Thoughts on a Round Europe Trip

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
OP
OP
MacB

MacB

Lover of things that come in 3's
On a slightly more serious note when you see weight claims around what's taken on tour are they counting everything? For example I get to 12kg before I've really packed anything:-

Rear panniers - 1.8kg
Rear rack - 1kg
Frame Bag - 600g
Waterproof stuff sack - 650
Bar bag - 400g
Bum bag wallet - 700g when full
3 x Water bottles and cages - 2.4kg full obviously
Tent, sleeping bag and mat - 4.3kg

are people excluding rack, bag and water weights when they calculate?
 
I find it more sensible to work on what can I live without and is it worth saving 200grams when that is less than the weight of a cup of coffee...

When you are going out for a while as you are planning to do, you need one or two little luxuries and more durable kit that will last.
 
OP
OP
MacB

MacB

Lover of things that come in 3's
I find it more sensible to work on what can I live without and is it worth saving 200grams when that is less than the weight of a cup of coffee...

When you are going out for a while as you are planning to do, you need one or two little luxuries and more durable kit that will last.

I don't disagree it's more just confusion on my part, I see these claims about touring with only 10kg yet they have panniers, racks, water, tents, bags etc and the math just doesn't stack up for me. Just having 4 Ortliebs is going to run you about 3.5kg excluding the racks themselves. I'm assuming people do count these bits when they're working our front/rear distribution
 
I don't think the count the racks. For me that usually comes under the bike weight. I think a lot of people also don't count the weight of water carried and probably don't taken into account daily food and snacks or the likes of say a litre of milk.

We personally differentiated the difference with the saying ' full battle weight '. This was enough clean water for 2 of us the camp wild overnight where water was not available and not likely to be available until well into the next day.

But I know what you mean and I also have my doubts about some of the weight claims!
 
Location
Midlands
I do not bother with working out what it all weighs beforehand - I just work out what I want to take - put it all on the bed - pack it - if it fits in the panniers thats cool - and what I take apart from clothes is pretty standard - one pannier - emphasis for clothes comes down to where im going and in what month - 1 rear panniers full - front panniers half full to leave room for consumables - If I can ride it up a 5-10% hill at around 400m up/hour then im happy - "if it goes up it goes"

Weight on a bike is really no big deal - The only time ive ever had problems is when Ive had to lift it - stupidly left myself at the bottom of stairs or needed to board a Continental style train - or go down the Liverpool St escalator ^_^

(I do however have a packing list with all the weights on for working out the overall weight for flying - but that is just a transit weight - work out what I can easily buy on landing and will not be distraught to bin on the way home)

I wonder about those weight claims - in the evening ive often got more weight in liquid than some of the totals
 
OP
OP
MacB

MacB

Lover of things that come in 3's
Well I'm looking at bout 45kg in total, 17kg for the bike including lights, rack and mudguards then 28kg kit including 3 full water bottles and the weight of the various bags and panniers. If I ignore the water and count the bags etc as part of the bike then I'm still looking at 21kg of luggage.

4.5kg - tent and sleeping stuff and that's a pretty darn light tent
2.5kg - electrics, smartphone with bracket, tablet, solar panel, MP3, headtorch and kindle, plus cables/chargers(though sharing these where possible)
1kg - cooking, stove, pots and pan, cutlery, herbs, salt and gas canister
1kg - wash kit including an Ortlieb folding bowl at 400g
1kg - folding chair, not essential but what the hell
3kg - tools and spare parts, half of this number is just a spare tire and spare tubes
7kg - clothes and shoes - though I suppose this includes what I'd be wearing at any given time and it includes waterproofs, hats, gloves etc
1kg - emergency rations and trail food

Some of the above allowances are quite generous and I know the chair isn't an essential but I struggle to see what can really be cut without compromising on comfort. I could also see the numbers climbing if I need to make use of the additional water bladder or drysack for extra food.
 
Location
Midlands
I thought i would never do this - criticise a packing list :angry:
ditch the tyre - start on decent ones - tyres are easy to buy in Europe
 
OP
OP
MacB

MacB

Lover of things that come in 3's
I wonder about those weight claims - in the evening ive often got more weight in liquid than some of the totals

I think that's what had me confused as the weight of water is the easiest to work it, it doesn't change - I'm not a weight weenie but I was curious as I thought some of the weights claimed were remarkably low so I was curious what I could work out on a spreadsheet. Now my numbers are probably too generous in the clothes dept for some of them but the other kit I've specced includes a lot of high end, very pricey, ultralightweight gear.

I can only guess that they ignore the weights of the racks, the bags themselves, the clothes they are wearing and the water they are carrying.

I'm not worried about the bike taking the weight the frame is specced as a touring 29er but is also beefed up enough to take 120mm forks, so it should handle the abuse comfortably...famous last words.

My only weight goal really is I'd like to keep the all up weight to 50kg, including bike, or less, as I know I can carry that ok if need be
 
OP
OP
MacB

MacB

Lover of things that come in 3's
I thought i would never do this - criticise a packing list :angry:
ditch the tyre - start on decent ones - tyres are easy to buy in Europe

:biggrin: fair point but it's only 600g a folding emergency one

nothing's final and my actual packing plan will be similar to yours, lay it out and see what fits and trim accordingly
 
Do yourself a trade between now and seeing out. Every kg you lose in weight allow yourself 1/2kg 'extra' capacity or else don't worry about it.

I know I can not lift my bike even with just 2 rear panniers and rack pack travelling as light as I can when camping (I have to do all my own cooking being allergic to dairy) and I like to carry a book as well, so I usually try to lose a few kgs off me in the weeks leading up to a tour
 
Still stuck on the pannier/trailer debate...thanks @GrumpyGregry .....and I've decided to actually go down the route of buying the kit and then seeing how it fits in either option.

Some of the trailer negatives don't apply. in particular getting them on off transport, but the ability to ride where you want is a consideration for the two wheeled options.

As I've mentioned on this forum before, I started a 3-month tour from Nordkapp to Gibraltar with a BOB Yak. On the very first day having just started, I got to about 40kph and the bike developed a wobble which I couldn't control. I was thrown, landed on my head which shattered my helmet and I broke my left collarbone (no other injuries). After a month's rehabilitation, I re-started in southern Sweden on a new bike and panniers.

I will always use panniers in future: no trailers for me. But, of course, there are a lot of happy trailer users around.
 

steveindenmark

Legendary Member
First of all, I cannot envisage how much gear you intend to take to warrant a trailer. I take panniers all the time. I would research your tent, mat and, sleeping bag as that is what I find takes the most space. Clothing, take less than more as you can always find cheap gesr on the way.

just my opinion
 
Top Bottom