Bikepacking on an emtb?!

[colinstoltzltd]

Howdy!

How are you doing? I was wondering if any of you guys/girls have any experience with bikepacking the emtb?

I own a kenevo expert and I have zero bikepacking experience!

Would love to go on a multiday trip!


I am curious!

Thanks

 

[MattyB]

I am not sure once you are loaded up whether bikepacking is that practical on an EMTB - your max range is probably ~30 miles on a single battery, and you're going to need to find somewhere with power to charge overnight. Bike-glamping maybe....

 

[Slowroller]

Credit card bike touring? Yes. Into the hinterlands actual bikepacking? Hard to manage with a limited battery range.

 

[colinstoltzltd]

The kenevo rolls just fine without support.

So that would not be an issue

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Howdy!

How are you doing? I was wondering if any of you guys/girls have any experience with bikepacking the emtb?

I own a kenevo expert and I have zero bikepacking experience!

Would love to go on a multiday trip!


I am curious!

Thanks View attachment 15413

Hi.

Nice pic!

I'm sure you could do it! Its just a heavy bike... you feeling strong?

 

[colinstoltzltd]

Hi.

Nice pic!

I'm sure you could do it! Its just a heavy bike... you feeling strong?

Haha i feel jacked! No for real, Its pretty economic when you put your eco mode.on 5 to10%

 

[RobbieBear]

Difficult with a full suspension bike of any variety.

If you are wanting to do some serious bike packing, forget a full sus emtb.

Get yourself something like a Surly Long Haul Trucker and load it up!

 

[mark.ai]

I'm sure you could find the space on a full suspension MTB to fit enough storage bags if you wanted. Or even use a trailer depending on what sort of terrain you want to cover: The 17 Best Bike Trailers for Bicycle Touring - CyclingAbout.com

 

[colinstoltzltd]

I'm sure you could find the space on a full suspension MTB to fit enough storage bags if you wanted. Or even use a trailer depending on what sort of terrain you want to cover: The 17 Best Bike Trailers for Bicycle Touring - CyclingAbout.com

Awesome! Will check that out. Do you have any experience with a trailer?

 

[mark.ai]

Awesome! Will check that out. Do you have any experience with a trailer?

No, I don't sorry I like the idea of bikepacking, but I've never got around to trying it yet! I came across Bikepacking & Bicycle Touring Gear, Tech, News, Advice - CyclingAbout.com when I was looking at gear ratios for a gravel bike and they have some great articles so I keep reading them. A trailer seems like an alternative to bikepacking bags which is an alternative to panniers, depending on your preference and what you want to carry.

I thought I remembered someone crossing really tough terrain using a trailer - but it turns out I was remembering a hiker - something like this: TRAILER : MONOWALKER Fatmate

But if it works for hiking I can also see it working for cycling too. Could certainly fit a big spare battery on a trailer

 

[colinstoltzltd]

No, I don't sorry I like the idea of bikepacking, but I've never got around to trying it yet! I came across Bikepacking & Bicycle Touring Gear, Tech, News, Advice - CyclingAbout.com when I was looking at gear ratios for a gravel bike and they have some great articles so I keep reading them. A trailer seems like an alternative to bikepacking bags which is an alternative to panniers, depending on your preference and what you want to carry.

I thought I remembered someone crossing really tough terrain using a trailer - but it turns out I was remembering a hiker - something like this: TRAILER : MONOWALKER Fatmate

But if it works for hiking I can also see it working for cycling too. Could certainly fit a big spare battery on a trailer

How coincidal! I was actually thinking that last night. I was like hey wait a minute.. why not use a trailer?! with a spare battery!

 

[Zimmerframe]

Having a trailer doesn't have to hold you back either...

 

[colinstoltzltd]

Having a trailer doesn't have to hold you back either...

ahahha sick!

 

[maynard]

Just do it man . U could easy get 60kms away from society for the night or a couple of days . I want to do the same thing .

 

[SquireRides]

Problem 1 (easy) - carrying stuff.

I'm happy with stuff on my back. So I find a 25 lt backpack and around 6 lt. saddle bag is enough. Put the heavy stuff in the saddle bag, bulky light stuff in the backpack. For a bivvy and sleeping mat, I'd have to add a bar bag.

Problem 2 (harder) - recharging.

Biggest problem is getting a recharge if you sleep out in the wilderness. I use between 480 and 620Wh on a big day. I cant carry enough spare batteries for two days!

You're going to need to find places to recharge on your way. Pubs, cafes etc are all good options if you ask nicely. Means carrying your charger pack, but I do that on my multi-day long rides without much trouble. Ideally you'd be able to remove your battery and take it in to the establishment to recharge. Much harder to find an outdoor power point where you can leave your bike plugged in....

Plan ahead to find recharge points. Oh, and if your battery has a lock, don't do what I did and realize you've forgotten your key when you're at 10% charge....

 

[Kingerz]

The kenevo rolls just fine without support.

So that would not be an issue

It definitely doesn't. Owner.

 

[Doug Stampfer]

It definitely doesn't. Owner.

Agreed. A kenovo was the 1st emtb I tried. It wasn't working properly for some reason so I had to ride unassisted. Put me off trying Emtbs for nearly a year.

 

[2WheelsNot4]

Plan trip from guest house to guest house and each night top up as required. A 2nd battery would also be a good idea

Alternatively go on a reccy and bury fresh batteries along the route.

 

[Wombat Breath]

Howdy!
How are you doing? I was wondering if any of you guys/girls have any experience with bikepacking the emtb?
I own a kenevo expert and I have zero bikepacking experience!
Would love to go on a multiday trip!

I have a Cube Stereo Hybrid 160 (w 750Wh batt) and me+luggage+bike=120-125kg so a practical day range with charging available is 90-100kms so in Holland you could probably stay on Eco and get closer to 120-140. Obviously, going where no charging available means you need to get inventive and visits towns for lunchtime charging etc.
Here in west oz its a great way to see quieter rural areas and we have lots of forests with gravel roads as well as trails.
I find that using an app like RideWithGPS is a great way to plan good routes (using Google maps to find charge locations & accommodation). Here's an overview of my setup... Cheers

 

[batmantis]

Looks like trek posted a snippet about bike packing recently...

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid026GwD4Dmo4k6BVxj36DSqpk1GegGsCb8T3pBtnoR56YpCgoCbkHNVMmygHuansmRxl&id=100064556449687&mibextid=Nif5oz

 

[michael_bc]

How are you doing? I was wondering if any of you guys/girls have any experience with bikepacking the emtb?

I have no experience with it but my bike (Focus Thron2) has the possibility to add a rack and hang a bag from your bike.

Where I live (Graubünden, Switzerland), there are charging stations everywhere. There are literally hundreds, many of them at random huts up in the mountains.

This means you could plan an E-mtb trip spanning several days and charge while you grab lunch or take a break.

It would be interesting to know if there are portable solar panels powerful enough to charge an E-mtb.

 

[SquireRides]

I have no experience with it but my bike (Focus Thron2) has the possibility to add a rack and hang a bag from your bike.

Where I live (Graubünden, Switzerland), there are charging stations everywhere. There are literally hundreds, many of them at random huts up in the mountains.

This means you could plan an E-mtb trip spanning several days and charge while you grab lunch or take a break.

It would be interesting to know if there are portable solar panels powerful enough to charge an E-mtb.

I am moving there. Now.

If i was King, I'd insit that all EV charge points being put in for cars also include a normal domestic socket or standardised DC output for charging our bikes. Okay, wont see many of them up a mountain in the UK, but would certinaly give us more options for charging on all-day rides.

 

[mike_kelly]

How coincidal! I was actually thinking that last night. I was like hey wait a minute.. why not use a trailer?! with a spare battery!

This is the way I will do it.

But you need a bike that can use the Burley Coho replacement thru axle. That is why I sold my Rise and bought a CEF50 because it can tow a trailer and the Orbea can not.

The designer provides files for his 3D printed connectors.

 

[TommyC]

Me and a mate did a 50 mile round trip overnight down to winspit quarry on the Jurassic coast. Took a trailer with us with tent, bbq food and drink. My 750w bosch had 6% left when we got back. Mate had 2x 500wh batteries. Planning to do it again and wondering if we can hook an alternator up on the trailer to charge a battery?

Could easily do a few days if you invested in some spare batteries

 

[Streddaz]

Difficult with a full suspension bike of any variety.

If you are wanting to do some serious bike packing, forget a full sus emtb.

Get yourself something like a Surly Long Haul Trucker and load it up!

You can totally do it on a full suspension bike.
Kurt Refsnider did the Tour Divide, the Arizona Trail 750, and most recently, the Colorado Trail Race all on full suspension bikes.

The biggest challenge is charging the bike, but it depends how remote you go.

I've been thinking about doing the same thing and if I could do it on my Levo SL.

 

[Wombat Breath]

Just finished a 330km off-road 4day trip, Busselton->Cape Leeuwin & back. Two of us both on full-sus Cubes and we had a great time!

 

[Streddaz]

Just finished a 330km off-road 4day trip, Busselton->Cape Leeuwin & back. Two of us both on full-sus Cubes and we had a great time!

View attachment 129500

How do those seat stay rack go?

 

[Wombat Breath]

How do those seat stay rack go?

Great - we've both got the Topeak Tetrarack M rack with two Decathlon 20L panniers and even on rough descents the rack is nice and stable (only slipped a tiny bit once on a previous trip when particularly heavy loaded).

 

[Streddaz]

Great - we've both got the Topeak Tetrarack M rack with two Decathlon 20L panniers and even on rough descents the rack is nice and stable (only slipped a tiny bit once on a previous trip when particularly heavy loaded).

Cool, that's good to know.