This is my Fat CAAD2 winter and squishey trail bike.  The Salsa anything cages are electrical taped to the fork.  The idea is that the tape will break off before I bend the fork in a crash. My tent goes on one side, my sleeping bag on the other. So far, 2 year and no slippage. I ditch the rack and go with a Relevate Vicacha in the summer.  The frame bag is a Becker, made in Fairbanks. Everything else is Revelate that I take off my TD set up.

It started out life as a TREK Marlin.  The only thing left is the frame.

I carry my bear spray on my top tube.   It's easy to grab with either hand while riding.

2 inch ABS pipe attached with Velcro.  Inner tube under the Velcro so it doesn't rotate.  Its never been in the way, I did have to rotate my gas tank bag to get enough real estate. 

I ended up with the eTrex 20x.  The only issue I have is the battery life in the cold.  Even with lithium batteries, it craps out about -10F in 30 minutes.  My old eTrex Venture would work down to -25F all day.  

I put the 20x on external power and put it outside. So far its good to -15F, we're forecast for -25F this weekend.  I have an Anker cell phone charger that will put out good power down to -25F.  That might be the fix.  

On my snowmachine I run the eTrex Venture off the machine's battery and it works down to -30F.

The lithiums were a few years old, but new. That may have been a factor, but I hate to have to shell out big bucks for them all winter.

The specs say it's only good to -4F, so I'm not really whining.

Has anyone had cold weather issues/experience?

Sir, Specialized trademarked "steeeupid", you'll have to refrain from using that spelling.

Or stick with the Etrex 20 and take backup cards with the same track.

I was just trying to figure out if that would work.  SD cards are cheap, If the track is on the SD, then having a copy would be a good fix.

That's exactly what I wanted.  Never thought of that.

Thanks!

Looking at the spec sheets, the eTrex 20 and 30 appear almost to the same.
From a bike packing standpoint, can anyone make the claim for the additional $100 for the eTrex 30?

To be specific, are there functions that a bikepacker would care about.  Unlikely I'll need the wireless function or more advanced compass/barometer.
 
Same memory, same processing speed, functionally similar displays...I figure there must be something I'm missing.

I haven't had my hands on either model.

I'm still chugging along with the eTrex Venture.
 

I have an rigid aluminium fork.  I use Salsa Anything Cages.  I screwed on a strip of aluminium to the back of the cages, then used electrical tape to attach it to the fork.  I put a strip of inner tube between the fork and cage.  Iv'e used this for years and have not had a problem.  It holds the cages tight.  Probably 5 or 6 wraps of good quality tape in 3 places.  I used electrical tape with the idea that if I crash, the tape will fail before the fork.  I put my sleeping bag on one side, and my tent on the other.

Cannondale set up for tundra slogging.

https://youtu.be/ZWz8vCR7GOs

Summer riding on winter trails.  I was going to try to do some of the White Mountains 100 in the summer. 

More hike a bike than riding, but still an awesome trip.

Got it figures out.  All our specs say they are tubeless, when in reality they are tubeless ready.

I pulled the tubes and took 1.75 pounds off the wheels.

The tubes had removable cores, that lead me to think that "tubeless" meant there were no tubes.  Silly me.

I work at the bike shop.  We get the Cannondales in already setup tubeless.  I tried to remove the valve core and check.  It just smelled like rubber, no sign of sealant. It didn't have the familiar Stan's smell, but I have no idea what the factory is using. We'll probably pull one off the confirm.  Cannondale has not been able to answer the question either, "they'll get back to us". 

Currently I am only riding on snow, but in another month, we'll have dirt and rocks.  Before my next big trip, I'll clean them out and put in fresh sealant.

I bought a new Cannondale FatCAAD2 a few weeks ago.  I came with tubeless with Jumbo Jim 4.8s.

Do the tires have some amount of sealant in them, or should I add some Stan's for good measure.

I'm wondering if the factory mounts them like car tires without sealant.

This is my first tubeless experience, I'm reluctant to break the seal just to look.

Thanks,
Duncan

I've been all over the "third world" and seen people riding really old bikes, with big loads.  Although these bikes were built like tanks, the people riding them had a much different outlook than ours.  This is the only bike I have, so don't break it philosophy.  People ride around the world on Walmart bikes. 

HERE IS THE IMPORTANT PART.

You will have to invest in some tool, and learn how to maintain it.  You will have to ride it like it's your only means of transportation, no riding off curbs, rough trails, etc.  You will have to make sure everything is lubed and adjusted often.  Shift gears easy.  You won't be able to beat the crap out of it and expect it to carry you another thousand miles.

Ride it a lot, the only time people notice what kind of bike you have is when you're stopped.  If you find that cycling is a big part of your life then save up for a nicer bike.   

Sometimes you just have to ride what ya got. 

Cheers.

I mount Salsa Anything cages to the aluminum fork on my Cannandale Fat CAAD 2.  I made up a bar that fits into the slot on the back of the cages, and drilled and tapped 3 holes.  I attach the bar to the forks with electrical tape.  3 layers of standard electrical tape, 3 places on the bar.  I have not had any issues with the tape slipping.  I didn't use hose clamps because I have an aluminum  fork.  My thinking was that 3 layers of electrical tape will fail in a crash before damaging the fork.  I leave the bar taped to the fork, and install the cage when needed.  Basically I made it look like the standard mount holes on a Salsa fork. 

Hi,
Duncan here from Fairbanks, AK.  I ride a lot of winter trails on the fat bike.  We have thousands of miles of snowmachine/dog sled trails up here.  In the summer I enjoy exploring old mining tracks across the tundra.

Cheers.

Woops, should be in Introductions, newbie mistake, please move.....