# Bikepacking NOOB Questions



## owtdorz (Apr 26, 2012)

I am getting started into marathon bikepacking and am looking for info on bikes and gear.
Mainly I want to buy the right bike one time. (Budget: Best bang for the buck)
What would be a good multispeed bike?
26 or 29?
Hardtail or FS?
Fat tire?
Tubeless?
Rigid fork or Suspended?
Lighting i.e. battery or solar or dynamo for long trips away from power sources.
I did try searching the forum and Google and did not come up with specific answers.
I did find a lot of gear info so I won't need info as far as that.
Thanks


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## yetiasx (Feb 6, 2006)

i have a salsa fargo and it rocks, i would rather ride this than my girl


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## Dusza (Feb 18, 2011)

Another happy Fargo owner here - not sure about the girlfriend part though... :nono:
Having said that, whats wrong with your Karakorum? Seems perfectly fine to me.


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## owtdorz (Apr 26, 2012)

Dusza said:


> Another happy Fargo owner here - not sure about the girlfriend part though... :nono:
> Having said that, whats wrong with your Karakorum? Seems perfectly fine to me.


Not too sure how it will handle 1000 mile trips loaded down.
I am thinking of that too.


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## Rabies010 (Jan 20, 2011)

I don't know where you are going to ride you bike.
But i would choose a bike that is as reliable and maintenance free as possible.
A hardtail with a simple fork and a rohloff hub would be a good base to start with. 
And fat tires will get you alomst anywhere, but parts for fatbikes can be harder to find when you are on the road.


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## Dusza (Feb 18, 2011)

owtdorz said:


> Not too sure how it will handle 1000 mile trips loaded down.


Are you doing that 1000 mile trip in a months time? Give your GT a chance for starters and then decide on which of those trea$ure$ mentioned by Rabies you'd like/need to spend your cash.
Have you got any framebags? Panniers? You'll need to take some stuff with you - I'd worry about those first 
As to the kind of bike (FS/Fat etc.) you'd need, it really comes down to the type of terrain you'll encounter. I can imagine that for 1000 mile trips you wouldn't be doing very much technical stuff, would you? A fully rigid 29er comes to my mind 
But I have just a couple of shorter trips under my belt so take all of that with a grain of salt :thumbsup:


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## big_papa_nuts (Mar 29, 2010)

My first question would be what's the budget? There is no question that a custom built bike would be better but there is no reason you can't run what ya brung. The 3.0 is pretty basic but I have only had one come back and that guy was riding the heck out of it. I can easily say that I have see people do more with less.

The main things I would focus on would be comfort and reliability. I'd almost say just go out and see how many miles you can lay down on your current rig. Bar ends might be a good add on for more hand postitions, and a rack and bags for haulin' stuff, maybe different tires for the intended route. You could always stick a fargo fork on there and some alt bars and have a pretty useful rig for not much coin, then just replace stuff as needed.

I'm actually using a GT Peace 9er as my "touring" bike and it's getting along fine. But if I had the option/budget I think a Ti Fargo, maybe with a Nuvinci, would be on the list.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I'd be more apt to go hardtail for something like this. I'd even heavily consider a 29er because I'd have the ability on a long trip to use mtb tires or swap to a smoother rolling hybrid tire depending on terrain. Rims would probably be too wide for anything but the widest road tires, but those might be an option, too. I'd go tubed most of the time, just because it's fairly easy to get a spare tube nearly anywhere. Tubeless is great, don't get me wrong, but I have had occasions where I have NEEDED a compressor to get my tubeless tires seated on my FS.

The IGH would be pretty good for cutting the risk of breaking something.

But I'd start with the "ride what ya got" method. Building a bike for a specific sort of thing can be an expensive and time consuming prospect if you put exactly what you want on it.


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## iggs (Oct 18, 2007)

Depending on where your going it's also worth thinking about spares availability.

The more normal the bike the easier it is to get bits. Even the most reliable of bikes will sometimes have a problem.

26 inch tyres, tubes, spokes, rims can be found all over the world in some form or another.


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## She&I (Jan 4, 2010)

I'm not understanding why you wouldn't load up your GT and hit at least some shakedowns. What's going to break on that that won't on another bike? There will always be a better bike.

Mike


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## owtdorz (Apr 26, 2012)

Thanks for the GREAT info guys.
I'll be trying to upgrade components on the GT and go from there.
I still question lighting and charging items.MP3 charging, phone, etc
Lights (battery or rechargable)


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## jmmUT (Sep 15, 2008)

owtdorz said:


> Thanks for the GREAT info guys.
> I'll be trying to upgrade components on the GT and go from there.
> I still question lighting and charging items.MP3 charging, phone, etc
> Lights (battery or rechargable)


The portable solar chargers are getting much better over the last few years. I recommend a newer company Goal Zero. This is the panel I had Goal Zero Guide 10 Plus Adventure Kit with Solo Flashlight - Free Shipping at REI.com And it worked well. You can charge batteries,phones, mp3, off the folding panel. Larger like ipads and netbooks, it likely wouldn't have worked well if at all-they claimed it would trickle some charge on those though. It's bigger than some but likely why it worked better.

Lots of others out there from good companies (Brunton for example) but no experience with them.


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## D45yth (Jan 30, 2009)

owtdorz said:


> Thanks for the GREAT info guys.
> I'll be trying to upgrade components on the GT and go from there.
> I still question lighting and charging items.MP3 charging, phone, etc
> Lights (battery or rechargable)


I use a small AA USB battery back for charging my GPS if needed. These can be had for a few dollars on ebay.
If I was buying my light again though it would be able to charge any portable device I may have. It's an Exposure light that I've got but I've had a couple of years now. The new one's have a 'smart port' which you can use to charge things. They're very handy due to the fact they've no wires or external battery pack too, making them very useful when off the bike. They're not cheap but they last a long time and you will end using them for more than biking.


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

Dusza said:


> Having said that, whats wrong with your Karakorum? Seems perfectly fine to me.


+1 - If you have a hardtail MTB just ride it....:thumbsup:



owtdorz said:


> Not too sure how it will handle 1000 mile trips loaded down.
> I am thinking of that too.


It will handle it the same another MTB will handle it. Stuff will wear out and you can replace those parts with new bling that's mission specific.

If you are carrying so much gear that you have problems with the wheels/frame than you need to carry less not buy a burlier bike.


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

owtdorz said:


> Mainly I want to buy the right bike one time. (Budget: Best bang for the buck)
> What would be a good multispeed bike?
> 26 or 29?
> Hardtail or FS?
> ...












I built up a On One Scandal 29er in Jan to use mainly for bikepacking.

- I like 29er wheels for covering distance and the way they smooth out a rough trails without the need for a FS bike. Having said that if you gave me a sweet 26er bike and said go ride it I would and I'd be smiling. Wheel size isn't a deal breaker.

- A FS bike messes with the frame space for a framebag and adds complexity/maintenance to the mix. I think a hardtail is ideal and my friend rides a rigid 29er without complaint. Part of my motivation for getting the 29er over a 26er was the way the bigger wheels rolled over bumpy ground so well.

- I love big rubber so I put on some 2.35" tires for traction and ride quality.

- I set mine up tubeless to drop some weight from the wheel and so I don't have to mess with flats.

- I put a suspension fork on my 29er. Not absolutely needed, but it is my backup trail bike so it's nice to have it for that use. I was considering a Surly Ogre initially which comes with a rigid fork. I would decided based on the terrain you will be riding. Both options work fine. Rigid is cheaper and less maintenance, but can be harder on you if you need to cover a lot of rough ground. You can't finesse a loaded bike over stuff the way you can an unencumbered MTB.

- I don't do "events" or "races" so I'm not riding through the night. I have a couple lighting options that will last 8hrs+ on one battery so I can nurse that through a few days with some evening riding before camping or I can bring a spare set of batteries to extend my range. In the summer it's light from 5am-11pm here so I really don't need a light at all. 2-3hrs with some AC power I can recharge my gear so for a longer trip that has resupply points I would aim to recharge batteries while I ate, bought new supplies and possibly rested.

The On One Scandal has turned out to be a nice low cost frame to use as the basis for a bikepacking rig.










I think a Surly Ogre would also be a good choice and it comes with a rigid fork if you prefer to go that route or want to add a suspension fork and have options.


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## She&I (Jan 4, 2010)

owtdorz said:


> I still question lighting and charging items.MP3 charging, phone, etc Lights (battery or rechargable)


FWIW, I'm using lithium batteries in everything. They have great service and shelf life, are light and available. Alkaline in a pinch en route. Belkin's TuneJuice works so-so for iPhone charging. I'd just bring the wall charger if I'm credit card bikepacking for many days (with motel stops) and using the phone only for emergency.

I'm not digging the rechargeable stuff because it gives me one more chore to do. I know the tech is pretty good on them now, and my buddy backpacks successfully with one. The unit he has is small but still far heavier and larger than a couple extra lithiums. Also, my gear is used for other activities than biking, where recharging is inconvenient or not possible.

I don't use a bike light to speak of (two tiny Planet Bike LEDs). I use a good headlamp that will throw a beam for routefinding. Figure out in advance how that can connect to your helmet, or if you can wear it under your helmet reasonably if you go that route.

Cheers...


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## Crudcake (Apr 25, 2010)

yetiasx said:


> i have a salsa fargo and it rocks, i would rather ride this than my girl


That cracked me up,

Cc


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## TobyGadd (Sep 9, 2009)

I'd ride the same bike that you'd ride all day on similar terriain--even if you weren't bikepacking. If you pack nice lightweight gear, then it won't affect the bike much at all. If you'd ride a FS bike for an all-day trip, then bikepack with a FS setup. If you like a rigid 29 for day rides, then bikepack with one. It's all about the RIDE, right?


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## doodoobaby (Jun 19, 2012)

watched ride the divide again last night, looks like they left with boatloads of gear. but then again they were going 2700 miles!


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## wahday (Mar 23, 2012)

I would just echo going with the bike you have. There are plenty of things to spend money on and things WILL break eventually. I say, save your money for upgrades/fixes on the road if needed. That’s still a plenty solid bike, especially for this application. Personally, I feel the fewer moving and/or specialized parts, the better. Inevitably you will have a problem way out in the boondocks where the mention of a fatbike will be met with a quizzical stare. So, I think going with what you have and making some upgrades makes the most sense. Plus, it’s the bike you know and you can test drive things before the big excursion (take some overnighters and get in the rhythm of setting up and breaking camp). The worst thing I can imagine is trying to dial in a brand new bike (or other equipment you have never used) while loaded up for a monster bikepacking trip. You want all of that stuff settled and broken in before you head out. IMHO…


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## robdeanhove (Dec 8, 2005)

The best bikepacking upgrade I made was a dynamo hub I've used it for a while, I just raced 800miles on it and am delighted!

I use the hub to power the 800lm Exposure Dynamo at night, to race late and start early. In the day, the dynamo topped up my GPS, battery, my phone battery and the battery in my Exposure Joystick head torch, essential for the extremely technical riding in the EWE race I entered. I also used it every fre days to top up my ipod shuffle so I had music with me all week 

There's a whole bunch of detail on this, on a blog post I did from a while ago RIGHT HERE


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