Bike Touring GEAR LIST Upgrades & My Next Adventure!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ก.ค. 2024
- When I set off on my first solo bike tour, I cobbled together most of my gear from what I had, what I was able to get second hand, and what some kind folks let me borrow. Over the last four years of bike touring and bikepacking, I have slowly updated my gear. These are the 6 bike touring gear upgrades I can’t wait to take on my next adventure.
VIDEOS MENTIONED
Complete gear list for my European bike tour: • EVERYTHING I Packed | ...
Caught in a leaky tent in a rain storm: • Leaking Tent in a Rain...
LINKS TO PRODUCTS
Ortlieb Back Roller Classic Panniers: ortlieb.ca/products/back-roll...
Ortlieb 4.1L Fork Pack Plus: ortlieb.ca/products/fork-pack...
Ortlieb Ultimate 6 Classic 8L: ortlieb.ca/products/ultimate-...
products/ultimate-six-plus
MSR Elixir 2: www.msrgear.com/ca/tents/back...
Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL3 Bikepack: www.bigagnes.com/products/cop...
Showers Pass Ecolyte Elite: showerspass.ca/collections/wo...
Aeropress Go Travel Coffee Maker: aeropress.com/products/aeropr...
Bridgedale waterproof socks (I use the Lightweight Stormsock): www.bridgedale.com/
Shoe covers: www.mec.ca/en/product/6017-43...
Much Off Sealant Tubeless Sealant: us.muc-off.com/products/tubel...
Dynaplug Tire Repair Plugs: www.dynaplug.com/
**FREE BIKE TOUR NUTRITION GUIDE**
Want to feel and ride your best on your next cycle tour? Grab my 5 nutrition tips for bike touring as well as 2 adaptable recipes in this FREE e-book:
mailchi.mp/5efdca9e20ae/bike-...
CHAPTERS
0:00 My European bike tour gear list: Then and Now
1:19 Better bike touring bags to spread out the weight
2:30 Upgrading to a lightweight bikepacking tent
3:25 Cycling rain protection: Showers Pass Ecolyte Elite jacket
4:42 A better way to brew coffee on a bike tour
5:38 Warm and dry feet bike touring
7:01 Reducing flats by going tubeless
WEBSITE
www.sheelaghdaly.com/
INSTAGRAM
/ sheelagh.daly
Music by Epidemic Sound: www.epidemicsound.com/
I have 8,000 no-flats kilometers on tubeless and never want to go back to tubes. I enjoyed your video. Keep up the good work.
Happy to hear it! Thanks so much :)
After 50 some years of self-contained bike touring, ocean kayaking, long distance canoe trips, back packing, back country ski trips I keep it simple but not Spartin. I'm old school. My rule is every item on the trip must serve two or more functions or it stays home. When it comes to rain gear, I want to stay comfortable while biking. If it is a cold rain, I will wear my raincoat with a wool shirt or light sweater. If it is a long warmish summer rain I will wear a wool shir and no raincoat. I will be wet but warm which to me is more comfortable than dry and clammy. So the choice is, Wet and warm verses dry and clammy. My Personal choice. When the rain stops, I squeeze the water out of the shirt, and it retains 80% of its insolation value and will dry within 1/2 hour of biking. When it comes to coffee I use my 4 cup tea kettle to make Greek Coffee. Very simple and no dedicated coffee maker. Greek or Turkish coffee is a stronger concentrated dose of morning Joe. Cup of water in the kettle, with spoon full of sugar, may be cardamon pod or two. Bring water to a boil, put 2 teaspoons of fine powered coffee in the pot, Bring to a boil three times. (lift off the burner until the foam goes down and repeat 3 times) Finished, in just a few minutes. Drink from small cup, with a fig bar. The only shoe I bring is my Keen hiking sandals and two pair of Alpaca socks. My feet are wet but warm in the rain. Squeeze the socks and they are almost dry. Alpaca will only retain 15% moisture and they will feel damp not wet. My Moring coffee ritual differs little from what it is at home. I sometimes carry my copper Greek coffee pot. (other uses are water dipper, heat water in camp, instant soup etc)
Sandals are great!
Love the video and suggestions!
Thanks so much Jeremy!
Very informative
Update to my recommendation of RC Powerlines (platform MTB shoe); they dry quickly. Endoed into a super wet clay patch around a small temporary snow runoff creek on the way to Verdi; took 20 or so minutes for all the wet, muddy areas to dry to a creek-smelling dry mud crust. Wool ski-sock dried quickly enough and was still warm. Got compliments for the muddy fashion touch by a road-rider drafting/passing me...
Oooh thanks for the update! Good to know :)
Never heard of waterproof socks, it sounds great for cycling!
Thanks for the tips! I'm starting my 3-weeks trip from Belgium to the Pyrenees in about 2 weeks. So getting really excited about that!
Ahh very exciting!! Hope you have a great trip!!
Definitely a tubeless video!
Just your experience and opinion is fine. You don't have to judge which is better or worse.
That’s great to hear that’s of interest! Thanks for the comment Geoff :)
Turkish coffee is the answer
There is a lot to be said for tubeless where you aren't a roadie and looking for every fraction of a percent of performance.
As a general commuter and utilitarian cyclist I think I'm going that way when I change my tyres. Even though multiple additional punctures will have been patched before then!!!!😅
Absolutely true about having too much unbalanced weight on the back!
I'm 2m tall and ride a large frame bike so I'm sitting even higher up with a higher centre of gravity.
I will also be touring in Europe in May.
I'm flying to the Netherlands next week (from the U.S.) to spend some time enjoying the 🌷 and springtime in the area.
Then I'll ride Eurovelo 15 to Switzerland.
Be safe! Thanks for the advice!
Sounds lovely!! Have a wonderful trip!
please talk about tubeless in bike touring , thanks for videos, really great one
Hey! I did actually make a video about tubeless for bike touring. You can check it out here: th-cam.com/video/K9IDYBIMEq8/w-d-xo.htmlsi=U4-Ty2fN0sDg5Y8f
I use the Aeropress at home nearly everyday - I would never tour with it as it takes up too much room. I would recommend the travel version on the road if that is your choice. I have the classic. When they start spitting coffee they can be easily revitalised (mine is ancient). I use very fine ground coffee as it settles quickly to the bottom of my cup, and one of my favourites on tour, while it lasts, is Matcha tea, unfortunately the good stuff is insanely expensive. Also Matcha is an acquired taste. Matcha has a huge amount of caffeine but it just keeps you really focused without the caffeine jitters. I save it for those hard days that you know is just down the road.
All my bottom layers are all Merino (yes even in the heat) and never had a issue with being cold (or too hot - it wicks well to keep me cool). I heard about this years ago while doing support on a cycle touring site (couple thousand years ago) and oddly enough I first heard of it on a construction worksite when I was working myself through University. At the time I thought the guy was mad.
Yay! A new adventure. I'm so glad you've been able to schedule another tour. I'm definitely looking forward to that content and these gear and prep vids are super helpful!
Thanks Kathryn! Can’t wait to take you along on the next adventure!
Those fork bags look great. I'm using fork cages with 4l dry bags and the straps around the bags make them fairly inconvenient. Does the mount attach to fork lugs? Know of anywhere localish that has them in stock?
Never tried tubeless, but with my Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, I never had any flats.
Never heard of a waterproof jacket, they eventually all get water in. I like to use a poncho for longer rains though, i can extend it to the handlebar bag and protect my legs too,. Well... beside from the water that comes from under
I personally would near go tubeless on a bicycle tour... A tube even though a few ounces heavier... Is another layer that needs to be punctured before you lose any air... Giving you a little more protection...I use inner tubes with slime in them...if a few ounces of weight saved by going cubeless, is going to make that much of a different for you...then losing a pound of body weight will be the greater benefit to you.
You can put sealant in the inner tube. The sealant will seal off small punctures just fine. The advantage is you don't need special floor pump or air compressor to seat the bead like when running tubeless.
The problem is tubes rarely remain a small hole, there's nothing to prevent it from tearing into a slightly larger hole which the sealant won't help with. Better than nothing, maybe, but nowhere close to a tubeless tire.
@@mikemazzantini6397 The tyre will prevent the puncture of inner tube from expanding. The hole will remains small and sealed off well. Have been doing this with my commuting bike for a few years already.
@@spektrumB You keep telling yourself that...I'll keep running tubeless ;)
@@BufordDuckworth That makes absolutely no sense. What does a CO2 have to do with tubeless? Odd, because my mini pump does just fine, though I haven't had to use it over 5 years because I don't get flats.
@@BufordDuckworth I have no experience with road tubeless, maybe that's what you're referring to. But on mtb and gravel if for some reason the sealant didn't work on it's own I'll try a plug. That gets it most of the time. No need to reseat anything. I always carry a tube because nothing is perfect.
Tire plugs . I use them on vehicles. Saves lots of money on tires.
I made the experience that the ride is better when the package weight front versus back is about equal. Having all or a big fraction of the weight at the back makes the ride unstable.
tubeless is great, but depens by tires to make it work... can fail easy on light weight tire with hight TPI
amazes me that tubeless or tubes is even a debate anymore, think it was back in like 2009 I started using it on my mountain bikes so hardly new tech. Anyway as I was replacing the tires on my bike because they were beyond worn out I realized I have never had a flat the whole time I used them. (these were thin light Maxxis Re Fuse 40c center slicks, not some extra strength touring tires) For my new more off road focused trip bike I would love some large volume 700x56 (29er 2.2) heavy duty all terrain (do it all) tires set up tubeless but nothing like that is available. The all terrain or "do it all" type of thing only comes with wire bead, hopefully as more tour and trip cyclists figure out how great tubeless is manufactures will make tubeless ATB tires. **reason I will only run tubeless on trips is the little wires you get from blown out truck tires and the broken glass... road shoulders in the busier cities/town I pass though are always littered with both.
Hi great to see your videos What type and brand of bike do you use now on your tours. ? Take care on the roads and stay safe.
Old cheap and used. The best kind of bikes.
I just finished building a new bike you can check out here: th-cam.com/video/Ad-Rj4127ik/w-d-xo.html But the bike I switched to for the last couple years was a KHS Grit 220 that I modified to make it better for me for touring (butterfly bars, 650b wheels). But honestly, I have no regrets starting out with the first bike I was able to borrow - it wasn't perfect for touring but it got me started and that's what matters!
Hi. I'm from Brazil. I like your videos. What's gonna be your next trip?
Next year, I'll go to Portugal, Spanish, French and Italian.
.
It actually starts @ 1:22
😁👍
感謝好旳分享！
I feel like I have a lot more control of my bike if I put slightly more on the front of my bike than in the back. Before I went on my tour I read 60% on front and 40% on back. I don't think have it that perfect, more like 55% front and 45% back but it is around there. I just put my heaviest, or more dense weight items in the front and more of the less dense/larger items in the back. So it looks like I have more weight on the back but I don't.
I’ve been seeing more and more people do that! So interesting. Thanks for sharing your experience with that setup!
Yeah the more front weight the easiest it becomes to ride honestly. Most of your body weight is already on the back, so using pack weight to distribute that is great!
Most people load up the back because it’s the cheaper option per liter of luggage, but front panniers and a front rack help a lot, even with aerodynamics. It’s easier to push a wheelbarrow than pull it, same logic applies here
I'm kitting up for a long distance (for me, it's relative) ride. Trying to keep it as light as possible but it comes out to 40lbs including the panniers. What is your average weight?
I haven’t weighed my setup in a long time but it’s probably a bit more than yours. I don’t worry about it too much. Cycling About on TH-cam has a great video about how weight savings don’t make as much of a difference as we think they do :) plus you can always give away or send things home if needed!
What tires did you use? I am considering tubes for my touring bike but I see you have complete support of tubeless. What tubeless tires did you use amd size
I use Rene Herse Juniper Ridge 650 x 48. That’s the maximum my current bike can do but moving forward I’d like to go wider. I like the treads on the Juniper Ridges though and I chose the puncture protection model for extra safety. I liked schwalbe marathons when I ran tubes but they’re just so heavy compared to the tubeless options so the Rene herses are serving me well for now :)
Could you send me the size of shower pass jacket please. Heading to Alps found your posting helpful
I wear a size medium :) hope you have a wonderful time in the alps!
You air coffee great idea i have toured allover the us Janie an i were a perfect pair your video wel. Made
Cool Update! Bitte you also mentioned that you switched to a more stable bike. Could you explain?
For sure! So there are a lot of factors that can go into a bike feeling more stable but one of the ones I've started looking out for is "bottom bracket drop". This is the vertical distance between the bottom bracket and the wheel axles (you can google this to see a visual). Generally speaking, the greater the bottom bracket drop, the more "in" the bike you feel. So things feel a little more stable. The shorter the bottom bracket height, the more "on top" of the bike you feel. So, for instance, the bike I originally used was designed for cycle-cross so it had a short BB drop as it was designed to help riders move with more speed and agility -- not so great when you are moving over tough terrain with a fully-loaded bike. My new bike has a longer BB drop and I find it better suited to touring (though it is worth bearing in mind that a lower BB can be more prone to hitting rocks/roots/etc on tricky terrain). Hope that helps!
@@SheelaghDaly Thank you for the detailed explanation! That really helps!
what do you do for protection from mosquitos and Black flies ?
Honestly? Avoid mosquito and black fly season haha not intentionally but it usually works out that way!. Most of the tours I've done in Ontario have been in September which I find to still have nice weather while also being pretty bug-free. I did the same when I went to Scotland before midge-season really kicked in. If I were in a bad bug area though I would bring long sleeves/pants/socks, some bug spray, and if it's really bad a bug net for my head :)
I like instance coffee. I like your videos too. Haha
Haha it definitely has its perks! :)
Hi I live in Switzerland, would love to meet you depending on where you’ll be passing by !
Hey Karin! I just got back from my trip and am catching up on comments now! Thank you so much for this message, that is so sweet! We had such a lovely time in Switzerland. It would have been lovely to have met you. But perhaps next time, I already want to return!
French presses / Aero presses are just too big and bulky for me. I travel ultra light with absolute minimum gear and so the coffee solution I use are paper ear hanging coffee filter bags and a flat folding cup. Takes up no space whatsoever and makes very good ground coffee.
Ooh sounds very cool! I really like the aero press for now but good to know there’s a super lightweight option 👍
Good idea going tubeless. Looking forward to seeing your new adventure in May
Thanks so much! Can't wait to share it :)
Was your wheelset tubeless ready or did you have to purchase new wheels and tyres? I'm figuring to do the switch but I'm having a hard time finding 'reasonably priced, tubeless wheels, 700 C. Thanks for the video and safe travels.
Oof you're right, they are pricey! A lot of new bikes now come tubeless ready (my current bike did) but buying them outright is certainly harder. Sometimes bike shops have sets they're looking to move for whatever reason (especially in the off season) so it could be worth calling around? I'm sorry, I wish I had a better answer for you!
Unrelated but what’s that square in the wall behind you and related, what kind of bike do you ride now ?
Thanks.
Haha the square is the apartment's ventilation system. Right now I ride a KHS Grit 220 that I converted to be more my style of touring (i.e. butterfly bars and wider tires) But I am currently working on a new build that I will share more details about soon!
Via Rhona?
Yes we did end of taking the Via Rhona in France!
@@SheelaghDaly We're doing the Geneva-Arles stretch coming up soon. Shall we look for you on the route????
I made the mistake of focusing too much on gear, and I’ve been obsessing over it, paralyzing myself instead of going out there. It’s crippling, the amount of choice - especially if you’re frugal and an over thinker like me.
Ooof I totally get that! I found it really helpful to go with what I had, get whatever I could second hand and if I had to buy something, do some research and just buy what's in my budget. I know it's hard, but once you get out there, you'll see what works and doesn't and upgrade as needed. Good luck!
tubeless rules❤❤❤❤❤❤.
Our last moments
th-cam.com/users/shorts1fCkEvkpdGk?feature=share
Ortlieb Bags nooo..... Vaude is better. Sorry :D
Disagree, I've had issues with the attachments on Vaude slipping or shifting, since you can only hand tighten them. If I could run Vaude bags with Ortleib hooks I'd be happy, but unfortunately that isn't an option.
They produce all raincoats so short you always have wet butt 😢
No wet butt! I wear rain pants. I have an old pair from MEC I’m still using but if/when they die Showers Pass has some great looking rain pants I’d like to try 😊
Meh, sounds like an infomercial. Just go for all the fancy trendy most expensive gear? Well, ok then.
We dont all want to be youtubers and get sponsored.
I’m sorry to hear it sounded like an infomercial to you. I did try to make it clear from the start that I always recommend to go with what you have. As the title says, these are simply “upgrades” should you be interested and able to invest when the time comes. My feeling is that it’s always best to get out on the road with whatever gear you can get your hands on. But as things wear out and your love for bikepacking grows, investing in high-quality gear can be worth it as it lasts longer and performs better.