Bicycles & Equipment
Below you can see our different bikepacking bikes and packing lists we typically use on trips.
We love cycling. It's as simple as that. We simply love cycling. And we especially love challenging ourselves with tough terrain, over big mountains, on lonely stretches through sand-blasted deserts, over distant steppes, through cold snowy landscapes. We love everything that takes us far, far away from the black asphalt roads and everything that smells of adventure and freedom.
When we have cycled so many different types of bikepacking, it is only possible because we also have a great passion for the equipment. Both the bikes and the equipment that must fit the challenge. Whether it is a race in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, a crossing of continents, or a winter expedition in -30 degrees.
Below we dive into our different types of bikes, what they can do, what adventures they are suitable for, and how we typically pack them.
Mountain bike
Our mountain bikes are the ones we love to bikepack on the most. They are light enough to be fast, and sturdy enough to handle really tough terrain, or seriously long miles. That's why we use them both for long expeditions when we cross continents, and for races where the terrain is extreme.
We adjust the bikes before each ride, according to the task ahead. Either they can be tuned with suspension, clipless pedals and light luggage for racing or fast, easy rides. Or they can be set up with a rigid fork, luggage rack, comfortable riding position and flat pedals so they can be ridden day in and day out, over long distances.
Our current mountain bikes are hand-built bikes from our friends at Legs Legs.
Custom built BenBen titanium enduro hardtail
BenBen carbon 29″ i35mm wheelset
- The front wheel is built on a SON28 dynamo hub
- The rear wheel is built on a DT Swiss 240 superboost hub
Rockshox Pike 120mm fork / Seido BPS fork
Shimano XTR brakes
SRAM GX 12speed gear group
Fox transfer dropper post. 175mm
Klite USB charging and lighting system
Kenneth's packing list for the Silk Road Mountain Race
Kenneth's packing list for a long expedition
Custom built BenBen steel enduro hardtail
Costume paint job by Carbel Colors
BenBen carbon 29″ i30mm wheelset built on DT Swiss 240 hubs
Rockshox SID 120mm fork / Cotoc Alpaca fork
Shimano XT brakes
SRAM GX 12speed gear group
29+ bike
Our 29+ steel bikes are actually built as big, fun mountain bikes. But we have mostly used them for expedition bikepacking. Among other things, on the trip from Argentina to Alaska. But we have also ridden them in Iceland and other places. The bikes are custom-built bikes from Legs Legs. Despite the large 3-inch tires, the bikes are relatively light and the geometry is fun and playful. 29+ was for many years the preferred wheel size for serious bikepacking, and it is safe to say that this bike type itself has helped define what modern bikepacking can do. The possibilities the bike offers for tackling terrain have pushed the boundaries of what can be achieved on a packed bike. Although 2.6 or even 2.25 tires have gradually become more normal within bikepacking, 3.00 is still a golden standard that has certainly not been forgotten.
BenBen custom built steel rigid hardtail.
29×3.00 wheels mounted on Surly Rabbithole rims and Hope hubs
SRAM GX 11speed gear group
Shimano XT brakes
With custom-built steel luggage rack, for large expeditions
Kenneth's packing list for a long expedition
BenBen custom built steel rigid hardtail.
29×3.00 wheels mounted on Surly Rabbithole rims and Hope hubs
SRAM GX 11speed gear group
Shimano XT brakes
With custom-built steel luggage rack, for large expeditions
Gravel bike
We often use our gravel bikes at home for day trips and training rides. But we also use them for shorter and faster bikepacking trips, especially in Denmark, but also abroad.
They are significantly faster than our hardtails, and agile enough to ride light singletrack. They require a very light load to not strain the bike too much and maintain speed.
BenBen/ Hansen's ice bike. Steel.
BenBen carbon 29″ i30mm wheelset built on Chris King hubs
Carbon front fork
SRAM Apex groupset
Kenneth's packing list for light and fast
BenBen Edition bike. Titanium.
BenBen 29″ i30mm wheelset built on BenBen hubs
LegsLegs steel fork
Shimano GRX group
Fat bike
Kenneth invested in a fat bike in 2022 to start winter adventures on a bike. In a way, the fat bike has always been the most useless bike I could imagine. But I also have to admit that it has a certain charm with its “I-can-do-anything” aura. When I think about where modern bikepacking started, in the remote areas of Alaska, the fat bike is the perfect bike to get the rider safely through all kinds of terrain. I bought a Surly fat bike, and as they write on their website, it can “bunny jump a grizzly bear”! However, it is a bike that should only be used in its right element, because on ordinary roads you don’t win the sprint!
Surly Ice Cream Truck. Steel.
Upgraded with SRAM GX 11speed. 1 blade in front.
Upgraded with DT Swiss 80mm lightweight rims
Schwalbe Al Mighty 26×4.80 with spikes
Kenneth's packing list for Winter bikepacking
Cargo bike
Kenneth's very first long-distance bike ride, in 2014, was on a cargo bike. It's absolutely the easiest way to go on a bike ride. You don't have to think about special bags, because you just throw a sports bag on the cargo bed. The ride went from St. Petersburg in Russia to Odessa in Ukraine. It was a gift to ride on the cargo bike because it opens up so many fun conversations with people. Everyone is curious about bikes, and that makes it easy to meet people. But on the ride I also found out that the small front wheel limited my ability to ride on gravel roads and into the big forests. So even here the curiosity about more off-road bikes started, for the next rides. It shouldn't be underestimated how heavy the bike is, compared to regular bikes. So it was a lot of work.
Omnium Cargo
20inch front wheel – 700c rear wheel
SRAM X7 gear group
Shimano XT brakes
The packing list has been forgotten. But what I remember best is a tent for 300kr from T Hansen.
