Thoughts on a Round Europe Trip

[MacB]

I loose over 15 kg in weight every summer on tour .......
The only trouble is I put it back on over winter ......

I could 'cough' perhaps lose something in the region of 20-25kg and still be quite well built, I know this is an open goal for founding peanut gallery members RichP, 3BM and Crax but it does need to be out there

 

[GrumpyGregry]

The only thing you have to carry on tour at our time of life, is a debit card, a credit card, some cash, and a change of clothes. And the change of clothes is optional.

As you may guess I'd rather eat worms than have to rely on a "sleeping mat", now there is an oxymoron, for a good night's sleep.

 

[MacB]

The only thing you have to carry on tour at our time of life, is a debit card, a credit card, some cash, and a change of clothes. And the change of clothes is optional.
As you may guess I'd rather eat worms than have to rely on a "sleeping mat", now there is an oxymoron, for a good night's sleep.

well you've got me thinking in a variety of ways and I'm going to order an Alpkit Stingray custom frame bag to give it a try. A rough measure of the triangle gives me 37x56x57 and opting for the 6cm width should give quite a bit of storage space. Two zips and a full length horizontal divider would allow tent poles, pegs and pump to go in top section and all my tools and spares in the bottom. I have a third bottle cage mount under the down tube but I also have proper bottle cage mounts on the forks as well.

I'm now wondering if I'll be able to manage:-

frame bag - tent poles/pegs, tools and spares - especially anything heavy
bar bag - documents and essentials - could also use a light Porteur style rack
bottles - x3 2 on the forks and one under DT
pannier 1 - cook stuff, tent and sleeping stuff - minus poles and pegs could this all fit into one 20l pannier? or would it be better to bungy a drysack with sleeping bag and mat across the top? or in front of the bars?
pannier 2 - clothes and electronics - netbook and kindle not sure on solar power yet as will have the front USB solution which is favouring the Luxus U right now
rack pack - Arkel Tailrider for layers, gloves, waterproofs, food/shopping and any odds and sods

I'm currently guesstimating 20kg of weight out the back including weight of rack and panniers/rackpack - so approx. 16kg of kit

 

[psmiffy]

You were doing all right - but it is starting to sound a bit exotic - for 6 months you need to keep it simple

 

[MacB]

You were doing all right - but it is starting to sound a bit exotic - for 6 months you need to keep it simple

exotic? ah you mistake me, I actually enjoy this sort of toing and froing, I've always enjoyed making lists and spreadsheets - so I'm positively in heaven with the one I'm putting together, not only costs/prices but weights as well, and yes I'll probably weigh every single item. It's just my peculiarity, I'll be happy to make up a route day by day, won't bat an eyelid at that. But I do need to have my kit settled in my mind, even though I'm prepared to swap stuff out as I go along. I also know that quite a bit may change after a few trial runs.

 

[psmiffy]

exotic? ah you mistake me,.

Cool -

 

[Crankarm]

exotic? ah you mistake me, I actually enjoy this sort of toing and froing, I've always enjoyed making lists and spreadsheets - so I'm positively in heaven with the one I'm putting together, not only costs/prices but weights as well, and yes I'll probably weigh every single item. It's just my peculiarity, I'll be happy to make up a route day by day, won't bat an eyelid at that. But I do need to have my kit settled in my mind, even though I'm prepared to swap stuff out as I go along. I also know that quite a bit may change after a few trial runs.

We need the input of @willem weight weeny. He'll scrutinise your list to make sure you're not carrying more or heavier than you need.

 

[HelenD123]

I'm now wondering if I'll be able to manage:-

frame bag - tent poles/pegs, tools and spares - especially anything heavy
bar bag - documents and essentials - could also use a light Porteur style rack
bottles - x3 2 on the forks and one under DT
pannier 1 - cook stuff, tent and sleeping stuff - minus poles and pegs could this all fit into one 20l pannier? or would it be better to bungy a drysack with sleeping bag and mat across the top? or in front of the bars?
pannier 2 - clothes and electronics - netbook and kindle not sure on solar power yet as will have the front USB solution which is favouring the Luxus U right now
rack pack - Arkel Tailrider for layers, gloves, waterproofs, food/shopping and any odds and sods

I'm currently guesstimating 20kg of weight out the back including weight of rack and panniers/rackpack - so approx. 16kg of kit

No way would I put my sleeping stuff and tent together. They need to be separate for the (not so) rare occasions when the tent gets wet, whether from rain or condensation.

 

[psmiffy]

No way would I put my sleeping stuff and tent together. They need to be separate for the (not so) rare occasions when the tent gets wet, whether from rain or condensation.

Top Tip!

 

[MacB]

No way would I put my sleeping stuff and tent together. They need to be separate for the (not so) rare occasions when the tent gets wet, whether from rain or condensation.

ah, that gives me that slapped round the face by a wet kipper feeling...but in a good way

 

[MacB]

Cool -

Keep it simple I've read your journal and in many ways your style of touring sounds exactly what I intend. But that's one serious amount of baggage you carry.

 

[MacB]

How about tent across bars, minus pegs and poles, in a dry bag setup like this:-

https://www.revelatedesigns.com/index.cfm/store.catalog/Handle-Bar/Sweetroll

plenty of other similar options and maybe ends could be opened to allow evapouration/drying as required? Smartphone for GPS etc in a waterproof handlebar bracket hooked up to the Luxos U. Need to make sure that the Sweetroll style solution didn't interfere with fork crown mounted light. The weight of tent sans pegs and poles, even wet, shouldn't be more than a large bar bag. But as long as it worked with a dry tent that would be fine, could always be bungied out back when wet if that was too heavy.

I am still seriously considering the Vango Stelvio 200 despite the 6.6kg weight, the height and large porch area are especially attractive. So though I'm looking at trimming weight it may only be to ensure that I can carry this tent.

 

[theclaud]

When you thinking of setting off, MacB? I have a carry freedom y-frame you can borrow for a test if you like. Not sure I can spare it for the tour itself, as I have no other means of transporting large quantities of beer...

 

[Crackle]

I am still seriously considering the Vango Stelvio 200 despite the 6.6kg weight, the height and large porch area are especially attractive. So though I'm looking at trimming weight it may only be to ensure that I can carry this tent.

Never mind the weight but a tent that size will be more awkward to pitch, more susceptible to bad weather and is hardly stealthy if you need it to be and that's before you get to quality and whether it's good enough to be used for extensive touring rather than the odd summer wknd on the motorbike.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

If you are looking to simply hide or cover the bike, consider a tarp. They will double as somewhere to sit under to cook if the weather is bad (cooking in the tent is not a great move because of all sorts of issues not least of all carbon monoxide and condensation...) and can be used to cover the bike when needed.