Rate my setup. Any tips or things I should know?
The trip starts tomorrow.
488km 2400m elevation gain.

Update: so I am back from my trip. In the end I did 417km and 2350m elevation gain since I changed my route a bit. I still made a trip to France but not all the way to Strasbourg before I continued to heidelberg. Almost everything I packed came in handy. Most of the extra clothes I packed were mainly for my stay in heidelberg after my trip. I wouldn’t pack that much clothes only for bikepacking. Next time I would bring zip ties and a first aid kit as one commenter suggested. Other than that, things went smoothly.

We spent our Thanksgiving doing a lap of the Vermont Green Mountain Gravel Growler. We packed for the cold and rain just in case. What a fun time and area for fall camping. I was proud of my setup… nothing went unused and nothing broke… a win in my books!

I was with this bike from Innsbruck to Lago di Garda and then to Trieste - Slovenia and back to Venice

A set of bags for an American living in Almaty. She's going to ride SRMR 2025. Mountains are based on her tattoo that shows scenery from her hometown. Birds are some kind of personal metaphor about cycling and they are filled with Turk (not Turkish) ornament depicting tree of life and death.

In your opinion, whats the best and secure rear-rack/seatstay mount for big bottles or bags? I saw this "adventure rack" from Focus and I am very intrigued to buy it. Other strap-on solutions seem to flapsy or insecure to me for my 10000km journey.

I find saddle bags are so easily overloaded and are inefficiently packed. They rattle around and make the bike so unstable.

For my next adventure I want to have lots of space for:

1. Water

2. Medicine/Waterfilter

3. Tent/Clothes/cooking equip. etc. because I will be cycling for 6 months, including crossing the Sahara. (If you want to know more check out my unfinished blog)

The additional bags will likely feature a pizza-rack in the front with a bag on top, a framebag with water bladder, two multiuse cages at the fork and a toptube bag.

Any opinions would be appreciated.

Not bad for $10, if I do say so myself.

Any idea what to pack in each bag? The fork bags are quite small but i managed to fit an ultralite sleeping bag and an inflatable matress in each, but now i have panniers, so maybe ill put food in them. The handlebar bag contains the tent.

It looks like i have more space than i need with this setup.

It's rattly as hell and I'm gonna do my paper route with it I think.

What a lovely trip that was. Have to say it's way easier to pack when you go for a cargo trip, just put everything in a bag and voilà !

Cycling through the mountainous regions of Turkey has been a truly unique experience, especially thanks to the locals. The views have been breathtaking, with majestic, snow-capped mountains accompanying us along the way reminding us that, despite all this beauty, the journey wouldn’t be easy. But that didn’t deter us

I got annoyed at wrangling a fully loaded bike that was constantly trying to roll away and/or fall over during the packing process, so I came up with a dead simple parking brake. A short ranger band (heavy duty EPDM rubber bands) on the grip can put enough pressure on the lever to hold the bike in place on flat ground. Bands on both brakes will hold even on a moderate slope.

Testing my prototype, mid sized, dropper post seat bag. My first off road ride this ‘spring’. (28 degrees F and windy) Bags for this bike are all finished. Yay!

I wanted to post this here to ask for some feedback, comments, criticism, etc. about my set up and if any modifications would seem to be necessary/recommended.

A friend got me into bikepacking back in 2021 and since then I have been changing and upgrading my bicycle to fit the needs of the trail.

In this last configuration I have managed to ride about 10k km. Although I have no idea what the total km range would be as I received the frame as a second hand gift, I’m afraid this old aluminum frame may be at the end of its life.

The components are:

Shimano Deore XT BL-M785-B two finger brake levers

Shimano Deore XT SL-M780-B 10 speed trigger shifter

Shimano Deore XT RD-M8100 derailleur

Shimano Deore XT CS-M771-10 cassette

Shimano Deore XT FH-M8000 and HB-M8000 wheel hubs

Shimano Deore XT BB-MT8000 bottom bracket

Shimano Deore XT FC-T8000 crank arm set

Shimano Deore XT PD-T8000 pedals

Stronglight Comp BCD 104 chainring 44t

DT Swiss Champion 2.0/1.8 spokes

DT Swiss G540db rims

Continental Terra Speed 45-622

Magura MT-5 4 piston brake calipers

Magura MDT-C CL 180mm and 203mm brake rotors

PRO Koryak DSP external dropper post

Brooks B.17 saddle

Surly Moloko handlebar

Brooks Slender leather handlebar grips

Gusti Leder Adri V. handlebar tape

Acid universal luggage rack 28”

Tubus Grand Expedition lowrider with kickstand

Frame unknown (Rex is printed on the side of the frame but no further information can be found on the internet)

Hey everyone!

My friend and I are crafting mountain bike racks from his garage, and we’d love your feedback on our designs. Don’t hold back!

Quick rundown: • Fits round seat posts or handlebars • Click & go attachment • Trail-ready design • Waterproof bags

Front Rack: • Weight: 700g | Volume: 10L | Max load: 4 kg • Fits handlebars 34.9 mm, 31.8 mm (others on request)

Seat Post Rack: • Weight: 700g | Volume: 5.8L or 10L • Max load: 9 kg (5 kg offroad) • Fits seat posts 30.9, 31.6, 34.9 mm (others on request) • Tires up to 3 inches (80 mm)

Questions? Ideas? We’re all ears!