What kind of experience do you have?  Have you done any backpacking or other lightweight self supported travel?  Do you own any light camping gear?

There are a number of possible options ranging from credit card travel using motels, to camping with an ultralight load using UL backpacking equipment, to fully loaded bike touring.

Do you have an idea of which way you will go?  I can give better advice if i have an idea of what experience you have, what gear you own or are willing to buy, and what you plan to do.

I have ridden coast to coast a couple times and done some other long tours with styles ranging from fully loaded to ultralight self supported, so I might be able to help with some advice.

BTW, if you don't get more advice here you might also ask over on the touring forum on bikeforums.net too. https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/

A couple additional comments...

Yeah, I hadn't considered the fact that it won't work for a thru axle bike.  Mine are QR so i am good with it, but if you have a thru axle I assume the Unior is a non starter.

The fiber fix is popular, but in my experience is pretty limited for a number of reasons.  First, I have had more than one spoke (even several) broken at once on a couple of occasions before I realized I had a problem.  Maybe that was an unusual situation, but I had several spare spokes and a unior tool and was able to get going again.  Second, I prefer, especially when on a multi thousand mile trip, to be able to just fix the wheel with real spokes rather than use a fiber fix for a temporary fix.

I do like the idea of hubs that allow easy replacement of all spokes without the need for a lot of messing with removal of cassettes and whatnot.  Tool-less repair, rebuild, or maintenance (or minimal tool like maybe with just an allen wrench) would be also nice, but I have never owned such hubs.

I have used one of these over the years and found it works great.  They didn't used to come with the frame protector.  Also they were impossible to find for sale anywhere for a while.  I am glad to see them available again.  I highly recommend for those who have a cassette that is compatible.

I am a little late to this thread, but...  I have tried everything with mixed success.  I used clothing with some success and I hated most of the inflatables.  Then I tried the Exped Air pillow size medium.  This one is the best I have tried. I have used it for backpacking, bike touring, and bikepacking so I have had hundreds of nights of pleasant sleep with it.  It is well worth the 2.5 ounces and minimal added bulk.

I have not tried the Sea to Summit Aeros Ultralight which looks like a copy of the exped.

I am considering thru riding the Georgia Pinhoti trail and am wondering if anyone has used a shuttle service for it.  If so how expensive was it and what is the contact info?  I am thinking of riding the whole Georgia portion soon and later in the year (Fall?) hiking the Alabama section.

It doesn't look like a rental car or public transit are an option unless I am missing something.  I may consider just riding the return trip on the road if the shuttle is not available or too expensive.

I have done a lot of long distance paved road touring, plenty of MTB day riding, a little multi day dirt road touring, and a good bit of backpacking, but this would be my first all trail multi day ride.

Not sure what you are stashing, water? Food?

Maybe both, but water obviously is more of an issue given how heavy it is and how much one needs to ride.  Ideally I'd like to carry as little weight as I can safely get by with, but I am not sure how much sense it makes to count on food surviving in a cache.  If I feel confident of food surviving, I'll probably have at least one food cache.

I've  done it the way the GPS track has it taking Sand Flats rd. That being said, lots of people take the upper porcupine singletrack down to 128 then into town. Not sure I'd do it with a loaded bike, but I'm old...

Yeah, I rode both way back when and remember the single track down to 128 as being challenging on an unladen bike.  Granted it was a rigid bike, but still...  Also I was 20+ years younger then (now 65), so I'll probably choose Sand Flats Rd.

Lots of driving, but could hit most of them in a day and with 2WD vehicle. Not sure you would need to hit all of the above just giving you some thoughts.

Ah, good.  If any intermittent creeks have water at the time I go hopefully I can verify that just before the start and minimize the number of caches.  Is someone in Fruita likely to be a good reliable source for that info. 

I did a trip last year in Cedar Mesa area and I stashed some water (2 gallons) buried in sand and something got in there and ripped them open. Maybe a coyote, not sure.

Yeah, wasn't sure about what sort of animals might get into the caches there.  I was thinking food was more likely to be a problem for critter issues, but I guess in the desert even more than elsewhere water is life.  I do recall that on a canoe trip in Everglades NP, we had to keep fresh water secure from the raccoons, so I shouldn't be surprised that critters might get into cached water.

I want to do the KT in late April or early May and plan to place caches using a 2wd car.  My hope is to have some flexibility in trip duration I am thinking 5 days, but want to be able to adjust depending on how I feel.

I have done some riding in the Moab area including Jackass Pass, the Portal Trail. and others, but it has been 20+ years ago.  I have only done a little desert MTB riding, but have done a little desert backpacking and have done a lot of long distance road bike touring, including a couple coast to coast rides.  So I am open to suggested reading or specific suggestions.

I have the Alex Hearn book "The Kokopelli Trail Mountain Bike Guide" (free pdf version).  Is the info in it still pretty up to date?

Which cache locations would you advise using?  How much time will it take to set the caches?  Can it easily be done in a day or will I need more time.

I am not experienced at setting caches in desert terrain.  Any tips on packaging, hiding, and so on?

I had to bail when a knee injury flared back up.  I figured there was a 50/50 chance I'd be OK but given the relatively remote nature of the ride having to bail mid trip could be very difficult.

I am still thinking I may try again either later in the Summer or early Fall.

I am headed out on the drive from the East Coast in a minute.  If anyone sees me on the ride say hi.

I thought I would give this thread a bump for two reasons.  First I was hoping to get an answer on the traffic and GPX questions I asked a couple posts earlier in the thread and second I was wondering if anyone else will be starting the route next week.  I'll probably be driving out leaving from the east coast on Monday.  So likely starting out on the main loop by Thursday.

I do have a nice gpx file that someone generously shared (see the thread on the Adventure Cycling Forum), but I still wondered about the official one.

How much traffic is there on the main loop?  Will I go days without seeing a car or will there be at least a passing jeep or rafting company truck/bus here and there most of the way?

I am really getting anxious to get out to Idaho for this trip.  I may leave Baltimore, MD as soon as this weekend.  I'll take a few days getting to the start and will kill time at lower elevations if snow pack dictates that.  Will the GPS info be out by then?

To me it always seemed like a bad idea to mount heavy stuff on a suspension fork where it is unsprung weight.

If I don't have room in my bags I'd carry extra water in a small backpack or even a jersey pocket.

Thanks.  That gives me what I need to go on.

In another thread Casey mentioned the following as being the areas of concern for June snowpack:
- Cape Horn Summit
- Deadwood Summit
- Dollarhide Summit
- Lick Creek Summit
- Galena Summit

I don't see a listing for Cape Horn Summit or Lick Creek Summit, anyone know what conditions are there?  Are one or more of the other data points from http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/reports/UpdateReport.html?report=Idaho&format=SNOTEL+Snowpack+Update+Report a good indicator for these two locations?

Are there other snowpack numbers I should be concerned about?

Today I see the following:
- Deadwood Summit - 18.4"
- Dollarhide Summit - 0.0"
- Galena Summit - 0.0"

If there are not other problems it looks like I will go pretty soon!  I don't mind walking a few miles here and there if it is walk-able, but not ride-able.

Any comments or concerns?

Thanks.

I really am not sure, but I am thinking of going around June 15 or so if the snowpack is melted enough.  If it were to melt fast enough I might even go a little earlier, but I suspect that is unlikely.

I am hoping someone with local knowledge will pipe up at some point and help decide when it is OK wrt snowpack.  I want to go as early as makes sense.  I have a flexible schedule since I am retired and driving out, so I can decide at the last minute.

I have been following the snow pack at http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/reports/UpdateReport.html?report=Idaho&format=SNOTEL+Snowpack+Update+Report

I know I asked earlier, but I thought I'd ask again... 

It looks to my uneducated eye like the snow pack is melting pretty well, but I am not clear how the numbers for the various data points equate with conditions on the route.  Any guesses on when the earliest it would be advisable to do the main route this year?  What numbers do I need to see where for the main route to be passable.  Some slogging through snow on foot is OK, but I don't want it to be an extended ordeal.

My tentative plan is to ride the main loop and then go back by car to ride some or maybe all of the singletrack options.  I really hate breathing forest fire smoke so i want to go as early in the season as I can in the hope of avoiding smoke and/or fire detours.  I had to deal with bad smoke on a few of my trips the last couple years and it really puts a bit of a damper on things, something I much prefer to avoid.

But, I mean, it's a magnet, right? The sensor reads a magnet zooming around the wheel. Any magnet will do, so I could see how incorrect readings could happen, either with just some other magnet, or an improperly shielded something-or-other

Maybe, but I never noticed any issues with my wired computers giving flaky readings.  I have had them stop working altogether when the sensor got knocked out of whack or the cable was damaged though.  I think all the flaky readings I observed with wireless were probably RF interference.

Unless I find more reason not to, I may spring for the Strada.  Do you have to manually start the Strada after it goes to sleep?  If so does it go to sleep during a lunch length break?  One of the models that my daughter had needed to be manually started after longish breaks and it was a nuisance when she forgot to start it.

I personally haven't had the issues you're listing - my wireless is a few years old and is only used as backup - it was a CatEye Strada Wireless (or something very similar) - nothing super-duper fancy. The Etrex 20 seems to do a whole lot more, these days, though! Nice though, that it runs on two battery watches.

I have a feeling that most folks don't notice the things that bug me.  The phantom readings are short duration and seldom show up.  The readings from neon signs are easy to not notice if you aren't looking for them or comparing trip mileage with companions, but on a multi month tour where I really wanted a reliable mileage count it was pretty annoying to come out of a store and find that I logged 10 miles while we were in the store.  I own an etrex 20, but would like to have a smaller lighter less battery hungry odometer and use my phone when I want to use a GPS, at least for some trips.  My phone actually has a lot more features GPS wise than the etrex 20 and I take it anyway since it is my phone, audiobook reader, gps, internet appliance, email appliance, and camera.

I have done a lot of road touring and one thing I got from crossing the US multiple times is a dislike for wireless cyclocomputers.  I found that they gave phantom readings, sometimes saying I was going 200+ mph, or logging mileage while parked near a neon sign.  I have seen these problems with a variety of models and brands.   That said I have a new bike with a front suspension and it sure would be nice to not have to deal with cable routing or worry about damaging cables when bashing through overgrown single track.

So I have a few questions:

• Have wireless cyclocomputers gotten better in the last several years in a way that eliminated these problems?  Or should I just resign myself to a wired cyclocomputer?
• Are there particular models that are not subject to the problems I mentioned?  I don't need much in the way of features since I mostly use it as an odometer.  I do appreciate an easy to read display though.
• Do you have any hints for the best cyclocomputer setup for trail riding and bikepacking.

I could use my cell phone or handheld GPS, but on long trips would like to be able to turn them off to save battery life.  So something that I can just leave on all the time while riding for weeks or months without worrying about the battery seems like the way to go.