Just make sure the bag near the seatpost stays a tapered shape after packing. Sometimes it can bulge causing thigh rub. I normally squeeze this part of the bag together after packing to ensure this.

I'll be using it in the North York Moors and Durham Dales areas but there's a lot of farmland about so was concerned that the water could get contaminated from sheep etc. Would the Trailshot be able to filter this?

I've purchased an MSR Trailshot and was impressed how easy it looks to filter water. I am now reading it doesn't remove viruses. Am I supposed to use chlorine tablets as well? Seems like a lot of jargon and contradictory advice when I've Googled it. Any advice would be appreciated.

You should report it to the police as you are a victim of an assault and then a civil claim against this person through a solicitor for damage to yourself or your bike. Just because two people are involved in an accident doesn't give any of them a right to assault the other person.

Yes Stan's Crest ZTR

I've just has a Continental Race King 29er Protection tubeless tyre explode after packing the bags on my bike. When I've checked, the rubber on the tyre has come away from the bead on a small part of the tyre. Anyone ever had this happen to them? Can't seem to find these tyres anywhere on the intern...

Used Endura Thermolite knees warmers for years. I really liked them but they had a seam at the back and would bunch up at the back of the knee. I bought some Louis Garneau ones recently and they are really comfortable with no seams. Not too long and not too short.

Went to see it in Edinburgh. Really enjoyed it especially the Q&A session afterwards.

I'm looking for a new sleeping bag preferably down as it packs smaller, 3 season and under £150. Any recommendations? The Vango Venom 400 caught my eye as it's under 1 kg and goes down to 2 degrees. Anything else out there that's better than this? Cheers.

Is wondering if anyone knows where I can get a replacement pole for my Wild Country Zephyros 1 with a smaller fold size. The one supplied with the tent is too big to fit in my frame bag. Apparently the poles for the Zephyros 1 Lite have a smaller fold size but I can't find these anywhere.

Found this bike online. Looks a good deal. What do people think?
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mot ... 30-tcs.htm

I was wondering if anyone on here has had a professional bike fit done on their mountain bikes. I've been looking into an Apex bike fit and have read good things about it improving comfort and performance. If anyone has had one done I'd be interested in your feedback.

Thanks, didn't even that. I'd be interested in seeing the videos but I'm not paying that much.

Another project by Mike Dion. The link is at https://reveal.bikepackingsecrets.com/m ... 2366119c54

Any thoughts?

Yes mine mounted fine with a loud pop and I've ridden them lists but are still losing air around the bead. Maybe I should add more sealant and wait until they deal. I was thinking of going back to tubes which defeats the objective.

I've bought some Continental Race King 29er Protection tyres for my Crest Ztr's. I've followed all the usual instructions about mounting the tyre using soapy water, Stans sealant and shaking the tyres leaving them over night etc. For some reason the tyres are losing air around the bead and I can see...

I have been having problems with my suspension fork on my 29er and was thinking about swapping it for a carbon rigid one. I know a lot of people on here have rigid forks fitted to their bikes. I'd be interested in your views of both pros and cons of having rigid forks.

OsmAnd+ for Android. Openstreetmaps of any area and any country. Highly detailed maps with POI, route planning, directions, countour lines, terrain etc. Also www.bikemap.net has a route planner desktop version using Openstreetmaps. I used both of the above in France recently and they worked flawless...

Outdoors GB is excellent, you can download offline maps for a price or you can go online to view maps and it'll save the area that you've looked at in memory to use offline layer on. The latter is £5 a year.

I tried that polycro stuff but found it fiddly to put down flat especially if it is windy as it flaps about. You could peg it down I suppose. I'm using a groundsheet I bought from eBay that allegedly has thermal properties too. It's worked well so far. You can trim it down to save weight. http://m.e...

I was in Go Outdoors the other day and saw a water filter bottle thing called 'Water to Go'. A search on the internet and it's got excellent reviews everywhere. Anyone heard of these or used one? I think I'll be buying one soon. http://www.ukpreppersguide.co.uk/best-water-filter-bottle-water-to-go/ ...

Yes, my rims came already taped with yellow Stans tape. I'm going to try going tubeless and see how that goes. What's other people's opinions of tubeless setups? Advantages etc.

I've just been getting some new Stans Crest ZTR 29er wheels and have had a hell of a job trying to get tyres on. Continental Race Kings and Schwalbe Rocket Ron's were a huge struggle. I was trying them with an inner tube so think that may be the problem. They go on tubeless ok, but if I have problem...

I find if the pack is too heavy you fatigue a lot quicker and you can get saddle sore quicker due to more weight pressing down. These days I try to keep the weight on my back to a minimum so long rides are a lot more comfortable. I use a Deuter Speedlite 15 which is around 300g and only put lighter ...

Anyone use www.outdoorsgps.com? It's about £4 for a year with unlimited use of maps. Landranger and Explorer levels available. You can use it with your smart phone too if you want to work on routes away from the computer.