Preparing for this trip our heads' have been full trying to assemble an optimal combination of essentials that we can pack on our bikes. In order to be able to bike off-trail, our bikes need to have some kind of suspension and can not be loaded as much as a road touring bicycle that travels on pavement.
Our bikes were chosen for loaded biking on gravel fire roads (potentially with washboard) and single track with comfort and stability. My bike, Trek Stache, has an aluminum frame with sloped top tube, longer chain stays, hard tail, front suspension, straight handlebars and 29x3 inch tyres ("29+", semi-fat), and no racks. Lindsey's Chuma and Val's Salsa Fargo, are similar to my Trek Stache except they are steel frames with rigid forks. Val's bike has drop bars, 29x2.314159 inch tyres, and she added a rear rack to hers so she is able to carry panniers (my favourite brand, Arkel). Laura's bike, Velo Orange Pilot, is an off-road, steel-framed, touring with bike drop bars, rear rack (and Ortlieb panniers) and 26 x 2.25 in tyres. Greg's bike, Gunnnar Rockhound, is a custom-made (xxxxxx-large) steel-framed, hard tail mountain bike with 29x2.1 inch tyres.
Besides the panniers on Val's and Laura's bikes, we are each using different combinations of fork, handlebar, frame and saddle bags. With zero real experience so far, except for packing, I'm most impressed with Salsa and Revelate frame bags.
If you want to learn more about our bikes and bags there are links to the manufacturers' webpages on the right side of the blog page.
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