It's not touring, it's bikepacking.

So after a year of work saving I got a custom built bike. The team were really great and set me up as well as they could. I didn't know much. But in past month I have been biking every day, fidling, deep diving. Right now I just keep making a lot of small mistakes that are costing money. For example decided to just get cheapest rear rack. Now that I have it I realized, crap I really rather the quickrack from orlieb since I like to run the back clean while commuting. Same goes for stem, I have molokos, realizing I need a taller stem. Didn't think I would want dynamo so got a headlamp and headlamp mount,that was an error so just got one installed, so now have spare hub and brake rotor too. Just bought the wrong grip tape, too chunky... seems the list of errors is just compounding.

I would say all in all my mistakes, lack of experience have cost me about 500$ worth of shop time, parts, etc. ( That is not counting new rack or new stem)

Give it to me straight how bad am I doing?

EDIT: Thanks - I was feeling really dumb. People are right, like with anything, these are very personal vehicles and you don't know until you know.

Good evening ladies and gentlemen,

I figured I'd ask for some opinions. For the past 6 years I've ridden Scott Speedster 20, 2017 - the bike was amazingly fast and light, but not too comfortable.

Last year I bought Orbea Terra H30, but compared to my Speedster, it's really weak for long-distance cycling (150km/day for 7 days). I love the bike, beautiful and comfy, but doing 100km on it is a pain for me.

I'm looking to get a new one, closer to a road-all rounder Speedster, but still able to do some off-road. I mostly cycle on paved roads, but I need it to be able to do some off-road if it magically appears.

I'm considering:

• Scott Speedster 10, 2024
• Specialized Diverge Comp E5, 2024

Do you have any recommendations? Speed, lightness, and ability to pull off 150km with the rider not being in fit form is what I'm looking for.

Thank you!

I'm famous! For forgetting things when hop on my bike in the morning. I've left my packed pack, wallet, sunglasses... Plenty o' things. Starting to make a quick check list, looking for your help: What have you famously forgotten?

https://arkel.ca/

I just got a haul-it for commuting, but they have a bunch of bags on sale for today. Sadly the seatpacker is out of stock so there's no sale on that

Im planning on doing the tahoe twirl route this fall. It will be my first bikepacking trip, I am going off a ride with gps file I found on bikepacking.com. I was wondering if theres a different gps file/service to use along side ride with gps. Also any tips or other relevant information for this route would be greatly appriciated.

I want to do the Iceland divide

I consider buying the Garmin Edge 540 for GPX-file navigation

But i wonder if it is good enough with GPS in remote areas?

Anything better?

I'm looking for a new bike under £1500. I'll use it everyday for getting around (I've got a short commute, but may get a new job that would require taking the bike on trains) and weekend rides with the family. We're hoping to start doing some family bike packing trips over the summer and school breaks (and so will be laden with gear for the kids as well as myself), and hopefully some longer tours once the kids get a little older. I would like to get a bike now that will be my forever bike, and will handle the everyday and gravel road use.

I'm leaning towards the Kona Sutra SE. It looks fantastic and everyone that has one seems to love it and indicate that it's a great all-around bike for the kinds of things I'm looking to do. Downsides: I'm a little skeptical about the bar end shifters, and it might be a bit heavy for hauling in and out of my bike storage and taking onto trains, carrying up and down stairs, etc. I've read lots of people say they were skeptical of the shifters at first but got used to them quickly and actually like them now. I've seen someone in another post comment that the shifters could be changed out for about £100, but the guy at the LBS said it would require changing out the derailleur as well and would be several hundred ££. He generally suggested that the bar end shifters were terrible and that I should go with the Genesis; they sell both, but Genesis seems to be the "house brand" of this particular shop.

The 2nd on my list is the Genesis Tour de Fer 10. Overall it sounds really similar to the Kona Sutra SE in terms of versatility. Main plus over the Kona is the brake shifters. I'm sure I'd love it and I shouldn't care that much about looks, but I really like the look of the Kona over the Genesis.

3rd on my list is the Cube Nuroad Pro FE. I know this is in a different category than the other two, and I've become less excited about it compared to how I felt earlier in the week. Main advantage is that it's lighter and would probably be great for the everyday biking/taking on trains. I also like that it has a dynamo hub and lighting, as I would like to not have to worry about forgetting to charge my lights. Main downsides are that it's aluminium and less likely to be my forever bike, and would be less good on longer tours, and maybe even bike packing trips if I've got to carry stuff for the kids. I also am not a big fan of the rear rack without a platform (how am I supposed to carry a case of beer home??), and it sounds like changing out the rack for another one is impossible/not easy.

Any opinions on these three bikes? Anyone with the Kona Sutra SE that was skeptical about the bar end shifters that came to like them, or ended up hating them? Or changing them out?

Hi everyone! I come from Europe and live in North America.

Where I come from the bicycles of the company "décathlon" in this case the brand "rockrider" have a rather good quality/price ratio. For the purchase of a first bike it is a rather correct choice.

On the second-hand market it is really interesting to buy some, because it is very widespread and inexpensive.

I found some here in North America but the problem is that the prices for the same models are higher so the quality/price ratio is less interesting.

To conclude, could you tell me brands or models of semi-rigid bikes well without ruining me?

Thank you for reading me and who knows maybe we will meet on the roads.

Ulrich

Anyone know about this bike or own one? Looking to purchase as there is no surlys in stock. Is it any good for off road bike packing?

For Sale. PM me if interested.

Hey all, i just wanted to see if anyone had any ideas or solutions for this. My girlfriend and i recently got bikes (Poseidon redwood with drop bars) to take bike packing/just riding around but the problem is she has a bigger butt (no complaints here) and finds the stock saddle to be a bit too small. Are there any recommendations for other saddles or anything of that sort?

So need to replace the forks on my do it all road bike / bike packing bike. But can't find what I want..!

Full carbon steerer 47 rake Mudguard mounts Flat mount disc mounts Dynamo routing

Now this is where I hit the trouble .. Frames on old QR's and want cargo mounts if possible

All the above fine if I go TA at the front, but I'll be into wheel rebuilding other than my dynamo....

I'm thinking old qr forks are lesser spotted now! Any suggestions or even breadcrumbs appreciated.

Basically, any locations where you could basically unpack your bike at the airport, and get going without too many issues. Experience with many airports is they’re isolate from major trails are regular roads by major highways that bikes aren’t allowed to enter.

I’m preparing for a bikepacking (mountain biking) trip in pretty rugged grueling terrain. I’m using a dual suspension mountain bike with no frame bag. So I only have a front handlebar roll and a rear seat pack. I’ve decided I’ll carry a hydration pack to give me room for 3L of water, a wind or rain jacket, snacks, and any other bits and bobs are lighter in weight. I have an ultralight kit, with a tarp, a 40 degree quilt, etc, with a total gear weight of 7.5lbs. My dilemma is basically where to store my heaviest items, which basically will be food. Should I distribute the food weight evenly between the bars and seat pack and try to keep my handlebars lighter, or should I put more or even all of the food weight in the seat pack? I will likely have about six pounds of food for this three day trip.