PadawanHealy

I am an amateur at biking long distances, the longest I've rode in my life was approximately 32 miles on a 2014 Specialized Hardrock mountain bicycle. I intend to bikepack throughout scenic regions of California in the near future. Would you recommend bikepacking with a group of other bicyclists on a tour or as a solo cyclist for my first time?

VegasTriker

It is certainly more fun to do it as a group but some people do it solo. Look up Sylvia Halpern aka myrtle the turtle who has soloed across the US and in many other countries on a trike. If she could do it, so can you. She does it self supported - no backup vehicle. Travels By Trike

cyccommute 

I often tell people that the only thing worse then touring with someone is touring alone and that the only thing worse then going solo is taking someone with you. I often tour (more on nomenclature below) by myself because I have more time to do it than anyone I know. I enjoy touring solo but it does get hard to stay in your own head for days to weeks at a time.

Going by myself means that I go at my own pace. That can be a problem, however. I tend to push too far and too hard per day. I risk injuring myself...and I have in the past. I don’t really notice it until it’s too late and I’m struggling at the end of the tour.

When I have my wife with me...and this is a lesson I have to learn each time I go with someone...I ride more at her pace. She won’t let me do 70 or 80 miles a day and that makes for a more relaxing ride. But it can be frustrating because her speed is far less than mine. The best example of this was perhaps the first time I (failed) to learn the lesson. We were in Scotland and had been chasing a group of Alaskans for the better part of 2 weeks. Every town we got to asked us if we were with the Alaskans and they had been through the town just the day or two before.

We eventually stopped hearing about them when our paths diverged. I was still making my wife’s life hell by trying to demand larger distances per day which she just wasn’t going to do. We eventually got to Oban which is a beautiful little port town on the west coast. We took a couple of rest days there and went to see the sights. One afternoon we spotted the Alaskans in a shop near the ferry and (tried) to strike up a conversation. I said to one of them “You must be the Alaskans! We’ve been chasing you for a week!” One of the riders (there were about 10 of them) said “So you caught us,” and that was about the extent of the conversation.

I did eventually get the information that they were at mile 50 of a 100 mile day and were just blowing through the town. They completely missed one of the jewels of Scotland because they were chasing miles, not experience. My wife and I enjoyed the town so much that we stayed for another 3 days.

The point of this long story is that groups have a group dynamic and often that insulates them from the local experience. Going solo strips that insulation completely away and forces you to deal with the world on your own.

Note on nomenclature: “Bikepacking” and “touring” are usually 2 different things. Bikepacking started (and still is for the most part) as a way to ride off-road in remote locations. The gear is meant to take advantage of mountain bikes geometry and keep the gear close to the bike so that it can be ridden on narrow or rough trails. It’s meant to be more spartan than bicycle touring. It also carries the load higher on the bike which has an effect on the handling. This is typical of off-road bikepacking bikes and roads

Untitled by Stuart Black, on Flickr
Untitled by Stuart Black, on Flickr


Bicycle touring often carries more gear or carries it differently and is usually done on paved roads or at least roads that are in better shape. Because the routes are better, the gear can be carried lower on the bike which makes for a more stable ride. This is my touring bike with a load

2015-04-23 06.25.21 by Stuart Black, on Flickr

HerrKaLeun

I would do some longer day trips first to test your physical strength. Assume when touring you have much more weight than on a day trip. If riding in a group, you don't want to be the one who only ever did 32 miles unloaded while the other riders do packed centuries daily and expect the same of you.

Riding with people, like all activities with people, really depends on the fit. Obviously the above physical fitness should not be too far apart, but also personality. riding in a group only is enjoyable, if you enjoy the people's company. With some people.. one is better of alone.

sumgy

Not sure if you are aware that there is an entire section of the forum dedicated for Touring?

Arthur Peabody

After years of riding just for fun, I bicycled from Iowa to Maryland on a bicycle I had just bought (a Schwinn Le Tour 12.2 - a Panasonic Schwinn rebranded), a Blackburn rack, an ancient Boy Scout external frame backpack lashed to it with cord. I had no tent, no sleeping bag - I was 26. My butt hurt. I'd never go with anyone else - but I don't do anything with anyone else, so that doesn't make touring special. When I was in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico, I met an Indian (from India) fellow who had bicycled down from Vancouver in 2 weeks, so he claimed. He looked fit.

PadawanHealy

I was not, Thank you for informing me of this.

coffeesnob

you must be a beast... hauling all that stuff 70 or 80 miles a day.. How many extra pounds you got there?

indyfabz

I think the nomenclature issue raised above is important. If you are going into the "backcountry" it may be wise to have at least one companion, especially since you are inexperienced. Adventure Cycling recommends that you do the Great Divide Route with a group of at least two, and preferably three. The reasoning relates to someone becoming injured on a remote part of the route. With three riders, one can go for help while the another stays with the injured rider.

indyfabz

When I rode across the country and then some my bike (also a Cannondale) and gear weighed 90 lbs., due in large part to the amount of film camera equipment I was carrying. Keep in mind that it would have been even heavier but for the fact that I was on a group trip (13 people total). That meant I didn't have to carry full cooking gear. My end of the group gear was one large pot with a lid that doubled as a frying pan.

PadawanHealy

Thanks you for the invaluable advice! Can you recommend any bike-packing cycling associations specifically for beginners? I stress bike-packing and not touring. Also, finally, on that note, could you recommend any mountain bicycles specifically designed for bike-packing within the $500 - $850 price range? (They don't necessarily have to be contemporary models, I'm not one to sycophantically curry-favor bicycles just because they are newly released)

bakerjw

As I tell people with bikepacking, there is no right answer but there are a lot of wrong ones. Bikepackers love to talk about gear and strategies.

From my experience, riding with others tends to cause delays in getting started each day. Any time that there is a stop it is a delay in moving again.

Luckily mountain bikes for bikepacking don't have to be state of the art. Load them with bags and take off. Plan well and practice loading and unloading your bike.

tyrion

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but off road riding can be twice as exhausting (sometimes worse) as riding on pavement, per mile. So take that into consideration when planning.

jsigone

this would be MY minimum. While you can get a MTB for 500-850, the parts will be junk and wheels might break under loaded weight. Cali has allot of rocky hills, so gearing and lungs help a ton.

https://www.rei.com/product/140382/s...deore-275-bike

Add another $200-300 in bags, cheaper set of options is the Blackburn outpost line up. Put the weight on the bike not your back.
https://www.blackburndesign.com/c/bike-bags

Plus 1p tent, smallest sleeping bag you can afford, ect ect

cyccommute 

The weight depends on several factors. It's around 45 lbs for either bike but food changes that weight by up to 5 lbs. I carry a little less for off-road bikepacking but the bike is heavier.

cyccommute 

Adventure Cycle is about the only cycling association out there that does any kind of touring. They have several bikepacking tours available if that is the way you want to go. Finding someone to tour with is usually a crap shoot, however. Most people just don't have the time or inclination. I tour both road and off-road mostly solo but I know the territory I'm riding in or have had enough experience in touring to know what to look for in routing. I'm also a very good mechanic and macguiverer.

As for bikes, there isn't much new that I would suggest in that price range. They are beginning to put really bad parts on those kinds of bikes in terms of both drivetrain and suspension. I'd suggest a 5 to 10 year old mountain bike. Look for good parts like Deore/XT/XTR or SRAM X7/X9/XO as well as better forks. You want an air fork that is lockable. My favorite fork is the Fox that you can see in the picture. It's not too heavy, it's rugged and very effective. It's also a bit expensive.

I'd also look for something with rack mounts to extend your carrying capacity a little. A Specialized Rockhopper or Trek of mid 2000 vintage would fill the ticket nicely.

jsigone

good info on this page and routes in cali, but they CLIMB

https://bikepacking.com/bikes/plus-bikes/


Shake off the cob webs using loaded bike on your local 10-15mile trails before setting off point to point

PadawanHealy

I suppose the $500 - $850 price bracket was an unrealistic approximation. I'd simply like a bicycle that firmly suits the bike-packing role but is characteristically minimalistic in nature, a base model is fine, as long as it's proven to be reliable under such conditions. I would presume the bicycle you hyperlinked to suits this?

Many thanks!

tyrion

The older steel no-suspension 26" wheel mountain bikes are great all purpose bikes that can be used for bikepacking. Minimal and classic. You can get a nice one for $500. But if the terrain is rugged, you'll want a bike with front suspension (called a "hard tail").

cyccommute 

And can sometimes include significant amounts of walking, especially uphill. Riding a 25% grade is difficult enough on pavement. On dirt, it's even harder and when you are flirting with 12,000 feet it's even harder.

Yea, I walk it.

ericzamora

I recommend going with a good buddy who is also interested. start off with day trips, 40-60-etc. or 1-2 nighters of 30-50 miles each day. etc.

as for a bike, yeah, plenty of older used options out there like classic MTB styles. you just need to know what to look for, and that it can grow with you. 2-3 or more bottle mounts, rear rack mounts, etc. if you don't know bikes that well, it may be best to buy something made for bike backing (my salsa wanderlust rear rack won't fit on my 2018 hardtail MTB that has Boost spacing and 27.5 x 2.8 plus tires).

to save money on a new-to-you bike, buy used. or take advantage of year end sales which will be taking place soon. as 2020 models become available this fall, shops will need to get rid of 2019 models. some may still have a 2018 on the floor that would work for you.

if you're like me, then a new bike is in the picture. and you may find a Surly Bridge Club ideal. has tons of mounts, flat bars, disc brakes, steel frame and fork, fork mounts for extra bottles or storage bags, etc.
https://surlybikes.com/bikes/bridge_club

A flat bar Salsa Journeyman 700c comes in at $799.
https://salsacycles.com/bikes/journe...bar_claris_700

eric/fresno, ca.

Witterings

Personally I'd rather ride with others but I prefer a small select group rather than rent-a-crowd and go with people who I know cycle at the same speed as I do and happy to do the same distance I do in a day .... the bigger the crowd, the harder to get dates that work for all of you as well.

There's the company aspect of having someone to chat to along with and a couple of beers at the end of the day along with the safety in numbers rule and each of us work together if any have a puncture / mechanical failure and as someone else mentioned if there was an accident people to help or get help.

If I didn't have friends that wanted to go on a tour with me I'd look at booking an organised one if it was my 1st just to see how it went.

PadawanHealy

Ah! okay!