Dirt Roads / MTB Touring, Personal setups » Esskay1000’s GAP/C&O setup
by esskay1000Doing a 5-day trip of GAP/C&O from Pittsburgh to DC, 340 miles. Been following this site for years but never posted. So here’s my setup
Bike – Fuji Cross Comp, stock. Avenir clip-on fenders
Handlebar bag – Revelate Sweetroll w/sleeping bag, clothes. Also Sea to Summit bag w/Thermarest and clothes
Frame Bag – Iberia. Nalgene, camp mug, esbit & fuel, headlamp, two tubes, CO2, tire levers, batteries, flashlight, 2 Clif bars, patch kit
Front fuel tank – Profile Designs. Snacks/Suntan lotion/GPS
Seat Fuel Tank – Eleven81. Cables, First Aid kit, Bike Lights, Charger
Seat Bag – Revelate Viscacha. Tent, Raingear, Tarp, Groundcloth, Spare Kit, Camp towel
Fanny Pack on top of seatbag – EastPak. Solar charger, Headnet, bugspray, batteries
Because of my skinny drop bars I can only use about 50-60% of the Revelate Sweetroll capacity, which is why I have the fannypack on top of the seatbag. I’m trying to figure out how to drop stuff or reconfigure something to get rid of it. I don’t want to wear a backpack at all but am considering wearing the fannypack since it rides low and shouldn’t cause back pain.
I can buy food along the way as there are enough places to stop. I can also refill water pretty regularly but there are some long sections w/no refill and summers in the DC area are notoriously brutal.
I’m a relative newbie at this, did 100 miles of the C&O 20 years ago on an old MTB, but feel free to give advice or criticize.
Thanks!
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I too follow the site and have learned a lot, but never posted my set up which has evolved over the years . Best suggestion for more space is a full size diy frame bag which still leaves you with two water bottles plenty for gap and canal. I have ridden the whole canal and half the gap, you will do fine and it’s a great experience.
Thx EastCoastBlose, so I’ve been back from the trip and it was awesome! I hear ya on the full-size frame bag, but after dropping some serious dough on the two Revelate bags I wanted to try cheaper options. I have to say, the $14 Iberia frame bag performed very well. I sprayed it for waterproofing and it held way more than I thought it would.
Also I realize that Revelate makes no claim that the Viscacha is waterproof, but I didn’t find it to be all that water resistant either. Overall I love the bag, but my stuff got pretty wet inside after a downpour and I had the closure wrapped up tight (and folded downward). In the future I’m going to make sure everything I put in the Viscacha is also in a second dry-bag or trashbag.
Good to know on the viscacha, i leave tomorrow on my first trip with mine.
Don’t get me wrong, the viscacha is a great bag and I was hugely impressed w/what it could hold. And it rained pretty darn hard on me for about 6+ hours on my second day – all riding time. I think it’d be fine with moderate rain or even heavy rain for a short period of time. Mother Nature just decided to go postal on me and in those conditions it leaked.
How did you get the sweetroll to strap to the headtube with the canti brakes in the way?