Lightweight luggage

[rich p]

Mark there's always someone on forums to tell you where you're going wrong!
I don't travel light, I carry luxuries I could do without, albeit with the lightest kit I can afford, but I wouldn't dream of saying your approach is wrong any more than mine is right. Each to his own.
I read a cgoab blog of a Spanish guy who is travelling to Japan over the course of some years...
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/pic/?o=1&pic_id=1143806&size=large
using what appears to be 2 wastepaper bins as panniers!

 

[MarkF]

Mark there's always someone on forums to tell you where you're going wrong!
I don't travel light, I carry luxuries I could do without, albeit with the lightest kit I can afford, but I wouldn't dream of saying your approach is wrong any more than mine is right. Each to his own.
I read a cgoab blog of a Spanish guy who is travelling to Japan over the course of some years...
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/pic/?o=1&pic_id=1143806&size=large
using what appears to be 2 wastepaper bins as panniers!

Thanks Rich, I had forgotten about those bins, I read his Seville to Madrid trip a while back, the red look better than the white if you ask me.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1&page_id=105264&v=3C

 

[willem]

Is there anybody here with experience of the Hyalite LTW small, born Pacific Outdoors http://hyaliteequipment.com/bike-gear/view/ltw-small-pannier- that I mentioned earlier? Btw Crosso also make quite light paniers, but the hooks are not adjustable.
Willem

 

[hoopdriver]

I have done a lot of touring with just a saddlebag and bar bag - LEJOG, C2C, Lon Las Cymru, Hadrian's Wall. To be sure I was staying in B&Bs, not carrying camping gear, but for that kind of fast light touring a saddlebag can't be beat. I had a Carradice Super-C saddlebag (23 litres) and a Carradice Super-C bar bag (5 litres) and had ample room fir everything. i used a Bagman QR Expedition support bar for the saddlebag with not only keeps the bag stable but allows you to take it off and put it on again in a jiffy. I highly recommend this set up if you want to travel light.

 

[MarkF]

Thanks Hoopdiver. However, I do like panniers, easier to access and I do use the rack top all the time, a bag might interfere. If I can't get or have made what I want then I'll have to have a good look at the bags that you have mentioned.

 

[steveindenmark]

I'm tempted to get the sewing machine out and have a go at making my own, just need a set of old/damaged panniers for the fittings. Weight could be saved by making them to match my rack without the need for adjustment. I reckon the weight would be around 700g plus the weight of the fittings, maybe another 400g, 1.1kg total. The durability probably wouldn't be great, but the cost wouldn't be much and I doubt it would take more than a couple of hours once the pattern was sorted. I think I've found my winter project...

As a sailmaker I can only say that I hope you have the right machine and needles to sew panniers. You cannot steal mums/wifes sewing machine to do this because the material will be too thick, especially for the needles.

You can buy all the ortileb fittings online to attach to panniers.

There are plenty of cheap panniers on the market to make DIY panniers a thing of the past. Not necessarily waterproof but that is what black plastic bags are for.

Steve

 

[jjb]

MarkF, sounds like you like your Avenirs but not the extra bits of pocket etc. I had a bag with all sorts of daft add-ons - little pouches for CD player (yes, it was from a few years back), superfluous fold-over lid cover, weird internal pockets for carrying laptops and pens. Well, I got the big scissors out and lobbed them all off, dropped 50% off the weight of the bag in doing so and arrived at, to my eyes, a nice clean look.

Chopping the wrong thing down to arrive at the right thing is faster and less technical than going in the other direction! That said, I'd love my perfect Karrimors but made of cuben and would consider the enjoyable project of making them time well spent. More so than watching bad telly. Too daunting for now though!

 

[Blue Hills]

I always put fairy liquid across zips though and of course I've not used them with a sports rack. I got mine from their e-bay site. I think I paid £10 incl P&P.

Hidden in this at times bad-tempered thread is that a tip?

On all zips just to be on the safe side or just on ones that seem problematical/weak?

 

[bigjim]

[Hidden in this at times bad-tempered thread is that a tip?/QUOTE

Yes [a tip if you wish] I put it on all zips when I can remember. I must have read it somewhere. I like to travel light if possible. I'm sure extra weight does make a difference. I toured last year with a guy about the same size as me. He was a lot more heavier loaded with a new Hybrid Touring bike and I was on an older road bike. We swopped bikes one day. His felt like a tractor to me I did not like it at all. He was impressed with mine and was considering a change of bike when he got back.
I weigh 14 stone and that is a lot to drag up hills, I don't want to add to it. On B&B tours I use a 300g Carradice frame bag that swallows 30 litres and I can strap more on top. I paid £6 for it on e-bay.
There are a few pics of the loaded bike on here http://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=63550.0.

 

[Blue Hills]

Ok - ta - may try it - though with unbranded stuff

 

[andrew_s]

Thanks Rich, I had forgotten about those bins, I read his Seville to Madrid trip a while back, the red look better than the white if you ask me.

The bins look like they could be quite a light option to me. Put a few holes in the bottom to let rain out, and keep your gear in drybags just dropped in to the bins.

 

[MarkF]

MarkF, sounds like you like your Avenirs but not the extra bits of pocket etc. I had a bag with all sorts of daft add-ons - little pouches for CD player (yes, it was from a few years back), superfluous fold-over lid cover, weird internal pockets for carrying laptops and pens. Well, I got the big scissors out and lobbed them all off, dropped 50% off the weight of the bag in doing so and arrived at, to my eyes, a nice clean look.

Yes JJB, the Avenirs have proved to be very good, but too heavy, detailed and sturdy for me, I will have a good look at them and see if your suggestion is worthwhile. Thank you.

. I'm sure extra weight does make a difference. I toured last year with a guy about the same size as me. He was a lot more heavier loaded with a new Hybrid Touring bike and I was on an older road bike. We swopped bikes one day. His felt like a tractor to me I did not like it at all.

Of course BigJim, same here, crossing Spain I swapped bikes with my cousin, I had about 6kg (inc panniers) on the bike, he had maybe 3 to 4 kg more. A vast difference in effort was noted, along with a similar decrease in my cycling enjoyment.

 

[MarkF]

The bins look terrible, I couldn't use them.................

 

[bigjim]

There is a huge choice of panniers on e-bay and Amazon. Many of the cheaper sets have no extra pockets and appear to be made of nylon. I expect these to be quite lightweight but probably not as hard wearing. personally Iat my age I don't need lifetime guarentees etc. A couple of tours for a tenner seems good enough. You can always ask the seller the weight on the e-bay items such as these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/320916242430?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649.

 

[MarkF]

There is a huge choice of panniers on e-bay and Amazon. Many of the cheaper sets have no extra pockets and appear to be made of nylon. I expect these to be quite lightweight but probably not as hard wearing. personally Iat my age I don't need lifetime guarentees etc. A couple of tours for a tenner seems good enough. You can always ask the seller the weight on the e-bay items such as these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/320916242430?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649.

Thanks Jim, I already have some similar, I rarely use them as I tend to use my rack upper a lot. Will dig them out and weigh them.