Mizen to Malin - What to Take!!

andyboy

Hi
New to Boards but here goes!

I'm cycling Mizen to Malin in a few weeks and have checked out lots of very useful threads in here. My query doesn't seem to be covered - what to take with me? I plan to travel very, very light, staying in B&Bs, hostels or friends along the way, I will be cycling for 6 days (550 mile route) with a rest day in the middle. I have two road bikes (new Planet X carbon and older Orbea alu) and thinking the older alu will take rough roads better although the gearing (39/50 ring and 12/30 cassette) might struggle on big hills! Neither has lugs for racks.

My questions...

1) what's my best option for bags (small pannier or seat post rack, saddle pack and handlebar pack, maybe a small backpack?)
2) anyone put together a list of what to take.

I cycle a lot (about 100 mile per week) but mainly commuting and long (50 mile) club rides but never been on a tour before (very excited about this!).

Thanks in advance for any tips.

Andy

feck sake lads

hi andy i thought you would get a lot more replys .
anyway i'll give it a shot.
you can get a beamrack that ft onto your seat post and a great bag to fit .so what to take ,
enough tools to get you out of any hassle.
couple tubes /puncture repair kit.
rain gear as in top .rain pants /waterproof socks
and ware a pair of cycling socks under them keep your feet warm and dry.
a good warm fleece /cargo pants/ for off the bike .
you dont need to many cloths use your head think lightweight
a waterproof barbag is brilliant keep all your valuables in it .like
mobile phone
mar of the route.
snacks,
small first aid kit :eek:
hope this is of some help let us know how you get on .enjoy.

andyboy

Thanks Fecks Sake Lads (what a great username!!). I was thinking about a seat post pack but had heard bad things in terms of stability - will test one out. Your gear list is about spot on with what I was thinking (except waterproof pants - I will take leg warmers instead).

One other thing - I'm travelling from UK (from Limerick originally). What's the story about taking bike on plane. NOt doing a circular route so can't take a bike box or case!

Cheers

Andy

feck sake lads

andyboy wrote: »

Thanks Fecks Sake Lads (what a great username!!). I was thinking about a seat post pack but had heard bad things in terms of stability - will test one out. Your gear list is about spot on with what I was thinking (except waterproof pants - I will take leg warmers instead).

One other thing - I'm travelling from UK (from Limerick originally). What's the story about taking bike on plane. NOt doing a circular route so can't take a bike box or case!

Cheers

Andy

hi andy ,wiggle sell the CTC plastic bag £8 if i'm not mistaken .
that should be ok for the airlines hopefully but pack your rear derailleur really well so as it wont get damaged in any way.
for the life of me i cant remember the name brand of beam rack sks maybe but its very sturdy. carradice make fantastic saddle bags of all sizes i have the nelson longflap you can carry a serious amount of manageable gear with you no problem.
best of luck with the tour should be great to see limerick again;)

andyboy

CTC bag is ordered - great tip. Should be grand if well wrapped this end. Haven't seen Carradice bags before but they look an interesting option. Thanks again.
Andy

feck sake lads

andyboy wrote: »

CTC bag is ordered - great tip. Should be grand if well wrapped this end. Haven't seen Carradice bags before but they look an interesting option. Thanks again.
Andy

Andy take a look at the carradice barley saddle bag and you also can get a fitting for it that clips on to seat post ,

Coronal

I got bored so I made a list (with weights) of what I plan to take across France and Switzerland for two weeks. Credit card touring, so no tent/sleeping bag necessary.

Check it out: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Akf-1lO-auI0dGh2Qk5CcmFpQUljQ3hXbWRjeFRlRGc&hl=en_US&authkey=CK6t6oAL#gid=0

Also, if anybody thinks I'm missing something big, let me know!

feck sake lads

Coronal wrote: »

I got bored so I made a list (with weights) of what I plan to take across France and Switzerland for two weeks. Credit card touring, so no tent/sleeping bag necessary.

Check it out: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Akf-1lO-auI0dGh2Qk5CcmFpQUljQ3hXbWRjeFRlRGc&hl=en_US&authkey=CK6t6oAL#gid=0

Also, if anybody thinks I'm missing something big, let me know!

i doubt your missing anything on that list looks good.personally i would need a lot more gear but each to there own good luck on the tour.

andyboy

Just bought a Carradice Barley Saddle Pack on ebay for £38 - bargain and brand new!

Kit list looks good Coronal - thanks. I'm going even lighter! Facecloth instead of towel!

Almost ready to go!

glennbhoy

i did this with 2 mates easter week. did it over 4 days, 634km, in 25 hrs

i had backpack, with change of clothes and the list fecksake said. Longest distance before doing it was 70km so was a novice. back was very sore and ass was in pain after one day.

the hardest bit is the last 400m up to malin head

andyboy

Thanks glennbhoy.
I'm not looking to set any records with my time so steady she goes. Doing a longer route though and tagging on a ride to Templepatrick to see family at the end. So 580 miles all in over 7 days riding. All falling into place now with friends and family pulling out the stops and getting me warm beds, hot meals and good company all along the route. Only night I'm on my own is in Donegal. Can anyone recommend a bike-friendly place to stay there?
Andy

andyboy

See proposed route here...

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/445258

Andy

andyboy

Final preps before I head off. Getting my kit together now and really excited. Managed to hook up with friends/family at most stops so that all adds to the fun.

Will post some photos and details when I get back.

Wish me luck!

Andy

feck sake lads

andyboy the weather has changed for the worse i'm afraid so be prepared to get wet and the temperatures have dropped to around 13/14deg so not to warm either:mad:
i'm meeting up with a german tourist in the morning cycling to dundalk with him which will be a 40 mile trip for me .he's heading north then i think around the coast .
anyway enjoy your tour to hell with bad weather;)

Dermot Illogical

andyboy wrote: »

Final preps before I head off. Getting my kit together now and really excited. Managed to hook up with friends/family at most stops so that all adds to the fun.

Will post some photos and details when I get back.

Wish me luck!

Andy

Looks a really nice route. Hopefully the weather gods will behave. Good luck!

andyboy

Well used to getting soaked on my bike but I will be prepared! Was hoping for a bit of early summer sun but then I remembered that I will be cycling the west of Ireland! Forecast most of the way through is mid-teens, sun and showers - not too bad.

andyboy

Thanks to all of you who met me along the way, to those who put me up and those who put up with me, to those who passed on support and good wishes! Great way to spend a week (650 miles, 7 days, 6 plasters, 3 punctures and 1 tub of Vaseline!).

Check out a few photos at the link below…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kne81awK0nc

Luggage was fine in the end. Small seat pack and handlebar bag. One bad weather day (which was truly awful) - otherwise fantastic!

Thanks for all the tips.

I will post my route shortly once I have downloaded GPS data.

Andy

Dermot Illogical

Well done! Some nice pics in there too. I like how you went on over to the Giant's Causeway seeing as you were in the area

Joeyde

Looks great Andy, great pics.

Where did you get the handlebar bag?

feck sake lads

well done looks like you had a really good time ,nice way to travel ultra light i'm always weighed down by heavy panniers
but i do like my comfort when touring.
anyway well done .

andyboy

Hi all

Route is here...

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/491561

The only bit I would change is between Castlebar and Donegal - horrible main roads, busy, wide and no scenery to occupy you. The rest was gorgeous. The bit at the end was to visit Giant's Causeway and see my sister in Templepatrick before flying back from Belfast Int.

Bike transport on Ryanair and Easyjet was a sinch. Just boxed the bike (got from LBS) and left the box at the airport information desk on arrival

Handlebar bag was from Clas Ohlson, low cost store. £15 and crrrrrap! Brought it back for refund today. Completely not waterproof, strap broke on day 1, zip broke on day 2.

Saddle pack was Carradice Barley, bought on ebay for £38. Excellent, rugged, completely waterproof (everything handlebar bag wasn't). I'm selling it now (not planning any more touring for a while!) so if anyone wants it let me know.

I modified the equipment list and can supply if anyone wants it.

Cheers

Joeyde

andyboy wrote: »

Hi all

Saddle pack was Carradice Barley, bought on ebay for £38. Excellent, rugged, completely waterproof (everything handlebar bag wasn't). I'm selling it now (not planning any more touring for a while!) so if anyone wants it let me know.

I modified the equipment list and can supply if anyone wants it.

Cheers

Both of them sound good to me :P. PM on the way

clod71

I understand this post is 10 years old, but I didn't want to open a new thread and this is the first one that came up in the search...

Did anyone ever use a Carradice Barley as a handlebar bag as opposed to a saddlebag.
On their website Carradice say that you can, but can anyone tell me which is the minimum clearance needed between the handlebars and the top of the front tyre?
I see the height of the Barley is 18 cm, but that tells me very little because on the handlebar the bag wouldn't sit straight anyway...

Edit: Unfortunately, I can't mount a randonneur front rack. I've a disc carbon fork with no eyelets and no brake mount

micheal100

It's about 8 years since we did it. The good news is there are a lot more options out now. Don't have any experience with carradice, but I see a lot of options out there now for bikes without eyelets.

I suppose a good starting point is what bags/racks do you have already, and what type of trip are you planning? (Staying in b&bs/camping, etc?)

Seaswimmer

clod71 wrote: »

I understand this post is 10 years old, but I didn't want to open a new thread and this is the first one that came up in the search...

Did anyone ever use a Carradice Barley as a handlebar bag as opposed to a saddlebag.
On their website Carradice say that you can, but can anyone tell me which is the minimum clearance needed between the handlebars and the top of the front tyre?
I see the height of the Barley is 18 cm, but that tells me very little because on the handlebar the bag wouldn't sit straight anyway...

Edit: Unfortunately, I can't mount a randonneur front rack. I've a disc carbon fork with no eyelets and no brake mount

I don't quite know the answer to your query but my experience with Carradice saddles bags (I have a Super C and a Nelson) is that when just attached by the leather straps they swing quite a lot. I would imagine this would be the same whether mounted on the bars or as a saddlebag. I suspect the bag won't be stable enough on your bars so that it will swing up and down and possibly intermittently hit the front tyre. I have supports for both of mine.

clod71

Seaswimmer wrote: »

I don't quite know the answer to your query but my experience with Carradice saddles bags (I have a Super C and a Nelson) is that when just attached by the leather straps they swing quite a lot. I would imagine this would be the same whether mounted on the bars or as a saddlebag. I suspect the bag won't be stable enough on your bars so that it will swing up and down and possibly intermittently hit the front tyre. I have supports for both of mine.

Thanks @Seaswimmer! I used to have a Nelson myself, but I sold it a few years ago to some fella here actually...
I tend to agree with you on the swing argument, but it would be nice to have 9 litres (and the 2 pockets) as opposed to 3,5 litres of a Zipped Roll...
For the handlebars, I think I'll stick with a Zipped Roll though or maybe one of those new Bikepacking Bags Carradice do now. They seem to differ only for the material (cotton duck vs cordura) and the straps (leather vs fabric)
As for the Touring bit in the next few weeks I might finally decide for a Nelson or even a Camper Longflap with proper bagman support...

@micheal100 not too many options to be honest, unless you want to go with those modern roll up saddlebags seatpacks. I owe one myself and I did a 3-day B&B tour last summer. They're ok, but you can't organise anything at all in there. You can only stuff them with items... I prefer a more traditional bag and the likes of a Nelson or a Camper Longflap give you a chance to even add a tent on top, not to mention the better support and stability. If I'm going off with a tent, speed is not going to be a priority...
I called Carradice, but I got no answer!
I might try again in the next few days with a good old email

Thanks