Its all too much

[Muddyfox]

Jim ... i have a lightweight "flickable machine" and a touring bike and in all honesty i'd rather ride the touring bike, and given the choice of riding with loaded panniers or a rucksack on my back i'd choose the panniers, riding 60+ miles a day with a rucksack on would piss me off no end

If you look at any of the big touring websites the most popular way to tour (by far) is with a loaded touring bike and panniers (they cant all be wrong ?)

If it is'nt for you then go for the lightweight thing

Simon

 

[andrew_s]

...beware of turning the trip into a minimalist exercise for the sake of it.

like this chap? - 5920 km from Vancouver to New York (av. 160km/day), camping, with a luggage weight of 5.7kg, or 15.8kg including bike.

 

[BalkanExpress]

Good point - as they say about equipment, "Light. Strong. Cheap. Choose any two".

Here are a few thoughts from my experience of cycle touring on a standard (Reynolds 531 and drops) bike.
- good quality lightweight equipment is regularly available secondhand at the same cost as mediocre new stuff. I'm perfectly happy with a s/h sleeping bag, for instance.
- most people simply take far too much stuff: e.g. shoes for the evening as well as shoes to cycle in, or so many electronic gadgets that they might as well be at home. To stop myself doing that, I use to take only what would fill my rear panniers but re-pack it using from panniers as well.
- you really don't need to cater for every possible disaster. If you are in Europe outside winter, stuff will dry out without you dying of hypothermia and shops are around to sell you all the necessities of life. I would rather inconvenience myself for half a day replacing something broken than weigh myself down for a week carrying spares for everything.
- it is psychologically important to have a luxury or two. Mine were a small wooden pepper grinder and a couple of dense paperbacks.

I think the last two lines are the crux of this. We all have very different views as to what is psychologically important for us.

For me a dry pair of socks and shoes to change into at the end of a long day is more important than freshly ground pepper (or it would be if I actually cooked for myself on tour). Others will have very different priorities and that's fine by me, we'd have nothing to talk about on here if we were all the same.

The good news for me is that I've lost a few KG in weight since last year so I can pack more pairs of socks than before and still show a net gain

 

[bigjim]

Jim ... i have a lightweight "flickable machine" and a touring bike and in all honesty i'd rather ride the touring bike, and given the choice of riding with loaded panniers or a rucksack on my back i'd choose the panniers, riding 60+ miles a day with a rucksack on would piss me off no end

If you look at any of the big touring websites the most popular way to tour (by far) is with a loaded touring bike and panniers (they cant all be wrong ?)

If it is'nt for you then go for the lightweight thing

Simon, Simon..
I'm looking at and exploring options. It's interesting to see others views and read their thoughts on the subject. The rucksack is to be carried on the rear rack. Not on your back! you can then wear it when leaving the bike to explore or even nip into a shop or whatever. "The most popular way" does not mean it is correct, it may be correct for them! There are plenty of others touring lightweight I'm sure. Big heavy 4/4rs are probably "most popular" but you can still get around in a Nissan Micra. Surely the point is that one does not have to tour whilst being loaded down with heavily marketed [pun intended] expensive, branded luggage systems. I would hate somebody to be put off touring by having to aquire and hump around the amount of stuff that is seen as the "most popular" way of doing it.
Everybody to their own of course, just interested that all.

Jim.

 

[Muddyfox]

Jim ... i was'nt being stressy and if i've come over in that way i apollogise

I was just trying to say that "my preference" would be to ride my touring bike and not the lighter bike, but my style of riding is a slow plod and i agree with you about being conditioned to have the "correct gear" by the marketing people as i've been looking at kitting myself out for touring this year and the cost is considerable if you go for the latest lightweight kit

Simon

 

[bigjim]

Simon
You can still plod on your touring bike but with a little bit of ingenuity [needle and thread, pop rivets etc] you can knock together some decent lightweight kit that will carry your possessions. There are decent lightweight tents [argos. peak, coleman] at the £40-£60 mark and sleeping bags under £40. You don't need fancy kit or labels. Take a look at this site. http://www2.arnes.si/~ikovse/weight.htm

The guy is a bit over the top IMO but he's a good souce of inspiration.

Jim

 

[BigGee]

Best way to cut down on weight is from the waistline and not the bags.

Lost 10kg training and doing JOGLE last sept, so was effectively carrying my luggage weight free!

Unfortunately have put a fair bit of it back on over the winter. I guess I had better get another trip planned!

Grahame

 

[snorri]

There are plenty of others touring lightweight I'm sure.

There might be, but I've never met any.
I remain to be convinced of the joys of lightweight touring, might be ok for a few days, but if you are away for several weeks......

 

[rich p]

I have to agree with Snorri on this one.
Take all the essentials and then add the essential luxuries! (**oxymoron alert**)

 

[Muddyfox]

I remain to be convinced of the joys of lightweight touring, might be ok for a few days, but if you are away for several weeks......

I think i would only consider my lightweight bike if it was going to be less than a week and touring on a credit card (no camping kit) even then i'd probably ride the Panorama ... just for the comfort

Simon

 

[bigjim]

There might be, but I've never met any.

thats probably because they have whizzed past you.
Seriousley though there are two with websites already mentioned on this posting. So they do exist. Oh and the guy that goes around the world on a penny farthing.

Jim

 

[asterix]

My touring load, pared right down is 20kg on an 11.5 kg bike. In 2007 I did the touring Raid Pyrenean with it all and it was fine. I'd a good range of gears so on the ascents just slipped into the low ones and watched the scenery go by. Only bad bit was the ski town a bit before the top of Mt Tourmalet which defines tacky.

Even on the hard bits, I never felt I'd taken too much. My tent was a 2 person Hilleberg which was a real comfort at the end of the wet days.

In June I'm going on a supported RP where they carry the heavy stuff. I'll enjoy it but will miss that sense of independence.

 

[rich p]

My touring load, pared right down is 20kg on an 11.5 kg bike. In 2007 I did the touring Raid Pyrenean with it all and it was fine. I'd a good range of gears so on the ascents just slipped into the low ones and watched the scenery go by. Only bad bit was the ski town a bit before the top of Mt Tourmalet which defines tacky.

Even on the hard bits, I never felt I'd taken too much. My tent was a 2 person Hilleberg which was a real comfort at the end of the wet days.

In June I'm going on a supported RP where they carry the heavy stuff. I'll enjoy it but will miss that sense of independence.

I had lunch in La Mongie on the way down after 'conquering' the Tourmalet last summer - tacky but a welcome oasis for beer and steak frites nevertheless!