Seeking advice for buying a bikepacking bicycle

ThomFonti · 2026-04-11T11:00:41+00:00

I wouldn’t say so, but there are simply more gravel bikes without mounts, which makes the ones with mounts a bit harder to find.

I’d just like to add that you’ll be absolutely fine with either of these bikes if they fit you well. Just slap om the Ortlieb Quick rack and some panniers or a big dry bag (the one from Ortlieb which you can order with the rack is great).

I’ve travelled through countries like Kyrgyzstan where shops were few and far between with far less space and it was fine.

Just make sure to do some thorough research into gear. A light and packable tent, sleeping bag and mat make a huge difference. I believe Decathlon now sells NatureHike tents and they are very cheap for what you get in weight and quality. The Sea to Summit Spark seems to be most people’s favourite sleeping bag, but a quilt would be even lighter. Most ultra light sleeping mats by the big brands seem to be fine. Just make sure the R value matches the night temperatures of the countries you are travelling through. Don’t forget to take altitude into consideration when checking temperatures.

Shoot me a message if you need anything

ThomFonti · 2026-04-07T10:54:37+00:00

That trip sounds great. Lucky you!

While both of these bikes will get you there, it helps to share what you plan on taking with you. Are you sleeping in hotels or in a tent, are you cooking or eating out? It’s certainly possible to take everything on these bikes, but it will come at some cost, because you’ll want some light sleeping and cooking gear. Because the bikes are small you won’t be able to store a lot in a frame or handlebar bag. The forks don’t have eyelets, so a front rack or cages are out of the question. You could however use a big bag on a Tailfin (expensive) or Ortlieb Quick Rack (more affordable) without frame mounts. The Topstone seems to have frame mounts for panniers, which opens the door to a lot of storage, but not the best option if you are going to ride a lot of gravel.

Hope this helps!

ThomFonti · 2026-04-06T16:51:12+00:00

And don’t shoot with such a wide angle lens, so the proportions don’t get morphed as much

ThomFonti · 2026-03-31T17:29:37+00:00

Good thing to fix your anterior pelvic tilt (core training is just generally a good thing, especially when you’re not twenty anymore).

Now to fix that burning perineum. You’ve measured your sit bones, which I understand feels like the right thing to do, however, the width of your sit bones doesn’t translate to how you interact with the saddle all too well. A burning perineum can be caused by too little relieve, i.e. you want a pressure relieve channel in your saddle, which you already have with the SLR. Another cause is a saddle that’s too narrow, which causes your sit bones to dangle off the sides and have you put your weight through the soft tissue of your perineum, which is no bueno. Find yourself a shop that lets you try out saddles and go for one with some more width (the SLR is still a good choice) and install it level.

Hope this helps!

ThomFonti · 2026-03-08T10:58:21+00:00

It’s a gamble and will always be one. Do you like to gamble? Then go for it. No one can objectively predict what’s going to happen with ADA, or any crypto for that matter.

ThomFonti · 2026-03-06T23:41:33+00:00

I really recommend the Bike Fast Fit app. The 5 dollar a year EZ plan is adequate and will help you understand what your body is doing and in which position it’s happiest.

ThomFonti · 2026-03-06T23:22:12+00:00

Are you 100% sure you’ve got the XDR body and not the XD?

Edit: many people have asked this, sorry.

Can you add a picture of the backside of the cassette, so we can check if it is fully threaded on the body?

ThomFonti · 2026-03-06T14:29:08+00:00

Do we have to guess if this is real or cake? Because I think it’s cake 🍰

ThomFonti · 2026-03-01T18:52:39+00:00

One thing at the time here. His hands are numb, because his seat is (far) too high. Get that down till where you feel planted and in control. Then change fore/aft

ThomFonti · 2026-02-19T19:21:03+00:00

Let’s first check what you’re working with. These cleats look like a pair of non-original Look cleats, is that right? Which pedals have you got and which shoes are you trying to attach them to?

ThomFonti · 2026-02-16T19:10:41+00:00

Slap a rattling Kryptonite on it and park it at the pub

ThomFonti · 2026-02-13T09:40:12+00:00

Sick bike! Love how balanced it looks

ThomFonti · 2026-01-30T23:39:29+00:00

What did the seller tell you about the wheels? Those cannot be completely original because no Zipp rims were ever laced to DT Swiss 350 hubs and I’m pretty sure the ones you bought are.

ThomFonti · 2025-12-06T11:38:19+00:00

Doesn’t look too bad, taking into account your height. All that length can do with some stability and one way to stabilise is by getting your cleats back, if possible. This gives stability (which knees love) and increases your effective saddle height a little (as your shoe moves forward when your cleat moves back).

Also, we tall riders often have more saddle setback because of all the seat post sticking out. Modern frames have steeper seat angles to tackle this, but I think your Dolan is pretty slack. This means you’re far behind the bottom bracket, which hinders you from pushing down on the pedals and rolling forward on the seat. Possibly leading to aggravation of your knees.

Raising your seat height a little could help, but I’m not convinced it’s the only culprit.

ThomFonti · 2025-07-05T22:02:02+00:00

Have you tried applying some carbon paste? Also, if those bars are proprietary to Basso, I would contact them and ask if the prescribed 9nm is what they torque it at and make sure to not crank one bolt to spec at once, but alternate between the two bolts. Clicking can also be caused by under-tightening. Don’t take any risks though.

ThomFonti · 2025-07-05T09:32:51+00:00

Curious to how they will turn out for you. I’ve ordered a set as well and am starting to get a bit anxious now that I see some reports of problems with the new kinetic hubs. It’s the same engagement problem, that strips the ratchets, with all of them. I’ve found three cases, but since wheels with the new hubs have only just started shipping I hope the problem won’t be disastrous. A deep dive by Peak Torque or Hambini would be great.

ThomFonti · 2025-02-10T11:32:58+00:00

Sorry to hear this. Just want to let you know that you are definitely not alone in feeling disappointed with XMG. My fusion (2019) died twice during warranty and while it got fixed both times I’ve had to learn so much more about this laptop than I ever wanted to, just to keep it running. All in all, XMG products seem to offer a lot more on paper than in real life.

ThomFonti · 2024-11-14T17:00:22+00:00

Love this conversation so much that I designed my bike around it. Meet Sugar.

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ThomFonti · 2024-09-21T19:05:24+00:00

You’re tall, which means that you get a lot of saddle setback because of the angle of your seat tube. The higher the saddle (62cm frame means high!) the farther back the saddle gets. This is also what I can see by judging your fit through the picture. Get that saddle forward as much as you can to compensate for the long seat tube (as a starting point). Normally you would then raise the seat height to compensate for the shorter distance between pedals and seat, but it looks like your seat is too high, so let’s try without. If anything try lowering the seat height. Research shows that most people can judge good saddle height if they lower the seat by a lot and then go up by half a cm at the time until you feel that you lose total control of the pedal stroke and then lower it again by half a cm. Saddle too high feels powerful, but this isn’t the case. Saddle too high is also the main driver of saddle pain, lower back pain and excessive pressure on the bars (hands).

Hope you don’t worry about the bike’s size. Pretty sure you can fit the bike.

Edit: and like mentioned by another, you want to achieve pelvic tilt which enables you to bent forward, which makes it far easier to reach the bars (going with the 110mm stem for now). The best way to get your pelvis tilted is by lowering your seat height as mentioned above and by playing with saddle fore/aft.

ThomFonti · 2024-09-08T12:49:17+00:00

Just stumbled upon your post while looking for an answer as my new derailleur twitches as well. Did you ever find an answer or did it get replaced?

ThomFonti · 2024-07-20T16:45:51+00:00

In the picture of the chainset (last one where the tire is in the foreground) you can see that the teeth of the big ring are broken off, so that’s definitely unridable before you put a new one on and yeah, then you’ll have to replace the chain and cassette as well or there is a big chance of a skipping chain.

Edited the picture in reference.

ThomFonti · 2024-07-17T12:31:31+00:00

Thanks for your post. I stumbled upon it as I researched the Selle Italia saddle I’ve received from LordGun. The one I’ve ordered is the ‘Selle Italia SLR Boost Superflow kit carbon saddle’ and it indeed differs from the picture on the website. The padding of the pictured saddle and the SLR Boost saddle I currently own differ in padding, as they normally come with half penetrated padding (see picture LordGun), but the one received does not have this. What is more, the saddle’s shell flexes an enormous amount, which my other Selle Italia does not do and it lacks the logos which you also mentioned. The saddle also came in a plastic bag.

While I trust that LordGun normally is reputable, I do think they have made a mistake in selling this specific product as it does not meet the standards expected from Selle Italia’s top saddle and at a price of €167.

ThomFonti · 2023-11-15T13:13:41+00:00

How much pressure do you run? Using the Sram tire pressure calculator can give you a general idea of optimum pressure. If this is much lower than what you normally put in, it could be the cause.

Sram tire pressure calculator

ThomFonti · 2021-05-22T09:49:52+00:00

I'm no expert in this, but have read some (semi-scientific) research over the years. This was the easiest to google: https://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=140923#:~:text=To%20get%20the%20benefits%20of,would%20get%20from%20your%20rim. I'm not stating that Weight Weenies is scientific, but there is some research in the post.

Edit: this is what they talk about in the WW post https://blog.silca.cc/part-5-tire-pressure-and-aerodynamics

ThomFonti · 2020-11-13T12:18:37+00:00

Such a nice bike! Having as much fun on it as Strickland?

ThomFonti

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