How much weight can I load on my "audax" bike?

[mrfacetious]

Hi all, when I bought my bike I was after something that I could do both quick rides and touring on. The bike was billed on eBay as a "light touring/audax/winter" bike which the guy was selling because it wouldn't take a child in a seat.
I'm using this frame:

with a set of 4za carbon forks.
I had the option of buying racing wheels or custom-built touring wheels with it, so I opted for the touring wheels. I'm using a Panaracer Stradius Elite 700x26 front tyre and am about to fit a Schwalbe Marathon 700x25(/26) rear tyre. It has a triple chainset and a Blackburn Explorer Pannier rack.
I weigh about 70kg.

I hope this is helpful - I don't want to abuse my bike so I'd like a realistic rear weight limit. I can't fit front panniers but have a handlebar bag with a weight limit of 5kg.

In summary:

• "Winter" bike/carbon forks/triple
• Touring wheels, 700x26 touring tyres
• 70kg rider

any help appreciated!

EDIT!!!
Buying new tyres - if I go down to 700x25 at the rear, am I likely to compromise load-bearing ability? Thanks!

 

[stumpy66]

Not sure of weights, but wider tyres would b advisable, at least 32's imho, from a comfort point. Im sure others will help more with weights. When i got my tourer, i looked at drawing up a list of all the kit i would need and then went about buying the lightest stuff i could afford. I couldnt tell you how much my fully laden tourer weighs but i can hardly lift it

 

[Crackle]

Depends on that frame I'd say but say 15 KG on the back. Thorn issue guidelines for their Audax bike of 20kg spread between front and back. I would tend to aim for those sort of figures with a bit of suck it and see thrown in to see how it handles with different weight loads on the back.

 

[jay clock]

On the tyre front when I had a similar bike as a tourer I had 28mm and couldn't see why I would want bigger.
Re the weight, a couple of pannier loads should be fine. However you cannot realistically put pannier racks on the front with a carbon fork

 

[doog]

Two factors and that is wheel quality and carbon forks. Your weight will be mainly on the rear so your choice of touring wheels is crucial -so decent choice. I would say max of 15kg on the rear with your 5kg on the front. Handling wise you may well end up with 10kg on the rear or you will / may suffer major frame flex....try it and see.

 

[Ian H]

Main thing with smaller tyres is to keep them hard, otherwise you'll get pinch punctures with a load on. Larger ones might give a bit more comfort, depending where you're going. As regards weight, I just load what ever I need and never check, but I've certainly had a bike that was extremely difficult to lift at the back. I use an audax type frame for touring, either Ti or ancient steel. Used to use my old 631, which was a little flexible (once broke a mudguard/carrier eye on that one because it was only three-point fixing).

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I'm surprised how such low (15kg) weight limits have been quoted given that the OP is only 70kg. I would have thought that a 90kg rider with a gut would be putting almost as much weight onto the rear and no one here is likely to suggest to such a cyclist that they shouldn't get on the bike until they've shed a few kilos.

 

[jay clock]

just spotted the 5kg bar bag plan. That sounds like a collossal amount to me. I use mine for small odds and sods

 

[vernon]

It's an impossible question to answer.

You could add a kilo at a time until you start snapping pokes then tour with one kilo less once you've replaced the spokes.

Seriously though, it is a difficult question to answer.

Have you tried contacting the frame supplier?

 

[Camrider]

Adding too much weight to a frame not designed to handle it is likely to seriously effect its handling. I do day rides and weekend tours staying somewhere with comfy beds so I do not need to carry too much which is why when I got my last bike I got a Thorn sports tourer over the standard tourer. For my extra £250 I got a more nimble bike but one with a much reduced maximum carrying load.

The recommended maximum rear weight for my bike is 16Kg with 8kg on the front. They also suggest adding some weight to the front if the back is carrying more than 10kg. Your frame is likely to have similar or lower limitations, but the only way to find out is a bit of trial and error. Take it on some test runs carrying different loads making sure you have a decent hill to go up and down and see how it handles.

 

[doog]

agree with the above. My Tricross frame flexes like hell with rear panniers and tent, handles like a dog and does unintentional wheelies with me on it. No such issues with 4 panniers and the weight shared between them.

 

[andrew_s]

Whilst a frame may flex quite a lot if there's too much weight on the back, you can find you just get used to it after a few days and can ride more or less normally. It's partly an adjustment of riding style (i.e not rocking the bike from side to side), and partly an adjustment of steering input so you calm the flex down rather than make it worse.

If you intend camping, you may find that a second pair of forks, headset, front rack and panniers is cheaper than lightweight camping gear.

 

[jjb]

Andrew S has it right re riding style.

I used a Genesis Aether / carbon fork / light wheels set-up for cycle camping and was fine (I'm about 74kg I think). Thing is to go for light camping gear, keeping it at or below 10kg, not so much because of any hard limits, more just that the number of mechanical problems and hiccups will increase with weight and 10kg is quite doable these days for camping gear and panniers and shoes / clothes. As someone said, they wouldn't say the bike couldn't cope with a 90kg rider. I added a big melon one day on tour, making it 11kg maybe, and it was a noticeable difference - if I'd had that weight all the time I might've taken the road-optimised MTB.

For audax bike touring, I'd leave that bar bag at home - it probably weighs 800g empty.

 

[mrfacetious]

Thanks, all. I'm getting mixed messages here - though I like the second set of forks idea. I'm pretty sure 15 on the back and 5 on the front is manageable, esp if I can find a way to jam my sleeping bag under the handlebar bag. I'm happy to bivvy with a tarp for rides of 7-10 days so that would definitely get the weight down (my tent is quite heavy). I'm pretty sure the tyres go to around 90PSI too which should help.

 

[rollinstok]

I'd strongly advise against putting 5kg in a barbag, this would affect your handling.
The bag may have a limit of 5kg but in reality it may struggle being "maxed out" over a period of time
Most people put valuables and other small, light, handy items in the barbag, mainly as an easy way to keep the valuables with them at cafe stops etc
The best thing would be to evaluate exactly what you plan to take and look at ways to save weight here
My rear rack and panniers with tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, spares/tools for the bike, clothing, washkit etc weigh app 11kg in total if I am on a 2 week tour
The barbag ( though never weighed it ) I would guess has between 1 1/2 and 2 kilos max
My barbag holds wallet, keys, fags ( wish I was strong enough to quit ) latex gloves ( for punctures and other dirty work ) energy snacks, tiny radio and a book