BIKEpacking/Touring/All-Purpose Bike Builds/Discussion

Ive seen threads specific do Road, MTB, BMX etc. but I feel like of all crowds there has to be a lot of Bikepacking / Touring / Commuting, all-purpose bike folk in here. It's been discussed briefly in the Camping Thread but I hope to get some specific touring/Bikepacking conversation going on here.

 

Right now I'm collecting parts until I can find a Cross Check to build up into a commuter / tourer to replace my last road oriented bike. When I lived in Lincoln Nebraska there were hundreds of miles of bikes trails that could get you anywhere in the city and my fast, light road bike ate it up.

Ever since I've been National Park and state hopping and don't enjoy riding my bike at all anymore. I'm wanting a more versatile road/gravel/light trail bike so of course the Surly Cross Check makes a good start.


Anyone have their camping or touring builds they'd like to share?

 

Just bought it today actually. It's a giant 24 speed downhill/mtb/ daily commuter. Spent a pretty good penny on it. But it is gunna be worth it. Can't wait to see where this bike takes me. Before it left the store I had odyssey grips put on and some gnarly pedals as well I'm sure I got more to come down the road

 

Nice, man. I'm not going to lie. I passed up a Surly Karate Monkey about an hour and a half from me a couple months ago for $250 (he started at 5 and when I said I couldn't do more than 350 he came back and offered 250 just after I had left town). I will forever regret missing out on that bike haha.

 

Fuck man that sucks I woulda called someone been like pick that bitch up you got any pics of what you plan to do with yours? I gotta figure out how the hell to carry my camera with me on my mtb trips and my jumping that bitch lmfao

 

I'm debating trekking bars actually haha.


But in the meantime let me pull up some photos.

 

I've never been a huge street bike kinda guy but personally I don't think the elk antlers help with anything and get in my way when I used to have them on a bike I ended up Sawzall ING them off

 

Should be some bag ideas in here for ya. About a million and one options besides these though.


http://www.bikepacking.com/gear/bikepacking-bags/

 

I'm gunna have to check those out

 

This is where I'm headed for this build.



And THIS is one of the most beautiful bikes I've ever seen:




And then long term travel I'd like to do this:



Should give some inspiration to all

 

That last pic is insane but those road bikes actually look pretty bad ass

 

This past summer I purchased a barely used Trek Crossrip Elite from a rather wealthy gentleman who had ridden it only twice before. He was a pretty serious biker and had gotten it commute but had far nicer bikes to commute on and ended up not feeling the need for disc brakes. it lived in a garage its entire life next to $5000+ bikes. I'll try digging up a picture tomorrow but I love that thing. Looks good, put a rack and some bags over the back wheel, ant ints a great commuter to and from campus in all weather. And I got it for around $600!

 

Nice find!

 

I just found a GT 29er abandoned while out here in Okinawa, when I EAS spring 2017 i'm hoping to do the AZ trail.


I swear I didn't steal it, it was clearly abandoned and missing a few parts, and in this pile:

bike pack build goals are as follows:
- oveja negra seat bag
- new crank and bottom bracket
- selle anatomica "X model" seat
- homemade "swag" (Australian bedroll type thing) to mount on the bars. goal of <4 lbs. including pad, bivy, and quilt.

 

I haven't looked into the AZ trail much. Nice find. How long you been on Oki? I was there in 08 or sometime around then-ish.

 

My 1992 steel frame MTB turned tourer in it's stripped down nakedness. 46/36/24 with 11/23 8spd cassette & much of the original LX drivetrain/brakes still intact after thousands and thousands of trail miles. First new MTB when getting back into riding back in the early 90s.............

 

I've only been here for about 4 months. We're here on UDP so technically this is a "deployment".

as far as the AZT, I got kinda pumped on it after I saw this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diZgO_oZBZU

 

I saw that video just the other day and didn't put 2 and AZ together for some reason ha.

Don't watch any videos on the CDT then. Looks utterly amazing. Don't know if I could hack it these days anymore though haha.

 

Sub a dub dub.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqCYE-Smqf4