Wow, quite a lot of info. will have to research! I am choosing the tyres for the rally. For you guys with experience on the route, what is the recommendation? I am hesitating between a heavier touring tyre, tube system (like Conti tour ride 35mm or so) or a more gravel oriented and ligther(WTB reso...

HaYWiRe wrote:
Bikepacking on a folding shopper? Now that could be a new niche!!

Doesn't fold, but..


(pic shamelessly stolen from a facebook group)

jameso wrote: Oops. How did that happen though, as a small cache battery would charge it?

No clear reason why, but I'll let him describe what happened as he writes far betterer than I. About halfway down:

https://theadventurecapitalist.wordpres ... estarting/

Definitely going to go that way this time. I've heard so much about it. The promise of it is going to be what keeps me going when I'm pushing my bike up Colombardo!

I'll try, but I've been looking for it for months! Perhaps I sent it back but I don't remember doing so and I've no refund email from them. Unless I've been the victim of a very focused burglary I'm mystified.

Absolutely, my post wasn't meant to in any way belittle the achievement of those that took them. It was merely meant to highlight that 5-6 days going that way is a different proposition to 5-6 days going the other way. I hope no-one took it differently!

I wouldnt call them 'short cuts' either. We decided to take the 'alternate' down the "Road of Death", and it was one of the highlights of the trip. There are so many highlights in that area it would be difficult not to find something you like. I would, on the grounds they were shorter and...

J, I bought a Hunka last year whilst weighing up (literally) what to take on TNR, before deciding once and for all on the micro tent. You could borrow it if only I could find it again.

I think the only reason I'd consider it at the current prices is for very long rides when hand issues are likely to occur. I've certainly had some weakness and difficulty in shifting after this years HTR. But for most riding there's nothing wrong with cables. A friend used Di2 for the Transcontinen...

I've used an Alpkit dual 13L in a Wildcat harness on my Arkose 2. Had to go up to 44cm bars though (standard on the L and XL) but if it wasn't so full it might have fitted between the levers on a 42cm. Edit - being an Arkose 2 its levers are only for braking. I don't know if you'd need extra room if...

Subscribed. Have 3 bikes but have been having n-2 thoughts...

Depends on whether that's taking one or both of the two big shortcuts or doing the full route. 5 days including the Dronero loop and the Via del Sale would be quite an achievement, though I don't think impossible. The group I fell in with took 9 days (or so, wasn't counting), with plenty of stopping...

Can any one recommend maps for a garmin etrex for use in Europe? Ideally covering Austria, Slovenia, Italy and France...

I used Wanderkarte http://www.wanderreitkarte.de/garmin_de.php?lang=en

I think that might work for shorter laps but with a 10k lap, I can see a large number of folk finishing with the same number of laps. First across the line might also encourage a sprint finish :wink: Yeah, for my suggestion to work you'd have to do it like, for example, Rad am Ring. There's is a 26...

Just a thought. If it's a 10km lap, might a 'winner is the one how does the most laps in (5?) hours" format work better than a fixed 100km?

ZeroDarkBivi wrote:Up until you mentioned drop bars...!

Conversely that was where I got interested... :)

found some flights stanstead to turin on the 4th,nice to stanstead on the 16th.total cost 165 quid including 60 quid each way for the bike is that a good price Also look at BA. With them your bike is treated as hold luggage for ticketing purposes, so as long as you buy a ticket that includes hold l...

Richpips wrote:Paint it maybe, you'll certainly not dye the fabric.

I'd be worried painting might make it less breathable, risking CO poisoning

I'm after one of the first Delorme inReach satellite devices. The ones that came out around 2012 and have no screen but can be paired to an Android phone.

Long shot, I know, but maybe someone knows of one that's been relegated to the back of the drawer after being replace by something newer.

Quite a few of us stayed at the Tomato Backpackers last year. OK, so it's not a hotel but it was much nicer than I was expecting for a hostel.

I've been using a Koala seat pack up until now. It's light and it does the job, but it's a faff to have to pack and attach it just so each morning, or it'll sway about all day. So I looked at holster systems, which seemed expensive and were smaller in capacity. Then I looked at seat packs with built...

Not 44cm, but I've got some 42cm I took off my Arkose (in favour of 44cm so I could fit my dry bag on better).

jameso wrote:Just being honest : ) and in case anyone dithered!

Ha, went up to £350 as I was trying to add a medium to my basket. No matter, it would have had to be very good to get me off my Arkose. :)

My front light has wires coming out for rear light wiring to connect to. They're switched along with headlight.

It's an optional extension to the Via del Sale section. No-one made it last year (and, as far as I know, only a handful of us rode the Via del Sale rather than take the shortcut down from Tende - pity as it was one of the highlights for me). The pool itself - Lago dei Noci I think it is - is a small...