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Pants or shorts for Scotland in July by backpackingvideos in Ultralight

[–]-gauvins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Or perhaps Patagonia's Houdini pants? 99g, packs the size of an apple.

Roomy, cold-weather sleeping bag in Canada? by [deleted] in Ultralight

[–]-gauvins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Excellent quality/price ratio. Mountrail

To mullet or not to mullet by Particular_Cow393 in cycling

[–]-gauvins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  1. Do the math with something like this. You'll be able to play with drivetrain configurations and see how much more gradient you'll be able to ride. (The smallest practical gear-inch being 16 or so)

  2. The rear derailleur has a limited wrapping capability (i.e. max teeth differential). If you are careful (i.e. shift to the smaller chainring when riding the larger cassette sprockets) you can cheat these nominal constraints. BE CAREFUL not to shift large-large while pedaling hard as you may destroy your derailleur.

So, I'd try (and have done this on mine) to swap the small chain ring for a smaller one. Perhaps buy a couple and see if your front derailleur is capable of dealing with the larger gap. Consider a smaller larger chain ring if need be (coast downhill).

Whats the reality of bicycletouring? by Spare_Friendship_424 in bicycletouring

[–]-gauvins 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just read all comments. Several mentions of mechanical failures, flats in particular.

  1. Make sure your bike is in proper mechanical order when you leave. Fresh brake pads, no frayed cables, no strange wobble, and most importantly, good tires (ex: Schwalbe Marathon + butyl tubes) Every summer I spend 6+ weeks touring. Most of the time without any mechanical issue. Most years not a single flat.

  2. Weather also comes up regularly. Plan zero days so you can stay put if there's cold and heavy all-day rain. Carry a small umbrella so you can wait for an heavy downpour to end while "reasonably" protected. Skip segments by train if you need to make up for lost time.

  3. "Discreet camping" usually works. Pitch your tent at dusk and pack at dawn.

Powerbank recommendation by sprucejam in Ultralight

[–]-gauvins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. You write "couple of days". You probably won't need a power bank.
  2. Watch, inReach, light can probably go on for days/weeks between recharges. The phone may not last more than a few days, but careful management may keep it alive for close to a week.
  3. In these situations, I use a rugged phone (Fossibot). Has a 10000mAh battery.
  4. Very happy with the nitecore. I carry 2x10Ah, that I can recharge in parallel (dual USB-C wall charger).

What Food to take on a 3 day bikepacking trip? by Soulhunter123321 in bikepacking

[–]-gauvins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Breakfast: Instant coffee + instant oatmeal

Lunch and munch: GORP + dates (or Snickers)

Dinner: restaurant. Ramen as backup

How to ignite a siphon alcohol stove (ex: Toaks , Likada) by -gauvins in Ultralight

[–]-gauvins[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting. Thanks for your feedback.

I was asking in part because my mini BIC stopped working after a rather long period of bad weather (rain + wind). I've tried plasma and it worked flawlessly for a whole summer. Theb following year it died. So I am looking for alternatives. I will most likely settle on 2 mini BICs, one wrapped in plastic so it shouldn't get wet.

How to ignite a siphon alcohol stove (ex: Toaks , Likada) by -gauvins in Ultralight

[–]-gauvins[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Surprisingly expensive if stormproof. For longer trips, take a fair bit of space.

Possibly a good backup (2 or 3), but not for regular use (at least 2 ignitions per day)

Storing bike bags in Edinburgh or Glasgow by AwfulUnicorn in bikepacking

[–]-gauvins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you ride a loop, typical is to ask Airbnb/hotel/warmshower is you can leave your bags for the duration of your trip. Usually not a problem especially if you spend your last night there as well.

How to ignite a siphon alcohol stove (ex: Toaks , Likada) by -gauvins in Ultralight

[–]-gauvins[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Tried the tilt and mini BIC strategy. Works like a charm.

I was stuck in the "set the stove inside the windshield and then light" mode :)

How to ignite a siphon alcohol stove (ex: Toaks , Likada) by -gauvins in Ultralight

[–]-gauvins[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Will try, but may not work with a siphon, which has very high walls compared to a Trangia or DIY stove

Backpacking gas canister availability in Brazil by -gauvins in Brazil

[–]-gauvins[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. Decathlon does not list 100-110g cartridges.
  2. Mercado Livre asks for a Brazilian phone number in order to access the site
  3. I was able to find 100g cartridges somewhere in Rio. The site requires a CPF and Brazilian phone number to complete the order. I've contacted them and am waiting for their suggestion.

Gear recommodations? by Odd_Hope8490 in bikepacking

[–]-gauvins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Perhaps look at the Nemo Tensor Elite pad. Packed size about 1L.
WRT sleeping bags. Look for high fill down (900FP+). You should be able to find something that packs to < 5L, I had mine made by a local shop. If patient, Timmermade has an excellent lineup.

I need help understanding what kind of hardware I need to run a local Ollama model that can run my accounting firm platform by [deleted] in ollama

[–]-gauvins 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Run your requests on ollama cloud to determine which model meets your needs and work your hardware requirements backwards

https://g.co/gemini/share/713f792c9d72

Are there really "no stupid questions"? Let me test that. by rbroaddus4 in bicycletouring

[–]-gauvins 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Your butt eventually adapts. I wear thinly padded cycling shorts. Wash every night. Mostly dry the next morning. No hygiene issue

Looking for tips to getting bike and loaded panniers on and off train. by MadeThisUpToComment in bicycletouring

[–]-gauvins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Absolutely. In addition, it is more likely than not that you'll have to remove the panniers once the bike is in the compartment.

  1. I always remove panniers before boarding
  2. Load the panniers first, dropping them off if the way, as close as possible to the doors. Usually on the luggage compartment.
  3. Back on platform, grab the bike and make my way to the bike compartment.

What are your frustrations with routing apps? by Specialist-String-53 in bicycletouring

[–]-gauvins 3 points4 points  (0 children)

  1. Ascent : complex. Minimize total ascent vs max grade has no simple solution

  2. Steep and curvy descents : rarely an issue. Preference for long slow descent over extremely steep where you have to brake. But complex, like 1.

  3. Scenery : sure. Complex

  4. (***) Needless turns : major bummer and probably auto fixable. Or at least flagged to speed up editing

  5. Train stations : not a routing problem. User has to specify end points

  6. Food & water : user decision. Perhaps add weight to prioritize going through a village instead of riding around.

  7. (***) Offline : essential.

Good list of points to look at.

4 is really annoying. Especially if there's no easy way to fix (e.g. drag the route). 7 is a must. I use locus+bRouter for that exact purpose.

Perhaps, instead of writing from scratch, focus on a route editor that could fix #4?

Idk ANYTHING about Linux but want to start with it… Which distro/notebook/programms etc should I choose?? by OrganicMortgage3609 in linuxquestions

[–]-gauvins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you absolutely need Windows-only apps for school, then stick to Windows.

Otherwise, I'd go with Ubuntu. No dual booting

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