[Closed] Hebridean Way - Bike Choice

A is a no brainer.

Either will do it. I'd go with A. There are a couple of short off-road diversions worth following.

If you aren't camping, have you booked accommodation yet?

Def A.

It's a trip where you need to plan for miserable weather if you want to enjoy it and hope you are carrying the extra clobber for no reason. So a bike that can take a load without issue would seem sensible. And once loaded the difference in weight of the bikes is irrelevant.

Can't see anything wrong with A) - never going to be grace on the Utter Hebrides anyway - unless its a race for last ferry.

It’s a trip where you need to plan for miserable weather if you want to enjoy it and hope you are carrying the extra clobber for no reason. So a bike that can take a load without issue would seem sensible. And once loaded the difference in weight of the bikes is irrelevant.

Hmmm. Year after year I see cyclists passing through loaded up with front and rear panniers, a bar bag and a pile of stuff on the rack too. Almost all looking completely miserable as they winch their way up yet another hill they somehow didn't anticipate on an island chain.

Balance. It's the Outer Hebrides, not Outer Mongolia 😉

Scotroutes - All accommodation booked. Decided to go through Hebshuttle as we are using them for transfers etc.

Cheers all

 All accommodation booked

Good stuff It's becoming increasingly difficult to find accommodation. Not only is the route more popular, many of the larger houses that were once B&Bs have been bought as second/holiday homes.

Hmmm. Year after year I see cyclists passing through loaded up with front and rear panniers, a bar bag and a pile of stuff on the rack too. Almost all looking completely miserable as they winch their way up yet another hill they somehow didn’t anticipate on an island chain.

Balance. It’s the Outer Hebrides, not Outer Mongolia

True, balance is key. But I was thinking between an uber light bikepacking setup (one pair of pants for 14 days that double as a wash cloth, an ultra light fleece top instead of a sleeping bag and 2 square foot of ripstop nylon for a tarp instead of a tent) vs a 'proper' touring setup.

I was at Hogabost in August this year when a couple of days of weather came through. Kayak nearly ripped off the van but better than those of other folk thrown across the dunes. 3 families in tents made homeless as their tents were ripped to bits but no accommodation available, no tents to buy and all ferries off the islands fully booked. Meanwhile the lady we befriended who was solo touring with her sensible amount of kit and hillebrg akto hunkered down for 24hrs and read a whole book, ate the food she had capacity to carry and went for a walk in the boots she was able to bring with her. There would have been days when a smug bikepacker with the bare essentials would have stormed past her up a hill but that was not one of them. You don't have to take the kitchen sink just because you can but I'd contend the weather is sufficiently unreliable there that setting off in hope that you'll have a good run is not wise if you want to enjoy the trip.

Hmmm. Year after year I see cyclists passing through loaded up with front and rear panniers, a bar bag and a pile of stuff on the rack too. Almost all looking completely miserable

probably all wishing they didnt have fashionable 1/2x10/11/12 and had gone for a full gear range to make it less miserable.

for the outer hebrides it would be my prefered option to having no space for extra food/warm clothing and a beer or too much like when we went across the middle of canada. - and thats as an advocate of fast and light but when I'm touring ill take comfort over speed as im there to see it . Just engage the 24 and spin to win.

Hmmm. Year after year I see cyclists passing through loaded up with front and rear panniers, a bar bag and a pile of stuff on the rack too. Almost all looking completely miserable as they winch their way up yet another hill they somehow didn’t anticipate on an island chain.

Balance. It’s the Outer Hebrides, not Outer Mongolia

there's really only 2 big climbs. A loooooong but never too steep climb before Tarbert. It's actually a really nice climb but goes on for ages

then there's a shorter but horrible, steep climb out of Tarbert: https://www.google.com/maps/ @57.9277357,-6.8361138,3a,75y,104.23h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sbNMyT9VrR3LuiRuHdkZA7g!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DbNMyT9VrR3LuiRuHdkZA7g%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D115.53572%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

I was on my Whyte Glencoe with bar bag, rear panniers, seat pack and frame bag with 44T x 11-42 cassette and only the short climb out of Tarbert had me off and pushing

convert

I was at Hogabost in August this year when a couple of days of weather came through. Kayak nearly ripped off the van but better than those of other folk thrown across the dunes. 3 families in tents made homeless as their tents were ripped to bits but no accommodation available, no tents to buy and all ferries off the islands fully booked.

Had a similar experience. We have one of those Airbeam tents. It got a bit windy in the night, but the tent was fine, just thrummed a bit.
At daylight when we popped our heads out it turned out the entire ridge we were on had been cleared, all the other dozen or so tents either blown down or blasted away. I'm not sure if that's a recommendation for Airbeam tents, or my liking for really big tent pegs. (Early childhood spent in Sth Uist so grew up with big winds)

You simply have to be prepared for the worst in the Hebrides. I wouldn't be game to try ultralight weight backpacking because the weather can change from balmy sunshine to shrieking hell with sideways rains in no time.

BoardinBob

then there’s a shorter but horrible, steep climb out of Tarbert:

I was on my Whyte Glencoe with bar bag, rear panniers, seat pack and frame bag with 44T x 11-42 cassette and only the short climb out of Tarbert had me off and pushing

Wrong attitude. It's a brilliant climb! 🙂

How about:

and the views on the short climb out of Tarbert were so good I got off and pushed so I could enjoy them better...

There are a significant number of other hills. Gurning up them seems to be a feature for many cycle tourists

scotroutes

There are a significant number of other hills. Gurning up them seems to be a feature for many cycle tourists

The Golden Road is fun... 🙂

Wrong attitude. It’s a brilliant climb!

The 50mph winds and torrential rain suggested otherwise. The wifey at the B&B I limped into at Balallan that night cheerily informed me Lewis was the wettest place in the UK that day. Gotta love Scotland in July.