Many people send cards and letters asking about the best equipment for bicycle touring. Well, I will tell you. None of the below is sponsored but if any company wants to give me stuff then feel free.
Pinion: 12-speed gear hub at the crank with a twist shift on handlebar. Previously have used the heavier 18-gear version but 12 is lighter and (almost) the same range [18 = 636% whilst 12 speed = 600%].
Gates Belt Drive: Light weight belt is very smooth. No more mucking around with oil etc. Although rated at 10,000, on tour a belt will last approx 8,000km+ in my experience on a fully loaded touring bike.
[*It is essential to keep the tension correct to avoid wear on belt and pulleys].
BAGS: TAILFIN MINI PANNIERS. The Northern Europe ride is the first time cutting back to mini-panniers and a semi-‘bike-packing rig’. A happy compromise but the smaller ones mean you buy some weight for low storage.
DYNAMO Hub: SON delux: Keeps lights on all the time and powers the USB charger.
Seat, Brooks B17. Best to wear this in before starting out. Thereafter, a great saddle.
TENT: ‘SLINGFIN PORTAL TWO’. Lovely tent with the requisite cross over poles plus internal bracing for high wind. Loads of internal pockets. Will update after a few weeks on the road.
TYRES: Schwalbe G-One Allround Performance RaceGuard TLR Folding Gravel Tyre 27.5 x 2.60″. These are the biggest and widest tyre I’ve toured on so will see. [*use soapy water around rim when deflated to seat the tyre in the rims! Just learned that from the bike shop guy in Honningsvag]
RIMS: DT Swiss: Very strong and never had one fail on me.
SLEEPING QUILT: ZENBIVY UL: Clip in ultra-light-wieght quilt and an associated sleeping pad hood. 2026 ride is the first time on this system. Will report back.
Sleeping Mat: Exped ‘SynMat’ UL LW
Throw the Thermarest. The EXPED mat is great. Ultralight and compact is warm and comfortable. ‘Anti-slip GripSkin’ honeycomb-pattern coating. Laminate is air tight and impervious to hydrolysis. The air-trap bag works perfectly so camp set up is quick.
Temperature: -4 °C
R-Value: 3.30
Thickness: 7 cm
Length: 197 cm
Shoulder Width: 65 cm
‘SHOWERS PASS ‘Refuge Jacket: from Oregon. Just a Great Great cycling jacket for inclement weather. Buy one and never look back.
Katadyn BeFree Water filter 1ltr + 2ltr + 4ltr Sack: Forget all that pumping away stuff. Screws onto a flex bag. Light, quick and easy.
LEATHERMAN ‘Skeletool. Getting lighter.
Benchmade Bugout Camp knife: Great little knife. Expensive but just pay it.
Multitool: Allan keys and ‘torx’ keys
MSR Stove: (73g) about the lightest stove fitting out there.
Rode Microphone: Great light mic and comes with the dead kitten wind sound reducer.
FUJIFILM XY-5: Bit of a heavy luxury but a great robust travel camera. Paired with 16-55mm red label zoom lens.
GoPro Black7: Video Camera Has image stabilisation that is very impressive so fitted to the handlebars it presents smooth video images.
Garmin Fenix5+: Big face and all the data. I use the heart rate and elevation most often but it can do (almost) what the bike computer does.
GARMIN 1030 Bike Computer All stats. Big screen and good battery life.
Shure Tripod: Great tiny lightweight tripod for video
![Finland Finland Finland, [June 2026]](https://buff3ysbicyclingblog.info/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Floating-Sauna.jpg)
![Battling the Bæskades Mountain Plateau, on ‘The Old Postal Road’, Norway [May 2026]](https://buff3ysbicyclingblog.info/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Shelter-at-Top-of-the-Baskades-mountain-plain-1.jpeg)
![Sampling Smør in Honningsvåg, Norway, [May 2026]](https://buff3ysbicyclingblog.info/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Nordkapp.jpeg)