Adventure Ride Essentials – Check out our trusted reviews and seasoned opinions on everything from gravel tire recommendations to clothing and gear for gravel riding and adventure bikepacking. It’s all in adventure ride essentials from Off-Piste Mag.
Keeping your bike running smoothly is all about routine maintenance. Regular cleaning, lubing and fine-tuning are what keep the miles rolling easy. As the wet season begins here in the Pacific Northwest, regular cleaning is more important than ever to keep your bike running well. As the old saying goes for horses, “rode hard and put away wet” is no… Read More
Dressing for cool weather gravel rides requires a balance of breathability, wind protection and warmth. Layering is important, but your choice of the outer layer is even more critical because of the need for wind protection and, ultimately, breathability for your layering system. If it’s not raining, I often run a combination of layers, including a lightweight wind jacket and… Read More
Pack Light, But Not Too Light Carrying a compact multi-tool or a limited collection of bike tools is essential on extended bikepacking trips and remote gravel rides, but the minimalist in me is always looking for ways to carry less. Roadside repairs fit into two categories: bike adjustments/fixes and flat tire repairs. Few tools cover both scenarios, though there are… Read More
Ortlieb, Osprey and Deuter Seat Pack Reviews The seat pack is one of the largest volume bags in most bikepacking setups. They are also arguably the most finicky to set up and fit to your bike. They require careful packing, correct positioning, snug attachment and enough clearance above your tire to avoid problems down the road. We tested a number… Read More
Bikepacking Route Craft 101 “All that is gold does not glitter. Not all those who wander are lost.” — JR Tolkien. Gandolf’s words to Frodo as the Hobbit departs in search of Aragorn are equally sage advice for those looking to learn the art of creating bikepacking and adventure gravel routes. Route craft is equal parts map reading skills, curiosity… Read More
Ortlieb Fork Packs – Convenient Mini Panniers Packing your gear and loading up your bike for an adventure requires a mix of experience, restraint and experimentation. It also takes the right combination of bikepacking bags. I consider a set of fork-mounted bikepacking bags like the Ortlieb Fork Packs to be essential equipment for any multi-day bikepacking trip. Fork-mounted bags are… Read More
Solo bikepacking missions are synonymous with packing light. There’s no one to split group gear with, so gram counting is essential for an efficient load. One of the best ways to save weight and space while solo bikepacking is with a bare-bones shelter, like a tarp tent or a bivy bag. But tarp tents and bivy bags are about compromise…. Read More
With bike road trip season rapidly approaching, we take a look at the Thule RoundTrip Bike Duffel. The RoundTrip is a purpose-built bike gear travel bag. It’s designed to keep your gear organized and easy to find whether you’re headed for your local trailhead or on a multi-day road trip. Get Organized with the RoundTrip Bike Duffel Like most people,… Read More
How Light is Right for a Bikepacking Tent? My first bikepacking tent was an REI Half Dome—a roomy two-person tent with two doors and a bomber build that handles rainy nights and gusty thunderstorms with ease. But at 4.75 pounds, it’s not exactly an ultralight tent. Nonetheless, I packed it for several multi-day bikepacking trips, including the Oregon Outback, and… Read More
As the adventure cycling category grows, gravel bikes continue to evolve. One of the best evolutions in gravel bikes is improved tire clearance. Tire clearance is important for a variety of reasons. Clearance translates to versatility, making a gravel bike a quiver-of-one bike. Run 30mm tires for all-purpose road rides. Run 40mm for all-purpose gravel riding. And run 50mm for… Read More
A Light, Portable Water Filter for Bikepacking and Adventure Riding Water is a necessity on any ride. Whether you’re on a multi-day bikepacking trip or an epic one-day ride, carrying a small water filter means you are always ready to fill your bottles when there is water nearby. Lightweight, portable water filters are lighter and simpler than ever. This year,… Read More
I’ve long avoided freeze-dried meals in favor of creating simple camping meals like pasta with pesto. But bikepacking offers limited storage space. There are many tricks to packing light, and one of the most effective is using freeze-dried camping meals. But how do they taste? Dehydrated Versus Freeze-Dried A question that came up while researching lightweight camping meals was, what’s… Read More
Performance sunglasses can easily cost more than $200. And I’ll admit to being a bit of a sunglasses snob who likes quality optics. But do you really need to spend that kind of money to get great cycling and skiing sunglasses? Thanks to Tifosi Optics, the answer is no; you don’t need to spend $200. You don’t even need to… Read More
For those old enough to remember the 90s, it’s hard to believe that fanny packs have returned. Sure, they’re called hip or waist packs now, and they’ve evolved on the features front. Nonetheless, I’ve been slow to embrace the waist pack trend until recently. Turns out they’re pretty functional for mountain biking and adventure rides. Hydration Waist Packs for Mountain Biking… Read More
Outdoor Research Helium Jacket – Ultralight, Packable Rain Jacket Mountain weather can be fickle. Sun in the morning. Rain in the afternoon. Sure, you can head out the door without a rain shell, but when you can pack one that fits in the palm of your hand, why not take it? The Outdoor Research Helium Ultralight Rain Jacket sets a… Read More
