Brisbane Valley Gravel Grinder

Years ago I lived for a short time on a grazing property at Johnstown, via Nanango, Queensland, at the head of the Brisbane River. At the watershed actually, with the Brisbane River catchment on one side and the Burnett River catchment on the other. On our infrequent trips to the big smoke, we followed a very scenic road which crossed the Brisbane River around 30 times before emerging onto the D'Aguilar Highway at Moore.

It's long been on my mind to revisit the area, so I planned a ride which took in the Brisbane River Rail Trail to Linville then continued on to Elgin Vale and Manumbar, before heading back through Jimna, Kilcoy and Woodford to Beerburrum. I did actually set out to ride the route at Xmas 2016 from the Beerburrum end but reached only as far as Kilcoy before turning back in fierce heat. A few days later a motorbike rider died in the Beerburrum State Forest from heat stroke.

So I'm now going to ride the route in spring between work assignments (if I can get away). The plan is to take the train to Ipswich and ride the BVRT and camp a night at Esk, then at Linville, At Linville I'll leave the rail trail and follow the river road to Elgin Vale, to camp in the old school (now CWA) grounds or maybe continue to Manumbar and camp at the hall/campdraft ground. 

From there I'll head south to Jimna and camp at PeachTrees, the next day continue on through Kilcoy and Woodford to Beerburrum and get the train home.

If anyone wants to tackle this ride you can download the route from RideWithGPS. Search for BVGG - you should find seven tracks by Arefkay, but there may be copies others have made. I think you will need to sign up for a free account to download the tracks. 

This link should work. RideWithGPS

What is in the bags?

 Grasshopper in Frankton (Queenstown) New Zealand.

A few people have asked: What is in the bags?

Hmmm. That is quite a long list so I won't go into the detailed specifics, but generally it goes like this.

Seat bag:

• Long pants and polo shirt
• Thermal top and leggings
• Running shorts
• Bike jersey and liner shorts
• Down jacket 
• Socks, jocks, gloves and beanie
• First Aid kit.

On the outside, ultralight sandals.

Frame bag.
Lower compartment:

• Spare tube
• Toolkit and assorted spares
• Sealant
• Pump.

Upper compartment:

• Sawyer 2 litre gravity filtration system  (4 litre total capacity)
• Tent poles.

Side compartment:

• Cable lock
• Maps and documents .

Handlebar bag:

• Sleeping bag
• Wind shirt
• Rain jacket and gloves
• Rain legs
• Leg warmers.

 On the outside, tent (Tarptent Protrail)

Front Pocket:

• iPad Mini (in a Zagg folio keyboard case).

Anything bags:
Left bag:

• Food.

Right bag:

• Cooking pot, stove and mug etc.
• Gas canister
• Meds/toiletries/personal hygiene.

Top tube bags:
Front:

• Auxilliary battery
• Camera
• Smartphone.

Rear:

• Six port USB charger and assorted cables.

Chaff bags (2):

• Snacks
• Sunglasses
• Headphones 
• Passengers.

Downtube:

• Air mattress.

And of course I’m wearing another set of cycling clothes - jersey, baggies and liners, MTB shoes and socks, and cycling cap

A few bags more...

Yesterday, with some idle hours on my hands, it was timely to pay a call on one of the local bike stores (River City Cycles) to check out their range of bikepacking gear. I've never visited the store previously, but knew from his blog that the store mechanic (Troy) is a keen bikepacker and endurance racer, and that the store sells bikepacking bikes, fatbikes and gear.

This visit was intended to be a scouting mission. With the xmas credit card statements in the mail I had no intentions of spending any more money. But when the BikeBagDude products on offer caught my eye they were irresistible. BBD gear is usually only sold via the web, so this was a rare opportunity for a hands-on inspection.
After briefly considered a pair of Salsa Anything bags but finding the finish quality somewhat lacking, I came away with a pair of Salsa Anything cages with BBD Anything bags.

The BBD Anything bags feature an innovative design with a loop on the bottom to fit the foot of the cage, and an integral hook and loop strap which secures the bag to the cage wings.

So I was finally able to answer the question that has been on my mind for a long time - will my Tarptent Protrail fit in an anything bag? Yes it will as you see in the picture above. And it also settled in my mind whether an anything bag will be big enough for my food - again the answer is yes.

Ended my visit with an interesting chat with Troy about his preparations for the 1000 mile Iditarod Trail Invitational, a winter endurance race in Alaska from Anchorage to Nome. Entry to this event is by invitation only to athletes who have completed a recognised qualifying event. To even qualify is an endurance feat in itself.

Bling for the Fargo...

Hmmmm, the Fargo frame uses full-housing cables and has braze-on cable guides under the top tube and along the stays. I've assumed that the housing would be fastened by cables ties, but while poking around the Jagwire site I discovered there are special c-clips to use with the guides.

Never knew about them before but they should make the cabling nice and tidy.

A bit more digging and voilà - bling for the bike. Anodized c-clips in five colours. Cool!

Bags in the Bag...

Very exciting delivery today from Bedrock. From Bedrock Bags that is, not from Fred and Barney.

I ordered them on back on 1 August. Andrew Wracher of Bedrock has been busy and has a longish production queue, but I was happy enough with the wait.

Quality, finish, workmanship is impressive, so it was well worth it. So now it's time to think about a practice pack to find out what fits and what doesn't.

Top: Custom Frame Bag - Dual Zipper Main Pocket With Divider And Non-Drive Side Map Pocket - super deluxe
Centre/Under: Entrada handlebar Bag with Pocket.
Bottom:Coconino Seat Bag with Railwing

So the question arises - just what is the capacity of the Bedrock bikepacking bags I'm going to use.

According to Bedrock, the seat bag has a capacity of 12 litres.

I calculate the capacity of the frame bag at close enough to 10 litres and the handlebar bag at 7 litres.

In addition I'll be using three bags on Anything cages at 5 litres each.

That gives a total capacity of 44 litres - about the same as a pair of Ortlieb Back Rollers.

And that is not counting the pocket or cockpit bags, which don't add much to the total capacity but will carry a multitude of small items.

Fargo's cargo is Vargo...

A few posts back I was mulling over ways to consolidate my cookware so it could be carried on an Anything cage. Finding the right size pot was not looking promising, so an MSR Windburner or Jetboil was under consideration - but really, adding another stove to my collection is the last thing I need. In fact I'm soon going to have a stove sell-off.

But today I found the perfect pot - the Vargo Bot. I don't know how I missed it as I'm sure looked here before: Vargo Bot Review.

Doh - missing sprockets found...

"Lucky I looked closely, the cassette is wrong - 13-36t in 11-36t packaging, so back to Bike24 to sort out."

See - there is no 11 tooth sprocket.



Oh - there it is...



After a brief exchange of email with Bike24, it was suggested I remove the packaging and look underneath the cassette - et voilà, the 11t sprocket and lockring. Who'da thunk it?

Bashguard bonus...

The SRAM GX 1000 36/22 GPX chainset I ordered from TweeksCycles.com arrived this morning, and I was very pleased to discover it is fitted with a bash guard. Bonus! Many thanks to Tweeks, who offered a very competitive price when Bike24 could not source stocks.

Drivetrain components delivered...

A box of driveline components arrived from Bike24 today - Apex shifters, rear derailleur, bottom bracket, chain and cassette. Lucky I looked closely, the cassette is wrong - 13-36t in 11-36t packaging, so back to Bike24 to sort out.
Then there is just the crankset and front derailleur to come, but both are on the way and should arrive by next week.

Bikepacking bags...Bedrock

The components are all on the way now, so now it's time to do something about the bikepacking bags.
After much agonising and despair over the exchange rate, I have bitten the bullet and ordered from Bedrock bags.
It's my view that Bedrock have designed the best seat bag and in particular the best handlebar bag for drop bars.
So, Entrada handlebar bag with pocket, Coconino seat bag with railwing, and super deluxe custom frame bag dual zipper main pocket with divider and non-drive side map pocket - all ordered.

Packing strategy...

One of the reasons for choosing the Fargo frame was that it had plenty of room for bags. It's a 20" frame so it can take a large frame bag, and there is plenty of room behind the saddle for a large seat bag. Not quite so roomy at the front with drop bars, but I've got the widest woodchippers available, so it is what it is. Both fork legs have triple bosses for Anything cages.

I'm assuming the need to carry gear for 4 seasons, water for a day and perhaps an overnight camp, and food for up to 3 or 4 days.

Three Anything cages will be used, one on each fork leg and one under the downtube. The fork leg cages will be fitted with Anything bags and will be my complete kitchen and larder. I'm hoping that a Jetboil or MSR Windburner will fit in one bag, if not I'll find a tall pot and use my Kovea Spider. The other will carry food. The third Anything cage under the downtube will carry a Tarptent Protrail.

Handlebar bag will carry sleeping bag in a compression stuff sack, rain jacket and rain legs, gilet, arm and leg warmers and gloves. Attached will be a pocket which will contain snack food, personal stuff, toiletries, medications, back up battery etc. A couple of cockpit bags will hold camera, phone, charger and cables.

Seatbag will hold one set of street clothes and one set of camp clothes (merino thermals), an ultralight down jacket and two spare sets of cycling clothes.

I'll use a two compartment frame bag. The top compartment will hold a 4 litre water bladder and Sawyer mini filter. The lower compartment will contain tools and spares, sleeping mat, camp shoes and any overflow items.

For bags, I've been looking at Porcelain Rocket, Revelate, and Bedrock. I've concluded that I prefer the more streamlined sweetroll type bag to the harness/drybag arrangement. Porcelain Rocket are very nice bags but very expensive, so I've all but ruled them out on price. Revelate bags are most affordable, and I could be happy with them, but I think the Bedrock handlebar bar has much neater and more compact closures than the Revelate, and will make the best use of the limited space within the woodchippers. And the new version of the Coconino seat bag has the built-in Railwing stabiliser which should be a worthwhile feature.

So current thinking is, Bedrock two-compartment frame bag, Coconino seat bag, Entrada handlebat bag with pocket, Revelate Sprocket, Gas Tank and Jerrycan, Salsa Anything bags.

Final components ordered...

The final pieces of the jigsaw have clicked into place. It has taken quite a while for the new SRAM GX components to reach the stores, but now my orders have been fulfilled and the parts are on the way.

I'm still thinking about changing the rear hub to a through axle, and I may yet choose to go for leather bar tape, but otherwise very soon I'll have all the necessary components on hand to start the build.

Which means it's time to move on the Van Nicholas Pioneer Rohloff and maybe a few other bit 'n' pieces to make room for it.

More Fargo components have arrived

Cazadero tyres have arrived, plus Stans to mount them tubeless. And a couple of small bottles of sealant for the toolkit.





The Cazadero tread looks like it will be a winner on gravel.
And the cables have arrived too - green of course.

Fargo build - components update...

OK, so here's an updated component list:

Frame: Salsa Fargo 2 Size L Gunmetal grey
Fork: Salsa Firestarter Carbon Fibre
Rear Hub: Hope Pro II Evo 40T Rear Hub Disc - black 36h
Front Hub: Shutter Precision PD-8X Disc Hub Dynamo - black 36h
Rims: Stan's NoTubes ZTR Flow EX 29" MTB Rim 2015 - black 36h
Spokes: DT Champion black 14g
Rear Skewer: Salsa Flip-Offs Stainless Steel green
Front Axle: RockShox Maxle Lite XC Thru Axle 15x100 mm
Brakes: TRP Spyre Mechanical Disc Brake
Brake Discs: TRP 160mm
Tyres: Soma Cazadero 700x42mm
Saddle: Brooks Cambium C17 Slate
Seatpost: Thomson Elite Setback black - 27.2 x 410 mm
Seat Collar: Salsa Liplock green
Stem: Thomson Elite X4 31.8 black - 90mm - 10°
Handlebar: Salsa Woodchipper 2 Offroad Drop Bar 31.8 - 46cm
Bar Tape: Salsa Gel Cork green
Bar End Plugs: KCNC green
Top Cap: Salsa Fargo Ahead Cap 1 1/8" - black
Spacers: KREX Alloy Black
Headset: Cane Creek 40 ZS44/EC44
Crankset: SRAM GX-1000 2x10 GXP - Black 175mm - 36/22 teeth
Bottom Bracket: Truvativ GXP Team Bottom Bracket Cups BSA 68/73mm
Front Derailleur: SRAM GX 10-Speed - 38/36 Teeth - High Direct Mount top pull
Rear Derailleur: SRAM GX 2x10 Type 2.1 10-speed - long - Black
Cassette: SRAM PG-1050 10-speed 11-36
Chain: SRAM PC 1051 PowerChain 10-speed
Levers: SRAM Apex DoubleTap Controls - Set 2x10-speed - Black
Pedals: Shimano XT PD-M785 Trail Wide
Cables: Jagwire Pro Road Extra Long Brake/Gear Kit - Green
Front Light: Exposure Revo
Rear Light: Exposure Red Eye

Gravel grinder tyre choice...

After much research I've settled on the 700x42mm Soma Cazadero as my gravel grinder tyre.



Looks quite a rugged tyre with a continuous centre rail that should roll well, and plenty of lugs for edge grip on the gravel. Weight is a reasonable 510gm.

Not tubeless but the forums report successful ghetto conversions.

Fargo - through axle conversion for the rear?

Looking at the front wheel with its through axle hub, my sense of symmetry and the certainty of correct rotor to caliper alignment urges me to convert the rear end to a 12x142 through axle setup.

The Hope hub is easily and cheaply converted - only the end caps have to be changed.



The alternator plates and Maxle though are fairly expensive.


Sigh...decisions, decisions.

The Fargo has wheels...

And now, the Fargo has wheels - Stan's Notubes ZTR Flow EX rims, drilled for 36 spokes...


Shutter Precision PD-8X


Hope Pro 2 Evo

Gravel grinder tyres...

The Kenda Kozmik Lite II Pro 29 x 2.0 looks promising.

Tubeless ready, reasonably light with good volume.

The centre tread looks like it will roll fast and the side knobs will give some float and edge grip.


Review by Rules of Endurance.

Bikepacking - what to pack, how to pack it?

One of the reasons for choosing the Fargo frame was that it has plenty of room for bags. It's a 20" frame so it can take a large frame bag, and there is plenty of room behind the saddle for a large seat bag. Not quite so roomy at the front with drop bars, but I've got the widest woodchippers available, so it is what it is. Both fork legs have triple bosses for Anything cages.

I'm assuming the need to carry gear for 4 seasons, water for a day and perhaps an overnight camp, and food for up to 3 or 4 days.

Three Anything cages will be used, one on each fork leg and one under the downtube. The fork leg cages will be fitted with Anything bags and will be my complete kitchen and larder. I'm hoping that a Jetboil or MSR Windburner will fit in one bag, if not I'll find a tall pot and use my Kovea Spider. The other will carry food. The third Anything cage under the downtube will carry a Tarptent Protrail.

Handlebar bag will carry sleeping bag in a compression stuff sack, rain jacket and rain legs, gilet, arm and leg warmers and gloves. Attached will be a pocket which will contain snack food, personal stuff, toiletries, medications, back up battery etc. A couple of cockpit bags will hold camera, phone, charger and cables.

Seatbag will hold one set of street clothes and one set of camp clothes (merino thermals), an ultralight down jacket and two spare sets of cycling clothes.

I'll use a two compartment frame bag. The top compartment will hold a 4 litre water bladder and Sawyer mini filter. The lower compartment will contain tools and spares, sleeping mat, camp shoes and any overflow items.

For bags, I've been looking at Porcelain Rocket, Revelate, and Bedrock. I've concluded that I prefer the more streamlined sweetroll type bag to the harness/drybag arrangement. Porcelain Rocket are very nice bags but very expensive, so I've all but ruled them out on price. Revelate bags are most affordable, and I could be happy with them, but I think the Bedrock handlebar bar has much neater and more compact closures than the Revelate, and will make the best use of the limited space within the woodchippers. And the new version of the Coconino seat bag has the built-in Railwing stabiliser which should be a worthwhile feature.

So current thinking is, Bedrock two-compartment frame bag, Coconino seat bag, Entrada handlebat bag with pocket, Revelate Sprocket, Gas Tank and Jerrycan, Salsa Anything bags.

First component delivery has arrived...

Most of the finishing kit.


Just need a drive train now.