Category: Touring Advice
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Touring Bike FAQ #2: 26-Inch vs 700C Wheel Size?
This is #2 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? Many folk seem to think that the choice of touring bike wheel size – specifically, 26-inch (classic mountain bike) or 700C/28″ (road bike) – is […] Continue reading →
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What’s The Best Cycle Touring & Bikepacking Tent? (2024 Edition)
Welcome to my introduction to tent choice for the touring cyclist or bikepacker. I’ll explain the key qualities you’re looking for in a tent specifically for cycle touring or bikepacking, and introduce a range of currently available tents across the budget spectrum. Also, know that this post is written and updated by a real person […] Continue reading →
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Touring Bike FAQ #1: What Exactly Defines A ‘Touring’ Bike?
This is #1 in an ever-growing series of answers to frequently-asked questions about touring bikes. If you’re researching touring bikes online, chances are you don’t yet have a touring bike of your own – or if you do, you may be unsure of whether it’s really fit for the cycle tour you’re planning. In this case, it’s useful to […] Continue reading →
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What’s The Best Touring Bike? (2024 Edition)
Touring bike buying advice is a popular topic, so I update this post regularly to keep the details current. If you find any out-of-date information, consider leaving a comment to let me know. Thanks! Choosing a new touring bike can be pretty stressful for a newcomer to cycle touring – especially when you start looking […] Continue reading →
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Is The Touring Bike Slowly Dying Out?
While recently updating the all-time most-read post on this blog, “What’s The Best Touring Bike?”, I realised something. Every year, the list of touring bikes seems to get shorter. First we lost bikes that were relatively obscure. A good example is the Revolution Country Traveller, built by the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative. This was a fantastic […] Continue reading →
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Dates Now Live for the 2022 UK Cycle Touring Festival
Good news for those of us looking forward to another year of adventures in the saddle: the dates for the 2022 edition of the UK Cycle Touring Festival have just been announced! In fact, it’s already less than a month until the event kicks off on February 12th 2022. As with previous years, the schedule […] Continue reading →
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What’s The Best Camping Cookware For Cycle Touring & Bikepacking?
This is a detailed introduction to choosing cooksets for cycle touring and bikepacking trips. From individual pots, pans, and mugs to full kits, I’ll cover the options for all budgets and requirements. But first, some good news: when it comes to cycle touring cookware, ‘best’ does not necessarily mean ‘most expensive’. Yes, a high quality […] Continue reading →
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What’s The Best Camping Mattress Or Sleeping Pad For Cycle Touring & Bikepacking?
Welcome! It’s time to deep-dive into another thorny topic (no pun intended): how to choose a camping mattress – or, as my North American friends call it, a sleeping pad – to fit the specific needs of cycle tourers and bikepackers. We’ll be looking at the various types of camping mattresses and sleeping pads, which types […] Continue reading →
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12 Crucial Qualities Of A Bicycle Traveller’s Perfect Tent
Interested in why bicycle travellers tend to prefer certain types of tent? Let’s explore in detail a few of the key criteria – I’ve identified twelve, to be precise – that might cause a cycle tourer or bikepacker to choose one tent over another in this overly crowded market. The perfect tent, of course, does […] Continue reading →
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20 Hard-Earned Survival Tips For Cycle Touring & Bikepacking In Winter
It’s been said that “there’s no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing”. I don’t imagine this phrase was uttered after a winter cycle tour or bikepacking trip, but it remains true: there’s nothing stopping you pedalling through darkening days and sub-zero temperatures, as long as you dress for the occasion – and bear […] Continue reading →