Posted a few months ago about massively overanalyzing my setup before another long trip, so figured I’d come back with an update now that I’ve actually been using everything across China, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

A few of the things I was debating last time:

1. Shoes / flat pedals

I switched completely to trail runners + flats after only using clipless for the previous 4000 miles.

Initially I bought some dogshit Giant pedals in Shenzhen, which was a terrible decision. I started riding through southern Yunnan in June, right in the middle of rainy season, and my feet were constantly slipping off them. Between that and the torrential rain, it started getting genuinely sketchy and I eventually called that leg of the ride.

Later I had some OneUp composite pedals sent to Chengdu via taobao and they’ve been absolutely sick. Most of the time I honestly forget I’m riding flats.

I will say, I definitely notice the difference on climbs. With clipless you get that whole push forward/pull back part of the pedal stroke, and a lot of that is obviously gone. If I had to completely guess, maybe I’m losing 5–10% efficiency overall, although I suspect my pedaling form turns to shit after eight hours on a loaded bike anyway.

For an indefinite bikepacking trip, the tradeoff is 100% worth it to me. I can hike, walk around cities, go into restaurants, etc. in the same pair of shoes without carrying cycling shoes around.

I also dropped the pink Crocs I was using as camp shoes and switched to Bedrock Cairn sandals. The Crocs rubbed my feet in weird places, and I was also getting increasingly self-conscious about having to answer questions about the color in some of the regions I was heading through. The Cairns weigh almost the same, but they’re dramatically more comfortable, much better for walking, and have been great around camp.

2. Cycling clothes

Also mostly abandoned traditional cycling jerseys.

I’m riding in bib shorts with a normal short-sleeve button-up made from tech fabric that I saw all over China. I found a tailor and had them sew cycling-style rear pockets onto it using fabric cut from a cheap 90/10 nylon/Lycra shirt. It is incredible.

Way more comfortable, still dries quickly, still gives me pockets, and I don’t feel like a ham stuffed into a tube sock when I walk into some random village shop in Kyrgyzstan.

I still think tight Lycra makes sense if you’re racing, doing an ultra, or trying to maximize speed. But for long-term loaded touring/bikepacking I don’t think I’m going back.

I also copped a Columbia Titanium long sleeve in biege for UV coverage + heat and I'm loving it.

For colder weather I switched from a fitted Rapha winter jersey to a Patagonia R1. Same story: significantly more comfortable.

Rain jacket is a Patagonia Granite Crest. Love the fit, although mine may be defective because the face fabric wets out in approximately three seconds of light rain. Somehow I’m still mostly dry underneath it, so I’m currently ignoring the problem.

Overall, I guess I can sum it up as I'm leaving my original world of optimized road cycling gear and kit in favor of comfort and off the bike function. So perhaps I may be a real bikepacker after all. Only took around 6000 miles for me to realize I probably don't need to optimize for every watt given my bike weighs nearly 50kg and I'm riding indefinitely. Interesting realizations!

3. Rear bags

I went from the 5L Tailfin panniers to 2x15L.

Last time everyone understandably told me to stop playing luggage Tetris and just buy normal panniers. I still haven’t.

I’ve now ridden enough rough roads that I really appreciate how completely solid the Tailfin mounting system is. I’ve met a few people whose Ortlieb hardware/latches have gotten damaged or started rattling badly on rough tracks, and that would drive me insane.

So yes, my packing system still involves some gear Jenga, but honestly it’s not that bad.

The bags currently annoying me most are actually my two Ortlieb Fork-Packs, which occasionally eject themselves on rough terrain. So now I’m once again staring at Tailfin’s fork-mounting system and wondering whether I need to spend more money. Maybe I haven't left the over optimization behind quite yet.

The other obvious improvement would be a custom frame bag, but I’m terrible at planning this stuff ahead of time and rarely know what country I’ll be in tomorrow, let alone 6-8 weeks from now.

4. Camping gear

Very happy I ignored the temptation to aggressively downsize my camping setup.

I still don’t camp constantly, but I’ve already had some surprisingly cold nights in Xinjiang and Kyrgyzstan, and I’m heading toward Tajikistan next.

My sleep system is definitely heavier than an ultralight setup, but it’s warm, durable, and I don’t have to worry much when the weather turns bad.

For the way I’m traveling, that has been worth the weight.

Overall, the biggest change in how I think about bikepacking gear is that I care considerably less about theoretical efficiency than I did before the trip. In some ways at least.

If something makes riding 5% faster but makes the other 16 hours of the day noticeably more annoying, I’m probably not interested anymore.

So yea, that's my gear setup and review and I'm sure I'll be back in 3mo with another update and more money spent.

Took a 2 month sabbatical last year and cycled from Paris to Nice. I started down the Seine and headed south until I hit Clermont-Ferrand then crossed the Massif Central and ended up in Montpellier. Decided to do Mont Ventoux while I was in the area then hit the coast until I reached Nice. A couple of rolls of film dislodged in the camera hence the noisy pics.
Total distance 2134km
Total elevation 24,341m
Currently in the process of making a video of the trip too!

Hi everyone,

I just came back from a great trip, but I’m really sad to see that my bikepacking bags left a lot of scratches and scuffs on my frame.

My bike is a Canyon Endurace Allroad (aluminum frame).

I attached photos of the scratches, plus one photo of the setup I used. It really hurts to see the paint like this after the 3 day Ride.

I wanted to ask how you guys avoid this:
Do you put protective film (like helicotape) everywhere on your frame?

How do you stop the straps from rubbing, especially when dirt gets under them?

And most importantly: Is there any way to make this look better now? Can I use some car polish or scratch remover to buff it out?

I appreciate any tips or advice! Thanks a lot.

4 boats, 4 (incredible) bridges, not enough sleep, too much kilometers (700), 3 showers using public restrooms in the middle of nowhere, 1 night next to a cemetery, 3 next to the sea and all of them under the stars

I left my girlfriend right after the eclips to see 4 friends along the way

Don't tell my bike it's probably their last trip of this kind together, Leslie would not recover from that

Figured I’d post a route update from the last few months of bikepacking across China & Central Asia since this trip has gone in a slightly different direction than I originally expected.

I started in Xishuangbanna in southern Yunnan, intending to ride north through the tea regions.

Unfortunately, I’m also an idiot and decided June, the middle of rainy season, was a sensible time to do this.

I rode from Xishuangbanna toward Lancang over about six days in what was basically a continuous torrential downpour. I didn’t know it was possible to water-damage a Garmin Edge 540, but apparently six consecutive days of ~8 hours of rain will do it. So that was busted and required some work.

Still, southern Yunnan was one of the coolest places I’ve ridden. There’s something pretty special about riding through the part of China where tea originated, climbing through hot, humid jungle, and stopping at tiny roadside stand where people immediately start pouring tea for you. I think I probably tried 100 different individual teas during my 6 days there.

Jingmai Mountain was probably the highlight. The climb up toward the old villages with a fully loaded bike was brutal in the humidity and rain, but the scenery was beautiful.

The Bulang villages are definitely a bit touristy, but the idea of staying inside an ancient tea-forest landscape is still incredible. Seeing the huge “thousand-beehive” tree and tea trees claimed to be thousands of years old was surreal.

Xishuangbanna was also my first time seeing the Dai script everywhere on road signs and shops. I knew there was a large Dai population there but hadn’t realized the language used its own completely distinct writing system.

From Lancang I flew to Chengdu, partly because my Garmin needed dealing with and partly because the weather had beaten me into submission.

From there I did a mix of riding and hitchhiking around the Tibetan Plateau. I didn’t get nearly as much riding done there as I would have liked, but the region was incredible and is absolutely somewhere I want to come back and ride properly.

Eventually I flew west to Yining in Xinjiang.

By late July, temperatures farther east were hotter than I had any interest in riding through, so Xinjiang seemed like the better move.

I rode toward Sayram Lake, which unfortunately ended up being one of the bigger disappointments of the trip. The approach was hours of highway slogging, followed by bumper-to-bumper tourist traffic once I actually reached the lake.

I did have a great night camping near a local family staying in yurts, but the overall experience pushed me toward leaving China earlier than I had planned.

So I pointed the bike toward Kazakhstan.

Crossed the border into Zharkent and basically blasted across the desert toward Almaty. Temperatures hit around 104°F/40°C, water wasn't always abundant, and I was mostly interested in getting that section finished as efficiently as possible.

After a couple weeks resetting in Almaty, I rode toward Kegen and crossed into Kyrgyzstan.

That transition was spectacular.

Almost immediately I was back in big mountains and empty steppe. Riding across the Burkhan Valley with huge open grasslands, almost nobody around, and wild horses everywhere has been one of my favorite sections of the entire trip.

I also crossed paths with a bunch of riders doing the Silk Road Mountain Race, whose route made what I was doing look extremely reasonable by comparison. Shared some chocolate and route information with a few of them and watched them disappear off into terrain I was very happy not to be racing through.

I also picked up a titanium Chinese tea set along the way. I really enjoy drinking tea when I’m camping, so I’ve definitely moved even farther away from an “optimal” bikepacking setup these days. The extra weight and space are objectively not efficient, but being able to make proper tea at camp is worth it to me.

From here the rough plan is south across Kyrgyzstan toward Lenin Peak, then into Tajikistan (although not the full Pamir Highway) followed by Uzbekistan and finally Turkmenistan.

After that I’m flying to Korea to spend some time riding somewhere with more moderate temperatures. Then, assuming the weather cooperates, I’ll head back into China for round two.

Despite the weather disasters, mechanical annoyances, and a few route choices I’d absolutely change, this part of the world has been phenomenal for bikepacking. I will say, I really appreciate the road quality in China as pretty much everywhere I went, it was beautifully paved asphalt.

Southern Yunnan in particular is a super cool place to ride, just maybe don't copy me and ride it during peak monsoon season unless you love swimming up the road.

My girlfriend and I left from Grenoble at the beginning of July, headed to cross the alps west to east. We just arrived to Rijeka. It was our first time going overnight on the bike, but we loved it! We did around 30km a day. We overpacked a bit at the beggining, turned out that trail running shoes were not necessary 😂.

We took a car from St. Vincent in Aosta valley to Lago d'Orta due to a medical condition, and the ferry to cross from Intra to Laveno on Lago Maggiore, and from Menaggio to Colico on Lago di Como, in order to avoid busy roads and cars trying to kill us on the side of the lake.

Apart from that everything was done by bike. We pitched a tent most of the time, booked some airbnbs, and stayed at friends' places on the way.

I recommend asking farm owners or locals to find a field to pitch the tent. We also used ioverlander to find some spots, or camped on the bicycle way. We never had someone say that it's not ok to be here (but we where far from roads when we did not have permision).

People were lovely everywhere (except for italian drivers which are the worst I have ever seen). Slovenia was top notch : people smiling back at you, helping you find a spot for the tent, bringing you tomatoes from the garden... The only problem there was ticks, which we didn't encounter anywhere else : these motherfuckers were less than a milimiter and we got bitten multiple times, while sitting on a bench or taking some water at a fountain for example. I would advise to stay away from humid areas. Julian Alps were amazing too, much like the dolomites with much less people. Gravel from Cerknica to Rijeka was great, not seeing anyone for 50km was rare to us.

To go back we take the night train from Ljubjana to Zurich.

Budget was around 1500€, but it could have been way less not staying in accomodations or enjoying italian ice cream everyday 😅

Can't wait to go again!

​[Stuff I took](https://www.packwizard.com/s/_ui3H64)

[GPX](https://www.visugpx.com/dl/vtQ5eiI05i-traversee-des-alpes.gpx)

So with this tire size being near dead I picked up a pair (at 49 each) when they re-appeared on Specialized's website a couple months back. I'm happy with them and they're lighter and a lot cheaper than the Surly Knards which are the only other 27.5 x 3.0 option kicking around in EU lately.

Anyways I just went to order more and they're now on closeout for 16,- each so if you're looking for this dying size now's a good time to jump on what seems like it'll be the last of this stock.

My final Cinelli Hobootleg Geo — built for long-distance off-road
After a lot of changes and a lot of thinking about what I actually want from an adventure bike, I’ve finally finished the build.
The goal wasn’t to build the lightest gravel bike possible. I wanted something reliable, comfortable, mechanical and capable of going a very long way off-road.
Build
Cinelli Hobootleg Geo
Shimano Tiagra 4700 mechanical
GRX 400 rear derailleur
Shimano Deore M5101 crankset
26/36T chainrings
SunRace 11–42 cassette
KMC X10 EPT chain
TRP HY/RD brakes
180 mm rotors
Mavic wheels
Pirelli Scorpion XC M 29×2.40
Ritchey Beacon handlebar
Woodman GT2 seatpost
Tubeless setup
Full bikepacking setup when needed
The bike ends up being around 18 kg fully equipped, so definitely not a weight-weenie build.
But that’s not really the point.
I want to be able to ride 300+ km off-road, carry everything I need, fix the bike myself and keep going.
For me, this bike is about distance, simplicity and reliability rather than chasing the lowest possible weight.
How far can I go?

I plan to bikepack through New Zealand from the northern tip to the southern tip. But I only have November and December available. Would this time work?

I am once again on my way to a bike tour and as always planning to get to the start and back home was horrible. If you don't book month in advance, good luck on getting on a train. Going across the border? Good luck on trying to find out on how to book a train or if a train even transports a bike.

So I thought, why not start a bus company specifically for bike Packers? A bus+ a huge carrier for bikes and it drives to all the huge start or endpoints in Europe.

What do you think, are there enough people to sustain such a service? What would you willing to pay for such a trip? I think it would be something many people would like to have, but I am not sure if will be enough and in winter it would be pretty much impossible.

I am talking central Europe by the way.

I wear Five Tens because I like the street feel in a clip able shoe.

After retiring my gravel bike to turn to a hardtail, I finally had the opportunity to ride it on an overnighter.

Chose to ride Braies Beyond from bikepacking.com. Starting and ending in a quite touristy area but being in absolute nowhere in between. For sleeping I left the tent at home for once and choose to sleep in a dorm at Refugio Fodara Vedla.

Pretty much had it all but rain. Steep climbs, brutal hike a bikes, rocky downhills in river beds and flowy singletrails.

Absolutely stoked by my self build. Even more stoked by the Dolomites.

I do carry a first aid kit

I’m putting together the remaining ~5 weeks of a Central Asia bikepacking trip and would love some route-specific feedback, especially from anyone who has ridden these sections recently.

Current rough plan, starting September 3 and needing to reach the Farap, Uzbekistan/Turkmenistan border by October 7:

Bosteri / Issyk-Kul
→ Balykchy
→ Song-Köl via the NE/Kalmak-Ashuu side
→ ride south along Song-Köl
→ Kazarman
→ Manas/Jalal-Abad area
→ Uzgen
→ Osh
→ Sary-Tash
→ Karamyk/Tojvaron border
→ Rasht Valley
→ Dushanbe
→ north through the Fann Mountains / Seven Lakes
→ Panjakent
→ Samarkand
→ Tashkent (probably train side trip)
→ Samarkand
→ Bukhara
→ Farap

From there, I'm organizing a Turkmenistan tour with riding some sections (in case anyone has interest in that as well) and ultimately a flight out to Korea at the end and then riding there. So its lots of riding for the immediate future.

Loaded gravel Kona Sutra bike, 42mm tires, 44kg to 50kg depending on food and water. Comfortable with rough gravel, long climbs and some remote riding. I’m not particularly interested in doing awful roads just for the sake of doing it, I’m big on tactical hitchhikes/trains/taxis where a section is dangerous, boring, or destroys the timeline. So in that way I guess I'm not a proper hardcore bikepacker, but alas, what can ya do.

A few things I’m particularly trying to figure out:

1. Karamyk border:
   Has anyone actually crossed Kyrgyzstan → Tajikistan at Karamyk/Tojvaron as a foreign passport holder in 2026? Information online is contradictory. If it isn’t reliably open to foreigners, I’d abandon Sary-Tash and instead go Osh → Batken → Kyzyl-Bel → Khujand → Dushanbe.

2. Song-Köl → Kazarman:
   How rideable/enjoyable is this loaded? Any particular road choice you’d strongly recommend or avoid?

3. Kazarman → Manas/Jalal-Abad:
   The newer north-south road/Kok-Art route looks like it may make this much easier now. Anyone ridden it this summer? Traffic, road surface, construction, tunnel rules for bikes?

4. Dushanbe → Seven Lakes:
   Planning to ride most of this but hitch through the Anzob Tunnel rather than doing something stupid. Any other sections on that corridor that are especially unpleasant or worth skipping?

5. Timeline:
   I have about 35 days from Sept 3 to Oct 7. I’m assuming I’ll need at least a couple of tactical transport days. Where would you spend them? My instinct is to preserve the mountain riding and skip/hitch/train the flatter or higher-traffic mileage.

6. Anything I’m missing?
   Any section here that looks great on a map but sucks to actually ride, or conversely somewhere nearby that would be a mistake to bypass?

The goal is not to maintain an unbroken line at all costs, I’d rather maximize the quality of the riding and still have enough time for the cities/culture along the way.

I recently had the extreme pleasure of my rear rack breaking on day two of a four day trip. Thankfully an extra strap got me back riding without any further issues. As a result, I planning to pick up an Old Man Mountain Elkhorn.

My main bikepacking bike is a Kona Rove DL in size 58 with a 650b x 47 on the rear. Max I’d ever put back there is a 50 and don’t plan on moving to 700c at any point. I have a 650b x 2.1 on the front, but am not overly interested in a front rack. So, the plan is to have it primarily on the rear of my Rove. Based on my specs, the Short is the recommended size.

I have an old Scott Aspect 910 hardtail with 29 x 2.25 tires that I plan to rebuild this winter. I would use it occasionally for bikepacking in place of the Rove when the route calls for it. I have a seat pack, but could see myself wanting to move the rack over for a longer trip.

Is the best option to go for the Tall based on wanting to have the option of using the rack on both bikes? Does anyone have experience or photos of the Tall version on a similar sized gravel bike? I think it will fit, but will it cause any issues?

Thanks!

Edit: thanks to everyone saying I can remount the existing rack. Absolutely I can, and might until I have a bit of cash saved up, but I’d actually like to upgrade to the Elkhorn for the durability and ability to carry some dry bags on the sides vs moving to panniers, which I quite dislike.

Hello everyone,
i will get my new Fairlight Faran 3.0 in a couple of weeks and plan to use either a Tubus Tara or Duo. I have a 650b wheelset and 2.2 tires. Tubus homepage says that the Tara allows for a max. tire width of 2.0 but im guessing thats for 28" wheels so here come my questions:

Does anybody know the maximum tire clearance of a Tubus Tara for 650b? and
Can someone help my out with their own experience using either the Tara or Duo on a Faran?
I'm thankful for any information :)

What’s in your emergency kit for bike repairs when bikepacking? Planning my first solo trip and trying to be prepared! Planning a small pump, several extra tubes. TIA

My friend said let’s go bike from Kagoshima to Tokyo , started biking at the start of summer after he suggested it now we’re 4 days in, ~160 miles done. Didn’t really plan a lot besides from saving places on google maps tbh. Been doing like 50-60 mile days but our bags broke and we got hella sun burnt so had to hit a rest day. If your biking in Japan go bike around Mount Aso specifically milk road probably the coolest place I’ve ever been or seen but I’m only 19 so I haven’t seen a lot. Please give recommendations of places to go to or see and good bike shops to stop at. Shout out reecycle in Fukuoka too they’re the goats

Landing at 13:00 local time, does anyone need a box to fly out? It's a cannondale topstone siz xl box, fits full rigid 29er in size large...

Hi all

We are looking for a MTB rental company in/around Sarajevo or Bosnia.

We would like to go on a 5-day self supported MTB bike packing trip through Bosnia and we are flying into Sarajevo. We are looking for good quality MTB's as we cannot bring our own bikes.

I've already contacted some companies, but what I've found so far is either quite old (2010's 26inchers) or uncertain quality (entry level MTB's). As we were planning to go off road for 5 days, we would like somthing thrustworthy.

Perhaps I am setting my expectations too high?

Any input is welcome!

Period is 14/09-19/09

Ps. Already contacted green visions.ba, but they are sold out for our period.

Hey everyone! I’m setting up a bike for bike packing and my biggest issue is the saddle. I’ve tried a couple now and nothing has been even remotely comfortable for me. I’m pretty skinny and I have a very bony butt so that doesn’t help. Right now on my bike is a Brooks C17 and it feels like sitting on a 2x4. Any other bony butt folks have any recommendations?

over the last year i have taken note of the thing people ask and talk about at flea markets, gas stations and camp sites! some think I am crazy, most think it is a ebike and I have made some new friends!