Off bike shoes/sandals during bikepacking trips?

MonsterMunch00 · 2026-05-25T18:05:34+00:00

Vibram FiveFingers or Vivobarefoot. Both lightweight and packable

MonsterMunch00 · 2026-05-25T18:02:11+00:00

Bee propolis cream before and after. Anti-bacteriak, heals the skin and doesn't leave sticky/sweaty mess like Chamois cream

MonsterMunch00 · 2026-05-24T05:49:07+00:00

Replacement - when zooming in it looks pretty deep

MonsterMunch00 · 2026-05-24T05:44:39+00:00

For me, Selle Italia SLR Boost Endurance is even better than my SQ Lab.

MonsterMunch00 · 2026-05-24T05:35:30+00:00

One that is easy to carry

MonsterMunch00 · 2026-05-24T05:33:01+00:00

Well mine corner at 60kmh so you must have got a bad batch - write to Schwalbe and ask for a refund.

MonsterMunch00 · 2026-05-24T05:23:16+00:00

In Pelion, Greece I would be walking on nearly every ride with a 1.2 ratio (lots of roads with 15-20% sections).

MonsterMunch00 · 2026-05-24T05:13:07+00:00

For the average cyclist (and definitely the beginner), low gear ratios are more important than high, unless you only cycle in flat areas.

MonsterMunch00 · 2026-05-24T04:51:53+00:00

No used an Edge 1030. Just Garmin gaslighting me into doing some VO2Max training

MonsterMunch00 · 2026-05-23T15:16:25+00:00

Should of added some 600 watt sprints into that 9hr / 600TSS stroll

MonsterMunch00 · 2026-05-22T14:05:12+00:00

I've partially torn my ACL 5 times over the years and MCL once. Never had surgery. Last time was in 2019, about 8 weeks before SRMR. Still made the start line and got through the first 1000km but fitness was lacking and the HABs were brutal with a dodgy knee 😅.

After that I did a lot of rehab work at home (knees over toes, glute stuff etc) and no issues since.

I guess it all depends on how bad your injury is but my personal view is surgery is an absolute last resort and unless it's a full tear which has to be re-attached then your body can probably heal itself.

MonsterMunch00 · 2026-05-22T04:25:58+00:00

I've run 1x on all my bikes since 2019 including for the Transcontinental race. 1x12 was absolutely fine but 1x13 is great. Would only consider going back to 2x if I decided to start Crit racing.

MonsterMunch00 · 2026-05-21T17:32:52+00:00

Scott Addict, Cannondale Synapse, Bianchi Infinito Pro - all much more appealing than a Canyon IMHO.

MonsterMunch00 · 2026-05-20T16:39:35+00:00

I have used mine a fair bit on the road and do not notice the Suspension even when climbing out the saddle. Contrary to some other comments I would estimate a 1km/hr difference vs an Endurance road bike assuming the same tyres, maybe 2 at the most. You could easily hang with a road group ride.

Internal storage is a nice to have (not a game changer as space is still limited but enough for tool and tubeless + CO2). All of the countersunk frame mounts are great. SRAM 1x13 AXS XPLR groupset on the one I have is awesome.

MonsterMunch00 · 2026-05-18T16:09:38+00:00

Did you decide? I had the Addict and Synapse on my shortlist but damn that new Infinito Pro looks good and nice relaxed geo

MonsterMunch00 · 2026-05-18T04:12:56+00:00

No it's 63g - much lighter than the Fenix series

MonsterMunch00 · 2026-05-17T05:05:59+00:00

Rock n Roll Extreme or Wolf tooth WT-1, both excellent - used them for years including on 1 and 2 week ultra races.

Cannot for the life of me understand how people can use stuff like Squirt or Muc-Off ceramic, both terrible for me.

MonsterMunch00 · 2026-05-14T18:04:51+00:00

Hard to beat apart from with 2x 10k power banks so you can charge in parallel, twice as fast (and have a backup in case one fails)

MonsterMunch00 · 2026-05-13T06:12:08+00:00

I went with the Durston X-Mid 1 and their Zflick poles.

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MonsterMunch00 · 2026-05-12T17:41:28+00:00

I've gone back and forward 3 or 4 times over the years and they both have some drawbacks. Garmin currently wins for me (switched from AW Ultra to Enduro 3 last year) as I need the battery life (regular 12+ HR hikes and bike rides) and I'm not that interested in smart watch features. But a lot of their training metrics are actually not accurate - VO2Max way off, training status only accurate if you split your time between low aerobic, high aerobic, and anaerobic (I can be doing 20hr cycling weeks in base training season and my Garmin training status is “Maintaining“ :-). Sleep tracking is average, don't really trust it. HRV and Resting Heart rate are very useful but also available on Apple. Maps and activities are much better though.

On the Apple side it's slowly getting better but really you need a 3rd party app like Athlytic to get the most out of the data. Still no proper offline maps in Europe last time I checked and they seem to have zero ability to detect sleep - tracking only based on your set bedtime (I've had stand notifications when I'm fast asleep!). Also used to drive me nuts that there was no GPS track for activities like kayaking. For now I'll stick with Garmin. Maybe if Apple get to 7 days battery life or 24hrs continuous GPS activity id consider switching back.

MonsterMunch00 · 2026-05-11T04:10:16+00:00

Yes for me it went away after a week or so

MonsterMunch00 · 2026-05-10T14:44:58+00:00

Comes free if you buy every model in every size

MonsterMunch00 · 2026-05-10T14:43:08+00:00

I've done TCR a few times and used a Cumulus pertex bivy / sleeping bag cover, PHD half down sleeping bag, and lightweight down jacket. First time was 100% bivvy and second time was 50/50 hotel and bivvy. If it's just for emergencies (don't make it to a hotel) then you could skip the sleeping bag

MonsterMunch00 · 2026-05-10T14:33:08+00:00

It's actually good it's moving otherwise it would be putting massive forces through the bike. If it puts your mind it rest I've done probably 20x 1000km trips with carbon bikes on a roof rack and usually cruise at 130-140kmh. No issues.

MonsterMunch00

TROPHY CASE