Category: Gear Reviews
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Are Decathlon Touring Bikes Actually Any Good? Verdict After 10,000km (Video)
Shortly after I published this post, Decathlon made the decision to retire most of the Riverside Touring range, seemingly in pursuit of the ultralight/gravel bikepacking bandwagon. This article is preserved as part of the historic record of this legendary line of classic touring bikes. Last week I had the pleasure of hosting a French couple on a mission to cycle round the world – preferably without flying – who had spent eight months riding across Europe, Turkey and Georgia, and had recently arrived in Armenia after almost 10,000km of pedalling. Their company evoked feelings of nostalgia for the time when,… Continue reading →
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Game-Changing Headphones For Safe Listening While Cycle Touring Or Bikepacking (Video)
As an inherently DIY-oriented bicycle traveller, I don’t normally post about new commercial products in the context of cycle touring and bikepacking. But I do want to highlight a development in the personal entertainment industry that has changed the way I engage with digital audio on the road for the better, and which I think would benefit a great many more riders. Continue reading →
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The Hennessy Deep Jungle Camping Hammock: Long-Term Review & Photos
I love hammock camping on bike trips. It’s convenient, comfortable, and a lot easier to find a pitch than people tend to think. Rather than hammock camping in general, which I’ve written about in the past along with other alternative sleeping systems, in this piece I will be taking a closer look at my own camping hammock of choice: the Hennessy Hammock Deep Jungle Zip. Since mid-2013 I’ve been using this hammock regularly on bike trips and hikes (as well as at basecamps and festivals), so it’s definitely due a thorough writeup. Shall we begin? The Hennessy Hammock Deep Jungle: In Brief The… Continue reading →
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Terra Nova Starlite 2 Bikepacking Tunnel Tent: Long-Term Review & Photos
Full disclosure: Terra Nova sent me this tent on long-term loan for review on my blog. I agreed on the basis that I would return it after the testing period was over. I’ve received no payments or other benefits for this. For 12 months I road-tested a relatively new tent from veteran British tent-maker Terra Nova. The Starlite range is aimed squarely at bikepackers and cycle tourists and comes in 1‑, 2- and 3‑berth options. I used the 2‑berth version – the Starlite 2 – on all my cycling, hiking and road trips between April 2018 and May 2019, and this… Continue reading →
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Kona Sutra 2015 Touring Bike: A Preview
[UPDATE: Kona’s updated 2016 Sutra has recently been announced. Check out my preview here.] The Kona Sutra has been my short-haul road tourer of choice for the last few years, ever since I rode a 2012 model of the Kona Sutra down the Pacific Coast of America in 2012. When I reviewed the 2014 Sutra, it seemed to me that Kona had moved it away from road touring towards more adventurous back-road and rough-road tours. This was probably a good move, as there are many well-established touring bikes to compete with, but not so many in the field of short-haul, mixed-terrain touring. It wasn’t perfect,… Continue reading →
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Ridgeback Expedition Touring Bike Review & Detailed Photos
Disclosure: I was eager to test-ride the Ridgeback Expedition, as it looked on paper like a brave and welcome entry at the lower end of the 26-inch wheel expedition bike market in the UK. It was returned to Ridgeback after the testing period was over. I’m not affiliated with Ridgeback in any way. Overview Released in 2014, the Ridgeback Expedition is a 26-inch wheel equipped touring bike at the low-middle of the pricing scale. It’s one of their World series of bikes, which also includes the well-regarded Panorama (reviewed here last week). The bike’s build and specification orients it strongly towards long-haul expedition-style touring in the developing world with a big lean towards… Continue reading →
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Crosso Dry, Twist & Expert Pannier Review & Detailed Photos
Disclosure: The Dry and Expert panniers reviewed here were originally supplied by Extrawheel during my testing of their prototype Voyager trailer. I then bought a pair of Twists on the strength of their performance, and use them to this day. Crosso are a Polish manufacturer of waterproof drybags and bicycle panniers. I’ve used their panniers and drybags for 7 years, riding thousands of miles with them in a huge range of climates and conditions. While my recommendation comes with some caveats, I’ve become a big fan of their simplicity and functionality — not to mention their very affordable price-tags. Their panniers come… Continue reading →
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Ridgeback Panorama Touring Bike Review & Detailed Photos
This guest post was written in 2014 by my friends Tim & Laura Moss, who spent 16 months riding two Ridgeback Panorama touring bikes 13,000 miles (20,000km) around the world. The bike has changed little since then and has kept its reputation as a classic British road tourer. The Panorama is British bicycle manufacturer Ridgeback’s top-of-the-range tourer from their World line of touring bikes. Ideally designed for short tours in developed countries, ours have performed well over a longer period (eight months and counting), carrying heavier loads (up to 45kg in winter) and over rough terrain (from dirt tracks in… Continue reading →
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Kona Sutra 2014 Touring Bike Review & Detailed Photos
Disclosure: I asked Kona’s UK rep to send me a demo model of the 2014 Sutra for review, to which he obliged. It was returned after the testing period was over. The Kona Sutra 2014 reviewed in this article has been positioned by Kona as a mid- to high-end steel-framed adventure touring bike with significant potential for being used as a commuting/utility/fun-having bike on a variety of terrain. Continue reading →
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Surly Disc Trucker Touring Bike: Legacy Review & Detailed Photos
This review was originally published in April 2014 and is based on the specification of the Surly Disc Trucker at that time. The platform has been substantially updated for 2021, as explained in this blog post on the Surly website. This post will remain online for posterity and for those buying second-hand. The Disc Trucker is a mid-range, disc brake-equipped steel touring bike from American bicycle manufacturer Surly, with a great deal of built-in customisation potential, a wide range of adventure touring applications, and enough versatility to be adapted for secondary uses. In this review I’ll be looking at the… Continue reading →