I once read that ‘bivouac’ was the native American word for ‘mistake’ … now, while that’s not actually true it did get me thinking about peoples perception of a bivvy. In the company of like-minded souls, saying you’re going to spend the night outside at this time of year is fine, it’ll usually be met […]
I imagine a good percentage of the people reading this will be familiar with the concept of 29″ wheels and the thinking behind them. I’ll also guess that over 50% of you are already riding 29″ wheels or that they’ll be a feature on your next bike. So … if 29″ wheels are possibly better suited […]
Flat tarps tend to feature quite heavily within the bikepacking world. As potential shelters go, they’re reasonably light, fairly compact and usually cheaper than the alternatives. Some people will always be a little sceptical and view them with suspicion. Others might be even more scathing though and to them, sleeping under a simple piece of […]
It appears that the whole cycling world has gone a little Cyclocross mad. Oddly, I think I might have been a little ahead of the wave and sold my last one just before everyone else bought one. Alongside Cyclocross there’s another, similar yet different cycling genre that’s gaining popularity, the discipline of Gravel Racing or […]
MLD are one of the most influential companies in the ultralight gear world and the man at the reigns is Ron Bell. It gets pretty busy over at MLD, so I’m very glad to report that Ron has kindly taken the time to answer some questions for Bear Bones … enjoy. 1/ Do you ride? […]
Wood seems like the ideal bikepacking fuel, it’s free and you can usually find a few twigs pretty much anywhere. You don’t need to carry any supplies and you should never run out … so why isn’t it more widely used?I’ve experimented with a few different wood stoves over the last few years. Both commercial […]
Okay then … in part 1, I waffled on about the little extras required to turn your Rig7 tarp into a cosy home from home. Be warned, I’m about to waffle on again but hopefully it’ll be vaguely interesting … this time we’ll have a look at a few different set-ups that are easily rigged […]
Often it’s the simplest of ideas that prove to be the best. The Medical Data Carrier is a very simple idea but it’s one that might (although hopefully not) prove to be the best thing you ever bought.Obviously, we all know that carrying some kind of ID with emergency contact / medical details on, is […]
1/ You’ve done some pretty full on races and challenges over the years, which was the hardest? Difficult to choose the hardest event as they all present their own challenges whether that be temperature, distance or even altitude. I do believe though all my hardest races are those in which I haven’t fully committed and […]
The name Shand has become synonymous with high quality, handbuilt steel frames. The introduction of the Stoater FT (fat tyre) frame seems to have sparked a massive interest amongst the bikepacking community … so I thought I’d see if Steven Shand would put his welding torch down for half an hour and answer some questions […]