Fjallraven X Specialized; An Adventure in the Great Nearby
It’s 7:30am as we emerge from our now stifling tent that has been baking in the early morning sun and are greeted with a scorcher of a day. The mercury is already nudging 25c and another day of riding over the undulating and sinuous white gravel tracks lies in wait. First order of business is to coat ourselves in suncream to ward off the beating sun, it’s barely been above the horizon for more than an hour and already stifling.
We could be deep in the heart of Tuscany or among the soaring peaks of the Pyrenees but as it happens we’re in the Peak District on one of the hottest days of the year riding with Specialized and Fjällräven testing out the fruits of their latest collaboration; a complete suite of bike packing kit that’s functional both on and off the bike.
The strapline of the collaboration is ‘The Great Nearby’ which is incredibly fitting as we endured various lockdowns over recent years, and folks have been discovering adventure right on their doorstep. In the past we’d have jetted off to Europe to get out fix of cycling paradise but thanks to travel restrictions over the past few years, we’ve discovered there’s some epic riding on our own fair isle.
I’m a big fan of both Specialized and Fjällräven so were excited to test what they’d cooked up in the stunning Peak District. Normally a pretty damp part of the world, we’d managed to coincide our bike packing adventure with a heatwave which meant riding fully ladened bikes in 35c blazing sun up mighty hills. Hot didn’t even come close.
Rewind a couple of hours and we were on an industrial park in central Sheffield meeting our guides for this adventure. Stef and Dave from Pannier.cc had experience guiding bike packing tours from Kyrgyzstan to Scotland so we were in safe hands.
Our steed for the trip is a Specialized Diverge Expert, a carbon frame adorned with carbon wheels and a mullet groupset of SRAM Rival and Eagle components to winch us up the enormous hills on the route. Fjällräven had decked out the bike with their handlebar, top tube and frame bag to carry all the necessary bike packing essentials. Other riders had opted for the electrically assisted Turbo Creo SL EVO with the Coolcave Panniers, but more on the kit in another article.
Anyone that is familiar with Sheffield will be aware of its vertiginous nature; as we discovered there doesn’t seem to be a flat bit of road in the city rolling out towards the Peak District. Legs turned and conversations flowed as our little peloton weaved through the streets eventually swinging off the tarmac and diving into Whitely Woods to escape the traffic. The bike felt lively but planted which isn’t a surprise given the additional weight being carried but we thought the ride and handling might be adversely affected. The luggage was securely attached and didn’t budge even when ploughing over roots and rocks.
Pushing on past almost dry streams and overhanging trees which offered refuge from the baking sun we were soon faced with the largest hill of the day, a steady climb which summits at Stannage Pole. The climb starts on smooth tarmac and narrow country lanes with neatly trimmed hedges flanking the road and diving up the farmland into the distance. Trees offer a few seconds of welcome shade as everyone drops down into their lowest gears and the whir of e bike motors make us question our choice to go sans electricity.
The tarmac soon runs out and the first stint of gravel looms, the gradient still relentless with traction now at a premium.
Once we’d summited the gravelly incline, we grabbed a snack from the Toptube Bag that was perched behind the stem. This is a bag that we could see ourselves riding with every day, not just for bikepacking. Being able to have your phone and snacks at easy reach is a gamechanger as normally we’d be rummaging around in a lumbar pack or a jersey pocket. It also has the advantage over jersey pockets that the contents doesn’t get coated in a sheen of sweat or mud from the back wheel.
Different types of gravel might be a slightly mundane topic, but it has such an impact on how to ride it. Some gravel is fine, almost completely smooth and isn’t a million miles away from riding down a canal tow path or through a park. There’s very little thought to line choice as it’s basically a slightly loose but smooth road. On the other end of the spectrum is fist sized rocks lazily dumped decades ago with the vague hope that it wouldn’t all wash away at the first sight of rain; this is exactly what we we’re faced with and through in a near double figure gradient and you’ve got yourself quite the challenge.
A couple of minutes of picking our way up the loose and rocky climb interspersed with bursts of power to cross the water bars we emerged onto the plateau above Stannage Edge. 360 degree vistas took our breath away as the rolling hills disappeared faded into the horizon and a textbook white gravel track snaked off across the moors.
Once the high speed and very rough descent had been dealt with, it was miles upon miles of cruising on deserted roads accompanied by epic views. Despite the fast and rough gravel descents, the luggage strapped to the bike was staying put and because of some careful packing to minimise empty space the bags didn’t swing about putting us off balance.
It’s getting later in the afternoon now and the sun has finally relented, casting long shadows over the paths of the closing stages of the days ride. What picturesque final section of the ride it was too, a very cruisy lap of Derwent Water. With the dust catching the low golden sun, we could’ve been in riding the white gravel of Strade Bianchi.
Dropping back down into the valley, it was a short push to our camp at Edale and upon rounding the corner of the campsite we we’re greeted with a blissful sight. Gian from North Road Kitchen had been busy all afternoon and assembled a monumental spread of Italian goods, bread toasted on a fire and then lathered in the sweetest salt and oil we’d ever tasted was just the starter. Perfect sustenance for a day on the trails.
Having thoroughly refuelled, we unloaded our kit for the night. A change of clothes and a travel towel came out of the Handlebar Bag whilst a down jacket to fend off the chilly night, sleeping bag and our washbag was unpacked from the Frame Bag. We were lucky enough that the folk from Pannier had already pitched our tents but with the additional Saddlebag we could’ve carried our tent too.
It's a remarkably liberating feeling being able to unpack everything you need for a night’s sleep from a bike that you’ve ridden all day, it really adds to the feeling of adventure and the mind begins to wander to bigger and more ambitious bike packing trips. You hear stories of people riding across entire continents unsupported with just the things they can carry on their bike and begin to gain an understanding of the mindset that some slightly mad people possess.
Waking up with weary legs, we park the idea of continent crossing bike rides for the time being and decide to tackle the next 40km back to Sheffield first. Gian has worked his magic once again and there’s a hearty spread laid out to fuel us for the days adventure.
Full of food once again, we repacked our bags in a slightly less organised fashion than the previous day but thanks to the host of mesh pockets that adorn the interior of the Frame and Handlebar Bag everything had its place. Even after a day of riding over the jarring gravel of the Peaks, none of the bags needed adjusting or tightening which is an impressive feat and one we’re sure folks taking on more epic rides will be sure to appreciate.
Good job we did fuel up, almost immediately we’re scaling Mam Nick, an ascent littered with rocks and the climb quickly descends into a competition of who can make it farthest up the improbably steep and loose hill. Defeated by gravity and traction, it’s a slog to push the now slightly lighter bikes up the remainder of the hill and once again the Peaks reveal their epic views. Riding across the top of Mam Nick is like another planet; a vast featureless expanse criss crossed with gravel tracks. In the winter it’s probably very bleak up there, we wouldn’t want to be caught out when the visibility drops but on a day where there was barely a cloud in the sky it was paradise.
Normally when we slog up a hill on a bike, it’s because there’s an epic descent down the other side. If we happened to be riding a 160mm trail bike we would tend to agree on this occasion but the Diverge is a rigid machine and the Future Shock suspension could only take so much. We were lucky to make it down the five-minute descent in one piece; very chunky rocks and smooth slabs made for an exhilarating cocktail, one where line choice and delicate braking was the name of the game.
We were now at the farthest point from home and heading back towards Sheffield but still taking in some exceptional gravel riding and picturesque villages. A brief road section then leads into Stef asking the question of ‘short and steep or long and gentle’ for the climb back up to Stannage edge. Fancying a challenge, the votes were in favour of short and steep. What a mistake that was. Steep it was, short it wasn’t.
Almost three kilometres of double figure gradients in 35c temperatures is enough to make even the hardiest of riders feel beaten but with more huffing and puffing than a pig-based nursery rhyme we summited Stannage Edge once again and once again the views returned. We don’t think we’d ever get bored of riding in the Peaks, the weather might have other ideas but that’s what a coat is for right?
It was (quite literally) all downhill from here, 10 last kilometres of gravel paradise with a trip down a mountain bike trail thrown in for good measure; there’s something that feels so wrong yet very right about nailing berms with drop handlebars and luggage strapped to your bike.
Once again at the end of the ride, Gian appeared like a saviour although this time from his own kitchen and laid on a spread of authentic Italian treats. Expresso, canoli and even wine flowed as dust and sweat was wiped from our now tanned/burnt brows.
Basking in the sun at the end of an adventure is one of the great feelings in life and our thoughts strayed back to what other bike packing adventures we could get away with.
Huge thanks to Stef and Dave from Pannier for hosting us and the team at Specialized and Fjällräven for inviting us. Photos courtesy of Matt Grayson, Andrew Barlow and Matt Buckley.