A thread to discuss bike touring - bikes, routes, gear, stories, etc.
>>1993350blessed edition with this nice OP pic. Lesgo guys it's spring already, better start packing,
how retarded would it be to travel 750 miles in 3 weeks, untrained?
>>1993395Its gonna hurt but you can definitely do it. That's not super far for that time frame so you can take rest days.
>>199339535 miles a day? Really easy, even if you are unfit. It would only be retarded if you are weak willed, obese or the climbs/surface is insane.Seems like babbytier to me.
>>1993454Yeah but there's more to riding than just strength. Have you never gotten a saddle sore? I used to get those at lower mileage than that.
>>1993395yeah it's not exactly fatigue that will get you, but discomfort if your fit isn't dialed in or you haven't broken in your ass yet.
>>1993395so it's really more important to test your fit and setup than to get fitness. do shorter trips first.
>>1993455never gotten that
>>1993395Easiest ride of your life lmao. That's an average of 3 hours a day of riding. That leaves like 14 hours to do whatever. Every day! Absolute joke. You can do that on a beach cruiser easy!! You can do it on a BMX if you get a tall seatpost. The only way that would be difficult is if you WALK!
Hey guys. Ukraine trip anon here, from the previous thread. I finally made it home about two weeks ago.https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/de/map/trips_1004538#5/48.531/9.053Trip map if anyone cares. Also includes most of my other bicycle tours. Not finished yet. Two big trips to the British Isles are still missing, and a bunch of other stuff. It's a work in progress. I'm currently migrating from Google My Maps. Open Street Maps is way better. Going to add markers for places where I spent the nights eventually.
>>1993579beautiful, thanks for sharing herr anonym , you actually pick some decent routes. Are these all recorded tracks? remind me how you charge your stuff (including drone?) without solar? I would never share the places where I camp.I like that yellow and light blue tracks, I can see that you feel the calling of the Central and eastern europe, but I hope this summer you will fell that beautiful loire valley and bretagne and cantabrian coast.Also you kinda doxed yourself, be careful or you'll have the deutsche rentenversicherung inquiring about the authenticity of your autism diagnosis.
>>1993597>>1993597>Are these all recorded tracks?Almost all of them, except for the small trip to Vienna across Czechia and back, and the trip to the northernmost point of Denmark. Lost the gpx files, which were only stored on my Garmin back then, in a bad accident way back. Had to reconstruct the tracks based on memory and pictures. They should be fairly precise though.>remind me how you charge your stuff (including drone?) without solar?Four power banks and and a dynamo hub USB charger. No drones. Enough for over a week without accomodation. I use my phone a lot.>but I hope this summer you will fell that beautiful loire valley and bretagne and cantabrian coast.I already went through Brittany on one of my trips to the British Isles, which is not on the map yet. I like France a lot, probably my favorite country outside of Eastern Europe and the Balkans. But yeah, Iberia really needs some love along with Scandinavia. I am not particularly fond of the latter though, and Spain/Portugal aren't really summer destinations for bike touring. Hate the mosquitoes in summer anyway. I sleep outside a lot. >Also you kinda doxed yourselfNah. The starting and end points you're probably talking about are obviously not accurate at all.
>>1993579what's that straight line is russia? you took a plane or gps was kill?
>>1993819oh, I zoomed and saw the airport, baka me
>>1993821wait, you took a boat there?
>>1993822The roads end nearby Ust-Tsilma in Northern Komi. I hopped on a boat at the "port" there which took me along the Pechora river to Naryan-Mar. Spent a couple of days there and then got on a plane to Saint Petersburg.
>>1993395i wanna do half of that but its all uphill and 90% wilderness
does anyone else get a little horny being outside in bike shorts. like the ones that are single layer. no underwear. little bit of synthetic fabric between being naked and not. hugging the shape of my strong glutes and huge cyclist/lifter quads. btw I'm male and straight.
>>1993955Yeah I always try to take care of business before riding otherwise I can have intrusive thoughts about all those big strong working class brutes in the cabs of their work trucks seeing me from behind and wondering if I'm a boy cyclist or a girl cyclist and it's hard to conceal the problem unless I get in the drops and just pedal as hard as I can until the bad thoughts go away. Pic unrelated.
>>1993955>>1993975wow, I remember being 16
is riding 100km in a single day doable for a fat dude?
>>1994001I say yes but not just going out tomorrow and doing it cold. I'd do like 35 km at your own pace, bring tools, and get your fit right. seat height, fore-and-aft, and angle; stem height ; bar rolled fore-and-aft ; hoods clamped up down in and out. even if you think it's right, play with everything and make sure. adopt any good changes and reset anything that was originally right.then do a 50 km ride a few days later and see how you feel . if you build up to it, I don't see why not
>>1994013to add, get good and warmed up several kms before you start fiddling with the fit
>>1994001Depends on the bike, the terrain, and the fat dude. I've taken a fit but non-cycling person on a 100km ride, with maybe 1500m of vertical (mostly concentrated in the last 1/3), and they were visibly suffering towards the end. But a shitload of water, a healthy dinner, and a couple of scoops of whey for dessert and they were fine the next day.Pancake flat, forgiving weather, nice bike, and you can do it, but you'll be in pain afterwards.
>>1993975lmfao agp i get it
>>1993955in this anonymous board I can finally say I WEAR WOOL UNDERWEAR underneath my bibs. I did this for months of touring including the hottest summer months summer, maybe washing my boxers and bibs once in 3-4 days or more, showering every day.Never had any problem.This fucking weirdo just confirms that going naked under bibs isn't a necessity if you're not cruising at racing rpm
>>1994273what wool undies do you rec? have been looking for some desu, i think they sound comfy.
>>1994311I'm euro so... surprise! Decathlon.
>>1994273Thank you for your bravery. I hate how road bullshit invades every other cycling discipline.
>>1994273>maybe washing my boxers and bibs once in 3-4 days or moreimagine the smell
>>1994013>>1994016did my first 35km, it was hard but doable. I'll keep you uptaded when i go for the 100km. thanks guys.
>>1994650nice!
>>1993395>untrainedYou'll need to ride ~60km every single day for 21 days, start by doing it at home for at least a week and see how you feel, you'd shit yourself and ruin your knees after 4 days
>>1995698Idk chief I averaged 110km a day for 15 days after probably having ridden no more than 200km in the year before that. It was fine. I put some thought into bike fit and was reasonably active generally at the time, but I surely wasn't trained, at least for cycling. Thinking about it, I was actually nursing some running-related knee injuries going in and I'm pretty sure they got better on the trip.So yeah, know yourself, play the long game, but also DBAP.
>>1995700Must be living on a flat area then, one fall I went for 300km and after the winter of no driving I could barely make it home after 50km ride for the first few days, then it of course stabilized, but if the guy is "untrained" he should at least prepare for what's coming
Did a 500 km loop over 6 days last week. Got awful saddle sores on day 3 or 4, and now I don't know if it's because of the fit (it's a new bike I'm still dialing in), if I overdid it in the first days or if I'm just just fat and unconditioned after the winter.I'm afraid they'll come back when I try to do a longer trip and completely ruin the experience.
>>1995738>But but .... muh brooks pointing straight to the starsYou fell for the brooks meme. Inb4: you got to break in the brooks saddle! No just joking it may be normal if you're not used to it, and untrained, with 80km per days for a straight week You're doing a lot of road, especially if you're offroad or on gravel you should also expect some hand and arms fatigue. Just take it more easy next time with more rest and breaks, or just accept that with those rhythms you're on the intensive/sport side of this thing so you should expect a lil bit of strains.On a longer trip at least for me, those initial pains disappears, and you get to know your body and your setup, and learn when to stop.Anyway if you're really really fat you should consider another saddle with more cushioning. That bike make my pp hard though
>>1995740Nah I already used that saddle on my previous bike (On-One Inbred) and it was fine. I remember some ass pain but it would largely go away overnight.I have a nagging suspicion that the Inbred frame might be softer than the Singular but I don't want to live in a world where that's true.
>>1993579How did you build that sick map?
>>1995742Oh I'm sorry I thought it was a question, nvmind you seem to know what you doing
>>1995738Hey I have that bottle
>>1995703Probably averaged around 1000m of climbing daily. It wasn't the Alps, but it surely wasn't flat.
>>1993579Please post pics from your trip
>>1993350Hello retard here, where to start? Do you guys sleep outside? Do you book hotels on the way? How long do these trips take? (I have a job so taking days off is suffering) Any gear you'd recommend for a total newbie?
>>1995783We were all retards once, my retard. >where to start? Start with day trip, then one-nighters, weekenders, 1 week and so on. See if you even like it. Any bike can do initially. Use a backpack for a day trip. Borrow panniers/gear. Buy used. If you've got money start small to see if you enjoy it. >Do you guys sleep outside? Yes, in a tent. Stealth camping is a thing, but ask permission if you can / be bothered. >Do you book hotels on the way? I do at least. For long 1+ week tours, a hotel is a great way to relax, visit an area, do laundry etc... I never book ahead, usually on the day, or at the place. >How long do these trips take? (I have a job so taking days off is suffering) Anywhere between a day, a week, months, maybe up to a year. Best time to do it is between jobs, and if you have a place to store your stuff and a means of covering your rent. >Any gear you'd recommend for a total newbie?Try it at first, you probably have everything you need. Bike, backpack, a pump, some puncture kit and don't forget sun-screen. When you get really into it, you can question if your bike is up to scratch and start researching bikes, panniers, navigation and so on. It's an iterative process. One thing I love is people converting old MTBs into touring rigs. But that's later.
>>1993579What's next Anon? Where will the wind blow you next?
>>1995861kek sun screen
>>1995861>>1995783don't forget insect repellant. icaridin-based. it's cheap.
>>1995861Thank you so much for all of these answers, I mean it.
>>1995861what counts as a day trip
>>1996203Literally getting on your bike and making a day of it. Today I did 100km, because I had a day off. It gets you used to riding a bike all day.
>>19962056hrs, 12hrs or 15hrs?
>>1996208a day trip dude. you get out soon in the morning, with an organized itinerary in mind or map with something to see, stops, snacks, lunch, and you get home by sunset.exactly as you would do with any other mean of transportation.
I live on a fucking half-island and I can only tour in one direction, shit fucking sucks, I know every single road. Might as well take a train somewhere far away and then bike home
>>1996449It's called a fucking peninsula
>>1996524maybe he lives on Hispañola
>>1996525kek now i'm thinking at all the hlaf islands-... cyprus? timor? ireland?
>>1996533new guinea. borneo is split between 3 countries
In some languages the word for peninsula literally translated back to half-island.
how do you maintain your drivetrain? you carry any degreaser or just oil the chain every now and then? teflon, ceramic, wax or just normal cheap oil?
>>1996991No degreaser but I carry a lil wd-40 for a variety of purposes and sometimes use it to degrease. teflon oil on the chain every 150km, a thick piece of cloth to clean it before, and remove excess oil after (I normally uses the same wet wipes I use to refresh myself, while retropedaling). a toothbrush or brush may be helpful, but It usually just spreads the dirt and grease. I think little stick to reach for caked grease in between cassete cogs or chainrings it's more useful.Trick for me is a lil bit of good, light oil for dry weather, but often, so you can weather the occasional shower and then reapply it. Never had to wash anything in months.
Preparing for my first bike tour. I've been reading that 60 percent of the weight should be on the back wheel and 40 percent on the front wheel. Is this a meme? Does having that much weight on the front wheel make handling annoying? What is the optimal pannier set up?
>>1998105having all the weight over the rear makes climbing out of the saddle extremely ungainly because the rear sways, and climbing any steep hill a fight for control as the front wheel will constantly want to lift off the ground. Also a major risk is damaging your rear rim with that much weight over it, this is a common failure for tourists anyway. That being said many people do tour rear weight only, and it's not totally nonviable. I've done it a few times with lighter loadouts and after my front rack has broken. Front panniers are a major aero penalty if you have a fast bike / like to ride at a higher pace. I don't think you necessarily need front panniers, but it is definitely worth at the very least, clamping some bottle cages on your fork (if steel) for a couple storage containers, strapping something on your bars, or running some frame bags, a minor front distrobution of weight is much better than nothing and sometimes even preferable to a complete classic touring setup like in your pic. tldr : it doesn't need to be 40:60 but it shouldn't be 0:100, even 10:90 is a huge improvement.
>>1996991degreasing is a meme even at home, the only way to do it effectively is removal and cycling in a solvent which is a major faff and chains aren't even that expensive. Running it through a rag, oil, run through a rag, when it gets loud, just like at home, that's enough, hell you don't even need to carry lube for the purpose you could pick some up or bum some on the road when/if your chain gets loud.
>>1998105>Does having that much weight on the front wheel make handling annoying?Depends on your bike setup. See short trail rando bikes. Eg, imagine a bike with a twitchy front end that becomes more normal when loaded.
>>1998109Always carry oil guys
>>1998105That looks like a Darren Alff setup, sad to hear that he quit bike touring. But as everyone said, don't place all your weight on the back. I had some "ultralight" gear, e.g.: tent, sleep system, clothes, that weighed relatively little. The front panniers had all my tools, food and cooking stuff. My handlebar panniers contained my valuables and electronics. As someone pointed out in a different thread, yeah the bike handled like a pig but I was surprised after a few kms that everything just "settled in", you get much fitter as well. As for wheels, I invested in a set of Ryde Sputniks with 36 double-butted spokes. It's as strong as they get for that size. I remember hitting severe potholes, curbs, rail lines, etc... these are tough AF. How long are you going for?
>>1998126Thanks for the advice.Was planning on going for around a month. Though was gonna go on short couple day trial runs to test out my setup. How much weigh should my whole set up be for that distance?
>>1998127>Though was gonna go on short couple day trial runs to test out my setup. Excellent strategy. >How much weigh should my whole set up be for that distance?It's a difficult question. But the rule of thumb (my rule) is where are you going? Cos if it's close to civilisation, then you: >Don't need so much food/water>Don't need to lug loads of spares/tools>Can get away with camping 70% of the time, rest, in hostels.>Can wash clothesI learned that every 7-10 days you need a good laundry change, bike maintenance, and every 3-5 days a food resupply. If you are close to towns, then this is very doable. So I can't give a specific number on weight.
>>1998127>How much weigh should my whole set up be for that distance?less than you initially think. a good yardstick is having the ability to lift your loaded bike over a fence.
>>1998131>I learned that every 7-10 days you need a good laundry changeyou're still washing smalls between then right? I wash socks and underwear every day or two. Handwashing a couple things is so easy, takes like 2 mins in a river or a handbasin of a public toilet with hand soap and they can just dry on your saddlebag. I never understood people who just do big machine washes and lug around a bunch of dirty clothes, or, wear dirty undies/socks. yuck
>>1998143Y-yes... ;_; I had 3-4 pairs of underwear, and 3-4 of socks. I would do my best to have fresh set each day, if not, every other day. The salt begins to really become problematic. I washed them pretty much wherever I could. I also wore sandals for cycling, that cut down on socks big time. As for t-shirts; 2x merino, 1x sports polyester, 1x long sleeve merino. These could get nasty as I wore sunscreen, sometimes bug-spray when camping, and they'd be covered in dust and sweat.
>>1998148that's pretty ideal imoespecially cos you can layer all those shirts in a pinch for warmth
