Personal setups, Trip Reports » Ritchey P29r – My first ever bike packing trip.
by lukemysseWe set out locally on a quick overnight just to test some gear. Brutal hot day, lots of cramping for one particular rider who will go un-named.
Overall I’m pretty happy with this setup though I’m trying to figure out how to carry more water on the bike and maybe not on my back. The bike did great, this is why I went steel.
The Bike
Ritchey p29 with Shimano XT, Stanz wheels and some Loaded Precision components.
– Two bottle cages (one only fits a shorty because of frame bag)
– Small Lezyne pump mounted to frame
The Gear
Inside Seat bag – Revelate Designs Pika
– Big Agnes Horse Thief 35 degree bag.
– Tarp Tent – Contrail(I forgot the stakes so I had to use as a bivy)
– Snow Peak Titanium Cup and Spork.
– MSR Pocket Rocket stove.
– Small can of fuel inside cup.
– Tshirt, Shorts, Long sleeve layer.
Inside Frame bag – Revelate Designs Tangle
– Small First Aid
– Towel / potholder
– Baby Wipes (refreshing to wash the salt off the face)
– Petzl e+LITE Headlamp
– Black Diamond Voyager Lantern
– 29r Tube
– Tools: Crankbrothers Multitool with chain break, Master link, Patchs, Zip ties.
– Tarp Tent poles:
The contrail comes with two tiny poles for the back corners. It’s intended to be pitched with the use of a treking pole but I contacted them and ordered a collapsable pole for the front. This would have all worked brilliantly had I not forgot the tent stakes.
– Letherman Squirt
Front
– Garmin Edge 500
– Coffin thermarest (this slips inside the Big Agnes which has no down on the bottom. Love this system)
Backpack (don’t remember what kind)
– 3 Liter of water
– Carried an additional liter in the bag after our final water fillup (no water near camp)
– Various riding food: Good Spread Peanut Butter, Stinger Waffles, Shot Blocks
– Mountain House Backpacking meal (the sodium content is off the charts)
– Instant Oatmeal pack
– Some nut / trailmix
– 2 packs of EmergeC
What I would change
– I would remember the tent stakes.
– Add a Tyvek ground cloth to save my tent floor and sleeping pad.
– Would like to get more water on the bike. Thought about having an under-frame cage mount but that would mean drilling the frame (measure three times, drill once). Might consider fork mounted bottles if it works, would love to hear if any has a magic way to mount these so they don’t come loose.
– For the front I might add a Thule Pack ’n Pedal™ Sport Rack. My friend Matt who came on the trip had those front and back on his single speed and it works brilliantly. Could mean getting everything on the bike and not having to wear a pack which I hate. This would also allow me more space for multi-day trips when I do need to wear a pack.
– Would figure out a meal that doesn’t taste like a bowl of salt.
ScottM on 
Dylan on 
AmosIv on 
Preston on 
Jesse on 
Martin on 
Rod on
Nice shakedown ride. I agree about not liking to wear a pack but it seems pretty unavoidable in AZ becasue you need to be able to carry so much water. Where was this ride? Looks to be in the SW at least?
~Joe
@JoeDirt This ride was in the local Orange County CA mountains. Zero water to speak of (maybe, maybe some in the early spring).
Agreed. We live in desert environments, not much we can do about having to carry extra water. I would really like to get up to the Sierra’s or my original home state of Montana…water everywhere.
I have and use a frame bag with the bladder in it plus also use chaff bags on the front bars . Check out http://www.bikebagdude.com
I am also setting up a P29er for bikepacking…just wondering what size frame and tangle frame bag you have. Also check out the Bontrager handlebar bottle mount. Works great for an extra bottle or two.
http://bontrager.com/model/04087
@Antony I believe my P29er is a large. The tangle bag is a small.
I like the idea of a handle bar mounted bottle. I’m also thinking about going to a full frame bag and putting a water bladder inside. Pretty sure I could carry 3 liter plus some tools.
On longer trips, i simply zip tie a water bottle cage to each leg of my fork – just use a cut piece of tube to protect the fork and to help keep the cage in place. I then use a velcro strap to prevent the water bottle from coming out of the cage. That’s 1.5 or 2 L of extra water down nice and low on the bike 🙂
Re water carry options. The Revelate Tangle bag I use on my early model size L Salsa El Mariachi can hold an almost full 3 litre ‘Source’ (like Camelback) bladder with hose exiting front to drink from. My two drink bottles just fit in their cages below. Fresh water in bladder. Go Juice in bottles.
By the way, The Thule racks mentioned are really solid and versatile. They can fit rear seat stays, or front forks (suspension or rigid) and come with three different arms lengths that slide to fine tune the fit. I’ve had a pair for a few years. Lot’s of riders here in New Zealand use them as they were designed and used locally for a few years before being bought by Thule. Also, the Revelate Gas Tank is pretty handy for trips. Have fun.