With your Viole straps...cut 1" long cross sections of a 18-23c road tube and slide them over the strap. Then you can thread the loose ends of your straps back thru them after tightening, making it all but impossible for them to unlock, and it generally makes for less stuff flopping around. And it's another way to recycle old inner tubes.
I also always carry a chair when bikepacking. Completely revolutionises the camping experience! Edit: I would recommend buying some air flow hollow golf balls to put on the feet of the chair to stop the legs digging into the ground.
I take a fold up sit pad, weighs nothing and adds comfort and warmth for your bum; also handy for kneeling on when getting in and out of your shelter. I usually bungee strap it on the front bag.
ALso, if solo camping, I would strongly suggest bringing a Kindle or a book to read. In my experience, and having spoken to other people about it, you can get an unexpected overwhelming sensation of loneliness - I find that pulling out my kindle and having a read is the perfect remedy for this!
Neil - thank you for continuing to put out awesome content. A suggested future topic I’d love to see you cover if possible is around bag and weight distribution depending on terrain. How do you think about what should be located where depending on the mileage and terrain in front of you? Do you move things around mid multi day rides when you guessed wrong on weight distribution? Thanks again. Love the content.
For rear storage on my gravel bike I was looking for more room than with the typical seatpost bags. I went with an Inateck waterproof rolltop backpack (BP06001) that straps to an Ortlieb Quick Rack (plus two more luggage straps for stabilization). Like this you get about 30-35 liters of storage, plus bungee cords for loose items on top. You can also rotate the rack to the back to access the whole backpack without taking it off the rack, and it works similar to the Tailfin pack. So just as an inspiration, if anybody has similar needs 😉
Gear nerd alert: that pad doesn’t look like it’s the BA insulated air core, which has longitudinal baffles. The quilting makes it look like their AXL pad. You might have that!
Dig the Tailfin products, their inventory, unfortunately, is slammed due to COVID, an all too familiar story. I kept it local with OMM, similar mounting ideologies if you do not have brazeons. I am very much looking forward to your rack review!
Great vid, dried mango is killer!!! Also, peanuts, almonds and hazelnuts can give loads of energy, buy with salt and mix up drinking water and eating mango and something salty on a warm ride will keep you hydrated more easily. Its a tric i used for 4 hour+ sailplane flights, oh, and pee in a bag for those whom wonder.... Good luck ya all!!!
Living in Southern California I’m ready for my first bike packing overnighter although I have a full suspension bike. Some of my friends do have and love Salsa bikes. What safety precautions do you make or recommend for bugs, predators (mountain lions), snakes, etc. trying to plan for all the unknowns. Love the channel.
Lots of similarities with us ultralite backpackers. Big fan of palante packs, zpacks, enlightened equipment, thermarest, Sawyer, msr, toaks, deuce of spades, etc, etc.
Thank you Neil for the excellent overview. Timberjack question: A Timberjack ride review was posted by Cobra Kyle, running 27.5 in. wheels, and he complained of the Timberjack's frame being too firm and resulting in a really harsh ride ruclips.net/video/2a0cAf6eJFM/видео.html . Look for example at 10:10 - 10:50. Do you find the frame too firm? If you run 29 in. wheels, do you feel this mitigates it? Which model year is your Salsa Timberjack and which size tires are you running? By the way, our backpacking gear is very similar.
All you need is Sour Patch Kids and dry mangos. Costcos in the black bag are THE best. Focused on gravel racing this year, but definitely want to do a LOT of bikepacking next year. Have already started piecing together stuff for that. Just waiting for the right hardtail to come along. Congrats on the new house! Cheers
Neil (and everyone else), what do you do about storing food in bear country? I've done the rope and stuff sack thing but so often in CO there is not a long solid branch for miles like there might be in the east. And it can be difficult to get the rope back down and it can act as a saw blade going up and down and damages the branch (I started using a laundry pulley which helps immensely). On top of that many places prohibit hanging bags of any sort including Ursacks in the trees. I assume this is because they don't always work because people can't or don't hang them properly for above reasons. The last backpacking trip I sucked it up and bought a proper bear container (BV500) which can just be left on the ground a good ways away from camp. I much prefer it though it holds much less than an unlimited number of stuff sacks hoisted in a tree for sure. I added reflective tape to it so I can find it with a light in the night if necessary. I'm going to bring it on a few short gravel/forest road bikepacking trips this summer and see how it works. I have a rear rack with mini panniers and it will fit on top strapped with 36" Titan Straps (32" max length Voile Strap is too short). Good thing is it will be stuffed with all the things I need to store in it anyway. So, beyond the weight of the container (2.5 lbs!) it seems like it will work for the absolute necessity of food storage in bear country.
Is there a trick to avoid the bag on the handlebar bounce up and down? Even though I stretch the straps (a lot) it does bounce. Also, what do you do with cables underneath? On my full suspension bike that I will use for bikepacking there are quite some cables in front of the handlebar where the bag would go and I dont want to damage them. Any tips on that please? Thank you!
Thanks for the tips. Regarding handlebar bags, have you ever done a review of different handlebar options and bag fit? I have a Surly Moloko bar and I'm looking for a good fitting bag system.
On some trips in a safe area it's possible to have a fire, depends on the area and obviously ask a reliable source, as you don't want to be the person responsible for a ground or forest fire.
Very helpful video for me, thanks Neil! Looking forward to my first bikepacking overnighter soon. Just built up a Ritchey Ascent with drop bar, dropper post, mtb wheels and tires. Gathering my gear, and will borrow some gear from a friend with lots of bikepacking experience.
Neil, we are prepping for Telluride/Moab hut to hut in July. For tubeless tire repair, should i bring some Stan’s, a spare tire and tube? What do you recommend?
I did that but route with 6 friends last Summer. We considered bringing a spare tire but didn't. We did bring a spare tube per person, patch kits, a few small bottles of sealant. Never needed any of it. The route is almost entirely on dirt roads where the chance of major tire damage is fairly low.
I don't get the idea of that rear rack, I'm pretty sure it's heavier than a regular seat bag and does the same thing? Why picking that system over the regular one? Happy roads for you good man.
Its weight is comparable to a seat pack (the arch is carbon fiber). It gives way more storage, is rock solid while cycling, potentially lets you use the dropper post, and can work with a full suspension bike since it pivots (I'd like to see a review of it with a full suspension bike).
Do you have any thoughts on cranktank and a frame bag vs a giant bladder inside the frame bag? Also, how long or far away are your usual over nighters?
This video was supported in part by Salsa Cycles. Salsa is Adventure By Bike. Learn more about Salsa Here: www.salsacycles.com/?.com&
Any chance at a Salsa Cycles discount though? That Timberjack, or the Horse Thief? Bees knees!
"Luxury" items are delightful. I brought some headphones once an listened to Tchaikovsky while watching the Perseids meteor shower. Happy Trails buddy
Link strap for bag handlebar?
With your Viole straps...cut 1" long cross sections of a 18-23c road tube and slide them over the strap. Then you can thread the loose ends of your straps back thru them after tightening, making it all but impossible for them to unlock, and it generally makes for less stuff flopping around. And it's another way to recycle old inner tubes.
I also always carry a chair when bikepacking. Completely revolutionises the camping experience!
Edit: I would recommend buying some air flow hollow golf balls to put on the feet of the chair to stop the legs digging into the ground.
I take a fold up sit pad, weighs nothing and adds comfort and warmth for your bum; also handy for kneeling on when getting in and out of your shelter. I usually bungee strap it on the front bag.
A wee bit of good whisky around the campfire won't do ya no harm. I have yet to regret having the flask tag along on any journey.
Perfect timing. Doing first overnighter with new bike this weekend
WOOOHOOO!!!! Have a blast.
ALso, if solo camping, I would strongly suggest bringing a Kindle or a book to read. In my experience, and having spoken to other people about it, you can get an unexpected overwhelming sensation of loneliness - I find that pulling out my kindle and having a read is the perfect remedy for this!
Definitely second a plethora of the snacks - especially when my kids tag along… sour patch kids can turn a frown upside down really quickly! 😜
Neil - thank you for continuing to put out awesome content.
A suggested future topic I’d love to see you cover if possible is around bag and weight distribution depending on terrain. How do you think about what should be located where depending on the mileage and terrain in front of you? Do you move things around mid multi day rides when you guessed wrong on weight distribution?
Thanks again. Love the content.
For rear storage on my gravel bike I was looking for more room than with the typical seatpost bags. I went with an Inateck waterproof rolltop backpack (BP06001) that straps to an Ortlieb Quick Rack (plus two more luggage straps for stabilization). Like this you get about 30-35 liters of storage, plus bungee cords for loose items on top. You can also rotate the rack to the back to access the whole backpack without taking it off the rack, and it works similar to the Tailfin pack.
So just as an inspiration, if anybody has similar needs 😉
Seriously cool idea, got an OMM rack that takes a specific through axle per each bike kit, but this is really elegant.
My camp chair is well worth the extra pound, easily straps to my rack and is so nice to have a seat when at camp.
Or if you are heading for a forest or woods a lightweight hammock can be used for a similar role.
Love your videos!! Please post more videos of your bikepacking trips, your videos are really relaxing to watch.
Gear nerd alert: that pad doesn’t look like it’s the BA insulated air core, which has longitudinal baffles. The quilting makes it look like their AXL pad. You might have that!
Shit, I think you are right, I have both, totally mixed them up.
Dig the Tailfin products, their inventory, unfortunately, is slammed due to COVID, an all too familiar story. I kept it local with OMM, similar mounting ideologies if you do not have brazeons. I am very much looking forward to your rack review!
Great vid, dried mango is killer!!!
Also, peanuts, almonds and hazelnuts can give loads of energy, buy with salt and mix up drinking water and eating mango and something salty on a warm ride will keep you hydrated more easily.
Its a tric i used for 4 hour+ sailplane flights, oh, and pee in a bag for those whom wonder....
Good luck ya all!!!
BRS Titanium stove is lighter, more compact, cheaper, and seems no less durable than the pocket rocket...
If you had the extra gazillion dollars, would you spring for the carbon tailfin or would you say the alloy version is just fine?
Likley go the carbon route if I had that much money, but I have no complaints with the alloy version at this point.
Living in Southern California I’m ready for my first bike packing overnighter although I have a full suspension bike. Some of my friends do have and love Salsa bikes. What safety precautions do you make or recommend for bugs, predators (mountain lions), snakes, etc. trying to plan for all the unknowns. Love the channel.
I have the same exact saddle on my MTB. I noticed right away. The most comfortable seat ever. Ergon SMC!!
Nah I'll smoke any hardtail rider on the road with my gravel bike.
Very informative. Thanks!!
Lots of similarities with us ultralite backpackers. Big fan of palante packs, zpacks, enlightened equipment, thermarest, Sawyer, msr, toaks, deuce of spades, etc, etc.
I redneck engineered a fishing rod holder that attaches to rear triangle
Bikepacking raiz show
Ok which brand of whiskey? lol
Pretty much every Friday night I finish work and head off into the woods for an overnighter. I can be back for Dad duty Saturday morning. ATB everyone
6:44 stores poop shovel with spoon and tooth brush lol
Hardtail bikes may be the best all-around bikes, but not when you’ve had five discectomies/fusions…
Very helpful. Going on my first overnight bikepacking trip on the 14th on my old 1995 Bianca Nyala
I appreciate this video but holy cow that’s some expensive gear on top of the bike cost already.
Check out our hacks and DIY videos, while I dont think they perform as well as the gear on this bike, there are cheaper ways to get out there.
Very informative video cheers. Where would you pack a drone like a dji air 2s for example?
Thank you Neil for the excellent overview. Timberjack question: A Timberjack ride review was posted by Cobra Kyle, running 27.5 in. wheels, and he complained of the Timberjack's frame being too firm and resulting in a really harsh ride ruclips.net/video/2a0cAf6eJFM/видео.html . Look for example at 10:10 - 10:50. Do you find the frame too firm? If you run 29 in. wheels, do you feel this mitigates it? Which model year is your Salsa Timberjack and which size tires are you running? By the way, our backpacking gear is very similar.
All you need is Sour Patch Kids and dry mangos. Costcos in the black bag are THE best. Focused on gravel racing this year, but definitely want to do a LOT of bikepacking next year. Have already started piecing together stuff for that. Just waiting for the right hardtail to come along. Congrats on the new house! Cheers
Neil (and everyone else), what do you do about storing food in bear country? I've done the rope and stuff sack thing but so often in CO there is not a long solid branch for miles like there might be in the east. And it can be difficult to get the rope back down and it can act as a saw blade going up and down and damages the branch (I started using a laundry pulley which helps immensely). On top of that many places prohibit hanging bags of any sort including Ursacks in the trees. I assume this is because they don't always work because people can't or don't hang them properly for above reasons. The last backpacking trip I sucked it up and bought a proper bear container (BV500) which can just be left on the ground a good ways away from camp. I much prefer it though it holds much less than an unlimited number of stuff sacks hoisted in a tree for sure. I added reflective tape to it so I can find it with a light in the night if necessary.
I'm going to bring it on a few short gravel/forest road bikepacking trips this summer and see how it works. I have a rear rack with mini panniers and it will fit on top strapped with 36" Titan Straps (32" max length Voile Strap is too short). Good thing is it will be stuffed with all the things I need to store in it anyway. So, beyond the weight of the container (2.5 lbs!) it seems like it will work for the absolute necessity of food storage in bear country.
Thanks for the tips. I would be curious if someone commented on how many litres of storage you typically have assuming lightweight gear.
unfortunately I only have a (small frame) roadbike, where I can't fit a frame bag or a proper handlebar bag :(
Is there a trick to avoid the bag on the handlebar bounce up and down? Even though I stretch the straps (a lot) it does bounce. Also, what do you do with cables underneath? On my full suspension bike that I will use for bikepacking there are quite some cables in front of the handlebar where the bag would go and I dont want to damage them. Any tips on that please? Thank you!
Hi, may I know where did you get those wheels with coloured spokes please?
Thanks for the tips. Regarding handlebar bags, have you ever done a review of different handlebar options and bag fit? I have a Surly Moloko bar and I'm looking for a good fitting bag system.
What pole are you using in your shelter? Trying to find a really light, small pole option. Thx!
Have you ever packed fishing gear? Have any riders in your circle? Any advice?
Curious if you'd be willing to share any front range intel for overnighters. Is that White Ranch?
Great video! I bought a Timberjack based on your review and love it. What tires are you running here on yours?
On some trips in a safe area it's possible to have a fire, depends on the area and obviously ask a reliable source, as you don't want to be the person responsible for a ground or forest fire.
Very helpful video for me, thanks Neil! Looking forward to my first bikepacking overnighter soon. Just built up a Ritchey Ascent with drop bar, dropper post, mtb wheels and tires. Gathering my gear, and will borrow some gear from a friend with lots of bikepacking experience.
Tailfin is my new best gear. Eliminating leg rub and sway when out of saddle
Are all salsa models built in china?
Flask for sure or one of those small box wines
Would like to see a video for a world tour gear list
Thanks for this video 👍👍
Hopefully Crown Royal
Neil, we are prepping for Telluride/Moab hut to hut in July. For tubeless tire repair, should i bring some Stan’s, a spare tire and tube? What do you recommend?
I did that but route with 6 friends last Summer. We considered bringing a spare tire but didn't. We did bring a spare tube per person, patch kits, a few small bottles of sealant. Never needed any of it. The route is almost entirely on dirt roads where the chance of major tire damage is fairly low.
Where the heck are you going that doesn't have bugs? I've been ate up by mosquitoes even in the dryest places.
oh, really? I don't have the same luck as you :) hehe. I'm in Colorado.
Bike light is important if you had to leave your camp in a hurry middle of the night. Pick a dual-purpose one that can be your flashlight, too.
Headlamp will get the trick done. it Might not be ideal for riding, but I can use a one wrap strap and hook it to my helmet in a pinch.
most excellent! thanks!
I don't get the idea of that rear rack, I'm pretty sure it's heavier than a regular seat bag and does the same thing? Why picking that system over the regular one?
Happy roads for you good man.
Its weight is comparable to a seat pack (the arch is carbon fiber). It gives way more storage, is rock solid while cycling, potentially lets you use the dropper post, and can work with a full suspension bike since it pivots (I'd like to see a review of it with a full suspension bike).
Loved you in Rage.
Do you have any thoughts on cranktank and a frame bag vs a giant bladder inside the frame bag? Also, how long or far away are your usual over nighters?
Can be 5/10/20, 100 k as u want/can do! There’s no rule!
Do you have a review of the Tailfin? I didn't see it when I looked through your video list
It’s coming.
Gotta love Golden Gate
What do you do with used wipes?
Pack in, pack it out! I use these for cleaning my face and hands, I typically buy wet ones, but the store didn't have those last time.
Do you have a list by any chance?
Check the description.
marketing person: make sure you always say Salsa CYCLES
Logan: salsa cycles, salsa cycles, salsa cycles
viewers: 🤦♂️🤦♀️🤦
BRS stove
How do you secure your bike? I don't plan on bike packing but camping near the trails. Some remote trails too.
Check this out: bikepacking.com/gear/secure-your-bike-while-bikepacking-video/
Excellent write-up. Can't wait to get my overnight setup.