It looks like you're not getting a lot of bites. You've done all the right research. Now it is just a matter of weighing the pros and cons to find the ideal tire for yourself. Fortunately, tires aren't a life long commitment. Most good tires still wear out in 1000-3000 miles, so you'll need to buy another pair soon enough. Get something that seems like it meets your needs and go have fun.

If big cushy tires aren't enough, then tires may not be the right place to look. Tires aren't really there to absorb shock - they are there to provide traction. Take a look at some of the shock absorbing seat posts and stems, if you really really need to cut back on the vibration.

I think it depends heavily on the specific train. In Ireland some of the trains had you put your bike in a baggage car, which would be fine, but others had specific bike rack areas that were too small even for my road bike to fit well. If you do have couplers or some way of breaking it in half, you'll be a LOT better off.


My tried an true method all across Europe is:
1) Get there early
2) Bat your eyelashes
3) Hope for the best
4) Tip heavily

Honestly I don't get it. Flat pedals only seem to last a few hundred to maybe a thousand miles for me. But I put a set of SPDs on my bike 10,000 miles ago and haven't touched them since. You'd think with all that extra space they'd be able to do a better job with flat pedals, but they never seem to hold up. I've given up on buying nice flats and instead buy cheap deity composite pedals since they seem to last just as long, if not longer than the "designer" pedals I used to buy.

I don't have a lot of experience with massively long routes on those two devices, so I don't know that I can answer your exact question. I've been using an eTrex 20x and Edge Touring (both substantially lower models than what you're looking at) and never had any issues with route detail for 1-3 day rides.

The way the devices behave is pretty different, so if they both can handle your route size, you'll want to think about the features you're actually looking for. The Edge is really a cycling specific unit. It is designed to sit in its mount, out in front of your bike, and give you a constant stream of navigational info as you ride. The eTrex is really aimed at hiking, more expecting you to check it periodically, and then stuff it back in your pocket. The Edge uses a rechargeable battery, so you need to either have a USB backup battery, or stop in town to top off. The eTrex meanwhile uses AA batteries, so you can just grab a handful and head off into the wilderness.

Personally I prefer the Edge for any biking I do, and sold off my eTrex ages ago, but now that I'm getting back into some non-bike sports, I bought an eTrex to support hiking and kayaking.

Make sure to add a couple drainage holes in case you get some water in there.

Excellent work!

This is awesome. But don't call it wood. Call it composite. Plywood is basically nature's carbon fiber. I imagine this is actually pretty light, as rear racks go.

Aluminum and disc brakes are easy to come by, but the split rear triangle to allow you to run a belt is not. So start there. Do a google search for belt drive bikes. There are only a handful of non-custom bikes built that way, and based on where you are, you probably only have access to an even smaller subset of them.

I got the Hunt aluminum gravel dynamo wheelset. Quite happy with them. Just a fraction the price of getting wheels built for you from scratch.

That said, there is no boost centerlock dynamo in production yet, so I won't be buying a dynamo for my mtb any time soon.

To echo what the others have said, when you see the super slim bikepacking setups that other people have, keep in mind that they are bringing the most minimalist possible gear, and even then, often their bags will be bursting at the seems. If you are looking to bring climbing gear with you, you are very likely going to need some big panniers for rope and harnesses and such. A good experiment would be to put all your gear in a big pile and measure the volume of it. That will guide you towards how many bags, and how big of bags, you need. I'd hate for you to dump a ton of money into super streamlined bikepacking bags only to find you need a setup with 3x the volume.

For reference, after a bit of googling around, this is what one person ended up needing for a bikepacking/climbing trip

https://www.reddit.com/r/bikepacking/comments/7njtsy/my_first_try_at_combining_my_two_hobbies_was_a/


Then again these guys did it with a kid and only needed 2 trailers and 2 backpacks between the 3 of them.


https://www.sidetracked.com/le-tour-des-alpilles/

This sounds like an astronomical amount of work, but if it is fun, then you should absolutely do it! I think you'll find that you can't salvage as much of the fabric as you might hope, but I'd be happy to be proven wrong.

Handling the feathers is tricky, but I've seen some clever hacks with a shop vac or something like that to insert and distribute the feathers. You may want to look into that. Certainly don't go using and old vacuum that is full of other junk!

My wife has been using the Five Ten Guide approach shoes for a few years. She is on her second pair They aren't as grippy as their bike shoes, but are better off the bike. I was going to buy a pair of the trailcross for a big fat biking trip we had planned, but COVID makes it look like that might not happen, so I never bought any.

I usually wear clipless for everything shy of extreme hikeabike, the shoes I wear are more sneaker, less soccer cleat than your typical bike shoe.

You can't go wrong with a Cutthroat

On the Vermonter line depending on crowding, sometimes they'll let you lean your bike in the luggage area. A lot depends on the compliance of the conductor. I'd say give it your best try and look extra pitiful and friendly

Huh, that bleed down isn't great. One thing to beware of is that if you have anything plugged into the smart port, even if the light is off, it'll drain slowly. I'd recommend instead of spending a ton of money on the Exposure branded backup batteries you just buy a big Anker backup battery and bring the usb charging cord.

Also note that when your light dies completely, the setting returns to the default brightest setting. Medium on that will probably only last 2-3 hours. The newer lights have this super handy digital readout that tells you the expected run time remaining, but I don't have any of those fancy features on mine

Now if someone knows a way to keep a large Exposure Mk7 light recharged efficiently, I would like to know.

Sorry you're gonna have to specify which model of Exposure light you're using to help gauge your power consumption. But for starters, I'd recommend turning your light brightness waaaaaay down. If all your lights are identically dim, your eyes will adjust. The Exposure lights all have a setting that will last 10 and 24 hours. On my Diablo I find the 24 to be too dim unless I have a headlamp on too, but the 10hr setting is plenty.

If you're doing more than 10 hours of night riding between charging spots, then you'll just need to bring a bigger power bank. Anker makes some comically large ones that can probably recharge your light 20 times. So pick something in their middle sized lineup.

If you google image search "bike tarp" you'll find a million different ways people try this. Definitely no need to stake the bike - it'll stay on its own. The only issue with  this is that the peak of the tarp is now taken up by your bike, so you can't really sit up. If you want to test your idea, clean off your bike and try this out with a blanket, just to get a sense for the space. You might find it cozy or you might find it claustrophobic.

Not sure if you've sold the whole set or are interested in parting it out yet. But I'd be interested in the Bedrock Tapeats and downtube bag...

Anker makes very reliable batteries. Don't trust the less "name brand" batteries. You mention charging time, which has been an issue for me in the past. Often my only time to charge is while I'm sitting at a restaurant, so I need a really fast charger. Anker sells some fast charging batteries, but make sure you have a compatible cable and wall wort. A cheap USB cable and wall wort will take forever.

You're doing it right. Always put the heaviest stuff in the frame bag, since it is the most solidly mounted. You want to keep the weight centered and as low as possible. Beware though, water bladders are prone to leaks, so don't shove anything moisture sensitive in there.

I had the cap come loose on my platypus and soaked my first aid kit. Now the first aid kit goes in a side pocket, rather than beneath the bladder.

I got a Garmin Edge Touring for around $100 on facebook marketplace. But if you're only looking for infrequent use, Ridewithgps on your phone is probably a better option. dedicated GPS all have a painful learning curve and tendency to fail at the wrong time.