Touring - Ultralight Touring

Anyone here into ultralight touring? It seems most of the touring journals I read involve carrying or towing 50+ lbs of gear. For summer tours in temperate conditions, this seems like a lot of extra weight.

I just completed a self-contained tour from Dallas, Tx to Kansas. 11 days with 20 lbs of stuff, including a saddlebag and front bag. I used an ultralight tarptent and summerweight down sleeping bag to keep my weight and packing volume low.

Obviously I did not pack many luxuries. However, I think that I can go even lighter. Anyone else try travelling ultralight? How light can you pack your bike for touring assuming you are camping out?

"...most of the touring journals I read involve carrying or towing 50+ lbs of gear..."

i carry lotsa stuff, and i mean lots. during an 18-month tour of nz/oz, the total
package (bike, front+rear bags, bob trailer, front pack, camping gear, food, and
4 gallons water) weighed in at 175 pounds. yepper, that's a lotta weight to drag
18000 miles.

for shorter tours (1-3 months) i can cut the weight down to about 100 pounds
total package weight. yes, i do use all the stuff. tried to cut down before the last
tour, but could only do away with the water filter.

but then, i want to more than just cycle.....carry a 3-season, 2-man tent. like to
stretch out under cover, be comfortable on those rainy off-days. have a small
short-wave radio for music/weather/news. maybe even carry a couple paperbacks?

camp a couple days in the national parks? can't hike in cycling shoes, so carry some
lightweight hiking boots. then ya gotta have a hat, and a buttpack to carry your
water bottles. and maybe some cotton shorts, cause them lycra shorts aren't that
comfy on a 15-mile hike. anyway, you want a set of civilian clothes for the couple
days you spend in towns.

it's 100 degrees, and the next town is 100 miles away. better carry some water, at
least a couple gallons. and if you break down on that dirt road, gonna need some
tools and spare parts - cables, chain, tubes and a tire each for the bike and trailer.

I can go ultralite. 2+ weeks...forget it, gimme my gear.

See my post below titled "for the weight watchers among us" for the ultimate in ultralight touring.

During the summer I just carry a bedsheet in place of a sleeping bag altogether and find as long as I keep my feet/legs covered that is fine.I also limit my clothing greatly compared to some others lists basically just a bathing suit/tank top that doubles as cycling gear in addition to the onbike clothes and a rain/windbreaker.I also greatly limit food carried and don't take cookware.Most of my tours are/will be two weeks or less currently my most weighty item is a 4lb freestanding tent plus I tend to load up on water particularly during the summer in Fl so at this point I wouldn't classify myself as ultralightweight.During a 10 day nov/dec trip to no. fl. I slept under the stars tent/tarpless all except 2 nights and really preferred this so a tarp (with some kind of bug netting) might be an option I try in the future.Also in place of heavy panniers I just use a lightweight duffel and a fishing styled waistpack(for the pockets) strapped to the rear rack.Also as I use clipped pedals I have just one pair of lightweight trail "approach" shoes that I use both on and off bike(next tour I may also take a pair of sandals that I could use both on and off bike but this would be sort of a luxery).

I managed to do a short tour (about 1 week) with some modestly-sized rear panniers and a handlebar bag. I have no idea what the weight was, but it wasn't much. I like traveling light. I spent 6 months overseas (sans bike) with a 3,000 cubic inch backpack.

I've did a tour over in Thailand very lightly. But over there there is no need to camp as the hotels are cheap and for the most part in most towns. And no need for cooking equipment as food was good and all over. I never weighed the stuff that I was carrying but it was probably around 15-18 pounds and much of that was unnecessary items that were never used. Read it wat www.thailand.crazyguyonabike.com

Haven't seen anything as light as my credit card. There is a Ultralight faction of the backpacker crowd. You might get some ideas from them. You could save a few ounces with a Planet Bike Eco Pack for about $25. I use the 12 oz Tubus Fly rack. You have to get a little nuts. Chop off part of your toothbrush handle.Get the tiny sample size tootpaste tubes. Weigh everyhting, and find a lite substitute for anything that weighs anything. Wish I was still camping, it'd give me an excuse to get a titanium cookware set. I used Lexan knives and spoons.Find a rugged plastic cup. I'm also a fan of MSR stoves.
http://www.backpacker.com/technique/article/0,1026,2454,00.html
http://www.backpacker.com/gear/article/0,1023,2383,00.html
http://www.ultralightbackpacker.com/
http://www.monmouth.com/~mconnick/
http://onestep4me.tripod.com/gear.htm
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/

Years ago I did some short 3 to 4 day tours by credit card; roughed it by staying in motels and eating in resturants. All I carried was a seat bag with the essential tools, spare tire and tube plus flat kit and other odds and ends. Then I had a handle bar bag which carried my rain jacket, jerseys and shorts, those tiny sample stuff that Late also mentioned, and of course food to on snack while riding. Can't get much lighter than that.

Years ago I did some short 3 to 4 day tours by credit card; roughed it by staying in motels and eating in resturants. Can't get much lighter than that.

That kind of touring really appeals to me. My wife and I did motorcycle touring that way. You can actually enjoy the bike when it's not loaded down. Did you have reservations for all the nights? My big concern is not getting room and needing a tent.

Al

Yes! Reservations are a must.

That kind of touring really appeals to me. My wife and I did motorcycle touring that way. You can actually enjoy the bike when it's not loaded down. Did you have reservations for all the nights? My big concern is not getting room and needing a tent.

Al

I rode with a small group of guys from San Francisco down hwy 1 to Santa Barbara twice, then SF to Los Angeles twice; and did this during the week not on a weekend because we didn't know where we would be at any given time, so we made NO reservations anywhere. During the week the motels are not filled and they were glad to have us, and gave us cheaper rates due to weekdays being slower.

If you were going longer than 4 days then you need to either carry a tent, or be real accurate with your arrival dates so you can make reservations. Don't forget the more tourisy a location your traveling to the more motels will book full on weekends; if your traveling to an area that is not frequented by tourist then you should be able to find a motel without needing reservations. Just make sure the town your going into will even have a motel in it or near it. Your Automobile Club can help you with motel info for just about any town.

Also don't forget that credit card (or Travelers Checks) touring longer than 4 days (3 nights) can get expensive FAST; but if you got the money by all means do it, it's fun. Just plan ahead.

Anyone here into ultralight touring? It seems most of the touring journals I read involve carrying or towing 50+ lbs of gear. For summer tours in temperate conditions, this seems like a lot of extra weight.

WOW! You don't know how surprised I am to hear this question. As someone above mentioned there is a sort of fringe group of hiker/backpackers that take weight savings religously. I am one of those people. I'm only just getting into cyclotouring and I fully plan on making use of my lightweight camping gear.
Here is what I figure...
The bike: You can't plan on saving *too* much weight here. You obviously want a strong and stable bike so steel is a good choice despite the relative heftiness. that said if you spend a bit of money you can easily get a steel bike to be under 25lbs and *very* tourable.

Rack and panniers: Not sure on this one because I don't yet have any haven't done much research. I can only equate it to backpacks. I carry a lightweight silnylon back pack with no frame. I don't think this could apply to panniers. You want something pretty sturdy. I think if you're carefull and do a bit of research you could save some fairly significant weight here and still come out with some high quality tough and relatively light stuff.

Camping gear: You can save alot of weight here. You can save even more by staying in hotels but what fun is that... There is so much to say that I can't even begin. The basics though, Tents are heavy look into a hammock system like the hennessey hammock. I love mine and it weighs half as much as a tent. I fully plan on taking it on any cycling tours where i expect to see two trees within 20 feet of one another. Barring that bivys, tarps and tarptents can save you some weight too. Look into alcohol stoves. They're light, cheap and easy to make yourself... sleeping bags. Of course depends on the temperature but Down is always better than synthetic if you can keep it dry (Lighter, more compressable, and warmer). If you don't think you can keep it dry go with synthetic. Look at backpackinglight yahoo group for more info than you could ever consume on the subject.

Clothes: Synthetics that way you can wash it in a sink or lake or stream and it will dry easily. The only advice i can offer is to take as little as you can conceivably get away with.

Tools and spares: I'm stumped here... Tools weigh alot and i don't know which I'll gamble with and leave behind. If anybody has any suggestions on light tools i'd love to hear.

Other stuff... buy food as you go... and plan your water stops conservatively without running the risk of dehydration of course. Try and avoid weighty souveniers too.

Otherwise I'm looking into shedding a pound or two from my midsection. As it serves no real purpose I'm not really interested in lugging it around.

One thing for an ultralighter to consider regarding the bike most steel framed touring bikes are designed to carry a certain amount of weight .I know my bike feels in its element with a certain amount of weight and when its lightly loaded is not a particularly snappy bike.I guess what I'm trying to say if your objective in lightening the load is a quicker pace maybe one of those hybrid race/tourers would be a good choice.

Regarding tools. The ultralight philosophy is to take only the tools and spares you really can expect to need on a regular basis. For me, this means multitool, and flat repair items. Anything else is wasted weight. Here is my reasoning:

Case 1: You are on a one week or so trip and you have a major failure. You need tools from home or spare parts. You are probably only a few hours drive from home so you call your spouse or a friend and have them bring what you need to you or take you and your bike to a shop.

Case 2: You are on a long tour of a month or more. You have a major breakdown. you are too far for your spouse to come just to bring a couple tools. Have your spouse or friend overnight whatever you need. When you're done, send the item back via regular mail since you are not in a hurry. If you don't have what you need at home, then order it from Nashbar, etc. If it's not an emergency, then arrange for shipping to a town ahead of you so you can meet your package en route.

Another tactic that long distance hikers have used is to have preplanned resupply boxes made up in advance to be shipped to designated post offices at various times. For cycle touring, you could package up things like warm or cold weather clothes, lighter or heavier sleeping bag, replacement parts that are expected to wear, etc. and have these items waiting for you just before you need them. Another trick is using a 'bounce' box, where you package up things that you might need to resupply and send it ahead yourself to a post office some distance down the road. When you retrieve the box, you take what you need and send the box on further ahead, perhaps with some things you don't need now, but will need later. This way, you have access to the item in the near future, but don't have to carry it now.

I've did a tour over in Thailand very lightly. But over there there is no need to camp as the hotels are cheap and for the most part in most towns. And no need for cooking equipment as food was good and all over. I never weighed the stuff that I was carrying but it was probably around 15-18 pounds and much of that was unnecessary items that were never used. Read it wat www.thailand.crazyguyonabike.com

Great travelogue, eastbaybob. Looks like you had a great trip. I backpacked through Thailand for about a month. Loved it. I saw very few bikes there, though. I guess it's just too hot.

Regarding tools. ...
Case 1: You are on a one week or so trip and you have a major failure. You need tools from home or spare parts. You are probably only a few hours drive from home so you call your spouse or a friend and have them bring what you need to you or take you and your bike to a shop.


How about: Next bike shop is 200 km away. I might be able to do some patch work using tools from a garage or similar workshop, but the closest one is 80 km away. I don't have a cell phone and my wife doesn't drive. Besides, why should I need a car to rescue a bicycle? Shouldn't it be the other way around? And even if I had a cell phone, chances are a good chunk of my tour would be outside cellular coverage.

How about: Next bike shop is 200 km away. I might be able to do some patch work using tools from a garage or similar workshop, but the closest one is 80 km away. I don't have a cell phone and my wife doesn't drive. Besides, why should I need a car to rescue a bicycle? Shouldn't it be the other way around? And even if I had a cell phone, chances are a good chunk of my tour would be outside cellular coverage.

OK, lets look at a very possible scenario. You are riding many miles from nowhere on rough roads in the rain. Your front wheel find a crack in the road and you and the bike go down. Your front wheel tacos beyond repair (or at least beyond you ability to repair it). You're not likely to have a spare wheel. What do you do? If you are hurt, and can't ride, what do you do?

If you bike is completely unrideable, you hitch a ride to the next town, find a phone and call Nashbar to order the parts and tools you need. Have them sent overnight - or the closest thing. I guess if you are going to be in a very remote part of the world, one would adjust the tool list accordingly. However, I suggest reading Anne Mustoe's book, "A Bike Ride". Anne Mustoe began touring at the age of 50. She has ridden around the world - twice - as well as extensively through India and Europe. She has been through more remote areas than most of will ever see. She is adamant that she does not do any work on her bike herself. She doesn't even fix a flat. Yet, she has managed to ride the same bike through all these tours.

The best strategy is to make sure your bike is in top condition before you start a tour. If you replace the chain before you start, you are very unlikely to need a chain tool. Put new tires on and you are unlikely to need a spare in the middle of nowhere. A fibrefix replacement spoke will get you to the next bike shop without needing a chain whip and heavy wrench to remove the rear cassette (however Harris Cyclery now sells a replacement for the old hypercracker that looks very lightweight). Repack and adjust your bearings before you leave and you shouldn't need to carry two cone wrenches per wheel to do it on the road.

I've toured Europe a few times in the Fall and Spring, when there are few tourists, and B&B prices are low. The natives are much nicer out of season, and there are not the Masses that must be unbarable to most sightseers( even as each individual is part of it).

I rode throught the countryside, but was still always a few miles from the next village. When I had problems, there were always people happy to help. My only major problem happened 25 miles northwest of Sparta. I coasted down hill to the first real city, where I was told that a bike mechanic held court in a garage that looked like no bike shop I'd ever seen. The old guy had everything though, and replaced my broken part for a song. I'm sure he would have welded on the spot had I needed it.

I figure tube, patches,pump, spokes, cables, and a couple of tools are all that's needed, besides clothes, and bread, fruit, and cheese, for lunch( purchased each day).

I would have been light, but I always weighed myself down with local crafts, beer, wine, and chocolate to bring back to the states.

I've toured Europe a few times in the Fall and Spring, when there are few tourists, and B&B prices are low. The natives are much nicer out of season, and there are not the Masses that must be unbarable to most sightseers( even as each individual is part of it).

This is my traveling strategy as well. I always try to go off-season. Room rates are cheaper, you don't have to make reservations, and everything is more relaxed without the crowds.

I would have been light, but I always weighed myself down with local crafts, beer, wine, and chocolate to bring back to the states.

Another (and maybe the best) reason to pack ultralight. More room for the good stuff!

This should help you...

http://www.mile43.com/peterson/NorthRoad/NorthRoad.html

There have always been ultra-light cycle tourists. In the UK, many riders traditionally packed a single carradice saddlebag for a European summer tour.
The Ultra-light philosophy is quite good; to analyse your equipment and identify the heaviest parts, and concentrate most effort on those. The second element is that by carrying less gear, you can use a lighter bike and luggage system. The Tubus Fly rack seems to be ideal for ultra-lights, it has probably the best load/weight ratio of any proper rack.
Tools can be heavy, so its always interesting to find components which require lighter tools. The threadless headset may not be so adjustable, but you only need carry a std allen key, probably the same one that you use for stripping your Phill Woods hub.

This should help you...

http://www.mile43.com/peterson/NorthRoad/NorthRoad.html

Very nice. I guess if you plan to tour on a fixie, you had better keep the weight down!

Everyone seems to have their own ideas.

I love to travel light so I carry small rear panniers and a handlebar bag. I used to credit card tour, but now I take my Hennessey hammock (1 kilo) and stealth camp. I don't pack a bulky sleeping bag, I use a silver car window reflector as a sleeping pad and wear my fleece (which I pack anyway). On really cold nights I just wear ALL my clothes including my foul weather gear.
I bring non perishable ready to eat food supplimented with food from the take-away. That saves all the cooking weight.

I tour on a customized Giant with an aluminum frame. How much the whole package weighs I don't know, but I can easily lift it, so it can't be too heavy.

Lots of great info on this thread
I'm leaving 19 July for 2 months in Europe on a new bike. First bike trip there, doing hostels and B n Bs
I have cut down my take along stuff twice, have a great bud who has been biking for 20 years and has done Europe 12 times and have followed his advice also as to what to buy and take and he says also do the absolute minimum
Two rear panniers and a handlebar bag wieghed in at 35 lbs. no tent but an taking sleeping bag and thermorest pad, no cooking gear
Will find out fast how it all works out but don't expect and probs
And really do appreciate the info given on these message boards

For those interested in ultralight touring there is a new yahoo group called ultralightbiking to discuss ultralightweight touring.It was started by some posters from the backpackinglight group who are also interested in cycle touring.Here is the link http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/ultralightbiking/

I have not weighed my gear, but I assume it is under 20 lbs (9 kg). Maybe closer to 15 lbs (7 kg).

I travel with two small Cannondale panniers on the rear. I also carry a small backpack; I use it for hiking, but while touring, I bungy cord it to the top of the rear rack. (The backpack mostly contains bulky lightweight stuff like a pile jacket, rain coat, travel notes, and so on). Under the seat I keep a small toolkit. I wear a fanny pack containing my wallet, passport, glasses/cycling glasses, pens, etc. My camera case hooks onto the strap of the fanny pack, which frees space in my panniers. I have a map case that fits into my aerobars.

I wash my bike pants and top every evening. In my luggage I carry evening and hiking clothes: two or three short-sleeved shirts, a long sleeved shirt, one pair of short pants, one pair of long pants, bathing suit, underwear, socks, lightweight hiking shoes, sandals, a hat, toiletries, a few first aid items, maps, my notes, a couple of books, and not much else.

On some trips, I do not bother carrying a camera. I appreciate having a few pictures to remember my trips, but it can be liberating not to shlep around photographic equipment!

I avoid buying gifts until the last couple of days of a trip. During my final morning in Burgundy, as I rode to the train station in Dijon, I visited a tiny cellar and bought two bottles of wine. I had no space, but I managed to bungy cord the bottles somewhere. This past summer in Italy, I bought bottles of local olive oil and squeezed them in somewhere for my last day of riding. In Baie-St-Paul in Charlevoix, Quebec, I visited an art gallery and fell head-over-heels in love with two large paintings. Obviously, I could not carry them, but for a modest sum the proprietor shipped them to my home.

I do not carry a tent, sleeping bag, or cooking utensils. So far I have ALWAYS found places to stay. I usually do not make advanced reservations except on weekends or national holidays. I sometimes plan a trip so that I stay put on Friday and Saturday night so that I do not have to find a new place to stay mid weekend.

One of the reasons I love touring in the province of Quebec -- quite aside from the beauty of the land, the affability of the people, and the expressiveness of the language -- is that there is a toll-free tourist information number. The operators are friendly, knowledgable and extremely helpful. They are multi-lingual, and will even make reservations for you, which makes the province more accessible to people who do not speak French. The number is 1-877-BONJOUR.

Alan

This is obviously an old thread, but I have not checked in recently. I have toured with a wide variety of groups and never cease to be amazed at how much HEAVY stuff some people are willing to schlep up hills! I don't get it! I usually take a very light one-person bivy tent (but often opt for an interesting hotel or B&B), a very light sleeping bag (if it gets cold, I wear all my clothes), light, synthetic clothes and no duplicates of any clothes except for 2 each of bike shorts, jerseys, and socks. For me local food and eateries are among the best parts of a trip, so I don't take any cooking equipment.

I actually carry front and rear panniers on a trip of any length, but I try to make sure they are not full so there is plenty of room for mementos or a box containing a complete, fresh from the oven pie to share with my riding partners who passed up the bakery while struggling with their heavy loads.

Haven't seen this mentioned so here's a thought:

Bring some friends. That way you can share the load of tools/spares/tent etc. Plus you can draft 'em!

Another thing: every time I snap a spoke when touring, it goes from rear wheel, drive side. As I have a "normal" 3x8-gear system, I need a couple of heavy tools (chainwhip, lockring tool and a large wrench) to be able to replace the spoke. I just bought a Next Best Thing 2 (fairly similar to the old, discontinued Hypercracker), it gets the job done and weighs less than the lockring tool alone.

--J

Juha, that tool is new to me. I tried google it and I found information mostly about the movie Next Best Thing... Eventually, I found also an old thread which led me to address http://www.m-gineering.nl/indexg.htm and there it was. Seems simple enough, may I ask where did you found this tool?

Pyörätohtori in Viherlaakso has them. Go get yours! I don't have his web site with me right now, but googling helps.

--J

Thanks, I´ll get the tool next first thing in the morning..

Terra Nova do an exclent tent called the Laserlite. There are 2 versions of this. One weighs less than 1 kg and the one I bought weighs 1.2kg, includes poles,carbon fiber pegs, the works. Used it on a recent tour on Italy and did manage to try it out against some very heavy down pours, where the tent lifted due to the volume of water rushing underneath it and I really thought the rain was going to pierce the fly sheet. The tent stood up to all of that, kept me dry & warm. There is also a poarch bit to cook in any downpour and enough space all round the tent in and out to place gear. It is expensive but the sort of thing once bought & tested never looked back. I normally carry an army poncho which apart from its many uses I make a poarch which I use for cooking & chilling whilst its raining. For the poarch poles use bamboo cane, which strap on the bike with velcro and the weight of the poles is next to nothing

I was reading some old "road test" reports on touring bikes. The tester noticed that most of the bikes were a pleasure to ride with a 30 pound load (all of his tests had the weight divided between the front and back wheels). The bikes were okay with a 40 pound load. But, he said that with most of the bikes tested, they were not much fun to ride with 50 pound loads.

Today, there is a lot of light (expensive) gear, so touring with a 30 pound load is not an impossible goal. Personally, due to old age and other factors, I would prefer to tour with a rain shell and a credit card. That light of a load could limit where I go, but it will make getting there a bit easier.

I read some of the posts complaining of heavy tools. Tools do not have to be heavy. I carry one of the heaviest mini tools the Park MTB1 (you can now find lighter ones), a cheap folding mini pliers (from Target made by Eddie Bauer), 2 tire irons, a Qwik Stik, plus a device called the VAR (for putting on hard to handle tires like Specialize Armadillos). These tools all fit in a under the seat bag along with my spare tire and tube plus patches and couple of batteries for the tailight and computer. I'll say it again, it all fits in a seat bag that is completly under the seat and the weight is not that great.

the lightest way to go is to pack a friendly disarming smile and a positive attitude. it's amazing how far you can go with them. i like to head out on a short light tour with the bike feeling like it does when i'm riding locally.

While biking down the coast this summer and seeing all the stuff on the side of the road I thought it would be fun to start a tour with only a sleeping bag and then only use stuff you find along the road. We saw everything from tents to helmets this summer.

Rans put out an article about light wieght touring back in the summer. Here's the link:
http://www.ransbikes.com/ITRTouring.htm

I'm planning an extended tour (4-6 mo.) of Europe next summer and have decided rather than go ultralight I'm going to go with full gear. Rather than haul it all with me on my aging touring bike I'm going to buy a road bike and base myself somewhere for a couple of weeks at a time and do local rides. This works in most of Europe but would be impractical in most of the US.

I like the idea of coming back to the same place every night and also being able to skip the boring bits by taking the train to the next area and it extends my range.

I'm hoping to start in Glasgow, train to London train to Eastern Germany ride the Oder Neisse trail to Munich and send most of my luggage ahead of me and slowly work my way through Austria/Czech Republik/Slovakia/Hungary to end up in Croatia. I'm sure it'll be a hassle dealing with the baggage forwarding but I think it will be the best of both worlds.

Anyone else toured like this?