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😉 Thanks C-G this may mean I can sell on my Ortlieb panniers that I always over fill on bothy/bivvy trips to comical effect 🙁
Finally going to be forced to go uber lightweight and challange the pseudo middle class party food requirement and stick to eccles cakes like Stuart 😀
If you pack right valley daddy you can keep the gourmet food, it's just that you have to make other sacrifices, but wine is a must!!!!
ha indeed - I am so going to insure I have a full on roast for out next adventure with champagne too just to set the right ambience of course 😉
We missed out on the christmas dinner last time didn't we 🙁
Ask Ian nicely and he might let you on his bivvy trip in a fortnight.
I'll save a christmas pudd if you want?
ok I'll check the "fun police" pass availability and then approach Ian 😉 are you and Stu going??
Stu's not no but my pass is validated already.
good lad ok I'll test the water tomorrow I know Steve's busting to get adventuring and test out all the kit we've been procuring since our snow/ice epic trip in December 😀
On the slippery slope to lightness already.
Good lad. 😉
indeed that's the case 😉
Ask Ian nicely and he might let you on his bivvy trip in a fortnight.
Valentines weekend??
That's a fun police extra special pass!!
Hadn't occurred to me that it was valentines although i've got my anniversary to deal with first.
I have been impressed with the Ortlieb products though and being completely waterproof is essential!
In a way which bin bag liners can't provide? That's what I've always used to put my kit in for MMs/Polaris, including down sleeping bags (and I've been out on some pretty wild ones), and never had a problem with stuff getting wet. For adventure racing I do use a drybag sack liner, but that's because I don't have the time to be sure I've packed stuff in properly, not something which should be an issue for bivvying.
Valentines weekend??
So it is. It was the only weekend free for us for numerous other reasons.
Open invite then to all who are free on 12 Feb.
Meet 1pm outside Biped Cycles in Brecon (LD3 9AF) ready to go. Approx 4 hour ride on good open mountain trails with a bit climbing. Bivvy spot in nice secluded valley at a top secret location. We'll be back in Brecon in time for second breakfast on Sunday.
Gutted I can't play out ... have fun.
Would love to join you Ian but I am going to an Ale and dumpling festival in Raglan 😀
Can do the weekend after but not the 12th, have fun 🙂
would love to come along but not a chance in hell I'd get away on Valentine's evening!!!
I'm def a complete amateur compared to many of you on here, but here is my 'bungee it to the bike and run' offering:
[img] 
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... and doing it 'old skool' on the tandem:
[img] 
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This thread really has got me fired up for some 'popping my bivi cherry' this year.
Need to have a go at those stoves.
Does anybody know if anything came of that call for people wanting those saddle bags like the revelate /epic bags.
IIRC the thread was on about some guy in Britain making some?
anotherdeadhero, what's the make of the red dry bag with the bungee 'loops' on your handlebars? I think I need one of them 🙂
Looks like it might be good on my sea-kayak for keeping camera equipment handy but safe as well as doing bike-packing duties.
@Vortexracing I'm in email conversation with buggybags.co.uk at the moment about a framebag. Will keep you posted what happens.
I've warned Jon at Buggybags that he might get a few more orders in the near future.
@ slugwash looks like the same alpkit one strapped to my bars upthread. The rubber loops make them excellent for strapping to bars. And only a fiver!
http://www.alpkit.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16469&category_id=295
@Vortexracing keep your eyes open for 'Wildcat bags' in the next few months if you're after a UK made version of the stuff from the US. I'll be putting a dead simple, making meths stoves step by step up on the Welsh Ride Thing blog next week too, you might find it handy.
@Slugwash, dry bags with loops like in the pic are from AlpKit.
@Slugwash, dry bags with loops like in the pic are from AlpKit@ slugwash looks like the same alpkit one strapped to my bars upthread
Cheers guys! And how could I not know that. I thought I thought I had an encylopedic knowledge of all their current products 😉
what size Alpkit drybag is recommended for the bars??
8 Litres @ most or it's too big really.
ok cheers Andrew off I go shopping again 😉
8 Litres @ most or it's too big really.
Pah! 13 litres is a mans size
[url= http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5087/5236655672_d26ba9f1ce.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/47300508@N05/5236655672/ ]Winter Welsh Bivvy Trip[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/47300508@N05/ ]fantasticmrmatt[/url], on Flickr
13 for winter
8 for summer
yep I use a 13L on the handlebars too. Amazing what you can cram in there. Entire sleep system, bag, full length matress, tent or bivy+tarp. Need to compress it nice & tight so it doesn't foul on the wheel when the suspension compresses, but all good.
Mine's 13 litre as well, but not used in anger yet. Should fit 660mm bars, have some 715mm Fleegles on there at the moment so no issues. 600mm might require going down to the 8 litre.
13l here most of the time. Fits winter bag, mat and bivvy bag inside. In France last year (100 degrees) I carried stuff that was much more compact so got away with a much smaller dry bag.
I find that Alpkit dry bags are about the best shape for bar use. I tried a POD bag at weekend, same capacity but fatter/shorter which made it more difficult to get in my harness.
Oh, I find a 13l just fits between the drops (WTB mountain drops) on my 29er ... nice and snug and out of the way.
Stu - I think that's why Eric at Revelate does a long thin dry bag so that it doesn't get in the way of the front wheel. I'll measure it when I get a home/back from here and see if I can find an alternative that's similar off the peg in the UK.
I'm sure from my sea kayaking days I can/could find an alternative longer, thin one - I know there used to be tapered dry bag for getting right into the bows of sea boats.
I have an Alpkit tent bag with straps around too - we'll see how that does on the bars too.
EDIT - FROM REVELATEDESIGNS.COM
ATACAMA DRY BAG
The first dry bag out there designed for handle bar mounting
6" diameter fits nice and tight under your handle bars with lots of tire clearance
Lightweight urethane coated ripstop fabric with waterproof, RF welded seams and a minimalist buckle closure.
Use it with either the sling, harness, or take it backpacking.
Weight:3.5 oz
Volume: Approx 12 L Max
Uh-huh, its an 13 litre alpkit, the 8 litre on the back has my pipedream bag in it. The alpkit bags are ace for the money, but they are much thinner than the PVC ortlieb drybags I have - this means I get a bit worried about them wearing through if they can shift about against brake levers etc. A bit of duck tape helps allay my paranoia.
For a fiver a go, why not buy two 13 litre alpkit bags, put kit in one, put that one in the other and strap to the bars. I bet you can wear holes in quite a few alpkit bags before you reach the price of an ortlieb one. 😉
That'll be great consolation when I'm miles from anywhere, knackered from riding through stairrod rain all day, and wondering why my kit is wet.
Or I could be a bit more careful with them ...
Ah, but the point is you'd wear a hole through one drybag, but not the inner bag! So kit stays dry, and when you get home and find the outer bag is holed, you spend a fiver on a new one. QED!
I don't think wear, if it occured, would stop at one bag. So it would be better not wear a hole in either in the first place. Plus its less faff.
Why am I wasting time argueing about this? Its a retarded suggestion.
ok cool I'll get a 13L I guess I can just roll it up to make it smaller 😉 but knowing me I'll fill it all 😀
These tarps look cheap and cheerful: http://www.denbigharmysurplus.co.uk/army-stores/Tarpaulin-Pegs-Cord-British-Army-IPK.html
ok cool I'll get a 13L I guess I can just roll it up to make it smaller but knowing me I'll fill it all
See that's the problem, by having the smaller bag your forced to go lighter, if you have the big bag you tend to take the kitchen sink et al.
Those army tarps look good but heavy - 980g seems like quite a lot...
well, I've ordered a 13l as there are no 8l ones available for the forseable future, I had an email from Alpkit stating "We didn't anticipate them selling out as fast as they have done, so we currently don't have any on order, but the guys are on it." so I couldn't get one if I wanted one 🙁
@Flatfish, I am trying to get as Uber light as possible but trying to keep to a budget (ish:wink:) I just need to sort my cooking apparatus out really, have a meths stove (ta Stu) and a gas stove but need the pan/mug etc anyone know of the cheapest place to get the Ti type??
A pot, with drinking lid, cosy, pot grabber and spork all for the princely sum of £25 and 52 whole pence.
Pan weighs pretty much the same as ti pans at twice the price, if i was in the market for one, i'd have it.
From Ellis Brigham.
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OOOOOOoooooooo nice on ta 😉
will take a butchers now 😉
I use aluminium pots rather than Ti ... as flatfish says there's not much in it weight wise. I think the 2 pan set I use most often might be a Gelert one, I recall it was less than £15 for 900ml pan/mug, 450ml mug and a lid. It's had plenty of hammer 😉 and shows no signs of giving up.
Here you go just found a link
http://www.gelert.com/products/cooking_dining/cooking/ascent_i_cookset
awesome they've got a store in Bristol, I'll pop in there next week 😀
cheers Stu another good option I suppose having the 2 pots would be advantageous so I can have brew as my fodder cooks.
well, I've ordered a 13l as there are no 8l ones available
And I'd just like to add that I also ordered a 13L one today in chilli 🙂 I'm currently cobbling together the plans for a (on & off road) bike packing trip down to Lands End and back to test it out.
It's well 'ard being a bike bivi nerd 😉
Anything else you need sourced valley daddy?
I don't think I do thanks 😉
once this weeks purchases turns up and the above cook system is sourced I think I just need to load up and head to the forest and bear test everything --- a bear bell that's all 😉
Stu can help with bear bells.
Seriously!!!
pointers to a suitable mat wouldn't go a miss from the STW massive.
this Alpkit Wedge seems OK @ £32 or is it on the large size for Bivying?
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[url] http://www.alpkit.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16535&category_id=253 [/url]
http://www.alpkit.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16532&category_id=289
this one maybe better
Previously used Exped bags, but just got some Lomo ones and they are good, very robust bags of a better proportion for strapping to your bars. L to R, 5l, 12l, 20l:
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Does anybody know if anything came of that call for people wanting those saddle bags like the revelate /epic bags.IIRC the thread was on about some guy in Britain making some?
That might be me. We're doing frame bags and working on some other stuff like handlebar harnesses and top tube packs.
Beth
Ian, have you got a link for those dry bags? Ta
Ta and Vortex if I were buying a mat from AlpKit I'd be buying this
http://www.alpkit.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16557&category_id=253
I'd find it very hard to go back to self inflating mat after discovering the new breed of insulated air beds.
is there a weight limit on those Stu?? 😳
can you get spare balloons easy enough??
Why do you want ballons?
You planning on supplying the entertainment?
Alpkit blow up bed that Stu mentioned doesn't need ballons.
😳 sorry I thought it was one of those model balloon types 😳
If anybody is after a very light packable insulating layer. Then this seems a proper bargain.
[url= http://www.theepicentre.co.uk/catalogue/mens-clothing/insulated/down-sweater-hoody ]Half price Patagonia Down Sweater[/url]
If you can live with the colour 🙂
I'll see your down sweater Tiger ... and raise you this
http://www.fieldandtrek.com/craghoppers-icefield-body-warmer-mens-449193
It's even the correct colour for stealthy operations!
At 400g, that Craghopper one is quite heavy considering it doesn't come with arms.
I really like the look of this, but it's chuffing expensive: http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/crux_halo_top_-_down_filled_smock.html
http://www.finisterreuk.com/technicalsurfapparel/mens/etobicoke-09/10-p135-c27.html
just got one of these - bargain and 315 grams 🙂
In the most typically typical way, they've now sold out. ...
I do believe he's got the ultralight bug gentlemen 😀
😉 nuff said
IanB
there's a medium sized one on the bay 😀
pointers to a suitable mat wouldn't go a miss
Personally I'd still go either bubblewrap (my preference) or a balloon bed for bivvying. Of course it all depends how much weight you like lugging around, and how that will affect your biking enjoyment. The only downside to bubblewrap is that it's not very durable, which isn't a huge issue for 1 or 2 nighters (maybe not as ultralight as a balloon bed, but a lot less faff, and still huge amounts lighter than any blow up or foam mattress).
The tiny pack size of the ballon bed makes it perfect for bike bivvy trips.
IanB, the Crux jacket it quite reasonably priced compared to PHD'd offering-
[url] http://www.phdesigns.co.uk/product_info.php?cat=110&products_id=240 [/url]
I used to use a balloon bed - then I got a therma-rest Neo, super comfy, light and packs down nice and small. Wouldn't consider using anything else now!
The balloons were always fun though.
Bike bivvying is so fashionable there's even any article about it in this month's MBUK.
just read pretty much all of this thread.............
FANTASTIC................................. 8)
but, in the late 80's and 90's me and a pal did about 10 polaris events
i used a kimm/omm sac with
1 x snugpack softee kip bag
1 x 3/4 therma rest
1 x macpac ultralight tent
1 x msr ministove
1 x mess tin
food for 2 days
all this went in my kimm sac.
why all these bags to go on the bike?
ton in answer to your question it is to spread the weight across the bike rather than having a pack on your back. It also forces you to go as lightweight as possible as I found out on the STW winter bivvy when I had soooooooo much weight and in panniers too, which trying to ride on ice was interesting to say the least, hence my drive to lighten my kit and carry it in a different way to my Ortlieb panniers which although great allow me to carry everything to feed a platoon 😯
Ton had the bag in his pocket. His mate slipped it there when he wasn't looking. 😉
Anyone been out over the weekend?