Posts in category Gear

Packing list 3 weeks bikepacking in S...

Just a couple of days until I fly to Spain to cycle about 1200km (3 weeks) of the Trans-Andalusia mountainbike trail. This is my provisional packing list, based on wild camping down to about freezing point. List is excluding on bike cloths 1. Front roll/harness (2.8kg) : Msr Hubba 1p tent (only outer tent and footprint), Thermarest neo air m [...]

Make your own gear (MYOG) Bikepacking...

With the recent purchase and building of my new bike which is intended to be a mountainbike/ bikepacking monster. It was time to get serious about making my own gear. This is how my first frame bag turned out. So, how do you make a bike packing frame bag? Step 1: Google DIY/Homemade/MYOG bikepacking frame bag. See how other people did, get i [...]

Packing list for 10 weeks winter cycl...

So, with the lessons learned during the trip last winter and almost a year to think about this trip, here’s my new and improved gear list for 10 weeks cycling and camping at between -15 and -40. a-d Home made cooking box for efficient snow melting and cooking. Stove: Optimus nova plus incl spare pump + 2x XL fuel bottles MSR Titan p [...]

Schwalbe Ice spiker pro review

Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro 361 spikes of winter cycling fun and safety. Here are my thoughts and impressions after three weeks cycling in Scandinavia in Winter. In short : It does what it says on the tin. Temp range : cycled -5 to -28 degrees C in Sweden, Norway and Finland mid Jan to early Feb. Road conditions : Everything from clean asfalt to [...]

Bike modifications for winter cycle t...

Mr Hyde has been transformed in Winter Hyde. Before: For details of the original bike speccs scroll down. After: Work done : Handlebars : Against all my principles I’ve replaced my drop bars for flat mountain bike type handle bars, including LX brakes and Ergon grips and bar ends for a little more comfort. I have no problems with drops bars [...]

Winter camping : cooking, food and hy...

During January and February 2013 I cycled for three weeks in Lapland in the middle of winter with Helen Lloyd ( her thoughts on winter cycling can be found HERE) We cycled and camped at temperatures between -10 and -30 degrees C. Here I’ll discuss the things learned in the cooking, food and hydration department. Cooking: At the start [...]

Winter camping sleeping system

A beginners guide to choosing a sleeping system for arctic use (assuming camping down to -30/-40 degrees C). There are several schools of thought for a sleeping system for use in the extreme cold here are the main ones that I know of: A synthetic sleeping bag rated at around the planned usage temperature. A down sleeping bag rated well abo [...]

Hotpog Pogie review

Cold hands when cycling in winter has always been a problem for me. Wilst researching my trip to Lapland I stumbled upon a word I’d never heard before “Pogies”. As far as I could tell there are two brands on the market that look like good quality. Hotpog.co.uk in Europe and Dogwood Design on the other side of the pond. Hotp [...]

Winter tent : Hilleberg Allak

The tent I’ve chosen for my upcoming trip to Lapland is the Hilleberg Allak . Scroll down the page or click if you want to get straight to the post trip review… I know Hilleberg are not the cheapest tents around but I’m a fan of their ability to over engineer tents making them more suitable for more extreme stuff. I chose a spaci [...]

Gear talk after 9 months in Africa

Its been a while so I thought its once again time for a little gear talk. Its a little earlier than I planned but I now have time. Distance travelled : 10-11,000km Distance Cycled : 8-9000km (this trip). Be sure to also read Gear Talk 3 months in On bike clothing: For months now I’ve been wearing my North Face Trousers with zip off le [...]

Packing list Pre- Lapland

So, only a couple of days until I head to a rather wintery Lapland with Helen Lloyd so here’s a look at my packing list for this trip (we’re each taking a solo set up in case we decide to go our separate ways…). Helen’s packing list can be found >HERE< I haven’t camped at under -5 degrees C before and can expect [...]

Powering GPS with E-werk

My front wheel is fitted with Son hub dynamo from Schmidt which generates power while cycling. It does what its supposed to do and without any noticeable extra effort on my part(allegedly 0.5w when no gadgets are using power) at higher speeds the hub can generate up to 6W/12v. As the body is bigger than a standard hub it means you use shorter [...]