Ultralight MTB Touring

[EMrider]

I'd like to give a 1 or 2 night bikepacking trip a try. Since I'm new to this, I'll be learning by trail and error and figure shorter rides are better to start. There are quite a few campgrounds within 10-30 miles of popular staging ares in the San Gabes. I'll keep an eye on this thread!

[MTBMaven]

Hi all. I've been trapped on a boat for the last week. Family reunion cruise to the Mexican Rivera, 22 of us total.

Anyway, the only update i can provide is that I have almost all but abandoned my goal of doing the CA Triple Crown this year, which means I will not be doing the Butterfield Double in February. I am going to try and organize a 1-2 night Angeles bikepacking trip. Not sure of the route but will post something in the coming days.

I am going to try and order a frame pack from Jeff at Carousel Design Works before the trip. I also plan to buy a Wingnut pack with a Christmas gift certificate.

[Jslow]

Any info on places to buy last year closeouts on UL gear?

Jeffs bike bags are amazing. I had been thinknig about breaking out moms stitchmaster... but I think I'd be better served and have less headaches with his handiwork.

will have to give him a call once I get my kit organized again. The current setup was to much work to repeat.
I had gotten stuck thinking about ideas of how to stash gear with his various models.
Another thing that struck me was Jay petervarys h-bar bag. what an intersting idea.
I'm not certain I would ever get ride of my waterbottle holders... what happnes in the wind with a main triangle frame bag, wow?

[donkey]

Originally Posted by MTBMaven

Hi all. I've been trapped on a boat for the last week. Family reunion cruise to the Mexican Rivera, 22 of us total.

Anyway, the only update i can provide is that I have almost all but abandoned my goal of doing the CA Triple Crown this year, which means I will not be doing the Butterfield Double in February. I am going to try and organize a 1-2 night Angeles bikepacking trip. Not sure of the route but will post something in the coming days.

I am going to try and order a frame pack from Jeff at Carousel Design Works before the trip. I also plan to buy a Wingnut pack with a Christmas gift certificate.

If you want to try out a Wingnut before purchasing let me know.......I've somehow acquired 4 of them.

I'm in for some sort of trip in February. You know those mountains way better than I so I'll await your route plans:-)

B

[MTBMaven]

I just ordered my frame pack from Jeff @ Carousel Design Works. Really nice guy. $120, 300 denier Courdura, #8 water-proof zipper, carry handle, no divider. Jeff said he should be able to have it to me by mid-Feb in time for the bikepacking trip. He is currently prototyping new products for some Iditarod racers as well as several other orders. If anyone else wants something from him for the Feb. trip you should hurry. I invited Jeff on the Feb trip as well.

[MTBMaven]

I finally got my new cook kit completed. My guess is the total kit (stove, pot, pot insulation, windscreen) weighs about 6 oz. and costs less than $15. The stove is a Fancy Feast cat food can ($.79), Heineken 22 oz. beer can (~$3) x2, Reflectix insulation ($1.19/ft), Reflectix tape ($3.50), aluminum flashing (~$2.00). Once assembled the stove and windscreen fit inside the pot and the pot insulation fit around the pot for protection. The pot is a bit on the fragile side and I hope it will last at least a few trips. The rest of the items are very durable and there are no moving parts at all.



Stove
Follow instructions here to build the Super Cat cat food can stove.





Pot
To build the pot simply purchase the can and use one of those newer can openers that round the edges of the can. OXO makes a popular model. Remember DO NOT open the can first. The top of the can will make the lid of the pot. I hate Heineken so I poured the crap down the sink and opened a North Coast Brewing Co. Old Rasputin Imperial Stout instead. As a wise option I recommend repeating this process on a second can to obtain a second lid. Amazingly the Heineken lid, when placed top up, fits perfectly on the Fancy Feast cat food can. This makes for a perfect interface for the stove/pot (trust me it will make sense when you build it). See second image of stove above



Pot Insulation
I did a search for "Heineken pot" AND insulation and found a thread on some lightweight backpacking site about using a product called Reflectix insulation. The product looks a lot like the window shade you would use in our car. It is a double layer of bubble wrap with thin, reflective aluminum on both sides. It is designed to insulate ducts and piping. I found it at OSH along with the aluminum tape by the same manufacture. Use the pot as a guide and cut to fit. I went a little overboard and made a piece for the bottom as well. Not sure this was necessary but it worked.



Windscreen
Click here for instructions on building the windscreen.

I filled the Heineken pot almost full (the dish I plan to cook the most, Korean Ramen, needs 20 oz. of water). Poured denatured alcohol into the stove just shy of the lower holes. I think priming the stove first with a little gas would be best. It takes a while for the gas to heat up enough for the flames to come out the side. After a few minutes the water came to a boil but not a full roaring boil before running out of fuel. I think I used up too much valuable fuel priming. Nonetheless the water did boil and the system worked pretty dang well I must say.

[katonk]

How do you pick up a naked can full of boiling water?

[Pain Freak]

Man, I hope this gets postponed till it warms up some or at the very least you do another in the late spring/early summer?

My BOB trailer should be here by Thursday.

I've got all my doubles and brevets picked out for the year. I might break my record of 7320 miles this coming year.

[MTBMaven]

Originally Posted by katonk

How do you pick up a naked can full of boiling water?

Two options. One put the insulated wrapper around the pot to pick it up. This is how I did it today and it worked well. Another option I saw in a site is to use Kevlar string. Warp the string around the pot and it will block the heat.

Originally Posted by Pain Freak

Man, I hope this gets postponed till it warms up some or at the very least you do another in the late spring/early summer?

I hope to do at least one more over night trip this year. If I can plan it far enough in advance I will try to work around you schedule. It would be great to have you along.

[katonk]

Originally Posted by MTBMaven

Two options. One put the insulated wrapper around the pot to pick it up. This is how I did it today and it worked well. Another option I saw in a site is to use Kevlar string. Warp the string around the pot and it will block the heat.

I'm assuming you're talking about minibull designs. That guys is straight up crazy. Can't get enough of his YouTube videos.

How do you put the wrapper on? Does your wrapper not have a bottom to it? I was going to go the Heineken pot route, but durability had me worried. All my gear must also be usable with Boy Scout camping and hiking. Your's looks way better than my prototype did.

[OffRoadie]

So I checked, and it looks like the disc brake caliper gets in the way of mounting a rack on my bike. Suggestions?

[MTBMaven]

Originally Posted by katonk

I'm assuming you're talking about minibull designs. That guys is straight up crazy. Can't get enough of his YouTube videos.

How do you put the wrapper on? Does your wrapper not have a bottom to it? I was going to go the Heineken pot route, but durability had me worried. All my gear must also be usable with Boy Scout camping and hiking. Your's looks way better than my prototype did.

Minibull and Jason Klass. You can find his site on the windscreen link. He has a new video site as well. Interesting stuff between the two of them.

I just slid the wrapper over the top of the pot. I did attach a bottom to the wrapper but not sure it is necessary. Yeah I'm a bit concerned about the durability of the Heineken pot. I found a great looking pot at Trader Joe's. It's their lentil soup can. It's a bit thicker and with curvy sides. The insulation wouldn't work for it but the pot would be great. It holds more water, is easier to clean as you can get your hand in there, and is more durable. Food for thought (sorry for the pun).

[MTBMaven]

Originally Posted by OffRoadie

So I checked, and it looks like the disc brake caliper gets in the way of mounting a rack on my bike. Suggestions?

Check Old Man Mountain. They have racks for bikes with disc brakes. Also they have mounting equipment for bikes without brazons. If you keep your weight low you might be able to use their mounting equipment.

Another option is to use the Carousel products and distribute your gear amongst the different bags. Check one of my earlier posts for links. Jeff is a really cool dude and can talk through options with you.

Right now my base weight is about 8 pounds, and that includes stove, pot, shelter, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, rain jacket, insulated vest, and water purification. By the end I should be around 12 pounds for all items but food, fuel, and water.

[OffRoadie]

Apparently Delta makes a rack for bikes with discs.

http://www.deltacycle.com/product.php?g=23

I think I'll buy it.

[MTBMaven]

That thing looks nice. For 1.2 pounds and $35 bucks that is hard to beat. I might pick one up too.

[OffRoadie]

It's cheaper at Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Delta-Mega-Rac...1066684&sr=8-1