Overland Mountain Bike | Extending your capabilities beyond the campsite

There have been plenty of instances when traveling overland that we’ll pull into our campsite for the night and realize we’re not quite done exploring. That’s why we always pack a couple of backpacks. So we can set-up camp, eat and push out to explore our surroundings. Which isn’t a bad idea anyhow to insure you’re not setting up next to a mountain lions den or some other unforeseen danger. But what do you do if hiking isn’t enough? How about an Overland bike?

Overland Bike Video

Specialized Fuze Expert 27.5+

Having ridden road and mountain bikes most of my life, my wife and I continue to share this activity back home. But why not bring a bike specifically set up for Overland travel. Something with similar characteristics as the truck. A bike capable of handling the challenges we face in the locations we travel to. A bike like the Specialized Fuze Expert 27.5+. Most trucks and SUV’s have a trailer hitch capable of attaching a bike hauler. Like the Yakima HoldUp Evo we used for Overland Expo last season as well as KOAR this fall.

Here are some of the characteristics we found necessary to be a useful extension of our Overland vehicle:

Features of an Overland bicycle:

• Tires: Oversized 27.5” x 3” ”plus width” all terrain tires capable of “airing down” and floating through sand and other loose conditions. Also capable of providing exceptional grip and additional dampening on rough trails and rocks.
• Front Shocks: Adjustable RockShox provide increased front end dampening for those faster downhill runs and impacts with large obstacles and washouts.
• Wide handle bars: This increases leverage for better rider control. Important on the types of rocks and obstacles we face in Colorado and Utah. A contrast from the early mountain bikes with really narrow bars. The down side is clipping trees when the trail narrows.
• Pedals: Coming from road bikes and used to being clipped into a cleat style pedal, I knew I didn’t want to go that route with this bike. Cleats require a specialized shoe and not something I wanted to add to the packing list. Crank Brothers makes a fantastic flat pedal that provides tons of grip on my hiking shoes.
• Storage: Deuter produces great mountain bike storage options that easily fit between the frame. Their Front Triangle Bag allows room for additional tools, spare inner tube, snacks, sunglasses, gloves or any small personal items.
• Lighting: NiteRider Lumina 1200 Boost rechargeable LED headlamp. This attaches directly to the handle bars providing a clear picture of what’s in front of the rider at night. An additional lamp can be attached to the helmet providing additional illumination wherever the riders head is pointed. This kit includes a 250 lumen red LED tail light that attaches to the seat-post helping riders follow each other at night.
• Navigation: We heavily use the GAIA GPS app on a tablet mounted in the cab of the truck. It’s versatility and ability to download maps while using off the grid have made it one of the most important tools we use. While on the bike, I mount my iPhone to the handlebars with a Quad-Lock and follow the same detailed GAIA app while riding.
• Water: Hydration can be achieved several ways while riding. Wearing a hydration pack is usually the easiest way to carry a significant amount of water comfortably. But for shorter rides, I just use an Insulated water bottle mounted to the bike frame.
• Air Pump: Mounted alongside the water bottle cage is a Crank Brothers Klic HV bike pump. Weather fixing a flat, replacing a tube or changing tire pressures, a good durable pump is a must have recovery item.
• Tools: Modern bike manufacturers have been kind enough to minimize the tool kit needed to service common items. Utilizing only a few different sized Allen bolts, a small tool kit is all you need to remove wheel bolts, adjust or realign handlebars and seats, etc. Below the Specialized Zee Cage is an integrated mini tool kit with these essential wrenches. Ensuring we‘re not stranded far from camp due to a mechanical failure.

Final Thoughts

Since our trip out to Colorado and Utah this past year, we’ve utilized the Overland bikes on a couple of shorter trips. I was initially unsure about hauling them for the 5000 mile round trip, but looking back, I kinda regret it. We could have made it work and will probably attempt a similar trip in the future. But this time, we’ll bring our new Overland bike.