I'm planning a bikepacking trip and trying to figure out if this bike is actually up to the job, or if I'm better off starting from scratch with something more suited to touring.
Cannondale Quick Disc 4 Hybrid Bikes 2022 Graphite
I'm about to sink money into bike bags, gravel wheels, and all the other kit for the trip, but I want to make sure I've got the right base bike first before I upgrade everything around it and then realise it was the wrong frame to build on.
Would you run this bike as is for a 1-2 weekcannondale bike tour, or would you swap it out first? Appreciate any honest opinions.
by hello1234232e3opi
3 Comments
You can tour on anything. People often tour on bikes similar to that. You don’t need “gravel wheels” but larger tires might be nice (if you can fit them).
A flat bar hybrid is just fine for bike packing. Just get some knobbies if you’re going to be riding dirt. If just doing light gravel or road, ~40mm tires with limited tread are fine.
That bike is already a great start, I’ll only put the widest knobbyest tires I could find for control and safety. And I can also suggest that if you are not tearing apart your bike for another method of transportation like getting on a plane or shipping it, maybe consider a rear rack and some bikepacking bags, after using bags for 2 years I realized that sometimes you need that extra carrying capacity, and I also don’t use special pannier bags I just attach drybags to the rack really well; this suggestion comes after realizing that if you like bikepacking eventually you are going to spend more and more on different usually better equipment and as a whole is an expensive hobby. This doesn’t mean an “all bags” setup is somehow wrong, but it’s usually more expensive since you also have to buy more light or ultra light gear. Attached: my setup from a year ago. With a homemade drybag from tarp plastic (the blue). Rack is a Bontrager backrack deluxe MIK.
https://preview.redd.it/fh7orfc7qwbh1.jpeg?width=1397&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=96e63518fed87859942850e0f63382af5ee350d4