A few I've found over the last 6 months, French Divide 2016 route in 3 parts google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z¬LTPRiPY-cMM.kNMmg8L_VL9M&usp=sharing google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z¬LTPRiPY-cMM.kXgmdEgoOFwY&usp=sharing google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z¬LTPRiPY-cMM.kMosJE302v0E&usp=sharing Grand Italian...

Could be a good thing. If it gets a lot of content then indexing/searching is the thing that makes a forum less useful than something like a UK wikiloc site. eg, http://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=3105&p=29849&hilit=GR5#p29849 This is the trail resource links t...

Jim, we've bought boxes at Nice airport before, they can be booked in advance for ~20E but are a bit thin and you need to get there quite early to pack the bike etc. There's bike shops around Nice that are happy to let you help remove thier carboard waste, that's what we did last year. Ride to the s...

You can probably fill up at the Refuge Don Barbera You can, I've been talking to the proprietor and they'll be open. He's mentioned being ready for a few riders coming past with appetites. I don't think they're that busy in early Sept, I was thinking of staying there this time just to ride the sect...

^ a good read there. I like his approach!

Yes, good site, wikiloc is also good. Using both to map a more mtb alpine ride at the mo. I did start a thread on the rides forum to post links to sites like these and other alps links, would be good to add a few and revive it.

Interesting comparison! Your route toward Molini is very much what I mapped/we rode last summer, the new route reverses one track there (the one leading to the col bridge on your route / our 2015 ride) to give an option to Molini and a ride-through for those not wanting a swim and a beer there. I'd ...

I've used a normal strong metal or plastic cage with a toestrap round the DT and bottle upper area to stop it bouncing around, works fine for the 800ml bottle I have.

best water carrying capacity. Not really needed, loads of water points and the cues note where many useful ones are, to save doing what we did last time, carrying 2l up big climbs where there's taps on the top. Of course the adventurers/nobs will wing it w/o cues and see what happens* : D *not a lo...

Hey, don't give away all the suprises : ) Col de Peas is a good one, up top it's one of the trickier bits on a CX-ish bike but fun. Turns into an easier track fairly quickly. Col Izoard is the more 'roadie' option there, or for those not fancying a carry up. We went over the Peas last summer to chec...

Conversely, I found the Woodchippers good for road and rough stuff as the narrower "hoods" position is a bit more aero while still providing some braking and the ability to change gear, while the wider flared-drop position lets me use my arms as a bit of suspension (think of the classic a...

I cant see any advantage to drops over tri bars as frontal area is as much to blame as height for your "aero" True, similar effect in headwinds. I do like descending or the general control I get in the drops for road or riding on really easy tracks. Scott AT4s, they were a good bar : ) Wi...

The Casey's bar could be good, similar to an H in good ways. I've used stubby bar ends in-board of the MTB levers on straight MTB bars before, you can get a nice hooked/hood grip for road use while still being able to access the brake lever with your ring and pinky fingers. One of my (highly unsafe ...

there must be a reason no one really makes them I think it's simply that they don't work well. Someone on STW did post pics years back of a croix de fer with mtb hydro levers on drop bars, with lots of bar tape and the right drop bar it's a workable bodge. But it seems almost a fact that if you wan...

edit, answered my own q (googlemaps to gpx conversion)

Bikes, no idea. Individual parts/touring kit, generally yes, approximately. If there's nothing that's not justifying the weight with comfort, toughness etc the total is ok as it is.
12kg is sensible, light even. Pretty confident my steel Jones is a fair bit more than that.

http://torino-nice.weebly.com/updates.html

... map up.

Good points, and apologies teetoosugars for the hijack, back on track in a mo : ) I like they how I think they'd work. I used a rack-pack for my first tour and there's something more civilised about being able to organise things and open a lid rather than stuffing it all in. I'd been looking for som...

Honest Q, not anything swiping - why would you use a large saddle bag with a bagman when a rear rack and rack pack could weigh about the same, arguably support a load better and positions that load lower? Or, use a trad bikepacking seat pack - though I can see how the slower access can be drawback. ...

Is the HT550 really a race? Ask the guys in the front 3 or so, I expect they would say they were racing : ) Certainly looked like it from where I was (the sofa/laptop) edit, actually a daft comment from me, hard to see how something as subjective as 'hardest' is answered so on the same level whethe...

Flat pedals? That great big metal heat-sink that most SPD-compatible shoes have along with the holes for attaching cleats is the main issue I think. I can wear all sorts over the top and still feel that cold spot, even with winter MTB boots. Plastic road cleats aren't anywhere near as bad, they're j...

To buy, it's on a few sites now. I got one from from the first drop.

One of these from Endura, the reversable gilet. Been waiting a long time since Naythan there hinted that they'd already thought of my 'great idea' (my words not his) for the flipjak they've had for a while, and it was on the way : ) http://www.wheelies.co.uk/images/products/Endura-FlipJak-Cycling-Gi...

The altitude and OSM routing functions seem to have stopped working on BikeHike I queried the altitude aspect on another thread, it was suggested that the data will refresh at some point as it's drawn from an external source but I've used it and re-loaded the same routes a lot in the last month or ...