Posted by Alan Bull | Posted in Planning | Posted on 10-01-2010
A few people have asked me recently about what kit they need to get to cycle long distance. This is a very difficult question to answer as each person has different needs and requirements. All I can offer is a list of items I purchased and took on the London to Paris bike ride in 2009 which I found to be useful and helpful to me personally on that trip.
Many people will have their own preferences over what to take and with the huge choice out there, there may be better options in terms of quality and price over what I purchased.
I hope you find the following list helpful to you planing your own trip. If anything, at least this list may give you an idea of the amount of gear you need and how easily the costs add up. Feel free to comment on your own set-up and reasons why you found particular items to be useful:
Bikes
I had little choice when it came to choosing my bike as I was limited to purchasing my bicycle from Halfords under my company Cycle to Work scheme. By far the best bikes here, in my opinion, are the Chris Boardman range.
My chosen bicycle was the Boardman Performance Hybrid Pro Ltd 2009 which retailed at £999.99. The bike was a pleasure to ride being so light, strong and fast. The new 2010 range is now available, check it out here: Boardman Bikes Website and also on Halfords where you can actually buy them.
As I had a mountain bike already and had trained for a number of months with it longer distance, I knew that it was not suitable for our big ride, therefore the hybrid seemed a perfect choice for me. I didn’t want a road bike as I felt that it was too restrictive for the routes we had planned even though the reduced weight would have certainly helped.
Instead, the flexibility of a hybrid with limited weight cost was the ideal solution and I was certainly happy with choice I made.
I can’t recommend enough the staff at Evans Cycles (especially in the London Victoria store where Apple bought her bike) and Wiggle. Both of which are great places to get hold of a new bike. Also Decathlon has been recommended by Dave who used his bike on our last trip.
Luggage
We wanted a flexible system that allowed us to add and remove luggage easily, which is why we chose a removable rack and when researching, the brand Topeak came up tops in most reviews.
There are a number of trunk bags from Topeak. We looked for one that would give us enough room to travel longer distances (looking beyond the London to Paris trip) whilst being easy to carry around off the bike too.
Bike Rack
Topeak Beam Rack MTX Rear Pannier Rack – £31.99
Topeak Dual Side Frame EX & MTX – £15.99
Topeak RX Beamrack Defender – £4.99
Bags
Topeak MTX DXP Trunk and Rack bag – £58.99
Topeak Trunk Bag Rain Cover Mtx EXP/DXP – £9.64
Lights
I’m not a fan of cycling in the dark and plan our routes to avoid night time riding. You can’t always plan what will happen when your cycling as so looked for a relatively cheap lighting solution that would help us see and be seen.
There are a number of options available, some sets were as low as £10 and as high as £200+. For what we wanted the Topeak system came up trumps again. What’s great about this set is that it is easily removable from the bicycle, has hazard lighting options and offered the best power or energy consumption we could see.
Topeak Highlite Combo HP Lightset – £29.95
Food & Drink
This took a long time to research and decide as the choice out there is staggering. After reading lots of online reviews and asking an expert (friend of a friend) we soon had a shortlist of options and then got started testing them.
After trying out a number of alternatives on our training rides, we settled on the following. We used the drink during and after the ride to re-hydrate and the energy bars between meals. Both of which made a big difference overall:
PowerBar Ride Bar Box Of 18 55g Bars – £18.63
Torq Energy Powder Drink 1.5kg Tub – £16.19
Torq Singles – £1.89
The above worked for us, but may not be suitable for you. I found Wiggle to have the best selection and helpful reviews and Q&A’s:
Ed was a big fan of the gels which I have to say, didn’t work for me. You ca see a large selection of them here:
Bottles
Don’t forget about how your going to carry drinks.
Gadgets
As those who know already know, I have a bit of a thing for gadgets – especially useful ones!
I’ve only ever tried a few cycle computers, but this on is may favourite by far. The instructions for fitting this cycly computer are rubbish but once setup, the computer is easy to use and offers extensive fictionality for the price.
Trek Incite 11i Cadence Cycle Computer – £27.99
Some people use the Garmin Edge 705 which provides an amazing solution for cyclists, but the costs are prohibitive to most (around £390). For me as I have an iPhone anyway it made sense to use that where I could.
Apple iPhone 3G/3Gs – £169++
Thanks to the huge array of apps, I soon found two cycling apps that are truly brilliant. Both do pretty similar things, in slightly different ways.
The first is Trails, which provides GPS tracking. This app has a cycle setting which plots your cycle route on a map, allows you to take photos along the way and measures distance, speed and elevation etc.
The second, which has recently been updated, is EveryTrail 3 which again tracks routes, distance and speed, but also benefits from mapping the photos you take along the way!
Both apps certainly eat away the battery but is well worth it. I got around the problem by buying an extension battery for my iPhone. I use the extra battery a lot even when I’m not cycling. It’s great when you plan to be moving about a lot without the ability to charge or the usual daily commute where you want to use all the amazing features to their max.
Morphie Juice Pack Air – £60
Worth noting that if you are cycling overseas and want to use these apps, then make sure you are careful with data roaming charges. Jailbreak your phone or pay in advance for per mb discounts.
Safety & Security
Helmet
Specialized Helmet (Not sure which model!)
There is a large range available here at Evans Cycles and here on Wiggle.
Cycle Locks
We we’re looking for a solution which provided maximum security but still be lightweight enough to carry long distance. We bought this lock, but only used part of it for the long distance ride itself.
We used the flexible cable and then bought a good quality lightweight padlock to take with us instead of the D-Lock (which we still use – just not for long rides). We found this a great way to lock the bikes for quick stops where our bikes would be within eye distance.
Obviously if you plan on leaving your bike unattended then the full D-Lock an cable solution is a must. That and some good insurance too as nothing is foolproof!
Kryptonite Kryptolok series 2 D-Lock and 4ft flex cable – £29.99
Mirrors
When cycling in busy urban environments, it’s great to be able to easily see behind you. For me I feel a mirror is crucial and relatively inexpensive. Here’s the one I purchased for my hybrid bike:
Blackburn Multi Mirror – £13.20
Clothing
With all the money we had already spent on bike accessories, we wanted to save as much as we could on clothing. I managed to get a couple of base layers (recommended for spring/autumn cycling) from general high street sports shops and then the rest of my needs we’re met at the great sports shop that is Decathlon:
B’Twin Triban Top – £7.95 (Many colours available)
B’Twin Rockrider Black Shorts – £12.95
B’Twin Elops 3 City jacket – £19.95
B’Twin City 3 Overtrousers – £14.95
B’Twin Sport Graphic Gloves – £13.95
B’Twin Arm Warmers – £8.95
dhb Earnley Lycra Knee Warmers – £11.99
Maintenance
There are so many things that can go wrong with your bike but you simply can’t be prepared for everything. I took advice from books and cycle shop staff and prepared for a few basic scenarios for example lose of tire pressure, punctures and chain breaks and minor gear and brake problems.
We decided that if anything else were to go wrong then we would have to find a local cycle shop to fix it. If not then we could end up carrying the kitchen sink on the back of our bikes!
Chains & Tools
Replacement chains can be expensive. I asked around a lot of stores and online about what I should get and the brand name that I kept hearing was KMC.
Carrying around a spare chain is not advisable due to weight, and the price is expesive. As an alternative, I would suggest getting space chain links to fit the chain on your bike.
KMC Chains and Chain Links
Bikehut Precision Chain Tool – £8.99
Lubrication
It’s important to keep your bicycle chain and gears well lubricated! The clearest recommendation I had from both the staff of Halfords and Evans Cycles was GT-85.
GT-85 Bike Lubricant 400ml – £3.99
Multi Tools
Any multi-tool will do as long as it has the options required for your individual bike. I found the Bikehut options to be of good quality and low price and for a few pounds more Topeak offers great value.
BikeHut 9 Function Bike Multitool – £9.99 OR
Topeak Mini 9 Bike Tool – £15.99
I have to say though, in terms of weight I would if I were looking to buy now go for something like this which offers both multi tools and chain tool together.
Bikehut Multitool With Chain Tool – £13.99 OR
BikeHut 15 Function Multitool with Chain Tool – £13.99
Puncture Repair
Again any small puncture repair kit is great to have on you.
Halfords Puncture Repair Kit & Tools – £5.99
It’s always a good idea for speed to have a spare iertube or two. For quality and price, my vote goes to Continental:
Continental Innertubes – from £5.99
Bike Pumps come in all shapes and sizes. I happen to have both of these and really get on well with them:
BikeHut Dual Action Bike Pump – £12.49
Topeak Mini Bike Pump with Gauge – £19.99
Spanner
Not forgetting the all important spanner:
Halfords 8 Way Bike Spanner – £2.99
Books
Lots of cycling books out there, didn’t have a clue which one to buy. I was recommended these two books and a few more which I unfortunately forget now:
Bicycling Magazine’s Training Techniques for Cyclists (Revised: Greater Power, Faster Speed, Longer Endurance, Better Skills) – £4.94
The Complete Book of Long Distance Cycling: Build the Strength, Skills and Confidence to Ride as Far as You Want – £7.47
Other
Mud guards
This choice really depends on what bicycle you have, but as I bought this as a last minute addon for the London to Paris trip, cost was at the forefront of my mind. Again Wiggle came up top with my search for the vast selection available and the low prices: Mudguards at Wiggle.
This is the one I bought for the front of my bike, which I found to be easy to add and fit perfectly CycraGuard Front Mudguard – £8.09 and for the rear I purchased this from Topeak as it’s made for the trunk back and rack which I already had Topeak RX Beamrack Defender – £4.99.
Cream!
Not sure where this belongs, but it felt important enough to add anyway. Nobody likes to think about this but it will be a problem on long distance cycling unless you are prepared.
Again, after lots of research we settled on this cream as a preventative measure and cure. We used this cream before and after rides and niticed a real difference – especially afer a few consecutive days of cycling:
DZ Nuts Chamois Cream – £11.99
I’m sure there’s more but I can’t think now. Any suggestions?
2 Things……
1) With regards cream, ask ED!!
2) Hydration, throughout France i found that Kronembourg was sufficent at approx 3-5 Euros per serving & after we left one place, the thought of getting to our next stop & having another spurred me on through the pain!!
Good evening all, Alan happy with hostels and not fussed about dorms and if a twin room I’ll share with Vic. Dave great way to motivate yourself (beer a mans best friend), I’ll bring the Sambucca just in case of a long dry stretch. take all have a great weekend
Hi all…
Ed and Dave will be aware of the predicament i found myself in having gone out and bought myself a nice new bike, only to find that it didn’t have anywhere to mount a pannier rack.
I am pleased to say the problem is now solved with the help of the following parts:
Giant QR seatpost clamp with rackmounts.
There others available but i wanted to keep the use of the QR clamp. (and it was one of only a couple i found in the right size for my bike)
http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/13266/Giant_QR_Seat_Clamp_With_Rack_Mounting
Tubus QR axle mount kit.
I was a bit worried at first that it wouldn’t fit with disk brakes as all the pics i had seen were non-disk, but i’m pleased to say the replacement axle is more than long enough with a bit of room to spare.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Tubus_Adapter_Set_For_QR-Axle_Mounting/5360025907/
So with everything in place i managed to mount the Topeak Explorer rack with no problems, just a bit of adjustment to the arms that attach it to the top of the bike.
Is it strong?…… well i sat on it for a bit and it didn’t move or fall off so i think it should be fine.
Hope this is of some help to anyone who may find themselves with a similar dilemma!
Hopefully there should be some pics here so you can see what it looks like…..
Rob