To save money I got a relatively affordable sewing machine and sewed gear myself. RU-vid can teach you and you can get materials on the internet. I made bike packing bags, an ultralight bivy, an ultralight sleeping quilt, and other items. It takes time but is rewarding and saves you major money. Ultralight and packable items are very expensive.
This is a great recommendation! Can you point me in the right direction for a good tutorial on making an ultralight bivy and best material to source? I would love to give this a shot. Also interested in making an ultralight sleeping quilt.
@@TheEnduranceStudio Just a note that if you wanted to tackle any of these projects I'd start with the ultralight quilt at the youtube site I sent. It was quite easy actually. Then you can tackle the bivy or a tent or poncho tarp.
One more note. All of this ultralight gear is great for bikepacking, but also great for backpacking and I do a fair amount of both. Only unique item you need for either sport is the correct bags. Otherwise you are pretty much packing the same camping gear and the advantages of highly compressible light items are important for both activities.
Great list - here's my take. I usually hit the big box stores at the end of a season to pick up clothing on the bargain racks. No name fleece, thermals, socks, etc are great - just make sure they fit well and are made using the same materials as the big boys. I don't cheap out on shoes and the big three (shelter, bag, pack). Good point on not getting all the stuff over night. As I've been getting into ultra light (or lighter) stuff; I keep the old stuff for friends and car-camping. Been working towards some longer biking trips. Many smaller trips are the key to shake out all the trouble spots - especially when hanging gear off ur bike and finding the right balance. Lastly, as someone else noted, I too lay out all my gear and then remove what I don't need. Often I just need a day/night set of clothes (with extra socks/undies), I been packing dry food so i can leave the heavy, expensive, and error-prone stove at home. Huge plus on doing your own maintenance.
@@TheEnduranceStudio based on past experiences with bicycle trailers (groceries, mostly) - not really. Electrification tends to make pulling a trailer a *lot* easier than otherwise. The type of trailer one uses is largely determined by one’s anticipated loads. The single wheel trailer I had in the past was best if one kept the load under fifty pounds. It was rated at 75, but I learned the hard way early on that doing *that* made things unmanageable. Also, that added weight made for real problems if one had to provide 100% of the pulling power.
Thrift stores have been a massive source for gear for me. Rear Rack bags and decent clothes if you have the patience to search. Also if you have a sewing machine and don’t mind learning another hobby it’s fairly easy to just make exactly what you need.
Thanks for watching and providing a great comment! I was just recently shown by my friend how to sew and he helped me to make my own harness and I made my own SilPoly Tarp Tent and Xpac Front Roll. It was so empowering and amazing skill to learn! And way way way less than retail.
These are great tips! I’m picking up a used Novara Mazama bike on Wednesday and toying with the idea of small bike packing trips since it can handle them. I’ve learned from hiking that you can often get better deals on technical outwerwear if they’re branded with some company’s name and/or someone’s name. Those get relegated to trail duty. I’ve also developed the habit of packing everything I think I’ll need for a trip, look at the complete loadout, then trim down the things I won’t actually need and it usually cuts down ~20% of what I initially packed.
thats a great tip to find co-branded performance clothing - where do you go to purchase that? I have a similar packing strategy by using a spreadsheet with each item - this also gives me historical record as things change throughout time.
Thrift stores and pawn shops in areas where camping is popular can score good deals I scored a cold weather sleeping bag at a goodwill for 10 bucks I know it will keep me warm since I been sweating in lt open on cool nights by the beach lately
For me bikepacking is expensive because I need to get a bike that can handle my weight, the weight of the equipment (even if I pack light) and the weight of the bike itself. So far that means that I need a set of DT swiss wheels or a pricey bike that is ready for that. My current bike can't do it and I won't use an ebike for bikepacking anyways. This is solid advice and will come in handy once I got my bike. Unfortunately as a heavy rider it's very difficult to find a suitable bike that won't void the guarantee once you load it... (even gearing... I have to do roughly 400 watts on my 51 cassette with my ebike switched off (roughly how it will be when bikepacking).
almost spot on but yeah backpack is a no go for me, did many times hauling that just because riding my full sus anywhere (the only bike I had that time) 😀
Hi Maz. I found that if I load too much in my backpack I get bad saddle sores because of the downward pressure on the seat. I find that on stretches without water I have to carry 3L in my backpack, 3L in my frame bladder, and 1L in a bottle on the frame. I drink my backpack bladder first to bring the weight down. Also aero bars help with this too. Plan pack pedal!
Hi Rick - thanks for watching! 💯 agree. The only positive I've ever found with a seat bag is it adds some weight over the back wheel and gives you some stand up climbing traction. But not worth the anxiety for me.
Great question! To me, dry food is anything that you can eat right out of the box or wrapper and doesn't require heating/water or cooking. This would be most items that have a long shelf life at a gas station or grocery store. Most races have resupply every 60 - 100 miles so I can grab and carry food like sandwiches and frozen burritos that will thaw and i'll consume before they spoil. Dehydrated food is probably the least ideal in the desert southwest where i'm located because of lack of water availability and you have to carry and rely on a stove to eat. Plan pack pedal!
@@TheEnduranceStudio If you are hardcore you can cold soak dehydrated or dry food (noodles, cous cous), etc. I did it in Arizona for a few trips. I actually enjoyed it and didnt get sick of cold soaked cous cous with dehydrated beans and chili powder and cold instant coffee with sugar. Not so great if you are on a cold or rainy trip though, thats when hot beverages and food really make a difference and warrant the extra weight of a stove and fuel.
