Dirt Roads / MTB Touring, Personal setups » Esskay1000’s GAP/C&O setup

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Doing a 5-day trip of GAP/C&O from Pittsburgh to DC, 340 miles.  Been following this site for years but never posted.  So here’s my setup

IMGP0066

Bike – Fuji Cross Comp, stock.  Avenir clip-on fenders

Handlebar bag – Revelate Sweetroll w/sleeping bag, clothes.  Also Sea to Summit bag w/Thermarest and clothes

Frame Bag – Iberia.  Nalgene, camp mug, esbit & fuel, headlamp, two tubes, CO2, tire levers, batteries, flashlight, 2 Clif bars, patch kit

Front fuel tank – Profile Designs.  Snacks/Suntan lotion/GPS

Seat Fuel Tank – Eleven81.   Cables, First Aid kit, Bike Lights, Charger

Seat Bag – Revelate Viscacha. Tent, Raingear, Tarp, Groundcloth, Spare Kit, Camp towel

Fanny Pack on top of seatbag – EastPak.  Solar charger, Headnet, bugspray, batteries

 

Because of my skinny drop bars I can only use about 50-60% of the Revelate Sweetroll capacity, which is why I have the fannypack on top of the seatbag.  I’m trying to figure out how to drop stuff or reconfigure something to get rid of it.  I don’t want to wear a backpack at all but am considering wearing the fannypack since it rides low and shouldn’t cause back pain.

I can buy food along the way as there are enough places to stop.  I can also refill water pretty regularly but there are some long sections w/no refill and summers in the DC area are notoriously brutal.

I’m a relative newbie at this, did 100 miles of the C&O 20 years ago on an old MTB, but feel free to give advice or criticize.

Thanks!

Comments (5)

EastCoastBloseJune 18th, 2014 at 6:07 pm

I too follow the site and have learned a lot, but never posted my set up which has evolved over the years . Best suggestion for more space is a full size diy frame bag which still leaves you with two water bottles plenty for gap and canal. I have ridden the whole canal and half the gap, you will do fine and it’s a great experience.

esskay1000June 20th, 2014 at 6:48 pm

Thx EastCoastBlose, so I’ve been back from the trip and it was awesome! I hear ya on the full-size frame bag, but after dropping some serious dough on the two Revelate bags I wanted to try cheaper options. I have to say, the $14 Iberia frame bag performed very well. I sprayed it for waterproofing and it held way more than I thought it would.

Also I realize that Revelate makes no claim that the Viscacha is waterproof, but I didn’t find it to be all that water resistant either. Overall I love the bag, but my stuff got pretty wet inside after a downpour and I had the closure wrapped up tight (and folded downward). In the future I’m going to make sure everything I put in the Viscacha is also in a second dry-bag or trashbag.

bsimonJune 25th, 2014 at 6:51 am

Good to know on the viscacha, i leave tomorrow on my first trip with mine.

esskay1000June 25th, 2014 at 4:24 pm

Don’t get me wrong, the viscacha is a great bag and I was hugely impressed w/what it could hold. And it rained pretty darn hard on me for about 6+ hours on my second day – all riding time. I think it’d be fine with moderate rain or even heavy rain for a short period of time. Mother Nature just decided to go postal on me and in those conditions it leaked.

DapperCyclistJanuary 24th, 2015 at 3:03 pm

How did you get the sweetroll to strap to the headtube with the canti brakes in the way?

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