Me=Sponge. You Guys=Source of Informational Liquid that I soak up! Hahahaha. Great. Here's another quick question that, with any real activity/sport/hobby/recreation/whatever, there is no "real" answer, but I'll explain. I read somewhere that if you have to "go cheap" on a bike (which I will be in the beginning, to make sure this is something I like), that it's better to get a decent, lightweight frame bike with cheaper components, because you can always upgrade the components later, but if you have a bad frame, you'll probably end up just getting a new bike. With that being said, is there a Hybrid bike out there that fits that criteria (cheap overall, decent frame, cheaper parts)? I'm not saying I'm gonna jump on it and buy it (I know fit is one of the most important parts of a bike), but since I don't totally know what I'm looking for yet, it'd be nice to have a starting reference point! (Thanks again for all the help. I'm sure I'm like that little annoying toddler that won't stop asking questions right now. :-P )

Great! Thanks for the tips on bikes. I think I'm gonna make a stop to my local bike shop tomorrow to at least get some input in person. I hope all this works out nicely! Thanks for the warm welcomes, as well.

Hi Tim! Thanks for the response. A few follow up questions that probably should be embarrassing to ask, but I'm too much of a greenhorn to even know that! When you say "29 inch bikes" you are referring to the wheel diameter, correct? Frame size is dependent on the person's weight, height, and body type if I have gathered info correctly. Also, what exactly should I be looking for in regards to buying a used bike that is different/better than a Walmart mountain bike you could pick up? (I'm sure they are horribly obvious to someone with any experience, but I want to make sure I am getting myself off to a decent start.) Thanks again!
Stefano

Hello! I was steered here by someone over on HammockForums.net (Any day above ground is a good day!  ) in hopes to learn a little more about this thing called Bikepacking... At this point, I don't even have a bike, but I just did a 87 mile round trip ride this past weekend (there and back over two days) with some friends, and I had quite a good time. I started thinking, "Hmmm... I could see myself doing this more." So here I am!

A bit of background about me and my interests: Rock climbing for several years, new to hiking and backpacking, but enjoy them both, a photo student, and that's about it. What I enjoyed about my weekend trip was going a far distance on a bike. That is cool to me. I could see myself down the line biking down the coast of the US or something (either one!) and just making a big trip out of it.

I know there is touring biking, but I was wondering if Bikepacking is solely just "mountain biking overnight," or if touring along the roads counts as well. Right now I'm a bit more interested in the latter, but even reasonable offroad trails don't seem too bad to me! If I'm not in the right spot, would you mind pointing me in the correct direction? Like I said, total newbie here, so any help is greatly appreciated!

If I am in the right spot, where do I start!? Probably get a bike, but I don't know what to start looking for. I don't want to break the bank right away, so if you have any suggestions on what to look for in terms of used bikes, that'd be awesome as well! Also, info on saddle bags or any of that is also cool! I've got all the camping gear (I'm an Ultralighter which I'm sure will come in handy) but I don't have anything specific to the biking.

Any other help you can think of, whether it be advice, guidance, good links, etc., is all very appreciated!

Thanks again!