whitestone wrote:Ian, are the older Spearfish frames threaded bottom bracket? The press fit bobbins on the current models is what puts me off.

I'm not sure what standard they are. Mine came with a praxis adaptor so I can run 'normal cranks' it's been good so far...

Nick wrote:Giant Trance 27.5, based on the 2015 WRT experience!

I have a trance which was a great bikepacking bike, unfortunately I bought the base model so it had cheap suspension front and rear, both are now gubbed and in need of replacing

journeyman wrote:I fit right into my Ogre with its 100mm suspension on duallys and 2.4in tyres; short steep stem on jones loop bars and a Brooks Cambium to plonk my butt on. Unloaded its the ugliest bike going - a right ogre - but loaded up its a thing of beauty and a super dependable iron horse for long hours. If I had the cash at the end of the month I'd work out how to spend it on a Spearfish. Does anyone import them?

there is one for sale on STW classifieds at the moment.

techno mail wrote:

Ray Young wrote:2017 Genesis Longitude, £999. Full cromo frame/rigid fork, full shimano deore groupset with 2/10 chainset. 27.5/35mm wheelset with 2.8 tyres, will take 29er wheelset. 3 sets bottle bosses, anything cage mounts, mudguard/rack eyelets, 2 gorilla cages.

Seconded, I love my 2016 Longitude. Rides well laden and unencumbered it's great fun.
Tons of options for gearing and load carrying.

Thirded
I'm going to press the button on one of these very soon.
I was thinking of the Ramin until the recent price rise, as it was excellent vfm now less so and I think the spec on the Longitude is well worth the little extra.
Peter

I bought the 2016 Longitude last month, picked it up for £750 new, worth looking around, there may still be some stock.

Really enjoying it, though not actually used it for bikepacking yet...

I bought the 2016 Longitude last month

How are you finding the aluminium fork? When I had one on test, I found it very, very rigid ... lovely bike otherwise.

I saw some Longitudes on sale somewhere, I was even vaguely tempted as there is a cycle to work window opening.

Then I realised I have no room and I wouldn't get a chance to ride it much!

Hargroves or bikescene or somewhere like that maybe?

http://www.tweekscycles.com/Product.do? ... oCouPw_wcB

Here's a medium one for £739.01 which seems a very specific price...

ianfitz wrote:

whitestone wrote:Ian, are the older Spearfish frames threaded bottom bracket? The press fit bobbins on the current models is what puts me off.

I'm not sure what standard they are. Mine came with a praxis adaptor so I can run 'normal cranks' it's been good so far...

Spearfish are PF30. My FSA bb lasted under 600 miles on a "for best" bike. The advantage of pf30 over bb30 is that you can fit an adaptor to put normal ht2 bbs instead. If I'd kept mine that's what I would have done.

johnnystorm wrote:

ianfitz wrote:

whitestone wrote:Ian, are the older Spearfish frames threaded bottom bracket? The press fit bobbins on the current models is what puts me off.

I'm not sure what standard they are. Mine came with a praxis adaptor so I can run 'normal cranks' it's been good so far...

Spearfish are PF30. My FSA bb lasted under 600 miles on a "for best" bike. The advantage of pf30 over bb30 is that you can fit an adaptor to put normal ht2 bbs instead. If I'd kept mine that's what I would have done.

Thanks JS. That's the accurate version of what I was saying

I've Ben fortunate / obsessed enough to have a number of bikes, although probably less than many on here! In my experience there is no ring to rule them all, unless you only do a very specific type of riding. Therfore it's about the best compromise or having multiple bikes for different types of ride; whilst feasible, you probably wouldn't want to use the same bike on the Colorado Trail that you would on the Torino-Nice.

That said, I do find myself getting the Spearfish out more often than not, as it is such a good all-rounder, especially where comfort and techy trails are a factor.

At present I have two other bikes in final build stage; a rigid 27.5+ with Rohloff for proper long tours where terrain may be harsh, maintenance facilities few and extra capacity for carrying food & kit required. The other bike is a light XC 29er HT with a Lauf fork, which, with the right tyres, can cover everything from gravel (not)racing to longer trips on non-tech terrain and with less challenging logistics.

Photos would be useful, but I have been defeated by the IT!

Bearbonesnorm wrote:

I bought the 2016 Longitude last month

How are you finding the aluminium fork? When I had one on test, I found it very, very rigid ... lovely bike otherwise.

Not really got enough miles on it yet to make a proper judgement, it definitely felt harsh, but my other off road ride is full suspension. Was always expecting a difference.
Going to get it set up tubeless and then see how it goes.

It's all really personal so all I'd say a good BP bike needs to do is cover a wide range of ground well - if you shy away from a rocky alpine area or a long road section due to your bike then the bike is influencing where you ride, to me that contradicts the idea of freedom on a bike.

if you shy away from a rocky alpine area or a long road section due to your bike then the bike is influencing where you ride, to me that contradicts the idea of freedom on a bike.

Agree, although rider aptitude and attitude may play a big part in the decision making process. Some people will happily take a 40c tyred, drop-barred bike down things that others might consider border-line suicidal.

Steel, rigid and yellow ... covers all bases

Bearbonesnorm wrote:

if you shy away from a rocky alpine area or a long road section due to your bike then the bike is influencing where you ride, to me that contradicts the idea of freedom on a bike.

Agree, although rider aptitude and attitude may play a big part in the decision making process. Some people will happily take a 40c tyred, drop-barred bike down things that others might consider border-line suicidal.

Steel, rigid and yellow ... covers all bases

Has that ever been Bikepacking though Stuart.

It owes us a lap of the BB 200 2014 route for starters!

Agreed .. a lot is about your attitude/aptitude. As long as you and your bike make a good 'team' to cover most of what most rides might offer, all's good. I'm thinking about the rides where you go to see what comes up, rather than spending a lot of time mapping the ideal terrain in advance or the 'I've got a 160mm Enduro bike, where shall I go to ride it' sort of approach.

Eg, I could ride my fave all-round and bikepacking bike on a road tour, a trans-Alp with all the tech that involves, a multi-day race or unloaded in my local woods. If I decided to try the HT550 or tour the world it would be fine for that too. Matters little what that bike type is but to me the fact I can do that on one bike is really important. Lots of scope for adventure on one bike.

I'm still confused by how 'Adventure' bikes has become a term associated with drop-bar bikes. Not sure if that's on-topic or not.

It owes us a lap of the BB 200 2014 route for starters!

Patience

I'm still confused by how 'Adventure' bikes has become a term associated with drop-bar bikes. Not sure if that's on-topic or not.

My theory is that riding down the towpath or gravel cycle route is a more adventurous way of getting to the shops or cafe than the tarmac that runs alongside it

jameso wrote: I'm still confused by how 'Adventure' bikes has become a term associated with drop-bar bikes. Not sure if that's on-topic or not.

I'm quite confused about what we call mountain bikes given that the vast majority are never on a mountain. And Cross/CX bikes that are never raced.

However, names are useful even if they are a bit misleading. I do think it's right that we differentiate between CX bikes, tourers and that other thing that falls in-between. Call them Adventure bikes or Gravel bikes if that frees CX up for the racers..

I like both of mine. Also have plus tyres and rigid fork for the solaris, but am soft and like suspension. They overlap a lot, but the solaris is more versatile and can be built for XC, bikepacking and 'trail' riding (it's currently wearing a longer fork, plus tyres, and a 50mm stem), whereas the spearfish is just a super comfy, easy to ride XC/bikepacking bike.

Ready for tcw by Soph and Ian, on Flickr

Untitled by Soph and Ian, on Flickr

Towpaths, more adventurous or just getting away from all the cars? : )

Blair512 wrote:

Nick wrote:Giant Trance 27.5, based on the 2015 WRT experience!

I have a trance which was a great bikepacking bike, unfortunately I bought the base model so it had cheap suspension front and rear, both are now gubbed and in need of replacing

The Fox Evolution forks that came with mine were terrible, I've put a nice pair of 160mm Yaris on the Trance ready for this year's WRT (missed last year boo), should be rockin'

I need a bigger shed.

Genisis Longitude just added to the fleet. V nice, 2nd only to Ogre!

Looking forward to taking them out.

Thanks for all your replies - I guess expecting a consensus was unlikely.

I do understand the specialist bike thing already owning an adventure bike, hardtail, FS, tourer, shopper, hybrid, Eroica retro special and a pub/family bike!!

However if you were setting off on adventure into the unknown surely you would seek the most flexible bike out there - to be able to cope with all terrains and conditions and accept that it may be compromised in certain situations rather than not take a trail that looked too extreme or track that was too long and gravelly. The equipment we take bikepacking allows us to tackle a variety of conditions - why not the bike?

Sorry a couple of other ignorant question - if a bike will take 29er wheels - will it always be able to take 650+? Does plus just mean fatter tyres but not fat bike tyres and those that proposed a bike capable of taking 29/650+ was this to ensure flexibility in the field or to be able to fine tune to the expected conditions.

thanks

650b+ - some can, some sort of. It was just luck rather than design that the two wheel/tyre sizes happened to be mostly interchangeable. The limiting factor is the width of the chainstays close to the bottom bracket. If the bike's been designed to accept 650b+ then all is well otherwise you need to ask about your particular frame. "Plus" seems to mean wider than normal tyres but less than around 3" so narrower than fat bike tyres which are accepted to start at around 3.8"

I've a Mk1 Cotic Solaris. It's a 29er but will take 650b+ tyres but in the rear it's limited to something like the WTB Trailblazer 2.8". The Mk2 had increased clearance but I'm not sure if it will take a wider tyre. No idea on the Mk3 "Boost" model. Up front the limiting factor was the location of the narrow point of the suspension fork around the seals: with a 29er wheel and tyre this sat inward of the rim but with 650b+ rims it was next to the widest part of the tyre and there was very little clearance. I've now got rigid carbon forks and this is no longer an issue.

The ramin has adjustable bb to alter the fit/bb height when swapping between 29er and plus wheels