Bright (?) ideas for reducing weight or volume when packing.

[Baldy]

.

2 My spare clothes are voluminous, but light. I'd like to be able to vacuum pack them using my bicycle pump. We do something similar with spare quilts and the vacuum cleaner at home.

Please share your brilliant ideas.

just don't carry spare clothes, problem sorted.

 

[Cycleops]

Thongs instead of y fronts ?

Please, I'm having my supper.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Assuming he'll be using Ortleib panniers, I see one small problem with your plan.

You're right, I've forgotten to advise pressurising the frame too for extra buoyancy. Apologies!!

 

[ExBrit]

Thongs instead of y fronts ?

Just go commando.

 

[Drago]

Lighter tyres and tubes. An ounce of rolling mass is worth 3 in the Bush,

 

[Ming the Merciless]

An inflatable bike. Just deflate to pack in bed and breakfast and reinflate when ready to go.

 

[Drago]

Carry tyre levers, patches and even a pump, if you can find one of the requisite size, inside the seat post. Spare cable inners can be loosely folded and carried inside the handlebars.

 

[Jameshow]

Don't forget the 600ml can of wd40, degreaser and dry and wet lube for every situation!!!

 

[StuAff]

Given the feasability of some of these ideas, an improbability generator and a really strong cup of tea are required…

 

[Salty seadog]

Take less stuff.

Your welcome.

 

[mjr]

The way to reduce the volume of clothes to a minimum is to roll them, tightly, not fold them, and if you pack the rolls vertically they're easier to ram into the pannier tightly.

This is the only way of packing I've yet found to make certain cycling jerseys look unacceptably scrunched/creased! How could it be otherwise? The inside and outside of the rolled item are the same length and attached at the sides, so the inside of the roll will always be a tighter curve and wanting to crease to get back in sync with the outer of the roll.

I think it's better to fold them, slip them into a bag with an airtight closure (some like ziplocks, some like dry bags), then sit on the bag to expel the air while you close it. Then of course, drop the bags into the pannier so they're vertical and you can pull the desired one out easily. Put the pannier on its side while you load it to avoid the inner bags slumping or sliding around.

 

[PaulSB]

I'm off on a trip tomorrow and got to thinking about improving my packing. Here are two brilliant ideas.

1 I've been carrying a hefty chain and lock. Now I'm thinking of using a spare 9 speed chain with a padlock. That way I have a spare chain if I need it.

2 My spare clothes are voluminous, but light. I'd like to be able to vacuum pack them using my bicycle pump. We do something similar with spare quilts and the vacuum cleaner at home.

Please share your brilliant ideas.

These are available to buy, from Dunelm I think. The bag has a zip seal and a one way vacuum valve. I have several. Simply lay clothing flat inside, zip up the bag and roll tightly towards the end with the vacuum valve. Air is expelled and the volume significantly reduced. Works very well.

 

[All uphill]

These are available to buy, from Dunelm I think. The bag has a zip seal and a one way vacuum valve. I have several. Simply lay clothing flat inside, zip up the bag and roll tightly towards the end with the vacuum valve. Air is expelled and the volume significantly reduced. Works very well.

The innovation would be to develop a bicycle pump with an outlet to inflate tyres, as normal, and an inlet which could be used to vacuum pack a bag during a tour, thus reducing its volume.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Lighter tyres and tubes. An ounce of rolling mass is worth 3 in the Bush,

That’s where you throw the lightweight tubes and tyres when you get the sixth puncture in 2 hours.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

How did the trip go, and how much weight / volume did you manage to reduce your packing by?