), I but my boots in the panniers and secure my pack to the top of the rack which is kind of tricky. I've found the fuller the pack is the easier it is to secure it.

kdiehl

I moved from Alaska 20 years ago, so things may have changed, but it's worth pointing out that rural Alaska is not like the rural lower 48. It is (was?) true wilderness and a person needs to be prepared for it before venturing out. Just because there is a road doesn't mean that there's help available without traveling many, many, many miles.

Alaska is also stunningly beautiful and worth a lot of effort to experience.

jamawani 

What is a litre?

My newer pack is a Kelty Redwing 2900 - no longer produced -
Called a "Day and a Half" pack.
https://www.trailspace.com/gear/kelty/redwing-2900/
They have enlarged it - maybe a smidgen too large?
https://www.kelty.com/kelty/products....wing%20&id=179

2900 means 2900 cubic inches - which is 47.5 lighters

Pack my panniers??

What are you talking about? I just hang them from a tree of put them in bear boxes, if available. I have never been one for worrying too much about my stuff. Toured for more than 20 years.

LastPlace

Ralph,

I can't offer any tips on touring but since you mentioned knowing 'zero' about bikes you might consider taking a part time job at a LBS (Local Bike Shop) to help with inevitable repair issues. After all, there probably won't be a shop out in the boonies. It might also get you a discount on pieces and parts you will need.

If you do go you can post your trip here............

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/?o=lt

Good luck.

Randochap

You might find some tips on my touring pages.

I toured Alaska and Yukon and Northern BC on a converted mountain bike, but that was because I did a lot of the gravel roads. Most main roads are paved. The Stewart-Cassiar had long stretches of gravel then, but I hear it's mostly paved now.

raphael88

So you reckon converting a MTB is the way to go on the gravel roads- would that be better say than getting just a frame (Bacciagalupe above mentioned a surly cross check) and sticking on some choice parts?

Your site was very interesting, thank you!

Are there any brands/types of chainrings and sprockets you can recommend? I look at lists of them and can't really tell the good from bad. I'll go to my LBS soon but I'm away from home right now and am curious. I'll definately do a dry run- I've got a lot of time to get that sorted though.

Bikebuddha: What do you use to secure your bag? Like bungy cord/velcro or what? Thanks for theadvice.

kdiehl: Thanks for the advice, I realise parts of alaska are extremely remote which is why I'm trying to prepare properly now (I don't leave for 5 months) and hopefully experience the stunning beauty fairly safely!

Jamawani: That bag looks interesting, I've got a similar bag to one of those, but it's way too big so I'll see if I can find something smaller. And excuse my mild paranoia about leaving stuff hanging from trees- where I live, if you turn around for 2 seconds someone will have stolen your stuff, so I often have to tell myself to relax when I'm in places with less thievery.

And could you possibly explain what sort of modifications you made to your bike? That's be really helpful, thank you!

Lastplace Good idea about getting a job, I'll have a look around but am pretty busy with university/activities and another job, so perhaps I'll have to learn some other way. I'll definately post my trip up too!

Thank you all for your help!

HardyWeinberg

Cool article on 1100 mile 'human-powered' winter trek in Alaska:

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/24/sp...s/24ultra.html

QnAs w/ one segment on bike mods:

https://sports.blogs.nytimes.com/2008...ing-the-limit/

also a video:

https://video.nytimes.com/video/2008/...tml?ref=sports

raphael88

Hey, that was a cool article. And the Q+A on bike tires was interesting, although a little more hardcore than I think I need. Thanks though!

jamawani 

Just drop bars and a suspension stem.
The stem has very little movement - just taking the edge off of washboard roads.
I don't know if anyone makes them any more - with all the fancy suspension now available.

HardyWeinberg

I liked the fork legs designed be filled with white gas.

travelrn

You should get a copy of "the milepost". It is an awesome book about the roads of alaska, mile by mile. Very helpful info regarding the condition of the roads, etc.
I live in fairbanks so feel free to get in touch if i can help.

Enthusiast

Another option for toting around your backpacking gear: Keep your pack and pull it in a trailer behind the bike. Just lock the bike and trailer up at the trailhead and start hiking. Check out singlewheel trailers like the Bob if you don't plan on traveling very heavy. Since new trailers can run $200 or more, you might consider finding a used kiddie-trailer and stripping it down to haul your gear if you are running short on funds.

tomn

Hi raphael88,

Read Wayne's journal:

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/ElPlatoPrincipal

Tom

Gordo Grande

My thoughts exactly. I've only been to Alaska once, but I know that it is truly wilderness. It's not Disneyland. Forgive me, but if you're going to be out there alone, you might even want to consider carrying some heat. There are a lot of bears in Alaska, and they're not animatronics, they're the real thing. A moose can be pretty dangerous as well. Of cousre, Americans aren't allowed to carry handguns in Canada, so that might complicate things.

Don't anyone flame me. I'm just pointing out the obvious. You can't call AAA if you get in trouble up there.

Robert_in_ca

How heavy is your bag and gear? If you already have lightweight stuff, you might want to consider a frame bag, handlebar bag and saddlebag setup from Epic Designs out of Alaska.

https://www.epicdesignsalaska.com/

Check out some of the bikes he's made bags for. These kind of bags weigh much less than pannier/rack setups and they also make them more capable off road. They also allow you to use bikes that aren't really designed for touring so you may even be able to use the bike you have now?, or get a capable mountain bike, and have fun riding some singletrack in Alaska while you are there.

If it was me and I was in your shoes, I'd get a hardtail mountain bike with a steel fork, or a reliable front suspension fork like a Fox Vanila(if you plan on mountain biking). Use the Epic Designs bags, an Osprey backpack like the Talon 22 or 33 or something similar that can fit the Epic Designs bags in them, they are basically compression bags anyways.

Fueled by Boh

if you are pulling a bob, or maybe even if you aren't, i'd suggest a mountain bike. the tire options for rough terrain are far better, as are rim options. 26" wheels, tires, and tubes tend to be more ubiquitous, but that might not help you much on the dalton highway or someplace similar. a low-ish end aluminum mountain bike is likely to have 3 water bottle mounts, rear rack mounts, and v-brakes -- all things you should be interested in for pulling serious weight on rough terrain.