Hey guys I’ve been getting back into cycling. I got a fat tyre E bike and it’s great but I have felt the pull to bikepacking and camping. I recognise that this bike would be suboptimal.
What I’m considering is getting a hardtail MTB (like the Exceed CF 4) and slapping a 1000w mid drive in there, Some big battery and a coho xc trailer from Burley. If also consider swapping the bars for some dirt drops ig.
The reason behind this is because it would likely be and my gf going out to a remote site and coming back. I want to be able to take a hiking tent, water sleeping bags, tools, spares and food and clothes for 2 people mostly on one bike. I’m also looking at take some solar panels and a Powerstation (bluetti in Aus have a really cool kit delivering 400w of solar across 2 small folding panels). Not only that I’d feel better carry lots of spares. I’m also a small content creator so I’d like to be able to haul gear and go for extended one person camping trips so I may even want to take a tripod and laptop. Ideally my more powerful E bike could be the pack mule. I’m planning on the 1000W motor mostly for peaks or for enjoyment but I’m likely to use like 450w of power for most of my riding I would assume from the longer trips I’ve been doing on my fat tyre bike. My gf has also stipulated we MUST have a folding toilet so.. pretty much need a trailer. (Note I don’t want to charge and cycle at the same time but I’d like to be able to camp and charge batteries and devices while I camp.) Although a spare battery could always charge back up from the Powerstation while I ride
I find the idea of being able to cover like 200km with relative ease with gear in one day appealing hence the motor. (This was based off the this calculator https://reallygoodebikes.com/pages/electric-bike-ebike-range-calculator) Going 31kmh average with a spare battery on board. Plus if not a long trek then it’s a mad asf 1000w trailer bike that I can hoof about at high speeds
I’m mostly going to stick to roads and maybe some hard pack
I’d also kind like to be able to go out to MTB areas and camp near or at them and hit the trails
Does anyone have thoughts on this or could point me in some good directions so I can get what I want from bikepacking.
by GREENbear-king
2 Comments
Very cool idea, good luck, are you going for the Bafang BBSHD middrive?
I ride a converted bike with bafang BBSHD and large triangle 52v37ah battery. It’s being used for deliveries but last year did my first bike packing trip with it, I think I covered about 3000km.
I did an average of about 70 – 120km per day, average speed probably between 20 – 25km/h. I really slowed down to enjoy the trip and get more range, my usual riding style is very different with speeds of up to 55km/h. With the fully packed bike my range was about 250 – 300km. I usually did 1 or 2 nights wildcamp and then a paid campsite to charge and have a shower etc. I also sometimes could find places to charge while having lunch or just relaxing for a bit.
I’m intrigued by the idea of a trailer and solar equipment, but I also like to stay “portable”.
Let me know if you have any questions!
https://preview.redd.it/5ip6w5p1smsc1.jpeg?width=2176&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2003d7e715a5808eb490f936302f1820972e469a
Do you realise you can charge an e bike battery from a small petrol generator while you’re cycling? I saw an old boy do this with a three wheel bike because his eyesight got so bad for driving and it allowed him to go further afield on his electric bike. Just mentioning it.