Back in the day....

[Pickers]

Ok so it's touring and not bikepacking, but I thought it was worth posting this pic on here. It was taken by my Dad, the caption in the album says Bwlch Y Groes and another pic on the page puts it at August 1951. Looks like the tarmac isn't quite finished....


1950s Bikepacking with obligatory mug! by Richard Picton - Flickr2BBcode LITE

[BigdummySteve]

Great photo rich, I think ‘touring’ back then had more in common with bikepacking. Now you have to have at least four panniers and a bike the size of a small planet.

[Pickers]

Cheers Steve, the more things change... The more they stay the same. Sort of anyway.

[Alpinum]

It must be bikepacking, very up to date even.

Drop bars, mug, shirt. Of only he had sandals

Seriously good photograph. Looks very much like bikepacking to me. Makes me wan't to go and have a look through me dad photos

[Dr Nick]

That's a great photo Rich. And the 'I'm not putting my feet down in this' look of concentration is timeless

[Bearbonesnorm]

Bwlch Y Groes didn't get tarmac until very late in its life - it must have being brilliant as a gravel 'road'

[whitestone]

Very up to date, he's a 1x drivetrain Mind you, look at the size of that chainring compared to the block!

Back then folk didn't have much kit, in some cases not even a kitchen sink, so didn't need four panniers to carry it in.

[Ian]

Bwlch Y Groes didn't get tarmac until very late in its life - it must have being brilliant as a gravel 'road'

If only they made bikes for that purpose back then

[Ian]

Very up to date, he's a 1x drivetrain Mind you, look at the size of that chainring compared to the block!

The chainring on my Dad’s ‘49 Raleigh is 48t, which even couple with a 3sp Sturmey Archer gives a stupidly high “low” gear.

My Dad used to tour solo, so I don’t think there are any photos of the bike in use, which is a shame.

Love photos like the one above though - a real window to the past and a reminder of how things used to be, what’s changed and what hasn’t.

[Bearbonesnorm]

If anyone is interested in such things, I can recommend this book - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crunch-Gravel- ... +of+gravel

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[Pickers]

If only they made bikes for that purpose back then

If only, that would've been "the" bike that was used for everything. Commuting, touring, club runs, take the saddlebag and guards off and that was the time trial bike as well