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Mountain Bike for mountaineering approaches

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 damowilk 30 Oct 2016
Hi,
Thanks for any advice.
I'm considering getting a MTB intended for mountaineering and possibly skiing approaches.
I live in NZ, and it's quite common to have long river valley approaches, which can occasionally be tackled with adventurous 4WDing, or long walks, but a few are starting to do it with MTB
I already have a full sus park style bike, but it's expensive, mechanically complicated and heavy, I wouldn't really be keen on leaving it lying out for days.

I've been looking at some of the Alpkit offerings and 2 look appealing for this: a Carbon frame fat bike with no suspension, or the titanium hard tail that can be set up as 29 or semi-fat 650B
Any comments on suitability? Other suggestions?
The terrain is typically braided river valleys: lots of stones of various sizes, rivers to cross etc.
Thanks
 ScraggyGoat 30 Oct 2016
In reply to damowilk:

Can't offer advise on the bike, however cycling with a multi day pack is a pain (in the arise!). Day trips are better. However if you are lugging a heavy load and If the terrain allows consider a single wheeled cycle trailer to get the weight off your back, something similar to a Bob trailer (there are cheaper alternatives). Some of the NZ approaches I did would have been good with a bike and trailer, for others it wouldn't have worked. Never tried the 'bike packing' approach, but that would be another option to save your bum and back.
 Guy Hurst 30 Oct 2016
In reply to damowilk:
I use a cheapish Voodoo hardtail from Halfords, which has been up and down many Scottish glens. It's good enough not to break down much, but not so fancy anybody would spend a lot of time trying to pinch it. I got one with mounting points for a rear pannier rack, which makes life much easier. You can bodge panniers on bikes without the lugs, but it's a pain.
A friend of mine takes the simple and cheap approach even further, using a 20+ year old Peugeot mtb with no suspension at all, and not much in the way of decent brakes, either. It would be horrible to ride at a trail centre, but for long approaches it does the job, and absolutely nobody would want to nick it.
OP damowilk 30 Oct 2016
In reply to ScraggyGoat:

Yeah, the valleys I'm thinking of, a trailer wouldn't work. I was planning on using bike packing bags: between a frame bag, handlebar bag, and underseat bag I can probably get 40-50 litres of the heaviest stuff on the bike, and have a mostly empty back pack with the bulkier stuff.
If I did do it with skis (probably less potential here) I'd look at one of the holster style carriers available in N America.
Cheers for the advice. I'm thinking that's it maybe a concept better in theory than reality.
OP damowilk 30 Oct 2016
In reply to Guy Hurst:

Thanks, I did think about a cheap second hand bike, but these river valleys are pretty gnarly: nothing even close to a trail, big braided river valleys with lots of rocks.
The picture on this site is a good example:http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/habitats/freshwater/upper-waitaki-braided-riv...

Additionally, I like the idea of trying out a fat or semi fat bike, using it for other trails, and possibly some snow riding.
 Guy Hurst 31 Oct 2016
In reply to damowilk:
Looks good; some big country there. But I'd be happy to take my Voodoo bike into that, and I reckon my friend wouldn't hesitate to take his old wreck, either. I'd just make sure I had some extra chain links, a spare inner tube and puncture repair kit and a good supply of cable ties. A spare mech hanger is also a good idea.
Post edited at 09:34

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