THE PINCH FLAT JOURNAL:
ADVENTURE BY BIKE

In 2025, I entered TCR #11, riding my bike almost 5000 kms across Europe from Atlantic coast to Black Sea. Here is everything I took, from the bike, to the bags, to the clothes and spares, along with my take on what worked and what didn’t.

Wherever and however you ride your bike, a good set of bike lights is essential, and from cheap city run arounds to the types that light up the entire forest, there’s no shortage of great lights available on the market. But the search for the perfect set of lights is far from straight forward. So how good are Knog’s Blinder 1300 and R-150?

Looking to piece together your first bikepacking setup but not quite sure where to start? In the Pinch Flat guide to bikepacking bags, we break down everything you need to know, from what they’re each intended for, design differences and how to combine them to get the right set up to suit you and your ambitions for adventure by bike.

It’s often said that to be truly valuable, the best kit for minimal adventures needs at least uses. Combining lightweight carrying capacity with high visibility then, is the Visibility Cargo Vest from Albion the perfect solution for riding long distances in one simple package? Let’s find out.

There’s no doubt that Tailfin could have put together a fine frame bag long ago. Instead, demonstrating extraordinary attention to detail, the heads at Tailfin have taken the time to redesign the heart of the bikepacking setup right from its bones. And in doing so they have created what could just be the finest frame bag on the market. Better still, they’ve created nine size variants to suit every bike and rider.