Category: Touring Advice
-
How To Wild Camp Anywhere For Free And Not Get Busted
Wild camping (aka: stealth camping, free camping, or rough camping) is the practice of sleeping outside in a place of your choosing, rather than in an officially-designated campsite. Whether it’s legal depends on where you do it, but it’s never fun if you’re asked to move on in the middle of the night! As a long-distance […] Continue reading →
-
Cycle Touring & Bikepacking Insurance: All You Need To Know (& Popular Insurers)
This is a detailed post about understanding and choosing insurance for cycle touring and bikepacking trips, both short-term and long-term. I do get a lot of questions on the topic of insurance for cycle tours, so this article is my attempt to answer all of them in one thoroughly researched, human-written, 100% AI-free post. And […] Continue reading →
-
Do I Really Need Ortliebs? A Buyer’s Guide To Panniers For Cycle Touring
One day in 1884, Thomas Stevens left California on a bicycle, carrying a bag of gold and a pistol rolled up in a blanket, and became the first person in recorded history to cycle round the world. Today’s bicycle travellers pack a little more gear than that! That’s because we want to enjoy seeing the world, rather […] Continue reading →
-
A Massive List Of Expedition Touring Bikes For Round-The-World Rides
Following an unspeakable amount of research, here’s my tabulated list of expedition-grade touring bikes being built and sold around the world, featuring bicycles from 43 manufacturers and makers in 9 countries on 3 continents. The list is designed as a starting point for you to research suppliers of bicycles that have been designed not for short cycling holidays, […] Continue reading →
-
Touring Bike FAQ #7: What Should I Remember Before Handing Over My Cash?
This is #7 in an ever-growing series of answers to frequently-asked questions about touring bikes. If you’re new here, why not start with #1: What Exactly Defines A Touring Bike? There are a few aspects of touring bike choice so utterly basic that they’re often lost in the quagmire of internet-based research. This is particularly the […] Continue reading →
-
Touring Bike FAQ #6: What’s The Best Way To Avoid Buying The Wrong Bike?
This is #6 in an ever-growing series of answers to frequently-asked questions about touring bikes. If you’re new here, why not start with #1: What Exactly Defines A Touring Bike? When it comes to actually buying the touring bike you’ve spent months researching, it can be tempting to start researching online retailers. After all, that’s […] Continue reading →
-
Touring Bike FAQ #5: Derailleurs Or Internal Hub Gears (Rohloff)?
This is #5 in an ever-growing series of answers to frequently-asked questions about touring bikes. If you’re new here, why not start with #1: What Exactly Defines A Touring Bike? There are plenty of people in this world who you could put in a room and let them argue until the end of time about […] Continue reading →
-
21 UK Touring & Bikepacking Bike Shops To Visit In 2024
These days, there are a lot of bike shops in the UK selling touring bikes and bikepacking gear. There are far fewer, however, who are specialised in these fields. This is not surprising. Cycle touring remains a tiny and underserved niche. Bikepacking is trending, and suddenly there’s money to be made selling mountain bikes with […] Continue reading →
-
Touring Bike FAQ #4: Disc Brakes or Rim Brakes (V‑Brakes)?
This is #4 in an ever-growing series of answers to frequently-asked questions about touring bikes. If you’re new here, why not start with #1: What Exactly Defines A Touring Bike? While many high-end touring bikes are nowadays fitted with disc brakes, there’s still plenty of debate over whether V‑brakes or disc brakes are actually ‘better’ […] Continue reading →
-
Touring Bike FAQ #3: Steel Or Aluminium Frame Material?
This is #3 in an ever-growing series of answers to frequently-asked questions about touring bikes. If you’re new here, why not start with #1: What Exactly Defines A Touring Bike? Discussing the pros and cons of different metallic alloys is probably not something you ever thought you’d find yourself doing until you began researching touring […] Continue reading →