Fun (?) Thought Exercise

[Philip Barrett]

Say you were going to ride the TransAmerica Trails (Astoria, OR to Yorktown, PA - 4,200 miles) with a lightweight bikepacking set up (not a traditional touring multiple pannier system) which Rivendell would you chose? Seems like there are a few interesting options.

I have some ideas but thought it might be an interesting Sunday musing for those of us trapped indoors by heat & humidity.

[John Rinker]

This one!

[dougP]

I think any Rivendell would do just fine.  OK, maybe a Roadini or a Quickbeam would be a stretch.  With the current line-up having longer wheel bases & room for large tires, Clem, Susie, Appaloosa & of course the classic Atlantis (I'm biased that way) would give you a comfortable ride with room for whatever your lightweight bikepacking set up may be. 

Seriously, it looks like lightweight bikepacking gear puts less demand on the bike than a full rack & pannier set-up.  I know a guy who toured the Pacific Coast on a Homer, with racks'n'bags, and did just fine.  Rackless luggage comes in so many configurations there's bound to be some combo that'll hold your stuff & be able to strap on any Rivendell frame.

dougP

[ascpgh]

Did it from Yorktown, VA west (although the Western Flyer leg, Pueblo, CO to SFCA) with this : 

My Rambouillet for the Trans-Am. 

Yet to install my three water bottle cages and mudflap. Clip on lights are in the bag, would soon be installed to make room. Got an odometer from my Lexington, KY friend who joined us the day we rode into Berea, KY and enjoyed dinner at the Boone Tavern. Shell pants flip flops and a blazer!  You said light? I longflapped my Nelson Longflap often. This picture is somewhere between 5-7pm the night before heading to Yorktown. It arrived from Rivendell at 4 pm. 

Andy Cheatham

Pittsburgh

[Jason Fuller]

Without knowing much about the trail, I would have thought it was too rough/rugged for the Rambouillet?!  Impressive, if it is indeed as much off-pavement as I thought it is! 

For current models, I think I'd go with a Joe Appaloosa, with 2.1-2.2" semi-slick XC type tires and a Choco bar on a long stem.

But my Bombadil would be perfect for the job too with the same type of setup.     

[Philip Barrett]

It's pavement all the way. Unless I got the wrong map?

[ascpgh]

The Trans-Am is on all B-C roads, the latter of which can degrade to "might as well be dirt" in some jurisdictions depending on their tax base and count judge. Found many of them in our poking around, more in Kansas than you believe (before all of the gravel racing interest). I'm a confirmed underbiker from way back so the Ram was mighty. 

Andy Cheatham 

Pittsburgh

On Monday, July 19, 2021 at 3:49:53 PM UTC-5 Jason Fuller wrote: