UKC

Hello all, 

After a bit of advice. Really keen on the idea of bikepacking/touring and would like some recommendations on bikes. Stuff in mind would be pennine bridle way, multi day trips in dales/lakes/highlands and potentially build up to LEJOG. 

Would like a bike that covers good distance on roads but able to handle bridleways and gravel tracks. 

I've had a look at bikes and all seem to be quite dear but within my price range. I would just be after some advice on what  I should expect for my money. Any recommendations on bikes would be great. 

Budget around 700 - 1200. 

Thanks in advance.

I've done the bottom bit of the Pennine Bridleway on my CX bike and I survived but it was tough going. I plan to do it all, and think I'd take my mountain bike. Otherwise a gravel bike is what you want. At the top of your price range I'd recommend what I've got a Boardman ADV 8.9! Mine's been bloody great. Commuting to work year round, or multiday bikepacks, it's been great for all. Mine is coming on 4 years old and still going strong after 9193 kms (thanks Strava)!

Cheers for the advice! Ill have a look into the Boardman. 

I'm still a  bit confused though, are gravel bikes good to go for bike packing? As in could I research into a good gravel bike and then attach my own bags or would I specifically need to look for bikepacking bikes. 

Haha there are so many bikes at so many different prices, blows your mind 

My only advice would be to take care.  There are quite a few places on the Pennine Bridleway where front suspension is highly desirable but I wouldn't want to have front suspension on a LEJOG. So be really clear where your priorities and true passions lay.

Gravel bikes are touted as the versatile 'jack of all trades' but some are clearly masters of none. Although some might consider it sacrilege, you have to recognise that the cycling world is not free of fashion trends and at the moment the fashion is 'gravel bikes'. Especially at your price point, any bike is going to have compromises. Some you can modify fairly economically, but some (like not having a low enough bottom gear for loaded touring), a common problem, can be very expensive to sort.

As for sourcing something, your are going to have to hunt around. There is still a high demand for bikes and the supply still seems to be a bit hit and miss. But good starting points are Decathlon for bikes and bags, Spa cycles in Harrogate for traditional touring bikes, good knowledge but sometimes quirky service, Alpkit for some well priced bikes and bike packing kit . . .

Thanks for the advice! Really useful.

 my main priority would be loaded touring and ill take on board what you said reference low gears. 

That was where my confusion was, between gravel bikes and touring bikes. 

To be fair I hadn't even considered the demand for bikes still being so high. I'll get researching and get shopping haha 

I've used my mountain bike built up with a steel frame as a tourer and also used my CX bike.

Broadly, you need to decide whether you need/want suspension, or not, and go from there, but a gravel bike with larger volume tyres will probably be a good starting point. Otherwise, you could try and build up something by modifying whatever you've currently got.

Some dedicated touring frames have extra attachment points built in for attaching bike packing bags, but you don't really need them - most will strap directly to your frame, seatpost and handlebars. Do cover your frame with protector tape first, though, or say goodbye to your paintwork in pretty short order. Frame bags can be a faff if you have a small frame, though - mine only fits one of my bikes.

My personal preference is a rear rack with a drybag on it - cheaper and more stable - imho - than the saddle packs. You can get racks to fit bikes that don't have lugs for them - mine uses a replacement QR skewer and I fit a seat post clamp that has rack lugs.

Alpkit used to do a starter bundle of bags, but can't find it on their website - try eBay for deals on them and others.

I have a full sus so I'm leaning more towards no suspension to have all bases covered. 

But at the same time didn't want to just commit to getting a road bike. 

Reference the larger volume tyres, I was looking at the giant toughroad slr 1. It has brackets for luggage front and back and has thicker tyres for any track stuff. 

The worry is spending all that money without all the prior knowledge, so all comments appreciated. 

Touring bikes have traditionally been used with pairs of panniers on racks to carry your load. They're predominately used on roads although members of the Rough Stuff Fellowship and other cyclists like Ian Hibbell rode millions of miles on gravel roads (and worse), all over the world throughout the hundred years before gravel bikes and bike packing were invented.

So a traditional touring bike is very versatile and I have used mine on unpaved roads throughout the Alps plus criss-crossing Europe on tarmac. The more voluminous panniers allow the carriage of more regular camping gear and are easier to pack and unpack.

Gravel bikes are similar in many respects, but have fatter tyres and often run tubeless so lower tyre pressures can help with absorbing the roughness of gravel roads. But although you can pick your way through surprisingly rough terrain, there's no denying that there comes a point when things become easier (and faster) with suspension. The bikepacking bags are undoubtedly more stable and durable when bouncing around off road but they are expensive, a pain to pack and limited in volume which steers you down the lightweight, minimalist, expensive, spartan gear route.

As to gearing, cyclists use a system of 'gear sizes' that removes all the variables of sprocket tooth numbers, wheel sizes, chain ring size, etc.  Old fogeys still use the inch system but others will use a different metric system to achieve the same aim. You'll read about it on bike websites and there are numerous on-line calculators where you can enter the variables and it gives you the important output.  For loaded touring in hilly terrain it's generally accepted that having a gear less than 20 inches ( less than 18 ideally) gives you more options when the going gets steep / long / well loaded. I've seen review after review of gravel bikes with nothing less than 24 inches.

So if you view bikes as being on a continuum from racing bikes at one end through to full suspension downhill mountainbikes at the other, both touring bikes and gravel bikes are in the 'middle' on the transition from road to off road. Touring bikes are a little more 'road' and gravel bikes slightly more 'off road'. Only your needs will dictate whether either works or, like the rest of us, you need more than one bike. (Sorry)

PS - I've read you have a full sus, so I think your choice is easier. That Giant you have highlighted would complement it, but is more aimed at leisure riding on canal tow paths and forest roads. If you compare it to the offering from Spa Cycles ( https://spacycles.co.uk/m1b0s225p2983/SPA-CYCLES-725-Steel-Tourer ) you will see something comparable, but with a more on-road touring focus. I think it illustrates the different emphasis.

It's surprising what terrain a traditional touring bike can handle even with 35mm road tyres, for short sections at least! For me the difference between bike backing and touring is how comfortable you want your life to be. I'd be happy bivvying and not changing clothes for a couple of days, but any longer I appreciate such luxuries as a Helinox chair!

Some pics of a 4 day tour of the Peak last summer:

Coming down the Trans Pennine Trail to the Snake Pass:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/xVugmM3yzHoPsDkQ6

I'd admit to walking down this bit!:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tixwTyYjEVFQErG9A

A section of the Limestone Way:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/2jNAoC7MDF2fKpiWA

The bike above coped admirably on an off road event last autumn with a change of tyres and racks removed:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/zubsVnnf8PiDYKda7

If you're planning on bashing out a LEJoG in 6 days or less, a lightweight road bike, bike packing bags and a whole heap of suffering will be the order of the day. A more leisurely 2 week tour (assuming you'll be camping) will require more luggage carrying options. 

I was confused a bit, but that's the woodhead pass! I pushed up to that point I think because it's bloomin' steep! The TPT doesn't go near Snake, the Pennine Trail crosses it, but that would be very cheeky on a bike!

 When I had recently moved back to the UK I did a 2 day trip using the bottom bit of the TPT, on my CX. Probably a bit under-biked for the rockiest bits but I bet I rode 98%. 

http://lightfromthenorth.blogspot.com/2015/07/bikepacking-around-peak-distr...

I covered quite a lot more ground each day last summer but went out east into flatter terrain and rode a mix of back roads and bike paths like old railway lines.

Cheers jim,  really in depth reply. Leaning towards the touring bikes after your explanation. 

Cheers jabbott, haha I'm more than happy staying in the same kit for days on end. I would take the LEJOG on over two weeks. So a more leisurely approach