Hey Guys!

In April I'm going over to Japan to cycle from the south of Kyushu to the North of Hokkaido - about 3000km all in which I plan to do in about 2 and a half months.

Im 24, I've never really cycled before and am doing this solo so could do with some advice re bikes, logistics and route.

My plan is to fly into Osaka with my bike. I'm under the impression you can check it in as oversized luggage provided its in a box with most airlines although if anyone knows of a better way / if this is not the case then please let me know! I'm then going to get the ferry from there down to Shibushi and then cycle down to Cape Sata to start. I've got my route pretty well mapped out to Tokyo, but could do with some suggestions for going North and also whether you think there are any absolute must sees outside of the main things people do.

I also could do with some advice with the bike. I'm looking at a number of different gravel bikes - my price point ideally would be £900-£1100 (although struggling a bit at this range!). The main bikes I'm looking at are the Canyon Grizl, Cube Nuroad Pro, Trek Checkpoint ALR 4, Kona Rove DL Gravel Bike 2026. I will need to load it up with two panniers at the back and probably some sort of bag at the front. Am I in the right area with these? Am I being a bit too conservative with my price range? I also don't know whether or not to just wait til I get out these to buy the bike, as I hear it could be a lot cheaper. But then again, I would quite like to have the whole set up ready in the UK and train on it especially as I've never really done much cycling.

Finally, for anyone who has done a similar trip, did you camp much? I'm torn between brining a tent or just booking hostels/hotels/onsens along the way. I've heard the camping is amazing and also having a tent can be really useful when in more remote areas but also I quite like the idea of a bed after 100k on the bike. Also, any tips for just general logistics stuff while in Japan would be really great too!

Thank you!

My partner and I are slowly cycling down from Seoul to Busan, and I started working on this cycling map mid-trip, for my own use.  Decided to share it, as it might be useful for others, too: rivermap.makingdavid.com

I've been adding things that I need while riding. Currently, it includes:

• Weather forecasts along your route.
• Distances to the next public toilet, convenience stores, stamps and other useful stops.
• Interesting attractions and pretty vistas.
• Interactive elevation maps for the next 10/30/50km.
• All major Korean cycling routes included eastern routes and Jeju.
• Hotels, motels, campsites, bike repair, and other practical places.

You can add your own places, leave notes on existing places, save favorites, or flag/remove places that are inaccurate.

A lot of the data was researched with AI, so I won't pretend it is fully comprehensive (especially hotels/camping spots, and attractions/vistas), or 100% accurate. In my experience though, I find it 90% accurate and I'm verifying it as I cycle southwards -- I'm about 300km in now.

Basically, it's the map I wished I had when I started the ride.

This is just a fun personal project, so I'm committed to keeping it free, now and forever. Hopefully it's useful to a few other cyclists too. Let me know if you use it / have any suggestions!

Hi all,

Looking to change my gearing from the GRX400 that came with my bike, as the range is not the greatest (46/32 chainrings, 11-34 cassette!).

Currently looking for inspiration, for later down the line.

There are a few specifics I am looking for however -

- No "hard to find" parts - I would not like to use parts that would be difficult to find, or be overly expensive, things like 12 speed cassettes, or parts that are/ were not overly mass produced.

- A wide range - ideally would like ~20 gear inches for a low gear, and around 70-100 for the highest, with "smaller" steps in-between.

- Ideally indexed, but if that is not possible, then could use bar end friction.

• Must be mechanical.

If you have experience with various setups, please share.

Thank you for any help.

Hello all,

i need advice from people who drove/are driving kona sutra. Mine is from 2020 and its size bigger than what it should be. Im 175cm male with usually “book proportions”, but reach feels wrong no matter how i setup saddle (i also slip alot from original brooks, so i will be replacing it also).

question is, what stem can i replace original with, obviously i have to go with shorter, since i cant swap bike for size 52. Mine is 54.

what saddle would you recommend for touring etc 60angle

Pertains to bike touring and bikepacking

Looking to replace my 14-year-old 2-wall 2P Marmot tent that weighs a ton, with some ultralight. Tarptent and Durston two options I'm looking at. I've investigated many other tent makers, Nemo, Big Agnes, MSR, NH, etc

Lightweight

Sizable vestibule

Short pole length

Condensation control - good ventilation

Cost

Floor space without being a 2p

I appreciate your feedback

Hola amigos. Tengo una duda para todos los que ya han hecho viajes largos en bicicleta o están haciéndolo ahora mismo. ¿Qué tan gratificante es recorrer el mundo en 🚲? Y otra es, ¿qué peso llevan normalmente? Gracias

Type of tour: Solo, mostly pavement with occasional gravel and dirt, carrying a small, light backpacking tent as a backup for when I could not find lodging (which was never on this 62-day tour; I had to do some long days, and sleep in a couple of churches, but I never camped.) Mostly following the TransAm through Missouri, then making my own route to California.

On past tours I would seek out the cheapest non-terrible motel I could find, and often try to haggle. Now that I'm old and soft, and need to sleep nine hours a night at a minimum, I stay in nicer places when they are available, and rarely bother with the hard negotiating I used to do.

Also, for the first time I tried to calculate how much I spent on food during a bike tour.

A few people on this sub, and other places, have asked me what this tour cost. Here it is: https://www.cycleblaze.com/journals/20yearslater/what-it-cost/

Picked up this really fun bike and wanted to mod it some to be a touring bike, obviously not the most modern or lightest rig. I was wondering if it would be a good base for an amateur touring setup for long weekends trips. Was wondering y’all’s opinions on this and if it’s worth it or not? Not really in a place where I can buy a brand new touring bike and they seem to be ATV bikes

Hey guys this is my first post related to a tour across europe I want to start in ~5 months, route tbd first thing i wanna figure out is what to expect gear wise. How many bags I can/should fit on the bike, what bike to get, whether to buy the bike in the US then transport it to Europe, how to transport it if I choose that, what type of bags to get, I know they aren't called bags they have names I just don't remember, like I said very new to this. I would also like to mostly camp out so I need whatever gear I can fit on the rig for camping, idk whether thatd be a tent, hammock (prob not since it relies on me having trees), or just a mat, sleeping bag and a rain tarp.

Tldr: I'm posting this looking for people experienced in long distance touring to drop what gear let them survive their journey. And any other tips anyone has to offer. Desperate to get a grip on the basics and some more

Hiiii

Has anyone completed a bikepacking trip through Seoul that didn’t include the popular four rivers route? I don’t being on it for a bit but would really like to do some climbing. Relatively fit & experienced bikepacking with my road bike, maybe some smooth mountain roads. No gravel roads please. All help is appreciated!

Im looking at bikes for a Europe to SE Asia trip via pamirs, full setup with panniers, NOT bikepacking.

They seem to have similar geometry - however I’m lea king towards the vagabond for tyre clearance so could do 40-45 and swap for fatter tyres before the pamirs? , 1x drivetrain appeals for simplicity as I’m no bike mechanic and want to keep as simple as possible.

What about Microsoft sword vs shimano.. always heard that shimano is the way to go for Central Asia..

Anyone used either that can give advice/ recommendations?

I roughly followed the Euro Velo 1 from Lisbon to Faro. Here are some impressions.

I took the Ethan Allen Amtrak line to Burlington and rode back to Brooklyn. Amtrak charges $20 to bring a bike, which felt like a pretty good deal.

This was my first time touring of any kind, so I decided to attempt it solo and stay in the cheapest motels along the way. The trip ended up being 372.58 miles with 14,538 ft elevation and took 5 days with an average of 75 miles per day. The weather was absolutely gorgeous every day, so I really lucked out there.

I rode my Surly Cross Check. Learned a lot about what this bike can do, what to pack and what to leave at home. (Zip ties can save you!) Looking forward to planning the next one.

I'm planning a 2-week route in Taiwan late December / early January. I'm looking for feedback on my planned route. Does anyone have any thoughts / advice?

here's the link on komoot. (Taichung to Chaozhou and Dongshan back to Taipei by train)
https://www.komoot.com/tour/3365357996?share_token=aOQ353TQmX9bxddiu1YdPDcmV12VYGvKpak5nYjvFyevm6yWz6&ref=wtd&t_s=referral&t_cid=route_share&t_ref_username=711978947792

Looking to do a cross Andes tour in January. I’m open to crossing anywhere along the Chile-Argentina Border and in either direction. For those that have done this before what route would you suggest for the crossing? The internet shows me Paso Pehuenche, Paso Cristo Redentor and Paso Cardenas-Samore as the most logistically feasible. I’d love to take a smaller road and not a major highway.

I’d be riding my gravel bike with 40mm tires and open to bringing a tent if recommended.

Any tips are appreciated, thanks!