slarge wrote:For saddlebags, I can only assume they stop you getting off the back of the saddle as the width hits the thighs...

...as opposed to your bum hitting a seatpack? Do saddlebags restrict rearward movement (even) more?

So, a couple of questions about luggage for you hardened veterans: 1) What's the advantage of a bar harness for your dry bag, other than making it easier to get the bar roll on and off, and to prevent it rubbing against the bar and stem and eventual wear-out? Any other advantages? 2) Why no love for...

I have enjoyed my Salsa Spearfish for XC type riding ... One of the reasons I will eventually get around to restoring one of my 94-95 FSRs is to use as a bikepacking bike on tougher terrain. Perhaps not 'Alpine Ready', but we're looking at 60mm rear travel, up to 100mm in the front, and a sizeable ...

ZeroDarkBivi wrote:Cotic Rocket look nice, but like many similar bikes, the shock location means no chance of using a frame bag.

For the Rocket - or indeed any other bike with a highly sloped top tube - a full-length on-the-top-of-the-top-tube bag might be an option instead of a frame bag.

The other takes you from the Col Turini to Nice with only a couple of small rises, almost 50km downhill. If you're using this route, I highly recommend popping in to the park next to the Musée Matisse in Cimiez (or even visit the museum itself perhaps). It's a great place to chill out, watch the pe...

I've been using a Pletscher Map Holder since the early 90s when I picked on up at the York CTC Rally. Didn't know they were still available, and at this price they are an utter bargain. I attach to my handlebars with a bodged Ever Ready Nightrider front bracket, but there are other options. Brillia...

I've been using a Pletscher Map Holder since the early 90s when I picked on up at the York CTC Rally. Didn't know they were still available, and at this price they are an utter bargain. I attach to my handlebars with a bodged Ever Ready Nightrider front bracket, but there are other options. https://...

komoot is my current favourite, and maps.me looks interesting too.

Can't find any pics of a Longitude with drops on but no reason why you can't with the right stem etc I've got Woodchippers on my Fortitude Adventure with a 60mm stem. It rides pretty long, and I'm looking at going with an ultra short stem and bringing the bars back by an inch if the handling will s...

In Reverse wrote:I've got Avid BB7's on my gravel/tourer/whatever bike and they're

Seconded, never felt the need to fit anything else.

Hey, happy to help. Are you coming anywhere near Bristol or the Mendips??

Great beaches in the Woolacombe - Croyde area in North Devon, and a good fish and chip shop here. If you find yourself in need of a shower, there's a good, basic campsite here.

If you're happy to navigate using a phone, have a play with the komoot.com routing. You can choose road, gravel or mountain biking routes, and drag the route to visit places of interest along the way, among many other features. It's OSM-based, so you may wish to export a GPX and then overlay on IGN ...

Any hub (and indeed anything with a bearing) will last a great deal longer if you get rid of the typical 'photocopier grade' factory grease and get some decent stuff in there. Paper mill grease is said to be the most applicable, but it's difficult to get hold of in small-ish quantities.

Sorry if this has been discussed ad nauseam elsewhere (links would be welcome), but... I'm moving from 'backpacking with a bike' towards strapping more of my stuff to the bike itself, and wondering who puts what where and why. So far I have sleeping mat and sleeping bag in a 13 litre handlebar roll,...

Sounds good, PM me with PayPal details.

I'd like the brakes / levers if you're splitting please.

I get on very well with my Mavic Screes (now renamed to Crossmax Pro H2O MTB - snappy!) both for walking and riding. I found I needed around two sizes larger than I normally take, though. I presume this is due to them being sized according to the sole size and being relatively thickly padded.

I'd be giving White Industries themselves a call to find out if they can build you what you want (if they don't make it off-the-shelf).

For not unconnected reasons, along with my aversion to hardtails[*], I've also never got on with dropper posts. I learnt to ride in the old days where we slid off the back of the saddle and waved the saddle around our b-ll-cks to get down steep stuff. I can see that a seatpack would get in the way o...

I'm xcpro - named after my favourite groupset.

If you don't want to take a dropper, why not just have a QR and drop your saddle?

The more I think about this issue, the more I think that the best solution for a dynamo is the NiMH battery solution. This involves a rectifier at the output of the dynamo followed by four NiMH batteries in series across the output of the rectifier. The batteries effectively act as both a power cach...

I have done some tests with my solar panel and PortaPow battery this morning. Despite having an on-off switch, if the PortaPow is receiving enough charge current (around 0.3A or 300mA) the circuitry will switch on without the use of the switch. This means that the battery can provide current to devi...

I've never charged my (1st Gen) Zendure with a dynamo, but I have from a solar panel, which has similar output in as much as it's 'variable'. What I found was that after solar charging, the Zendure would get itself into a state where it would never show more than 2-of-4 lights lit until it was plugg...