|
Yeah! I saw someone else posted pics of part of the trip. I was looking online and saw the initial elevation as you're getting farther into the Appalachians, but what's the path like? From what I could find it's some mix of paved or flat dirt.
|
#
?
Dec 2, 2020 03:23
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 20, 2024 01:40 |
|
|
If you’re riding Cumberland to Pittsburgh, you’re going to be on the GAP, whose trail quality is uniformly awesome. You also probably won’t need front panniers unless you prefer to ride minimally loaded front and back. You’re certainly going to have a good time no matter what you decide to do.
|
|
#
?
Dec 2, 2020 03:34
|
|
|
Great, so I can keep the 38mm slicks on there? This'll be my first bikepacking trip, so I'm sure I'll bring more than I need. I'll also be carrying the majority of my wife's stuff to keep the weight off her since she's less of a bike person. Edit: pantslesswithwolves posted:If you’re riding Cumberland to Pittsburgh, you’re going to be on the GAP, whose trail quality is uniformly awesome. You also probably won’t need front panniers unless you prefer to ride minimally loaded front and back. You’re certainly going to have a good time no matter what you decide to do. Ah poo poo, now that you say GAP, I realize I've actually done a bit of it already years ago! Mauser fucked around with this message at 04:00 on Dec 2, 2020 |
|
#
?
Dec 2, 2020 03:53
|
|
|
Mauser posted:Great, so I can keep the 38mm slicks on there? 38s will be fine. Lot of people on road bikes on the trail.
|
|
#
?
Dec 2, 2020 04:19
|
|
|
Anybody got experience with the trans-virginia trail? Might do part of that sooner than later and looking for recommendations for a one night trip
|
|
#
?
Dec 5, 2020 02:46
|
|
|
Mauser posted:Friend invited me to do C&O trail from Cumberland, MD to Pittsburgh in the Spring so I'm getting ready. Front panniers haven't arrived yet, but here's a preview.
|
|
#
?
Dec 5, 2020 16:58
|
|
|
spf3million posted:Color coordination on point! Lol at that front rack alignment Yeah, I dunno if I should return it and try to find something that'll fit around the brakes or just ride it out until I replace the brakes with hydraulics ~*=one day=*~
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2020 01:15
|
|
|
I want to do the C&O trail when the virus clears up. Not sure yet if we will want to camp or not. I’ve got three bikes, a synapse 105 disc (aluminum), an fx1, and a marlin 7. I’d like to sell the fx1 to free up garage space but i hesitate because i feel like it’s the most appropriate bike for this. Marlin 7 pro - 300 lb weight limit, mount points for back rack, big tire clearance, front shocks, 32 spoke wheels con - 1x10 drivetrain with 28t front chainring seems kinda slow, flat handlebars fx1 pro - 300 lb weight limit, mount points for back rack, can run at least a 35 (not sure the max clearance), plenty of gears, 32 spoke wheels con - flat handlebars, steel fork, rim brakes will be annoying in the rain synapse 105 disc pro - 105 groupset, drop handlebars con - max tire clearance is 32, back rack but it might only be intended for fenders, 28 spoke wheels weight limit ??? What is my best choice here? If it’s the fx1, what’s my second best choice? What about putting a 36T chainring on the marlin 7?
|
|
#
?
Dec 27, 2020 23:56
|
|
|
Dren posted:I want to do the C&O trail when the virus clears up. Not sure yet if we will want to camp or not. I’ve got three bikes, a synapse 105 disc (aluminum), an fx1, and a marlin 7. I’d like to sell the fx1 to free up garage space but i hesitate because i feel like it’s the most appropriate bike for this. Personally if I decided not to camp, I would try the synapse without a rack and a couple small bags (saddle, frame, handlebar) for clothes, snacks, and tools. Worst case, walk a few nasty sections. Whichever you chose, an evenly distributed load helps a lot when handling a bike on the rough terrain. In my experience, weight on the front can even act like a mass damper and reduce the buzz of rough surfaces transferring to your hands.
|
|
#
?
Dec 28, 2020 00:40
|
|
|
I would ride the FX. I did an overnight on the towpath a few months ago but stayed overnight in a hotel. I'm glad I had 40s. This also allowed me to pack light. V brakes are fine as you're not braking that much anyway.
|
|
#
?
Dec 28, 2020 14:41
|
|
|
Alright I guess I'll clear out a spot in the basement for the FX 1. I took out my calipers and measured and there's like 58mm of space between the front forks, and the same between the chainstays. And the cantilever brakes have a ton of room. it seems like I could throw some 45s or even larger on there with no problem.
|
|
#
?
Dec 28, 2020 16:42
|
|
|
If you'd like any advice or opinion from me about riding the towpath, let me know, I live 20 minutes from it around mile 50. Which way are you going? There are plenty of web resources for you, but there are a few things I'd do different next time. Considering the water pumps will be off for a while, definitely plan ahead for that. Most everything was open when I went in Oct, so I imagine that'll be the case when you go, although you might be waiting a while for the virus to 'clear up'. Every place I stayed or stopped at was good with distancing, masking and accommodating tourists.
|
|
#
?
Dec 28, 2020 19:13
|
|
|
I ordered the guide book (hasn’t arrived yet) and have read a few of the websites. I was thinking of going DC to Cumberland and stopping at breweries along the route then taking the train back to DC. As far as waiting for the virus to clear up goes, as soon as I get vaccinated I’d consider a trip. How long do you think I should allow for it, minimum? I feel like fitting it into a weekend w/ two nights is tough since the train from cumberland leaves early so you pretty much have to be at cumberland on night two. I guess it will depend on the train schedule and how far I think my friends and I can ride in a day. That’s a full day of riding each day though.
|
|
#
?
Dec 28, 2020 21:45
|
|
|
 I hope to turn this book into a bucket list some day.
|
|
#
?
Dec 28, 2020 22:59
|
|
|
Dren posted:I ordered the guide book (hasn’t arrived yet) and have read a few of the websites. I was thinking of going DC to Cumberland and stopping at breweries along the route then taking the train back to DC. As far as waiting for the virus to clear up goes, as soon as I get vaccinated I’d consider a trip. How long do you think I should allow for it, minimum? I feel like fitting it into a weekend w/ two nights is tough since the train from cumberland leaves early so you pretty much have to be at cumberland on night two. I guess it will depend on the train schedule and how far I think my friends and I can ride in a day. That’s a full day of riding each day though. I did the whole towpath in parts this year, with an overnight from Cumberland to Brunswick. Post is here https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3933885&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=5#post509086515 You should allow a minimum of 3 days. This is roughly 60 days of riding each day which was plenty. With a few stops to take pictures, historical interest and breaks, 60 miles for me translated into roughly 8 hours. From DC, your route is roughly to go to Brunswick first day, Hancock the second, and Cumberland the third. There is Smoketown Brewery in Brunswick, and one in Cumberland right by the Mariott which is right off the towpath. I dont know of any breweries in Hancock or Williamsport. Apparently there is one near Little Orleans, but you can always just stop in at Bills Place. Two days to do 185 miles of riding on gravel with other folks that may not be used to two consecutive near 100 mile days is pushing it. You can do it in 3. - From DC to about Edwards Ferry can be rough and have puddles. The towpath has been redone from about Edwards Ferry up to Shepherdstown. It is pretty remote once you get outside of DC up to Brunswick, and from Brunswick again to Williamsport. - Take snacks and electrolytes, but you know this. I hit a wall a few times and was really happy I overpacked on the emergency rations. - Check the train schedules and bike accommodations. I was going to take the train from Harpers Ferry to Cumberland, but they changed the bike rules and when the trains ran, so plan well in advance. I ended up renting a car one way. - Take a light for the Paw Paw tunnel (I took a blinky light that I used on solid) and ensure you have a bell. The towpath has a fair amount of traffic, especially during COVID and people really appreciate the notice, and will generally scoot over for you allowing you to pass quickly without having to shout or clack your brake levers or whatever iospace posted:
Nice
|
|
#
?
Dec 28, 2020 23:51
|
|
|
Planet X posted:You should allow a minimum of 3 days. This is roughly 60 days of riding each day which was plenty. https://mobile.twitter.com/FullContactMTWF/status/1033507314198667264
|
|
#
?
Dec 28, 2020 23:59
|
|
|
Thanks for the info. Three days would be great I just don’t know if we’ll all be able to swing the time away from our families for three full days and returning on the fourth. We could potentially do the 60 a day pace if we have a way to get back from Cumberland to DC later in the day on the final day.
|
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2020 00:46
|
|
|
I did 100 mile days on the C&O and GAP. It’s so flat except the climb out of Cumberland, but that’s all GAP so it’s not something you’d need to worry about. Especially if you’re camping, you can just ride until whenever and throw down a tent.
|
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2020 01:33
|
|
|
Dren posted:Thanks for the info. Three days would be great I just don’t know if we’ll all be able to swing the time away from our families for three full days and returning on the fourth. We could potentially do the 60 a day pace if we have a way to get back from Cumberland to DC later in the day on the final day. If you don't have three full days, you can just ride out of DC, stay overnight and ride back.
|
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2020 02:10
|
|
|
I can probably do 3 days two nights including the return trip. We’ll figure out everyone’s fitness and if we wanna do 100 mile days or not. My one friend is very down for it, he does 50 mile days all the time and would go longer if he could. The train out of cumberland leaves a bit after 9 and supposedly accepts bikes, so we’d have to do the 100 mile pace to get there on time.
|
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2020 02:20
|
|
|
There’s not really anything that’s exceptionally physically challenging about the C&O. It’s a largely flat path and a 100 mile day is totally doable, especially if you have good weather and daylight on your side and take breaks. I ride the C&O between DC and Horsepen Branch (roughly 30 miles out) fairly frequently and the main challenge is mental- aside from a few set piece vistas by the locks and the spillway that has you riding right next to the river, it’s easy to just get bored and drone out on mile after mile of nearly identical tow path. There is some bandit singletrack close to DC that’s pretty fun though; just look in the direction of the river when you’re maybe 7-10 miles out of town and you’ll see it.
|
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2020 03:20
|
|
|
Dren posted:I can probably do 3 days two nights including the return trip. We’ll figure out everyone’s fitness and if we wanna do 100 mile days or not. My one friend is very down for it, he does 50 mile days all the time and would go longer if he could. The train out of cumberland leaves a bit after 9 and supposedly accepts bikes, so we’d have to do the 100 mile pace to get there on time. The train is scheduled to leave Cumberland at whatever time, but add at least a couple hours on to that. It’s never on time. Re: bikes on the train, for whatever reason when I did it last, they only allowed 2 bikes total, and there wasn’t the separate bike compartment, they just had us roll the bikes into the cargo car with everyone’s bags and lean them up again the wall. No way to lock them. Very weird experience. Literally Lewis Hamilton fucked around with this message at 13:23 on Dec 29, 2020 |
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2020 13:20
|
|
|
My partner and I are planning to ride from Europe to SEA this year. Prior to this I did a couple of small trips in Italy and the Pacific Northwest, and we got by without gps or with our phone gps. For this trip I thought it might be useful to have a dedicated GPS, and I ended up picking up a Garmin Edge 1030. It just got delivered today and I've got a few questions. 1) Is it worth paying for the official Garmin Europe map over just downloading the free open street maps? Is there a noticeable difference in quality? Basically just looking for your opinions if you've used both official and free maps. Edit: Looks like Komoot is great for planning the route out ahead of time, and it seems to have a lot of really nice features for doing that, like highlights and the elevation graphs. That route then gets uploaded to the Garmin for actual navigation. I see now that trying to accomplish the same sort of planning just by using the GPS route planner would be a challenge. retpocileh fucked around with this message at 00:11 on Jan 23, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2021 23:00
|
|
|
I don't trust the default routing software to find me the best route when I'm doodling around across my large American city much less navigating Kazakhstan. I haven't used Komoot, I have planned a few multi-day tours by exporting routes from RideWithGPS with much success and am doing the same for a cross-Europe tour that maybe I won't have to push back for a third time...
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2021 04:59
|
|
|
I used a Garmin on my world tour. I had a variety of different maps as it depended on the country which were better. The Garmin ones in Europe and North America are generally a bit better than OSM but probably not to the extent they're worth paying. I a los had OsmAnd on my phone as it was easier to look at detail than on my Garmin which was mainly used to record and make pretty maps.
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2021 08:44
|
|
|
Do you think you'll be able to travel through Europe this year? Im hopeful that the vaccine will stop covid but I'm m not hopeful it's gonna happen this year and I'm definitely not going to be planning any bike rides where I'll be travelling across multiple countries. You'd be totally screwed if a lockdown was announced and it became illegal to leave.
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2021 11:37
|
|
|
Dean (of biking with Nala fame) seems to have run into a lot of that this past year, staying as various people's guest when lockdowns get announced.
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2021 11:40
|
|
|
I was really surprised to be getting Warmshowers requests this year because we started going into lockdown before the touring season started, so these were people deciding to go on a cross-Canada tour in the middle of a pandemic. Not saying you're going to be doing it but those people just seemed irresponsible to me.
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2021 13:10
|
|
|
Definitely. I'm in a few of the touring FB groups and still see people out and about. I get it. Cycle touring is glorious and you might have planned this for years. But you still shouldn't be doing it.
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2021 15:25
|
|
|
if i was on tour camping i'd be much less of a vector risk than at my crappy retail "essential worker" job EU -> SEA sounds like a shitshow this year though
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2021 19:16
|
|
|
i say swears online posted:if i was on tour camping i'd be much less of a vector risk than at my crappy retail "essential worker" job There are still so many land border closures and mandatory quarantines (often in government facilities and on your own dime) that I would think touring anywhere internationally would be an absolute nightmare.
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2021 23:37
|
|
|
Coxswain Balls posted:I was really surprised to be getting Warmshowers requests this year because we started going into lockdown before the touring season started, so these were people deciding to go on a cross-Canada tour in the middle of a pandemic. Not saying you're going to be doing it but those people just seemed irresponsible to me. Yeah, I'm marked myself as away after I got a message in like may
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2021 23:39
|
|
|
Yeah, for now we're just putting together all our plans, so that once we're vaccinated, things look like they're calming down and travel starts opening up, we'll be ready to go. We were hoping Europe would be getting there by the summer with vaccinations, and then we have a really circuitous route planned through Europe that should have us there for 3-5 months at least, so wouldn't be hitting the stans and having to worry about the border situations there/in SEA until we get towards the end of the year/beginning of 2022. Admittedly, this timeline may be overly optimistic. retpocileh fucked around with this message at 23:49 on Jan 23, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2021 23:43
|
|
|
This is what I dread and why I have a 24x36 gear. https://www.instagram.com/p/CKvLCHClhNi/?igshid=pcoq74txkcvz
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2021 08:03
|
|
|
Howdy, you might remember me from a couple years ago with my abomination of a Scott sub cross bike that I tried and failed to fit a rack on. Many thanks to kimbo305 for your amazing patience and help. But I never did manage to kit it out for long distance touring. It just isn't a suitable bike. So many issues with it. Despite that I did cycle that thing hard all summer and took it some amazing places. But I'm wanting to buy a new bike this year and would like to make it work this time i.e. getting something fit for purpose that will be good to hit the hills and trails without much screwing about. Budget is about €500-800ish. Is that too little? The sub was only about €600 at the time and is solid as heck so I'm hoping I can get a tourer for similar but everywhere I look seems to be starting at €1000 minimum. Are there any brands or models you'd would vouch for? I do plan to go to a bike store whenever they open again and get their recommendations too. Anyway, here's some nice pics I took over the past year   and a video of prob the worst terrain i tend to cycle. https://streamable.com/6bw9bt So many hill climbs around here but that's what makes it all worth it imo.
|
|
#
?
Feb 5, 2021 21:49
|
|
|
The Real Amethyst posted:But I'm wanting to buy a new bike this year and would like to make it work this time i.e. getting something fit for purpose that will be good to hit the hills and trails without much screwing about. Which country are you in? There's some decent direct sale brands out there, but shipping is gonna make or break that. And also there might be a slight inventory problem. quote:Despite that I did cycle that thing hard all summer and took it some amazing places.
|
|
#
?
Feb 6, 2021 01:01
|
|
|
kimbo305 posted:Which country are you in? There's some decent direct sale brands out there, but shipping is gonna make or break that. And also there might be a slight inventory problem. Ireland, and drat I forgot that pandemic is causing supply problems for practically every outdoors thing.
|
|
#
?
Feb 6, 2021 10:59
|
|
|
The Real Amethyst posted:Ireland, and drat I forgot that pandemic is causing supply problems for practically every outdoors thing. even worse, brexit borders are blowing up more complicated orders that have multiple parts from mainland Europe
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2021 18:21
|
|
|
The Real Amethyst posted:Ireland, and drat I forgot that pandemic is causing supply problems for practically every outdoors thing. I just picked up my new Velocity wheels from the LBS. Ordered in July.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 04:17
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 20, 2024 01:40 |
|
|
I dunno which bike thread this would be best in but i wanna get a steel frame for bikepacking to replace my alu frame. Leaning towards surly but there's so many drat frame options from them I dunno what would be best. Anyone had any experience riding them? Most of my bikepacking is off road and over stuff you'd want a fun bike to ride stuff over, but i also wanna be able to throw 700c gravel wheels on it and do more relaxed stuff. i'm worried if i grab something which is too upright and made for hauling it'll suck terribly on trails. i'm basically split between the bridgeclub, ogre or karate monkey but also welcome other suggestions. hemale in pain fucked around with this message at 12:37 on Mar 10, 2021 |
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2021 12:35
|
|