Bikepacking / Bike Touring

[Mountain Bru]

On a more serious note (because cutting you sponge in half is only medium serious) - Can someone help me pick the right panniers?

What should I look out for?
How big should they be?
Which ones are crap?
Are the ones that claim to be waterproof actually remotely waterproof?
Do you need a handlebar bag too? 
I have a super old hardtail, and a nice dual sus.... Do you get panniers that will work on the dual sus (spez epic)? Or would turning the old hardtail into a monstercross-bike-packing machine be a better bet?

[NickGM]

41 minutes ago, Mountain Bru said:

On a more serious note (because cutting you sponge in half is only medium serious) - Can someone help me pick the right panniers?

What should I look out for?
How big should they be?
Which ones are crap?
Are the ones that claim to be waterproof actually remotely waterproof?
Do you need a handlebar bag too? 
I have a super old hardtail, and a nice dual sus.... Do you get panniers that will work on the dual sus (spez epic)? Or would turning the old hardtail into a monstercross-bike-packing machine be a better bet?

My opinion:

Ortlieb panniers are great and are probably the most popular internationally. They are waterproof. You could spray a garden hose at them and your stuff would stay dry. I've used them a bit for touring, but actually a bit more for commuting to carry my work clothes and other stuff. I ride to work every day whatever the weather and this winter has been pretty wet in the boland. I've been caught in a number of ridiculous downpours - keeping my stuff dry is not really an issue. They have a very simply design that clips on and off your racks. 

Ortlieb and Arkel are, to my knowledge, the main go-to brands for panniers. 

My only issue, which I suspect is universal to panniers, is that on a corrugated road they rattle around a bit. I think this is less of an issue with bikepacking as stuff is strapped down, as opposed to plastic clips on steel racks. 

As for the bike, I'd go with the hardtail as I'd be less precious about get it scuffed. 

[The Ouzo]

My cousin and her sister are currently Bike packing through Scotland. I following the progress on FB, looks like despite the weather and the midges & horseflies they are having fun. 

[PhilipV]

On 7/30/2021 at 4:08 PM, NickGM said:

My opinion:

Ortlieb panniers are great and are probably the most popular internationally. They are waterproof. You could spray a garden hose at them and your stuff would stay dry. I've used them a bit for touring, but actually a bit more for commuting to carry my work clothes and other stuff. I ride to work every day whatever the weather and this winter has been pretty wet in the boland. I've been caught in a number of ridiculous downpours - keeping my stuff dry is not really an issue. They have a very simply design that clips on and off your racks. 

Ortlieb and Arkel are, to my knowledge, the main go-to brands for panniers. 

My only issue, which I suspect is universal to panniers, is that on a corrugated road they rattle around a bit. I think this is less of an issue with bikepacking as stuff is strapped down, as opposed to plastic clips on steel racks. 

As for the bike, I'd go with the hardtail as I'd be less precious about get it scuffed. 

If he want to use the fullsus, I'd rather get a strap on handlebar bag, and frame bag. And if you don't have a dropper, a lekker seat pack. 

But I have to agree, the chafing on a fancy bike would worry me as well. 

 

Edited July 31, 2021 by PhilipV

[PhilipV]

On 7/29/2021 at 2:09 PM, Mountain Bru said:

Added to shopping list.....

What do you guys do with your bike at night? Do you lock it up? With what kind of lock? Obviously it's not going in the tent, so do you do anything to keep it from getting wet? I've seen chains rust in 1 night when left outside at the coast. Can this be prevented? Any solutions for if there's no suitable tree/pole to chain it to?

I use a cable combination lock when going to shops. It won't keep a determined thief out, but it will buy some time. 

To be honest, I just choose my accommodation where I'd be safe at night. 

[Johnny Utah]

Hi , arriving a bit late , but this is my setup . As mentioned there is no right or wrong way , for the trips i do this works for me . 

[Mountain Bru]

15 hours ago, Johnny Utah said:

Hi , arriving a bit late , but this is my setup . As mentioned there is no right or wrong way , for the trips i do this works for me . 

You appear to have over inflated your tyres... Always stick to the max pressure rating specified by the manufacturer.....

Having never ridden a fat bike though, how much suspension do you get out of those tyres? You're obviously paying a big penalty in terms of rolling resistance, but do you at least get some decent squisshyness on the bumpy stuff (considering that you've gone full rigid)?

[Jewbacca]

2 minutes ago, Mountain Bru said:

You appear to have over inflated your tyres... Always stick to the max pressure rating specified by the manufacturer.....

Having never ridden a fat bike though, how much suspension do you get out of those tyres? You're obviously paying a big penalty in terms of rolling resistance, but do you at least get some decent squisshyness on the bumpy stuff (considering that you've gone full rigid)?

To be fair, rolling resistance only really becomes an issue when you are looking for speed and maximum efficiency. 

Bikepacking, especially with that many bags/kit, it doesn't come into play. The extra tire squish probably helps the brakes and minimises over heating, which is usually more of an issue when you're loaded. 

I don't think 'big penalty' can be applied in this case. One is definitely not going to be throwing down the watts fully loaded like that

 

[Baracuda]

Instead of investing heaps in camping gear, a starting option is also just to use farm stays e.g. those on Lekkerslaap. I am not referring to the larny places, but a basic place that is clean, warm and has a shower and coffee plunger. 

e.g. https://www.lekkeslaap.co.za/akkommodasie/buffelspoort-cottage--camping

Lekkerslaap have a map and between their site and Google Maps, you can stitch together a 3, 4, 5 day (however long) trip, with a basic place to stay every 100km or so.

You then don't need to carry camping and cooking gear which saves you a stack of weight as well.

 

 

[NickGM]

1 hour ago, Baracuda said:

Instead of investing heaps in camping gear, a starting option is also just to use farm stays e.g. those on Lekkerslaap. I am not referring to the larny places, but a basic place that is clean, warm and has a shower and coffee plunger. 

e.g. https://www.lekkeslaap.co.za/akkommodasie/buffelspoort-cottage--camping

Lekkerslaap have a map and between their site and Google Maps, you can stitch together a 3, 4, 5 day (however long) trip, with a basic place to stay every 100km or so.

You then don't need to carry camping and cooking gear which saves you a stack of weight as well.

 

 

Hadn't heard of lekkerslaap, good to know, thanks. Another good resource is warmshowers.com. You host bike tourists for free, and can use it to look for a host as well obviously. People are hosts even if they are just offering a garden to camp in and a hose pipe to wash down, but often it's a spare room. There are a number of south africans registered on it. 

[Shebeen]

On 7/30/2021 at 9:24 AM, Thug said:

@Shebeen, I see you use one of Graeme Murray's saddles.

I do.

saddles are very personal, but this one really works for me and i have no reason to change it (or care about how it looks).

I did manage to break it  (bundu bashing in AR means bike gets abused in all osrts of ways), and Mr Murray fixed it and recovered for very minimal cost. 

He is, however, riding in the sky now and I'm told they are impossible to find.

[mazambaan]

On 7/30/2021 at 10:49 AM, Slowbee said:

No, no, no Mazambaan.
You dont say overland 4x4 trip and not send pics or info.
BUT PLEAAAAAAASE post pics and stuff in the camping thread. Tell us about where you went and what you did.

 

Duly chastised; I shall do so! Good trip and good time to be away from KZN.

[tubed]

On 8/2/2021 at 1:10 PM, Shebeen said:

I do.

saddles are very personal, but this one really works for me and i have no reason to change it (or care about how it looks).

I did manage to break it  (bundu bashing in AR means bike gets abused in all osrts of ways), and Mr Murray fixed it and recovered for very minimal cost. 

He is, however, riding in the sky now and I'm told they are impossible to find.

Murray saddles for the win! I have one of these too, just finished my third RASA on it, bought it in 2012, rode with Casper Venter who also bought one - they were a thing at the time - Casper's collapsed and was swapped out by Johann Rissik in Prince Albert and sent away to Graeme for repairs, mine got to Cape Town and went to Graeme for repairs - both got some heavy treatment of some indestructible epoxy and were sent back to us refurbished. Casper and I both finished this year on the same saddles. Comfort is unsurpassed and durable as hell. I did cut the back of mine down a bit to make it look a bit more normal and to stop it chaffing on my saddle bag. Otherwise as soon as I head off somewhere its the first piece of equipment which gets put on my bike. Hopefully Johann and Graeme are swapping stories somewhere today.

[Thug]

Well done on your RASA tubed.

 

[MTBeer]

28 minutes ago, tubed said:

Murray saddles for the win! I have one of these too, just finished my third RASA on it, bought it in 2012, rode with Casper Venter who also bought one - they were a thing at the time - Casper's collapsed and was swapped out by Johann Rissik in Prince Albert and sent away to Graeme for repairs, mine got to Cape Town and went to Graeme for repairs - both got some heavy treatment of some indestructible epoxy and were sent back to us refurbished. Casper and I both finished this year on the same saddles. Comfort is unsurpassed and durable as hell. I did cut the back of mine down a bit to make it look a bit more normal and to stop it chaffing on my saddle bag. Otherwise as soon as I head off somewhere its the first piece of equipment which gets put on my bike. Hopefully Johann and Graeme are swapping stories somewhere today.

well done. Tough year this year?

That little ride is still on my radar.

[Shebeen]

1 hour ago, tubed said:

Murray saddles for the win! I have one of these too, just finished my third RASA on it, bought it in 2012, rode with Casper Venter who also bought one - they were a thing at the time - Casper's collapsed and was swapped out by Johann Rissik in Prince Albert and sent away to Graeme for repairs, mine got to Cape Town and went to Graeme for repairs - both got some heavy treatment of some indestructible epoxy and were sent back to us refurbished. Casper and I both finished this year on the same saddles. Comfort is unsurpassed and durable as hell. I did cut the back of mine down a bit to make it look a bit more normal and to stop it chaffing on my saddle bag. Otherwise as soon as I head off somewhere its the first piece of equipment which gets put on my bike. Hopefully Johann and Graeme are swapping stories somewhere today.

ja, that too