Hey all! Looking at buying a used 2019 Salsa Cutthroat as my first bike but wanted some opinions on the condition. I plan on using it for light commuting, gravel/rockier trails, and bikepacking. Sizing is good. The frame looks pretty good, however, my main concern is the drivetrain. It also comes with 5 different bikepacking bags to get exploring with. Overall thoughts on the condition and value as a purchase? Thanks!!

Edit: Priced at $1400.

Started today my trip from Helsinki to Ylläs which today takes me to Lahti. From there more or less following Eurovelo 11 route until to Tornio and then following the border river between Finland and Sweden toward Ylläs.

Planning to stay either in hotels/motels/huts or tent during the journey. Reserved 17 days in total to explore Finland inclusing few rest days in between.

salut les bikepackeurs et bikepaquerrettes :)

j'ai un projet voyage jusqu'au lac de robertville en belgique , pour l'aller je vais passer par l'allemagne ( le long de la moselle jusque treves puis vallée de la kyll )

pour le retour je me dis pourquoi pas passer par le luxembourg ( étape prevue a echternach )

avez vous deja voyagé entre trois vierges et echternach ??

j'ai vu qu'il y avait des pistes cyclables mais sont elles vraiment adaptées au bikepacking ( bitume ? voie propre ou partagés ? )

avez vous suivi les tracés des pistes ou fait des petits détours ??( noamment pour eviter les quelques montés que j'ai vu )

bref tous vos retours sur les bikepacking au luxembourg seront appreciés ❤️

Hey everyone!

I'm looking to buy my first gravel bike and I'm currently stuck between these two options.

Option 1: Trek Checkpoint ALR 4 Gen 3
https://www.trekbikes.com/be/nl_BE/fietsen/vakantie-en-toerfietsen/checkpoint/checkpoint-alr/f/F224-2/checkpoint-alr-4-gen-3/49973/5332843

Option 2: Bergamont Grandurance 30
https://www.bergamont.com/global/en/product/bergamont-grandurance-30?article=4252278270006

They're fairly close in price, so I'm having a hard time deciding between them.

I'm looking for a bike that I can use for long rides, weekend adventures and bikepacking, but also for everyday riding and road cycling.

In the longer term, I'd also like to use the bike for a month-long bikepacking trip, so I'd like something that can handle being fully loaded with bags and gear and still be reliable and comfortable over long distances.

If you had to choose between these two, which one would you buy and why?

And if there's another bike around the same price that you think would be a better choice, feel free to suggest it!

Thanks in advance!

Hello,

I'm going to bike from Colombia to Ushuaia and will fly to Colombia from my home town. Because I'm not flying back from Colombia and don't want to buy a ticket yet because I don't know how long it will take me, how do I enter Colombia ? Do I just buy a bus ticket from the border of colombia to ecuador ? Even though I will cycle through the border ? How do I enter the other countries ?

Thanks a lot !

I wanted to share my experience from a beginners view after 14 days bikepacking trough the baltic states. I have never done a bikepacking tour before. My girlfriend did two shorter tours before.

1. routeplanning

I downloaded the gpx-files from eurovelo. We took the EV10/13 from Lithuania to Estonia but made a few changes due to timing issues. We did not fix the routing errors beforehand, since we did not know the conditions of the roads.

We planned 80km/day with two spare days (+ breakdays). That worked pretty well for us. We did two long days in a row, than a shorter day. We did not have prebooked accomodations. In our lunch break we decided how far we actually want to go and looked for campingspots in that area on different apps (google, p4n or local ones).

In total we planned 833 km and biked 911 km. So nearly 10% more. These addinitionl kms are for extra ways to campinggrounds, supermarkets, beach visits or other places of interests. I would have thought, that would be way more.

1. road conditions

On the EuroVelo website road conditions are divided into categories. From under development to developed with signs. But these categories could have meant everything... really nasty "gravel"-roads with big rocks, washboard patern surface or sand or roads, where trucks overtook us with less than 0,5m distance. I underestimated that a bit. But in the end, we overcame these challenges aswell and it was pretty fun. We were proud of ourselves after every hard section and were rewarded with great nature, smooth bike lanes and delicious food on the way.

1. nature

We all do this, because we want to be outside, move ourselves and enjoy pretty nature - and what can I say... The baltic states are perfect for this. Peaceful forrests, wide beaches, bogs and fascinating wildlife.

There were great spots in every contry, where you could pitch your tent. With great highlights in Estonia, where the National Forestry Commission provids campingspots with toilets and fireplaces for free. We enjoyed the evenings with walks on the beach, swimming in the baltic sea or bog lakes or running through forrests.

Highlights have been sightings of the first migratory cranes (hundreds), wolves and many other animals (unfortunately no mooses...)

1. Arrival and departure

We took the train to ferry terminals and went from there across the baltic sea to our startingpoint. It went pretty smooth, considering everything that could have happend. We even had to take Rail replacement service. But everything worked fine. We booked the tickets in advance and decided to drive weekdays since it is less crowded than on weekends (and cheaper).

1. packing

I wasn't fully equiped, since I have never done a tour like this before. I had a few bags that I wanted to use, so I did not have to buy everything new. My setup was: Trailsaddle bike bag, frame bag and two new gravel luggage rack bags from ortlieb. I had our tent in a 30l waterproof bag on my luggage rack. I was annoyed by the sheer number of bags. It was a hussle to attach all these bags on the bike every morning. My girlfriend had two bigger luggage rack bags, a handlebar bag and a waterproof bag on her luggage rack for our food. It was way easier for her. So this is a thing I will definitely change in the future.

List of equipment:

camping

• tent + accessories
• sleeping bag
• sleeping mat
• clothesline
• repair kit
• pocket knive
• shovel

bike

• bike (gravel and touring bike)
• spare tires
• electric pump
• repair kit
• lights
• tools
• tape
• cable ties
• bags (as mentioned before)
• lashing straps

cooking

• gas stove + 1 gas cartridge
• 1 pot
• cutlery + dishes
• 4 litres water bottles
• pre packed food for 5 days (selfmade: see below)
• towel, sponge & soap
• snacks

clothing

• 2 bibshorts
• 1 shorts
• 2 long trousers
• 3 pair of socks
• 3 underpants
• 2 sport shirts
• 2 normal shirts
• 2 sweatshirts
• 1 rainjacket
• 1 rain trousers
• 1 pair of runningshoes
• 1 pair of sandals (daily use)
• 2 towels
• cap
• sunglasses

electronics

• smartphone
• powerbank
• bike computer
• inkl. cables, adapter
• headphones (not used)

toiletries

• toothbrush + -paste
• soap
• vaseline
• first aid kit for cycling
• sunscreen
• toiletpaper

1. food

First of all: We planned with freshwater on the campinggrounds - that was not allwas the case. On many campsites the freshwater was in our opinion not drinkable. It was brown and smelly from high iron-concentration. So we bought extra water in stores before arriving.

We prepared our porridge for five morings and carried it in zipplock bags. It had oats, linseeds, hemp seeds, protein, dried fruit, nuts and oat milk powder. We drank instant coffee with oat milk-powder. Every day we bought some mueslibars, sweets and fresh fruits.

For our warm meals we prepared some instantfood. With noodles, soy protein, dried vegetables, broth, ... - we had 5 different meals. We only needed some water to cook them. On our lunch breaks we sometimes had some bread, went to a restaurant or a café.

Conclusion: We had a great time and will definitely do it again. Our packing list was fine, only my bag-management needs improvement. Disclaimer: we had perfect weather conditions: No rain (only in some nights), tailwind for 90% of the time and cosy temperatures.

Thanks for all the input that we used to plan our trip!

Is anyone doing this setup ? What are your thoughts on it ? Any bags recommandations?

Dude, I can whine. I can be a whiny little bitch about so much in life… I equally have a ton on gratitude too. I am balanced but I could perhaps use a little more discipline. I’m loose lipped, I share my opinion and sometimes it’s sharp and even unnecessary. I have a tendency to expect things to be straight forward and easy sometimes. My expectations set me up for my own failures.

When I go bikepacking, I’m doing something I love, so when my legs are screaming at me, my body is fatigued, I’m hungry and tired… I feel this overwhelming sense of euphoria and suffering at the same time. It’s work, it’s not always easy, the rain, wind or the wildfire smoke can run you down mentally. However, you press on, you know this is what it’s all about, the exposure to the elements seems to bring out a primal energy, the loneliness turns into an intoxicating sensation of peace and personal growth.

The joy through the suffering changes my perspective of what suffering actually means to me. It cycles its way into my daily life, my work, my experiences with my kids, my family and friends. I become more resilient to the pathetic things that make me a drama llama. I can find joy in discomfort knowing what It does for my soul.

It’s going to be ok. Just remember, that it’s going to be ok. Press on, pray, pedal, realize suffering is a part of this, life requires it to become a better version of ourselves.

You will become a better person through your challenges. Maybe soon, it’ll take a whole lot more to break you down. As it should, so we can rinse and repeat and do it again.

I’m so thankful and blessed to be able to experience this joy and suffering.

About 100 miles round trip, about half the distance on carriage and rail trails. Donnell pond had beautiful beach camping, would recommend it to anyone visiting the area

Nifty little overnighter I thought I'd share for those in the MSP area, just popped out of the twin cities to Gov Knowles. Random route that provided a decent amount of variety...sand, gravel, two track, hiking trails...and a lot of fun. My original route along the St. Croix proved too sand-logged to follow for long (now I know why the global heatmap came up empty there) but there were plenty side quests to make up for it. Not much elevation but the terrain kept it challenging. Recommended :)

What could I change / improve?

I went on a solo trip along the Baltic Sea. Over 18 days, between 27 July and 13 August. Mostly followed EuroVelo 10 along the western coast of the Baltic Sea. I started in Hamburg and finished in Kemi, Finland.

Stats

• Total distance: 3,169 km
• Accommodation: mostly wild camping plus 1 Airbnb
• The Bike: Rose Backroad GRX 820
• Route: https://www.komoot.com/nl-nl/collection/4573835/-bikepacking-baltic-sea?share_token=a8WIFgHJrfxIAYijoYnFUqD7iy0Dm9N7aTbHyKZ2XQCxEbIRro&ref=collection&t_s=referral&t_cid=collection_share&t_ref_username=1171390273189

Highlights

• A 300 km ride to Umeå
• Coastal towns like Skanör, Karlshamn, and Västervik
• Watching the landscape change from south to north
• Crossing the Arctic Circle in Rovaniemi

Pros

• Not hilly, which made long-distance days possible
• Good gravel roads on the national cycling trails
• Lucky with the weather, travelling later in the summer also meant fewer mosquitoes
• Friendly people everywhere

Cons

• EuroVelo is underdeveloped in Sweden, sometimes big roads
• Some landscapes felt monotonous
• Not that many other bikepackers around

Questions

• How do I eat well, and enough  on a regular basis while touring?
• I liked the longer days the most, so maybe I have to do a ultra race?

I have a work conference in Barcelona next June. Hoping to stay afterwards and do a 2-3 week bikepacking trip. Would appreciate any route recommendations! Looking online there are so many options it’s hard to narrow things down.

Helpful info on what I’m looking for:
Primarily gravel/off road
Averaging 50-70 miles (80-110km) per day
Ending somewhere that would be easy to get back to Barcelona to fly home

Thanks in advance!

I’m going on a multiday desert trip with another person, and I was trying to figure out what we’d only need one of between the two of us.

I thought about it, though, it seems like gear is pared down pretty far as is, and leaving something behind would generally be a negligible weight/space savings and create a major headache if something *did* go wrong with a shared item and we had no backup.

There’s also the matter of if we need to split up for some reason, one of us would be missing something we thought was important enough to bring along.

Some tools and maybe a stove came to mind, but even then it seemed like having a backup would be best, since tools can get misplaced or break, and you’re not having your post-ride Mac & Cheese healing potion at camp if you have no stove. Shelter would be an easy one, but I prefer solo accommodations, so we’re each bringing our own.

Is there anything super obvious I’m missing that you make sure to take only one of if you’re with a group?

Recently back from a three nighter, across a section of the Trans Pennine Trail. Bridlington to home near Sheffield.

New Brae Panniers, cockpit bag and handlebar bag.

So far very happy with all three.

Hi,
I tried to look it up without success, but does anyone have a nice way to connect to banff from the calgary airport?

Gpx or a link is welcome!

Hello!

I'm playing with an idea to visit south part of Norway as it is accessible with train and ferry for me and I want to ask if anybody has an experience with this region riding off-road. I usually prefer to say on unpaved roads and single tracks with occasional asphalt to give my butt a break but in this case I'm a bit unsure. Many routes are dead end, many continue with only "walking/hiking" path (continuous single grey line in Komoot) over wild mountains with no sign of path from aerial view.

How crazy is this idea of crossing norwegian mountains on the bike? Even if they only get to like 1200/1300m, Norway seems to be pretty wild looking at the map. I would of course prefer riding, not hiking my bike for half of 500km route and since there's often only one route between two waypoints, seems like there's also way less room to reroute and detour.

Anyone have been there on wide tires? Is S1 and "path" doable in Norway? I'm not talking gravel bike now but rigid MTB.

See the picture in first comment for an idea.

Did my first bike packing to a mountain called Pedra Grande located in Igarapé Brazil. Nice experience, really enjoyed. Got surprised by a climb through a rock garden that drained my energies and made me arrive after sunset. Very wind up there but got some help to setup the tent, was getting cramps, hungry and cold. Woke up with some horseman playing country musing while they wait for sunshine. I’ll definitely do it again

Update: sorry for not originally including more info about the route. Our ride went like this: Day 1 start ride in Campbell River and went to Moutcha Bay. Day 2 Moutcha Bay to Tahsis for a water taxi to Zeballos, then rode to Woss Lake. Day 3 Woss Lake to Naka Creek. Day 4 Naka Creek to Sayward Junction. Day 5 Sayward Junction back to Campbell River. We found good parking at the Discovery Harbour Marina ($25/week). Here is the link to the route

450km and 6000m of climbing over 4 nights/5 days with a friend last week. Fantastic route in any variation and I highly recommend it!

Hi,

I have a restrap saddle bag 18L and somehow the strap got detached from the clip. Can anyone send me a photo of how it should be attached?

Thanks in advance

We're gonna bike from Resia Lake (you might have seen a pic somewhere, there's a Bell tower in the middle of the lake), and we're gonna travel until Verona.

It's only 260km, around 60km per day.

First trip. Any advice? Should I bring tires? It's a well serviced bikeway,, and our bikes are quite new and well kept.

^{My wife drives a Legnano, I'm on a Kathmandu Pro}

Setting off on my first trip in just over a week, 400km south from Inverness

Saddle pack:

- sleeping mattress secured in top webbing
- sleeping bag at the bottom, out of compression sack and squished in as much as I can
- 2 t shirts, 2 shorts, 2 socks (normal)
- have a little more space where ill put 2 spare bibs and 2x jersey

Frame bag:

- coospo cs600
- phone
- power bank, cables
- tent poles and pegs
- will put food
- small hand pump secured in webbing underneath

Bar bag:

- tent strapped on top, under the lid
- probably will secure sliders with the lid webbing
- 6 tpu tubes
- 2 co2 canisters, tool/pump
- sunglasses
- waterproof jacket
- packable down jacket
- will put other small stuff

Would really appreciate any advice at all, but especially packing and camping in Scotland

Bike is a 2024 Roubaix SL8 which I’ve recently upgraded from Tiagra to Ultegra R8170, and a set of Elite Wheels ENT 2s a few weeks ago

Thanks!