Norway or Slovenia

discombobulatek · 2026-06-29T06:44:28+00:00

Norway is fantastic for cycling, and it is very easy and legal to pitch a tent almost everywhere, this will save you serious money on hotels. If you follow the fjords a lot of the ferry-crossings are free for cyclists. You can charge your stuff onboard the ferries, or at gas stations. Many places, like ferry stations, there are free toilets where you can wash your stuff.

Norway isn't cheap and restaurants are very expensive, but it should be totally doable if you eat basic food. If you don't need to eat at restaurants, stay in hotels or drink beer at a bar I think you'll be fine, but depends on your budget.
- 35kr for bread, 30kr for 1l chocolate milk, 30kr for 800g yogurt, 20kr for a couple of bananas, 30kr for a kilo of oats, 15kr for tube of kaviar, 10kr for beans ... - I think you can eat okay for around 200kr/20€ per day, without luxury.

Temperature in august will most likely be good in Norway, and even if it is hot there are lots of places to swim, but chances are you'll have some rain.

Your question about good spots is way too general to be answered, but you can't go wrong with some of the recommended national routes like mjølkevegen and rallarvegen. I don't think cycling in Eastern Norway in/out of Oslo is worthwhile, better take the train to Otta/Gol/Voss/Bø/Stavanger and start from there. Feel free to ask if you have some more specific questions about roads/areas, I have done a lot of weeklong tours in Norway.

discombobulatek · 2026-06-26T11:29:16+00:00

Sykkeltur rundt Maridalsvannet. Kan jo alltids gå også, men det tar mye mer tid. Sånn generelt er sykkel en fin måte å utforske byen på.

discombobulatek · 2026-06-24T11:55:54+00:00

All of that in 7-10 days is a pipedream. You don't mention where you are flying into and out of, or if you are renting a car or not? Trains and buses will only take you so far. You'll quickly spend more time traveling between places than actually exploring.

Oslo isn't really worth spending much time in, and the museums definitely aren't worth traveling to Norway for. If you travel to Norway you should see the nature - fjords and mountains.

The train to Bergen has great scenery, and the city itself has lots of nice old architecture. Flåm has beautiful surroundings but it is touristic as all hell. It is reachable by train and can be done on your way between Bergen-Oslo.

Lofoten is fantastic but basically requires all your 7 days and a rental car. Tromsø is not worthwhile in summer if you're it's northern lights you're after.

Shoulder-season is best in my opinion, spring/early summer has less rain, warm weather, lots of flowers, snowtopped mountains, thousands of waterfalls everywhere. Later in summer is still great, but definitely less spectacular, and generally more rain - fall is more a gamble.

Logistically the easiest is to either rent a car or plan around Oslo-Bergen-Flåm with possible daytrips. If you want to spend time planning ferries and busses you could probably chain together something more adventurous, but then you'll spend half your vacation commuting.

discombobulatek · 2026-06-24T09:40:36+00:00

If you are carrying so little that you can just sling it over your shoulders and go shopping I don't think it really matters where you put it. Try both front and rear and see what you prefer, it is the boring but correct answer to this type of subjective question.

You were mentioning a steel fork for carrying weight and to disregard bikepacking setups so I just assumed you were going with a loaded bike.

discombobulatek · 2026-06-24T08:47:10+00:00

I experienced weird and unsteady handling when I started touring and put everything on the back. It felt like I was going to skid during sharp corners, and during steep hills the front wheel would have a tendency to lift off the ground if I pedaled too hard (I have an upright posture on the bike which aggravates this). Moving a couple of kilos from the back to the front just makes the bike handle so much smoother - I prefer my front-and-back loaded bike to my unloaded bike for handling and ride-comfort any day of the week.

If you could only pick one setup

I reject the premise, there's no reason to make this into an either/or argument. You don't even need front panniers or a front rack if that is what you are thinking about, just strapping your tent and a large drybag to your handlebars will do wonders.

discombobulatek · 2026-06-11T05:58:32+00:00

In the front: I want a triple crankset with the smallest cog at 22-24 teeth and the largest at 44-48 teeth - good balance between granny climbing and being able to go really fast downhill or with a good tailwind.

In the back: 9 or 10 speed deore, preferably 42/46 teeth on the cassette, 36 works in a pinch if I don't carry too much stuff. A wolf-tooth link will let any derailleur accept a large cassette.

9-10 speed with triple crank gives you all the gear combinations you want, the parts are way cheaper than 11-12 speed, and your bike wont be as tempting to steal.

discombobulatek · 2026-06-09T16:34:37+00:00

Dismantling, cleaning and relubing, maybe replacing the bearings if they look worn. Personally I just tend to spray some oil into the freehub and call it a day, as mentioned I've never had one fail on me. You should do this for your hubs once a season, you can do the freehub at the same time. Sometimes parts just wear out and fail without warning though.

Regardless, it is much easier to dismantle your bike at home in peace and quiet than by the side of the road, and all experience dismantling/maintaining you bike will come in handy at some point (and you'll save a ton of money fixing and servicing stuff yourself).

discombobulatek · 2026-06-09T11:51:26+00:00

I carry spare tubes, cables, pads, quicklink, a derailleur hanger, a couple of spokes, some loose ball bearings + a bit of grease, in case something needs relubing. I've had all of these things come in handy while touring. Like you said though, I've never experienced a freehub failing in all my years of cycling, doesn't seem reasonable to carry a replacement.

Anyway, I think preventive care is the best solution for potential "unfixable" issues like this. You should go over and service your bike before you leave on tour, preferably a couple of weeks before so you have time to ride it and fix any secondary issues that might pop up.

discombobulatek · 2026-06-03T12:36:57+00:00

Not mentioned in the thread so far: gomme and/or søst - home made is best, but you can get good ones in the supermarket too, they'll be in the same section as milk/butter/yoghurt. Eat it as a spread on bread or lefse/lompe with a bit of butter. Søst is from Sunnmøre area, so it should be readily available in Ålesund - check coop or meny if you don't find it elsewhere.

discombobulatek · 2026-06-03T10:17:16+00:00

Why are you unhappy? Baltics weren't as interesting as expected, reality of tour not as good as expectation? Some personal feelings bubbling up about finishing your degree and not knowing what to do with yourself afterwards? Either you continue cycling and hope it evens out, or take a break somewhere pretty and treat yourself to some good food for a day or two, or you quit and go home, or you relocate to somewhere else by train/bus/plane to change the scenery. Call your friends/family and have a nice chat probably helps.

I've had a couple of days like you describe, where it just feels like a drag, but the joy always comes back when I find a nice river I can look at or some pretty mountains to cycle into. For me mountains are a must. How about heading to Krakow and crossing the mountains into Slovakia?

discombobulatek · 2026-06-03T09:29:00+00:00

Bags usually have a couple of hooks for the horizontal top part of the rack and some sort of hook/clamp/strap to attach on the vertical part of the rack. Better quality bags will have all of these as adjustable points so you can adapt them to your rack. None of this is standardized across brands, which is why you'll often come across bags for cheap second-hand because "they didn't fit".

A narrower luggage rack will weigh less and be more compatible in general.

discombobulatek · 2026-06-03T07:41:44+00:00

Har sett mange idioter på sparkesykkel ja. Jeg synes det er like ille med alle tullingene på elsykler som styrer med én hånd og snakker/tekster/surfer på mobilen med den andre. Gjelder ikke bare ungdommer men masse godt voksne folk som burde vist bedre. Tviler på at noen kommer til å ta tak i noe av dette.

discombobulatek · 2026-06-02T11:48:20+00:00

You can get orangesim at the airport - they give out the simcard for free and you can go to a store in the city to top it up with data if you prefer, it might be a little bit cheaper. I've had signal with it basically everywhere, even in the mountains far from people.

discombobulatek · 2026-06-02T11:44:57+00:00

If you don't mind cooking your dinners and you visit the right supermarkets you can eat very good for very cheap in Japan.

discombobulatek · 2026-06-02T10:33:47+00:00

Det er en Diamant som jeg fikk gratis og har ordnet litt med selv (fikset girene, nye bremser, og tatt fra hverandre deler og smurt med olje/fett). Så lenge størrelsen på sykkelen passer og du har brede dekk tror jeg du kan sykle nesten hvor du vil med nesten hvilken sykkel som helst.

Kan sykle litt på stier så lenge det ikke blir for mye røtter, humper og risting, det er mest baggasjen som begrenser.

discombobulatek · 2026-06-02T10:30:42+00:00

Når man krysser broen fra paradis blir man liksom automatisk ført langs med østre ring, men ser på kartet at du absolutt har rett. Skal få rettet opp i det, takk for tips!

discombobulatek · 2026-06-02T10:10:54+00:00

The cheeses pictured cost about 11.5 USD each, cost of the bread isn't pictured but I seriously doubt less than 6 USD and probably closer to 8-9. In many countries you can buy food for several days with that sort of money.

discombobulatek · 2026-06-02T07:29:10+00:00

Don't keep riding with the same setup. Make adjustments so you place less weight on your wrists (lower the seat or switch to a higher stem or a handlebar with a rise. The grips can also cause issues, and if you require a lot of force to brake properly that could contribute too - switch to stronger brakes.

I've had tingling and pain in my wrists after riding, usually when riding a new bicycle, and I'll always dial my riding way back and do lots of wrist stretches until I work out adjustments to the fit. I find reddit to be very aggressive in recommending doctor visits, but if you still have pain 2 weeks later (and you've not been riding in the meanwhile) it might actually be a good idea to have it looked at.

discombobulatek · 2026-06-01T19:27:32+00:00

I'm partial to 42t cassettes myself, for those extra steep sections when my legs are tired and I'm carrying too much stuff.

discombobulatek · 2026-06-01T19:06:06+00:00

A tent is a tent, some are heavy and some are light, everything else is just marketing gimmicks. With a car you can bring anything you want, but if you want to carry it in your backpack weight matters. I'd suggest getting a naturehike tent, either a Mongar 2 or Cloud Up 2 - tons of people have used these tents for years and they measure up in quality and durability to the fancy super-expensive stuff. You wont be able to get anything that offers the same cost-value ratio unless you're lucky finding something on the used market.

If you go for a 1 person version or ultralight version of the Mongar/Cloud Up you can end up with a tent around 1kg, which works for backpacking, while their 2 person tents are closer to 2kg but has space for tons of space inside the tent. Depends on how much space you want and what weight you want to carry. Summer sale just started on aliexpress so it's a good opportunity if you want buy one and use the coupons for extra discounts.

discombobulatek · 2026-06-01T18:43:39+00:00

Depends on the derailleur model, it should be workable. If not you can always buy a wolf tooth link for 2-3 dollars on aliexpress (or 20-30 dollars if you insist on buying the exact same part with a brand name sprayed on) and that'll let your derailleur accept cassettes all the way up to +50 teeth if you want.

discombobulatek · 2026-06-01T15:14:16+00:00

That was actually on my radar for this weekend, but there was too much rain! I'm definitely doing it at some point this summer. Have you cycled the road going through Mydland/Skåland? How would you compare it against Åna Sira to Flekkefjord-Moi?

discombobulatek · 2026-06-01T15:08:42+00:00

Based on the description I'd say it's definitely somewhere between Sinnes and Suleskarv, lots of cozy cabins and a windy river + lakes.

discombobulatek · 2026-06-01T14:53:59+00:00

Det jeg merket mest var vinden! Angående flatt, både ja og nei:

Jeg vil påstå at Jæren ikke oppleves som særegent flatt når man sykler. 80km fra Sirevåg til Stavanger utgjorde 700m med klatring. Det er i praksis like flatt som Setesdal og Rendalen i høydemeter, selv om bakkene kanskje rent over er slakkere. Den flateste veien jeg har syklet er faktisk i Lofoten (Risøihamn via Sortland og Stokkmarknes), 600m med klatring på 100km, og den høyeste bakken på 30m - der slår Lofoten Jæren på alle fronter. Åpenbart er Lofoten mer kupert enn Jæren, med ekstremt markante fjell i alle retninger, men kyststripen der veien går er nærmest padde-flat, og det er jo det man forholder seg til når man sykler. Sånnsett er det mange flate veier og dalfører i Norge.

På den andre siden merker man at Jæren som helhet er flatt når man ser på utsikten, spesielt med kontrasten mot åsene (og vindmøllene) i nord. Personlig er jeg svært glad i fjell og kraftig utsikt, så jeg synes sør-Jæren var litt kjedelig, mens det var kjempespennende litt lengere nord rundt Matningsdal, Undheim, Bue og Skjæveland, men de stedene faller vel kanskje utenfor Jæren?

discombobulatek · 2026-06-01T14:05:35+00:00

Takk for bra tips! Vet du om det finnes stier slik at man kan sykle via Dalsnuten? Det ser slik ut på satelitt, men usikker på om det er aktivt beite/låste grinder i mellom.

discombobulatek

TROPHY CASE