Biggest problem with SPs is that you can't work on the bearings and Ollie Whalley had his pack up at 7000 km - others have not had an issue.

When you say you can't work on the bearings, I assume they're standard cartridge bearings? Can you expose the seals? If so, it should be possible to carefully lift the seals and put better grease into the bearings, which should increase their service life. The grease in most cartridge bearings used on bike parts is totally inadequate for the job - I refer to it as 'photocopier grade'.

There's a tear-down of the Revo by the small-scale manufacturer kLite here:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.694651890555604.1073741844.216937588327039&type=1

The comments on the third picture may be of interest. I'd ask Kerry over there on FB if the output is buffered.

One possible solution for putting a dynamo on a lefty bike is to use a bottle dynamo. While they are probably deeply unfashionable in many circles, they have come on leaps and bounds in the last couple of decades, e.g.

http://www.dutchbikebits.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=40&product_id=65

In order to keep my old HTC Desire from discharging its battery when using its internal GPS receiver it needs a charge current of around 700mA. Many other mobile phones are similar. The Minty Boost and many similar battery powered USB chargers cannot supply this much current. If you connect them to your phone, if you're running the GPS, the battery will still discharge, albeit more slowly than if the charger was not connected.

Anyone wanting to go down the DIY electronics route may be interested in this regulator:

http://www.pololu.com/product/2119

Works with a very wide range of voltages, and can supply more current than the Minty Boost if it's stepping down. It's most efficient (i.e. will waste least energy and generate least heat) and can supply maximum current when operating from 6v, i.e. 4x Alkaline cells or 5x NiMH or (if you must) NiCd cells. It will, however, remain operating until these rechargable batteries are in an overdischarge situation, so you should use it with care.

It should also be possible to it from a dynamo if you rectify, smooth and voltage-limit its output before feeding it to the regulator.

Several of my riding buddies who do more bikepacking than I do swear by WingNut packs as the best compromise between having a backpack and making it as comfortable as possible.

http://www.wingnutgear.com/

Don't dismiss modern bottle dynamos, they're a lot better than those our fathers used to ride with, e.g. http://www.dutchbikebits.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=40&product_id=65

Thought some folks here might be interested in these at $2.99 a pop:

http://www.jandd.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=FSBS-SMU

UK, Salisbury.

Not too far from me, I'm in Bristol.

I've heard good things about "All-weather tape" such as this, used over here for roofing etc. Not sure how easily it would come off though:

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Adhesives+Sealants/Tapes/All+Weather+Tape+50mm+x+25m/d180/sd2420/p64699

Do you have a GPS / GPX of the route?

Chris, why not put your route details up onto Google Docs or Dropbox and post the links? Would save you having to reply to each person individually. Looks like an awesome route and right up my street if I ever have the time and fitness.

An early start for Craig, Ollie still asleep in Helena? Some lumpy terrain ahead, what are the trail surfaces like in this next section? Isn't the dreaded clay only a day or two ahead?

@adelorenzo - Have you actually tried Avid BB7s? I've not ridden a huge number of hydraulic disc brakes, but I've never found BB7s to be at all lacking in power, especially in comparison with pretty much every rim brake I've ever used.

Avid Speed Dial levers allow you to set up the lever 'feel' to be the same front and rear. With a longer cable run, the rear brake will almost invariably feel slightly more 'spongy' than the front, and Speed Dial levers allow you to tune the front to match, should that be important to you.

I have a set of BB7s on my main MTB, and picked up two more sets used for spares and/or other projects. Wouldn't use anything else.

For the UK, there's also "Where's the Path?" at http://wtp2.appspot.com/wheresthepath.htm

Very similar to BikeHike, you might get on better with it.

For those looking to tackle something long-distance in Europe, this might provide some ideas:

http://www.grande-traversee-alpes.com/chemins-du-soleil

The 'full' route is from Lake Geneva to the Atlantic coast. I rode near the coast in February and can confirm that the terrain is fabulous riding. There is a huge MTB scene over in France (they call it VTT - Velo Tout-Terrain) but information on the web can be sketchy, unfortunately. The upside is that French maps are generally very good, and there are few if any access issues.

I transcribed the Wessex Way from the old 90s book - I believe the route has been revised a little since then, but you'll get the idea:

Part 1: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1279811/Wessex_Way_1.gpx to
Part 6: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1279811/Wessex_Way_6.gpx

Work parts 2-5 out for yourself ;-)

The second half is basically the South Downs Way, so a well-established long distance route.

I say! Just the thing a chap needs. My alter ego - Nelson Longflap Esq. - would be proud!

For anyone wanting to check out routes in France and parts of Switzerland, Spain and Italy, this site is awesome: http://www.vttrack.fr/

Use Google Chrome and it's translate feature for great results.

I recently did three days' riding near Sospel in the south of France. Great riding, hope to go back bikepacking there sometime.

@murf - ah-ha! So gripshift on an H-bar CAN be done...! How do you find the set-up?