Category: Equipment
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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 the last 12 months I’ve been road-testing a relatively new tent from veteran British […] Continue reading →
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How Far Can You Go On A Scrapyard Touring Bike? (Short Answer: A Very Long Way)
A few years ago I was invited to be a guest on the 2nd episode of The Cycle Show, which aired on July 15th 2014 at 8pm BST on ITV4. (ITV billed me as ‘comedian Tom Allen’, which is actually another Tom Allen entirely. I’d just like to take this opportunity to confirm that I possess […] Continue reading →
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How To Custom Build The Ultimate Expedition Touring Bike (With Pictures)
Some of the most frequently-asked questions I get on this blog are about designing and building custom touring bikes, whether DIY or built to order by a professional bike builder. Especially now the world has opened up to bicycle travel again, these questions often come from people planning cycle tours or bikepacking trips of ambitious […] Continue reading →
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What’s Really The Difference Between Bikepacking & Cycle Touring?
Over the last few years we have seen the rise of a new sub-discipline of bicycle travel. It’s called ‘bikepacking’, and it’s become such a hit that almost every mainstream bike manufacturer now produces at least one ‘adventure bike’ or ‘bikepacking rig’, or includes the word in their marketing spiel for bikes that might fit […] Continue reading →
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What Does The Ideal Cycle Touring Clothing Collection Look Like?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel I’ve ever quite solved the cycle touring clothing quandry. Walk into a bike shop or outdoor store and it isn’t quite as simple as finding the ‘cycle touring’ department and taking your pick. I inevitably end up wearing garments – such as trekking trousers, merino or […] Continue reading →
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How To Assemble A Fix-Anything Cycle Touring or Bikepacking Toolkit
What tools, spares and supplies would the perfect cycle touring or bikepacking toolkit contain? Is it even possible to curate such a kit? If it is, which products have earned the strongest reputation for reliability on worldwide bike trips? And finally – which of those items should make it into the portable toolkit you’ll be packing for your next […] Continue reading →
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How To Go Ultralight Bikepacking (A Fully Loaded Cycle Tourist’s Perspective)
Ultralight cycle touring – a.k.a. bikepacking – is something I’ve been asked repeatedly to cover on this blog. As luck would have it, lightweight bikepacking is also something I’m getting more and more interested in, especially now I’m based in a place with endless potential for dirt road adventures in the mountains. Exciting plans are brewing for […] Continue reading →
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Unconventional Sources Of Cheap Cycle Touring Equipment
Last year I sourced a touring bike, luggage, camping & cooking gear, spares, tools and clothes for £25.17 and then rode it the length of England on a budget of 25 pence. It was fantastic proof that money is no pre-requisite for adventure, and that you can get everything you need practically for free. However, finding […] Continue reading →
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280 Years, 196 Cyclists & 4,065,596 Kilometres — But What Does The Database Of Long-Distance Cycling Journeys Really Tell Us?
Tim & Laura’s quantitative study of the achievements of nearly two hundred long-distance touring cyclists makes for some fascinating browsing. Who’d have guessed, for example, that the highest average monthly distance (9,673km) would be 41 times greater than the slowest (234km)? Who’d have guessed that 38% of these cyclists would have chosen to use 700c road […] 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 […] Continue reading →