Went on production for this show at the end of summer 2025. It was an 11-day tour and we did the entirety of the Empire State Trail from Buffalo to New York City.

Full disclosure: it was a credit card tour. We stayed in hotels mainly because I had to offload media and we needed a safe place to store all of our camera equipment. We also had a support car meeting us from location to location, but it was kind of unique doing an entire bike tour mixed with a show. It worked like clockwork, we literally had to bike segment to segment, adding mileage onto the trip and making sure we hit those segments on time. 

For this trip, we were averaging about 60 miles a day, and filming about four interviews per day. On top of that, we usually built in a mini segment (either a meal at a restaurant or, in each city, I organized a group ride with local cycling groups and we filmed those as part of the episodes. Syracuse had the biggest turnout with hundreds of people and Albany was a close second, so those gave us some really great visuals. Those are episodes four and six).

Rig-wise, I was riding my trusty All-City Space Horse with 34mm tires. Those are wide enough for the crushed stone on the trail. If we were doing more off-road I’d go wider, but this worked. I kept fenders on for all-weather since we were riding rain or shine to make interviews and production days.

The crew was small, just me and my cinematographer. He was riding a Dost Kope e-bike that we rigged out with cameras (Insta360 X5, DJI Action 4) and I had a GoPro 360. On the back rack of the e-bike, we also had DSLRs in our cam bag for interviews. We used digital lavs for audio to keep it light. Since this is a public media show, we also worked with PBS member stations across New York State for production support. In each region, we coordinated with the local station to bring on a videographer for a couple days as we rolled through, which helped a lot with coverage.

We took one lighter day around day six—we filmed some B-roll and scenery, but really it was to give us a bit of a break from racing interview to interview, so not interviews at all. That is actually where it felt like a real bike tour again. Mixing TV production with a bike tour honestly undoes most of the leisure part of touring. But we also wanted to present this as a way to take a trip, and the Empire State Trail is a really good entry point for that.  

There are a ton of amenities - hotels, motels, public restrooms, canal towns spaced out well so you can stop, refill water, get food. It’s not that intimidating for a newcomer. You don’t have to do the whole thing, you can stop in Albany, Rochester, Syracuse, and hop on Amtrak back. I’m a longtime cyclist and have bike toured a bunch before. I did the Empire State Trail back in 2021 (Buffalo to NYC) plus weekend trips out to the Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley, Jersey, etc., but I really wanted this show to be an entry point for people to see and think "yeah, I could do that as a vacation", even if its an ebike or whatever.

For the show itself, we were working with a grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, so we focused on climate change solutions. Bike touring/bikepacking fits into that pretty naturally. We stopped at a lot of New York State Parks, talked to scientists and conservationists, and also hit restaurants to make it feel like a travel show. That was important to me, I wanted it to feel like a travel show, not just a doc.

We also worked in local music from different regions. I’ll sometimes ride with an earbud in when I tour, so having a kind of “soundtrack” felt right, and it gives each place a different feel.

I did a lot of outlining and scripting before production (questions, how segments would connect) but once you’re actually out there it’s a different game. Weather changes, delays, random stuff happens. We got caught in a pretty intense rainstorm, dealt with downed trees after a microburst, late summer heat, and just running behind because I couldn’t memorize stand-ups half the time. 

I feel like the first episode gets at what the show is, but each episode has a different flavor. The next one in Rochester is a bit more humorous, with more natural moments and more riding footage to follow in the series.  

Anyway, would love for folks here to check it out if you’re into it. Also can answer more questions! Please help public media! (We're in a tough spot now).

I’m thinking about buying a quadlock phoneholder and case but I’m wondering if it’s a good investment or if it’s overpriced/overrated

can someone help me? I thought this was the right subreddit to ask this to :)

Thanks!

Anyone know of bike shops that rent ready to go bikepacking rigs for a small group (3-4)? basically just a gravel or hardtail with racks and/or bags

Hi everyone

I am looking for a tyre set with following specifications 29” x 2,15-2,40” must be fast on tarmac and OK on gravel (maybe 70/30), but most importantly have maximum puncture protection. I just finished a 500 km trip and i had 5 punctures on my stock tyres Maxxis Rekon Race 29 × 2.4”. NB - not tubeless, I want to stick to tubed, just looking for tyres with decent puncture resistance. Any good options out there?

I was looking at getting this bike. It would be used for bikepacking and some light commuting. It doesn't look bad for the price, but I was wondering what you guys thought?

Found some old threads but what are people using in 2026? Im riding on 2.1" Tubeless Vittoria Mezcals.

Hey guys, i stumbled upon this bike for 1400$, this would be my first backpacking bike. Just wanted to hear your opinion on the specs and is it worth it for that price, thank you!

Salsa Fargo "Cream Scheme" – Build Specs

• Frame: Salsa Fargo, "Cream Scheme" edition, size M (18", 55cm top tube), Kung Fu CroMoly tubing.
• Configuration: Mullet setup (29" front / 27.5" rear).
• Front Wheel: 29" rim with Shimano DH-3D32 Dynamo hub.
• Rear Wheel: 27.5" rim with Hope Pro 2 Evo hub (standard freehub, XD-compatible for AXS upgrades).
• Tires: Onza Porcupine 2.4 (White edition).
• Drivetrain: Shimano Deore XT M8000 series.
• Cassette: 11-46T, 11-speed.
• Brakes: Avid BB7 MTN mechanical disc brakes with Avid levers.
• Handlebars: On-One Geoff (alt-bar/loop bar) with Brooks Cambium grips.
• Headset: ControlTech.
• Lighting: Busch & Muller IQ front light with custom mount.
• Saddle: Brooks B17.
• Seatpost: Ritchey Pro.
• Pedals: Shimano EF202.
• Extras: Token Titanium QRs, multiple H2O and "anything cage" mounts, includes various cargo cages.
• Bonus: Additional 29" front wheel (Hope hub + E*Thirteen rim) included.

https://preview.redd.it/gsu5cwfjeztg1.png?width=1502&format=png&auto=webp&s=ca9ff23e1312b94efcf9af0c5582086d77d700c6

Would love to hear the thoughts of those who have used any of them.

For context, they are all available to me for about the same price ($2500 CAD or $1800 USD). I am planning a two month bikepacking trip in Europe this summer. Still in the process of planning routes and have no clue what ratio of paved to off-road I will be doing. Something tells me I might do 70% paved. Therefore, I am looking for a bike that can do it all, prioritizing comfort, versatility, and reliability. If it helps also, I would plan on putting a jones bar on whichever one I'd get.

What bike do you think makes the most sense given what I've said and that they're the same price?

My main concern is that the Jones and Unit X would be too trail oriented and perform poorly on pavement compared to the BC, but perhaps with different tires that could change.

They all seem like they'd be worthy choices and, as I've heard many times, most higher-end bikes such as these would serve fine. I am leaning into just getting a Bridge Club as it's the only one I can reliably test here but am so curious about other possibilities. For the same price, I just want to make sure I'm getting my money's worth and having a bike I could keep for a long while.

Thanks!

Recently bought some Profile Design aerobars, which came with 5, 10 and 15 mm risers. I orderded a 30 mm riser, but now think I might want to go even higher to maximize comfort. Could I add these to existing risers to get to 50mm or do I need to get new 50mm risers which are quite expensive? Does anyone have any expeeience with combining risers?

Hey dear fellow riders,

in beginning of June we plan to do a trip starting in Ancona, through Siena, Florenz and finishing in Bologna, where it WAS planned to hop into a train that brings us back to Munich. This would be 5 days in total (4 days on the bike at around 6h riding time a day and 1 off-day). We'll be there with road bikes, so no strade bianche.

However, now as usual, all the trains are already fully booked for bikes.

So now we're thinking about alternatives. One could be to try and go to Munich by skipping some of the routes and taking local trains (e.g. you could skip Florence-> Bologna and then ride the bike from Bologna -> Rovereto and take another local train there to Bozen and then ride from Bozen-> Munich or something).

1st) In your view, which of the 4 stages are the best (Ancona->Siena->Florence->Siena) to go by road bike and thus we should not skip?

2nd) Any ideas how we could structure this best, having in mind that we only have 5 days to go back to Munich from Ancona.

Thanks!!

Tough question, I know. Extremely personal. But, I have fairly old'ish 6+ year old maxxis dhf's front and back on my Santa Cruz 5010, 2.3". I did kokopelli with the same bike and tires last spring. Doing coconino loop with the same bike in May and it makes me feel a little more secure with some new rubber. Will be using the tires for general trail riding too in the mid atlantic. I was thinking Maxxis Rekon for some better rolling resistance, but open to suggestions. Will probably go with 2.4-2.5". Thanks!

I'm beginning to realize with the terrain I ride that a hard tail mountain bike is probably going to serve me better than my current gravel bike. I'm currently planning on picking up an Esker Hayduke frame and swapping as many parts as possible (hopefully fork, dropper, and groupset) from a '23 stumpjumper that I realized I hate riding shortly after I bought it. I've done work on my own bikes before sometimes even successfully but is swapping from one frame to another feasible or will I have a bunch of issues with clearance and spacing? I'm particularly worried about the rear wheel/sprocket.