Category: Equipment
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Why There’s No Kit List On My Adventure Cycle Touring Blog
One of the features you’ll find on any self-respecting adventure cycle tourist’s blog is a ‘kit list’ page. Usually published in the name of providing useful information, and occasionally as bait for search engines and to earn money through affiliate links, this page is the place where the rider lists bicycle components and the contents of panniers in unfettered detail. (It’s usually to be found alongside a route map and tour budget breakdown.) Despite the amount of riding I’ve done, I’ve avoided published such a list for as long as possible. Here are a few of the many reasons why this is… Continue reading →
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Last Chance To Buy The Most Popular Cycle-Touring Tent On The Planet
A few weeks ago I conducted a survey of the most popular tent for cycle touring. I did this by sending out a ton of emails to people I knew had covered vast distances by bicycle, and seeing what they said. (Real-world experience wins over gear nerds on the internet, right?) The results — a few hundred of them within the space of a few days — were conclusive. Cutting directly to the chase, by far and away the overall most popular tent to take along on a bike trip was this one: Continue reading →
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Why Tents Suck, And Some Alternative Ways To Camp On A Cycle Tour
The tent is one of the mainstays of adventure bicycle travel. It was the revolutionary idea of taking my own accommodation with me that largely fuelled my decision to travel under my own steam on two wheels. A good tent will provide shelter in a broad variety of climates and weather conditions for many years. But it wasn’t long after I began my first journey that I realised something: I really disliked actually sleeping in a tent. To all in-tents (sorry) and purposes, sleeping in a tent is the same as sleeping indoors. It is a retreat from the natural world to… Continue reading →
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Biologic ReeCharge: A Dynamo-Powered USB Charger for Smartphones & More
Since the start of this year I’ve been making extensive use of a nifty on-the-road power solution from Taiwanese manufacturer Biologic called the ‘ReeCharge’. It’s billed as an effective — and environmentally respectful — way to put your pedalling efforts to use in keeping your smartphone, GPS or other USB-powered device charged while on the road. I’ve given it a thorough road-test over the last few months (mainly while riding the Tern Link P24h folding tourer), and I’ll be talking in-depth about my experiences with it in this article. I’ll also talk about a couple of unusual alternative solutions I’ve come… Continue reading →
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Microadventure: Touring the Netherlands on a Recumbent Bike (Part 2)
This is Part Two of an account of touring the Netherlands and the UK by recumbent bike. Click here for Part One. I gingerly lowered myself onto Challenge Bikes’ ‘Hurricane’ recumbent touring bike, lay back against the full-size padded seat, and swung the pivoting handlebar assembly towards me from its resting position. For a vehicle that looked like a deck-chair on wheels, it absolutely felt like sitting on a deck-chair on wheels. (I don’t know about you, but I’d choose a deck chair over a bicycle saddle any day. Yep, even over a Brooks.) Continue reading →
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Kona Sutra 2014 Preview
UPDATE: My full review of the 2014 Sutra is now online and supersedes this preview. Check it out here. In 2012 I took a cross-section of the best and most popular mid-range road touring bikes and singled out the Kona Sutra as the one I wanted to take on a long-term test for my ride down the U.S. West Coast. I had a good working relationship with the Kona crew and suggested a few tweaks that would optimize a future incarnation, some of which were suggested by blog readers. Behold the 2013 Sutra, which incorporated all of these changes and made… Continue reading →
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How I Got A Touring Bike, Gear & Luggage For The Price Of A Round Of Drinks
I believe a lack of funds should not be an obstacle to setting off on a cycling adventure. But rather than spend a few thousand words arguing my case, I decided to demonstrate the principles of no-budget cycle touring by doing one myself. In this, the first post of a series (which I’ll warn you right now is going to require at least two cups of tea), I’ll demonstrate how I gathered everything necessary to set off on a big bike trip for the price of a round of drinks. And by a round of drinks, I mean £25.14. (That… Continue reading →
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Therm-A-Rest NeoAir XLite Ultralight Camping Mat: Long-Term Review
A detailed write-up of this impressively light, compact and comfortable camping mat, used on multiple expeditions since 2012. Links to best deals included. Continue reading →
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Folding Touring: A Review Of The Tern Link P24h
A long-term test and write-up of the Link P24h folding touring bike from Tern, its fully-loaded and long distance performance, and its portability in the real world scenarios. Continue reading →
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MSR WhisperLite Universal Canister/Multi-Fuel Stove: Owner Review
Full disclosure: In 2012, Cascade Designs sent me a WhisperLite Universal for testing, review and feedback. As with all such arrangements, I reserve the right to write honestly. If a product is crap, I’ll tell you why. We are already spoilt for choice with camping stoves, but MSR have recently brought out a hybrid-fuel version of the classic Whisperlite, which burns propane-butane canister fuel as happily as the unleaded petrol/gasoline/benzine/diesel/kerosene/white gas we’ve come to rely on as cycle-tourists. This is interesting. Who is the MSR Whisperlite Universal for? Why would you want to burn canister fuel? It’s more expensive, the canisters… Continue reading →