Category: Touring Advice
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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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15 Veteran Cyclists Share Their Favourite Non-Essential Luxuries On Tour
One of the central tenets of my new eBook Essential Gear for Adventure Cycle Touring (released this week!) is that there’s no right or wrong way to ‘do’ a bike trip. This is a truism, of course; I’m far from the first person to point it out! Each one of us has different priorities when we saddle up and hit the road, and the scope for doing things our own way is truly vast. This is one of many qualities that makes the bicycle such a superb choice for long, personal journeys that deeply satisfy the soul. To really get across the… Continue reading →
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Everything you’ll need to know about choosing gear for cycle touring in a single resource
If you missed it back in February, you’ll be pleased to know that my latest eBook, Essential Gear for Adventure Cycle Touring, is now available to the public. Combining the hard-earned wisdom of more than 50 experienced long-haul cyclists into a single 257-page volume, reading Essential Gear will take the pain out of getting kitted out for a ride of any length, location or budget – particularly if (like most of us) you’re not really a ‘gear head’. I’ve written this guide to impart you with the broadest range of distilled wisdom about gear choice for a cycle tour, more than any other… Continue reading →
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Don’t Bother With The Whole Sponsorship Thing
In 2014 I joined seasoned round-the-world cyclist Alastair Humphreys for a coffee in a secret location in central London (okay, it was the British Library canteen) in order to chat about bike trips — specifically, bike trips that could be made for under £1,000 and within the average annual holiday allowance. It was part of Al’s excellent #Adventure1000 project. What follows is an edited transcription of our discussion. Enjoy… Alastair: My Adventure1000 interview today is Tom Allen – cyclist and filmmaker – chosen solely because of his beer can stove, about which more later… Could you start by outlining the biggest expedition that you’ve been on? Tom: The biggest expeditions… 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 →
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Introducing Affordable Custom-Built Touring Bikes from Oxford Bike Works
Disclosure: This is a fully impartial review of Oxford Bike Works’ Model 2 touring bike, based on real-world testing of a demo bike on temporary loan from Oxford Bike Works at my request. I am not affilated with or sponsored by Oxford Bike Works in any way. As bike touring has grown in popularity, major bicycle manufacturers have made more and more capable, well-designed touring bikes available at affordable prices. I’ve reviewed a few in this popular article. However! When it comes to buying a new touring bike, big brands are not the only option. Tons of independent bicycle builders are… Continue reading →
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8 Simple Winter Camping Tricks To Stay Safe & Warm
It snowed/sleeted briefly yesterday morning, and that might well be the only snow we get this year; therefore I feel justified in publishing this post on techniques to stay warm when camping when it’s absolutely bloody freezing. Follow the tips below, and you too can expect to get at least two or three hours’ sleep per night on an ill-advised last-minute bicycle journey to the Arctic Circle in the middle of winter with totally inappropriate equipment… * * * 1. Know Your Gear (Or Take More Of It) If you’re trying to minimise your baggage for winter camping, the key is… Continue reading →