Bikepacking
Built for the long way round
The rides
Where this comes from
The Great British Divide is a self-supported ride of about 2,200 km and 35,000 m of climbing, from near Canterbury to Applecross, mostly off-road. You carry everything and restock only at shops open to everyone. I have taken it on in 2021, 2023 and 2024, along with the Great British Escapade and a few trips of my own, and everything below has been through that.
Not all of it went to plan. In 2023 I hit a pothole in a puddle on day one, a gust of wind took my glasses and I broke my handlebars on the South Downs Way. It is all in the Journal. So I like things simple and tried and tested.
The latest
My newest bike: the MIGHTi 32
The MIGHTi 32” was designed to eat up big, fully loaded bikepacking miles. It feels stable at speed with a load on, and still nimble enough for tight switchbacks, thanks to the way the EVO Prong forks track. Just point and shoot.
In 2026 the Great British Divide was cancelled, so I planned my own 530 km route around London and rode it to raise money for Young Lives vs Cancer. Read my post.
| Frame | Travers MIGHTi 32” bespoke titanium, with UDH dropoutsThe frame |
|---|---|
| Fork | EVO Prong, with plenty of mud clearance even with 32” x 2.3” tyresEVO Prong |
| Wheels | Nextie Unicorn rims with colour coordinated graphics to match the SON 28 dynamo hubNextie Unicorn rim · Dynamo wheels |
| Gears | SRAM Eagle T-Type rear mech, Garbaruk GEN2.0 XD cassette and 28t chainringGarbaruk cassette · Garbaruk chainrings |
| Brakes | Hope EVO GR4 |
| Cockpit | Travers titanium stem and Travers carbon barsTitanium stem · Carbon bars |
| Lights and power | kLite dynamo system: the Adventure light, kLite micro USB and kLite rear lightAdventure light · kLite micro USB · Rear light |
The bike
My Great British Divide set-up (2021)
This is the spec list from my own post in 2021, on the bike I rode that year. It shows how the parts fit together.
| Frame | Large Travers RUSSTi EVO |
|---|---|
| Fork | Travers XC Prong |
| Wheels | Nextie NXT27XM41 carbon rims; SON 28 Boost dynamo front hub; Hope Pro 4 Boost rear hub; Sapim CX-Ray spokes |
| Tyres | Maxxis Icon+ 27 × 2.8 front, 27 × 2.6 rear |
| Gears | SRAM AXS Eagle, Garbaruk 10-52 cassette, Garbaruk 30t SRAM direct mount chainring |
| Lights and power | kLite Adventure light, bar switch and rear light |
| Cockpit | Travers titanium H2 handlebars, 70 mm titanium stem, titanium H2 inline seatpost |
| Brakes | Hope Tech 3 X2 |
Read the full set-up post, including why I chose a rack bag over a big saddle bag.
Low enough gears?
With bags on, the climbs are where a trip goes wrong. Put in your weight, your kit and the steepest hill, and my gear calculator tells you which chainring and cassette will get you up it.
The system
Parts that work together
Frames
Bespoke titanium, drawn around you. Bosses for bags and bottles are free.
Bespoke titanium frames →
Special builds
A dog box, a tandem, singlespeed, 32-inch bikepacking.
See the builds →
Dynamo wheels
Any Nextie rim on a SON dynamo hub, built by hand.
Dynamo wheel builds →
Big tyres
32-inch, 29+ and fat bike wheels.
32-inch wheels explained →
Rigid carbon fork
EVO Prong, 680 g. Nothing to service.
The EVO Prong →
Lights
kLite dynamo lights, with the wiring and mounts to go with them.
kLite lights →
In my own words
When you ride a titanium frame, it's more about what you don't notice. You feel fresher, less beaten up by the terrain.
On day 7 of the Great British Divide, in Derbyshire, early in the morning with the dew still on the ground, the rocks were slippery. I lost the front end on a descent and went over the bars. My fully loaded bike somersaulted through the air. I dusted myself off, picked up the bike, straightened the bars and carried on. Nothing more than a few marks on the frame, which buffed out when I got back.
Read the rides
From the Journal
Questions
Bikepacking FAQ
What should I look for in a bikepacking frame?
Somewhere to put things, and room for the tyre you will actually use. Extra bottle bosses, top tube bag mounts, rack and mudguard mounts and internal routing are free on every Travers bespoke frame, and the designer shows tyre clearance as you change the numbers. I will talk through a loaded geometry with you.
Why a rigid carbon fork?
There is nothing to service and nothing to go wrong in the middle of nowhere, and it is light. The EVO Prong is 680 g, 15 × 110 Boost, and takes tyres up to 3.0 inches on 29-inch wheels and 3.2 inches on 27.5.
Do I need a dynamo?
No, but on a multi-day ride it removes a job. A dynamo hub powers a light all day, and with a USB charger it can also feed a battery for your phone and GPS. The dynamo guide explains the four parts.
Can you build a dynamo wheel in carbon?
Yes. Any Nextie rim and a SON dynamo hub, built by hand in Rochford. About 7 weeks.
Can I see a bikepacking setup?
Yes: the bike I rode on the Great British Divide, part by part, in the Journal, with the posts from each day.
Planning a bike for the long way round?
Tell me about the trip. It is free to ask and I will tell you what I would do.