Great article by Aaron Teasdale at bicycling magazine about a multi-day bikepacking in the Kanasksis region of Canada.

multi day offroad Canadian bikepacking trip

Bike packing, that would be something like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Coi86g8bxE8

It's not hardcore bikepacking as he buys sandwiches from a cafe, and the leather saddlebag is not made from lightweight materials.

Well of course he only bought the sandwich because he lost his, and leather was a performance material in his day. Back to the serious discussion.

If he was really serious, he wouldn't have needed the sandwich and would have eaten the leather bag. The original jerky...

leather is no longer a performance fabric? what?


Some bikepackers' riding backpacks approach that of Michael Palin's on his 'flying circus' bike tour posted by massive D.

my goal is to pack UL enough with a rackless setup to not need a backpack.

I do carry one of those cheap, promotional musette bags for extra carrying capacity of food and what not. not the best for the middle of the woods so maybe a cheap collapsible backpack like some riders are carrying might be in order.

one tip i haven't seen mentioned yet (staeph1 might have but i don't think so) is padding the rack if you use a rack.

Pad the rack with strips of foam or poly tubing (taping sections of old foam sleeping pad to your rack) to cut down on abrasion of lightweight bags being strapped to it.

Mr D, tks for putting that up, I don't think I've ever seen that episode.

Gawd, are we really that annoying to other people? 'Cept nowadays we can post online blogs about falling off at Exeter where the A30 meets the A337, and then again at Worthing right where the A27 meets Broadwater Rd........

I loved the clankity clank of his cup and pot.

starting to border on not ultralight, but i have had need to keep water from freezing on long day rides in the shoulder season and in the middle of winter. and planning to do an overnight this year if i can upgrade a few pieces of gear...

these will fit into anything cages (which are great, BTW, if you don't overload them) on the pugsley or the fargo. pugsley if we get good snow, fargo if its cold and icy and i run studs.


Granite Gear bottle snugglies by mbeganyi, on Flickr\

granite gear aquasack - fit a nalgene into a sleeve with some bubble insulation. might not be workable below 0dF, but should work in the mid teens to 30s. will probably have to get something like the aquatherm or move to the outdoor research water bottle parka.

Have you not considered the battery powered heated socks for this sort of thing? Even the chemical hand warmers might be workable.

I might consider either alternative if touring in really cold weather, lightweight or not. I remember several trips in Tasmania and Victoria in conditions such that my water bottles, left outside on the bike, were frozen solid and took three hours to melt enough to drink from. Which can be a real PITA, because you can't empty and refill them, and I didn't have access to other bottles at the time. And yes, experience has told me now to bring them into the tent...

bmike, Ive had an OR insulated jobee with the zippered top for well over 10 years, prob more, and use it mostly in a fanny pack when XC skiing. Works very well and Ive never had water freeze in it down to -20c or so, but then realistically the water in the 1l nalgene doesnt usually last that long anyway before being drunk, but it certainly is nice to have some warm stuff in there that will still be warm after an hour or two (I used to mix weak gatoraid from powder using hot water)

I do use it once in a while on a really hot summers riding day, in a pannier just to have some cooler water after the two bike bottles get finished. Prob is with dark coloured panniers that the sun warms them up so much it is surely hotter in there than on the bike frame, but in the end, having any kind of insulation is going to help a certain amount.

I just bought one of these Boreas bags for UL hiking (the 40L Buttermilk) and I noticed a video on the design of their cycling bags. Since they're minimalist, they won't weigh more than 1-2lbs and they have the trampoline feature to keep them off of your back. Normally, I'll be the first to denounce weight on your back (despite carrying 5-6lbs for a month there!) but the trampoline feature and low price make these a winner. Something that isn't shown in this video is that one of the bags, the Lagunitas, has a waterproof pocket, too.

Reflective, hydration compatible, minimalist, convertible from biking to hiking, and with loops for flashers. Seems perfect for bikepacking:

haven't considered battery powered anything other than headlight, gps, spot tracker (runs a long time), and phone. don't want to add water warming into the mix. too much other stuff that requires power. for a day trip, yeah, should work. long term though, i'd want to run as passive as possible.

and batteries are poor performers in the cold.

had a frozen hydro bladder hose 2 years ago in the ADKs on sno mo trails 8 miles from the closest road. ended up causing the bladder to leak and it dripped down my back. not the end of the world, as it was a day trip - but on an overnight or if i had planned to go further i'd have been in trouble.

good to know they work. i have a klean kanteen insulated bottle that works well too. sort of weighty for the volume though. nalgenes are heavy too, so i'll try to find some diposable type bottles from the beverage aisle that will fit in these as well.

i heard a trick is to keep the bottles upside down. should things start to freeze it keeps the threads unfrozen, so you can still open the bottles and add hot water if needed.

nice too for hot hot summer days. not that i want to be carrying around ice chests, but sometimes warm water just goes down hard.

I used to participate in an event called the Canadian Ski Marathon, would do 2 or 3 sections per day (of 5) and a good friend of mine who did it once had to give water to a guy doing the whole thing as his bladder had leaked like that, not what you want when its really cold, getting wet that is.
I used a camel back once and had problems with the hose freezing up, even tho I had wrapped some insulation around it. It was a drag not being able to drink for awhile before getting to a checkpoint, so while some people set them up well with good insulation, Im not keen on the idea of them, would always stick to basic containers. Havent had big problems with the threads icing up, but i guess the upside down trick would work.

water will freeze in a bottle first where there's air at the top of a bottle. inverting the bottle wins a little precious time. Ditch the bike bottles and carry Nalgene bottles. big mouth, easy to open even if frozen. Bike bottle nozzles become useless about 18 hours into a winter bike trip.

winter camping, if you bury your water in snow in bottles upside down last thing before turning in, it's usually still flowing in the morning.

ditch the alcohol stove if there's any snow that needs to be melted, and go with a gas burner.

Here is an excellent blog. The link is to a post about baggage, the other posts are fun too. I particularly like the use of the Carradice Camper for bikepacking.....although the tendency for "bag happiness" is again present.

https://gypsybytrade.wordpress.com/20...-list-luggage/

When it's below freezing, always blow back to clear the hose after drinking.

great kit, serious rider, but that bike tremendously fails to embody the ultralight ethos. look at the volume of that load!

Zoinks!

I think gypsy by trade epitomizes one of my themes in this thread, that the sheer volume of gear people bring frequently exceeds many UL carrying systems.

been there, done that, with an insulated cap and hose.
still had issues, and pretty sure that is what caused the bag to leak.

i know some of the iditasport kids use hydro bladders, but i'm pretty sure they are running them under jackets and out sleeves. something i have not tried.

you know, I think I was doing that, but that day was a drag from all regards. I mistakenly was slightly underdressed thinking it was going to be a bit warmer (was in the shadow of a ridge for a while, so was colder, and there was a wind too out in the open sections), I was skiing with a guy I'd never skiied with before-he was a stronger skier than I but kept up at his speed more from a losing face sort of thing; then I couldnt drink....so all in all was rather cold, dehydrated and kinda dopey and never really recovered---all that to say that I remember all the negative stuff and so even if I wasnt doing the "blowing stuff back tube thing" correctly, I really dont have the urge to try a camelback again for a longer xc ski at -10 or -15c.

I could see how experimenting with the bladder and pipe being under clothing could work, and just trying diff techniques for a given temp too. For the type of skiing I do with family or friends, the time to stop to open a nalgene isnt an issue, or a sip of hot chocolate or tea from a small thermos either.

I could tho how a camelback would be handy for someone really wanting to make time and such.

My first impression is to forcibly take his macro lens away from him! So many close-ups!

My second impression is that with two Ortliebs and a handlebar bag, I couldn't fit all the stuff he's bringing. Is it streamlined and near-rackless? Sure, but it's a lot of stuff!

Yeah, I didn't see what his base weight was, but I am pretty sure it is not in the ultralight category. Interesting link none the less.

maybe not ultralight bike touring, but looks like ultralight living. seems he moves around quite a bit, and carries his basic living kit with him... good stuff regardless.

Bringing back the thread on ultralite packing, as the spring touring season is quick upon us, and some of us may not have stopped touring.

I have to report - to the mirthful edification of some of the earlier thread participants, no doubt - I've gone over to the light side, and ordered a small hydration pack to go with a Revelate seat and frame bag for the upcoming season's bikepacking. Building up that rim brake diamond frame 29er, though I might still stuff a rack on the back as a fender/ emergency 12 pack hauler.

nice... can't wait to see your setup.
i'm looking at winter camping gear right now. snow in the mountains, and early season might call for skis or hikes.
thinking about getting a used bivy for late fall / winter camping. the contrail is awesome, but won't take a snow load.