camping with bikes

[Andy]

right. I may be doing a camping triop with my biking buddy before I go off to Uni.

kit list
genral camping gear
cloths for off the bike
spares for bikes
hydration systems
waterproofs
FAK

for the tent I'm thinking about the stormshield Xeon, blacks have it reduced to clear for £63what do you think

any bits of kit which might be forgotton that you can think of?

 

[Wayne]

Are you talking motorbike or pushbike?

How are you going to carry your kit?

i did the Southdowns way with kit in rucksac back hurt for days. Now i use panniers much more stable although not suitable for suspension bikes.

 

[mcniac]

Hi, i have made some MTB and camping too, but here in Argentina.

may be you have to specify a little more what you gonna do, where and things like that.

depending onthe kind of terrain where you are you will need a machette or golok or similar for path cleaning.

depending on how long you will be out and things like that, may be a tarp will be a col thing to carry, just to cover the bikes overnight, if you wanna may be both of you too.

hope this help in some way

cheers
Esteban.

 

[Andy]

I started off with a lot of detail, then took it out as it seemed long winded

kit will be carried in panniers (two 35litre panniers each) and a small rucksack with hydration system in (each)
we were thinking about the coast to cost on the trans pennine trail (which goes past near where we live incase we get big problems)
push bikes will be used

 

[bushwacker bob]

I used to cycle tour lots, if you carry too much weight the bike is very front end light. a smallpair of front panniers to counterbalance this is essntial or travel very light.My brother cycled to Italy with this system and managed to cycle over the alps at mnt Cenice.

 

[Carcajou Garou]

I am not certain this is appropriate, would you consider adding a small bike trailer to carry at least part of the load? A simple 2 wheeled cart with an attaching bar to the back of the bike would carry a lot of gear and still be stable, does not need to be very wide similar to a child carrier trailer. You could make this cart as part of a winter project.
just a thought

 

[Andy]

I have been thinking about a trailer as has my sister. I'm not sure if it's a good idea taking them on trails you don't know though as they do limit what paths you can use worth a thought though. The idea my sister had was to use part of a pram, that way you could make something that folds up. Instead of the seat you then just strap a large bag or box

 

[Carcajou Garou]

In Canada at food stores we used a welded push basket to collect our groceries I am not sure if it is similar to that in your neck of the woods. I am thinking of approaching a grocer and buying one of his older defective basket as long as the body is OK and welding an axle at the balance point and adding a couple 20" bicycle wheels to the axle. Then adding a trailer drawbar that would be attached to your bike via a hitching joint located on your bike, perhaps at the back seat post? Our basket are fairly narrow, the whole would be approx. 36" wide at the wheels. I often see such bike trailers in different configuration, used by people who bike accross the country. To control the trailer you could also install a brake to each rear wheel? and activate it with a dedicated brake lever that could also be detachable when uneeded. More than likely someone will come up with a different (better) idea if this threads keeps on.
Just a thought

 

[Roving Rich]

I'll be cycling down the Ridgeway next weekend. Only about 80 miles but all offroad. I just use 2 rear panniers (Karrimor -i dont recommend them :-( )
I'd like a barbag, to put my camera, some munchies and a drink in.
A rucksack is a nightmare, your rear will be seriously sore after not so many miles.
Best travel light, take some bungees, cable ties and gaffa tape. make sure that the pannier rack doesn't rattle loose.

Rich

 

[Andy]

I have used panniers before, but with a light load in them I am concerned about how light they make the front wheel. Carcajou Garou would you be able to get a picture of what your talking about?
20" bike whees were what I would put on a trailer andsince I have connections with a couple of bike shops I'm sure I could get hold of a couple cheep. I'm not sure that the seat post is te best place to fix it on though, if you fix it on there, the bar would have to over the back wheel. On my bike at least there are holes for mounting bits onto the rear triangle of the frame, for some reason there aren't any on the seat stays, only the ones near the hub. Also I have put disc brakes on my bike so there are the bosses for V brakes which could be used.

since I have disc bbrakes I'm not botherd about fitting brakes to a trailer

 

[Carcajou Garou]

I am not very adept at putting things on the computer but I did manage to get some computer addresses of bicycle related sites that relate to bike camping
www.bobtrailers.com/
www.trail-gator.com/
www.airfreetires.com/
www.davidmoreno.uklinux.n...index.htm
www.bikesatwork.com/
These posting for the most part are from a very smart man called "VLAD" he is from another forum and is one of the best sources of information that I know. I do not know if it is Ok to put the address of that forum on this one, conflict of interest?
We had also talked about attaching hand carts to a bike via several anchor points. I hope I have not muddled this post to much.
just a thought

 

[Roving Rich]

Its no problem to put the link up Carcajou :biggthump

I have never used front panniers, I don't know that I can with front supension ? But i would be more concerned about making the steering to heavy and loosing manoevreability, especially for off road use.
If you are travelling light then it shouldn't be a problem.
The heaviest part of my load always seems to be the BEER !
:-D
Cheers
Rich

 

[Andy]

No you can't use them with front suspension, or at least standard suspension forks, I doubt the wieght of the steering would be much trouble if it's only ight offroad. tandams cope ok. We do have a tandom which could have 4 panniers on but we don't want to use it as it has no suspension and the brakes aren't a patch on the discs plus they have to stop twice as much

 

[bushwacker bob]

Your tandem sounds like the kind of bike I remember.pre-mountain bike.
they're much stronger than you think.I've covered hundreds of miles off road on one of them.You can do without more than 5 gears, disc brakes and suspension forks..... but a gell seat is a definite advance

 

[Bob]

I used to do a fair bit of off-road cycling and camping - used a (pre-suspension) mountain bike - a Ridgeback - with small front and rear panniers; a good set up.

As your bike has suspension you may want to consider a trailer. The BOB company (no relation!!) make excellent trailers which attach to a modified rear axle. I used the BOBCoz for ages (on road) - a great bit of kit. They also make the BOBYak specifically for off-road use - larger capacity and tougher build. This may be a good choice for you.

If you do go down this route bear in mind that the trailer will push you downhill - you may need your disc-brakes!

All the best

Bob :-D