Howdy, I'm Coach Morgan in my volunteer work, otherwise just Morgan. I like to go on bikepacking trips. Done the fun final third of the Colorado Trail, plus some overnighters in California. Would like to do more.

I'm also coach of the Oakland Composite team, which is actually five teams; we are incubating school teams for the region, and we have a middle school team. (http://www.oaktowncomp.com) We're a team in the NorCal League (http://www.norcalmtb.org) of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA, http://www.nationalmtb.org). *flexes fingers* Recently, NICA has decided that we should emphasize two paths for high school athletes; "Adventure" and "Racing". I'm all for it. I've raced plenty, and now I ride for fun. Many of my kids have chosen "Adventure". We're going to try some day trips for the older ones this season, and I think we might work up to an overnighter at the end of the season. This brings me to my ask:

Do you have any bikepacking gear you no longer need, that you'd be willing to donate? Mostly looking for things like bags, but tarp tent setups, bivvies, sleeping bags would be handy, probably also stoves, water filters. We are a 501c3, well our parent organization is, and I can provide you with letters of receipt for your donations, which you can use to write off as donations on your taxes. We're in Oakland, CA. I would be happy to reimburse you for shipping. I can also share pics of our kids using the gear, once we've done some trips. Our season runs Dec - May.

I've thought about doing MYOG projects with the kids, but we don't have that much time together. Some pre-existing bags would help us be able to try some bigger day trips, maybe an overnighter.

Thanks!

Morgan

Huh, those spacers are trick. They have slots in them, through which the straps pass? I might try that with my bag, but I think there might not be enough room on the upper, inside straps on the buckle end. Or I just live with it. I don't think this impingement would actually cause the hoses to fail, he said, unsure that this is true.

Running the brake levers up would make me crazy. I've already trimmed my brake hoses for normal riding; this is also my fun bike, so putting longer ones on isn't appealing.

I did also get a little bit of tire rub on the bottom of the roll at full stuff. This is on a freshly rebuilt, 140mm Rock Shox Revelation running 170psi, which is the rating for a 200lb - 220lb rider. I'm 220. I'll go up a little on air pressure, and also perhaps put something on the bottom of the roll to protect it.

I'm going to do my second bikepacking overnighter in the next few days, will try some of the suggestions here. Thanks!

Morgan

Howdy. I'm new to bikepacking. I did a practice trip this weekend, packed as I think I'll be packed for my trip next month, using some new bags that Scott Felter of Porcelain Rocket made for me. They're great bags! My brake hoses (Avid Elixir 9) are blocked by the handlebar bag, a "Mission Control" bag. Here's a picture:


Handlebar mounted right; four straps on bar, not two by fnagrom, on Flickr

Am I doing it wrong? I haven't tried putting the bag under the hoses, but I don't see how that would help me. The hoses have strain relief boots on them, and they felt fine. I don't have the bag excessively loaded; maybe 4lbs total with tent, bag, pad, rain gear, camera and some little items in the front pouch. (Didn't weigh it.)

I'd ask Scott, but he's in the middle of a big trip across Australia right now.

Thanks!

Morgan