steve-in-kville 

My Windsor Tourist is sort of under going some changes. I've tried racks & panniers for general commuting, but removed them and went to a 6.6L seat bag. I have been training for a century ride and I would like to do a few overnight (ultralight) trips. I still have my BOB for heavy hauling/touring when the time comes(love it!).

I have looked through the older threads and have gotten many ideas for using rackless-bags. Besides my seat bag, I am considering a frame bag and perhaps a top-tube (gas tank??) bag. I will also be adding areobars, so that may have some influence on what other bags I may attach.

I am considering a bivy instead of a tent and no stove. At least that's the plan so far.

Ideas or suggestions on bag arrangement? What is too much or too little for this type of ride?

roadfix

I recently went back to using smallish front panniers on my rear rack on my bikepacking rig, mostly for ease of packing with plenty of room to spare. I've been doing local, weekend over-nighters at trail camps with this set up.
I carry an alcohol stove and a ti mug, practically weighs nothing, and a hammock with summer down quilts. The hammock and the quilts only take up half the space in the one small pannier.

nun

You can do long unsupported tours with under 20lbs of gear. If I am going away for an over night trip where I'll be camping or riding across the USA I take the same gear packed into a handlebar bag and a Carradice Camper saddlebag. If I won't be camping then I use a Barley saddlebag instead of the Camper; that's the set up I used to ride from Boston to Mystic (104 miles) a few weeks ago for a long weekend with friends.

Here is the set up I used to cross the USA, I use a single walled Tarptent Contrail and an alcohol stove and a mug to heat soup and make tea.

fietsbob

This ^ or Bikepacking bags.. Ortlieb https://www.ortlieb.com/en/bikepacking/

or any of a number of sewing bag makers previously mentioned in this Forum.

bikenh

This year I'm dropping down considerably in items taken with me...no tent for one. Yes, I'll be camping out not doing the hotel routine. Instead I've Neverwetted my 32 degree down sleeping bag as well as the cotton tshirt that I normally wear while the rest of the laundry is being washed. I'll use the combo as a sleeping bag/tent. I also have a heavy weight(bought in the mid 90s before the mylar crap came out) aluminum space blanket that I have been using ever since my '97 AT thruhike as a ground cloth...between them I should have no trouble doing either one...staying warm or staying dry. That'll save me an instant 3 pounds and tons of pack space. Everything else I've always been taking with me in terms of sleeping equipment. I just plan to wrap everything up and mount it on the top of the rack. The rack can still serve a purpose even if you aren't using it for panniers...I have two extra water bottle cages mounted on the rack since I plan on doing plenty of night time/overnight biking and know I may not always have overnight services so I will need the extra water bottles for the overnight riding and they can even come in handy during the daytime. I still plan on using one kitty liter bucket mostly for extra food storage rather than anything else and since I haven't had the chance to build my own frame box yet I don't have that available to use. I just know that enough things are changing this year compared to the past 4 years that I need to be prepared for the extra things that could/probably will come up. Haven't weighed in yet but I'm guess sub 20, compared to 30 last year and 40 pounds each of the three years prior to that. I am taking extra clothing for the possibility of an extended season, heck I could probably get away with most of a New Hampshire winter on the bike with what I'm planning on taking with me. The biggest bunch of it fits inside a quart(the bigger of the two) ziplock bag.

IK_biker

Does not get much lighter than this.

3L half-frame bag, 5.5 L handlebar bag, 15L saddlebag - loaded for an extended (2-nighter) summer weekend. Bedroom equipment and cooking stuff included.
12 lbs total including the bags.

Water and bottles not counted.

antokelly

what tires are those.

IK_biker

In case you asked about my tires:
650b size, front is Loup Loup Pass, rear is a Soma New Xpress as made by Panaracer.
The tight space between the chainstays makes me uncomfortable with using a Loup Loup Pass in the back since it gets to 37.4 mm wide a few weeks after install, while the Soma does not go over 36 mm.
With the Soma I have 2.2 mm clearance to the LH chainstay, and a 3 mm sharp to the RH one. I guess I screwed up the dishing when I built the wheel, but am not going to lose any sleep over this - I don't have a dishing tool, and only check it by flipping the wheel over in the wheelstand....
These tires ride like a dream.

gif4445

Going to Glacier NP (1200 miles) this Aug/Sept. Need to get there fast. I'm planning to ditch my Surly LHT, racks and panniers, and take my Specialized Roubaix with Revelate bags. Taking the gas tank, jerry can, seat post and tangle bag. Should be at least 20 lbs. lighter. Considering using a "bounce box" to ship cold weather gear to myself ahead of hitting critical spots. And doing the hotel thing. Hopefully, this will result in century plus days.

antokelly

yes thanks for that i thought they were grand bios tyres.they sure look class make for a sweet ride. the lynsky is a real beauti but is there a problem with the rear drop out's as in rear mech to far forward making it hard to mount the wheel ,i seen a video on utube.

andrewclaus

I converted from standard five-bag touring to two bags a few years ago. A career in long distance backpacking showed me how to leave lots of stuff behind. I kept my two rear panniers--one for wet stuff (tent, food bag, tools, spares), one for dry stuff (quilt, clothing, maps/journal). My load including rear rack and panniers is 17 pounds. I crossed the US with that load and loved it. I especially liked that it cost me nothing at all in new gear.

I tried a shakedown tour with a drybag on the rear rack and didn't like packing it, the lack of access, the balance, or the exposure to wear and tear. The panniers weigh a bit more but that's a penalty I accepted after trying an option.

Good luck in your choices. Going lighter sure made touring a lot more fun for me--completely changed the activity, more like.

tortron

On an old Italian road bike I had I just slung a drybag in the drop bars. that fit my tiny summer sleeping bag, bivy bag, jacket, and puncture repair kit

BigAura

I just finished a bike-camping tour on my fixed speed and although I don't consider it ultralight I was going light with a base-weight of 17.4 pounds. Here's my pack-list that details everything and the various ways that it can be totaled. My trip was 12-days with 100% camping, cooked 80% of my meals, 50% gravel & 50% paved.

robow

If I remember correctly, this setup came in under 15 lbs which included the two panniers and the seat bag. For me, I went a little overboard, or at least I tossed too many items overboard that make my touring more comfortable. I've found that by adding even just another 8 or 9 lbs, that my touring is far more enjoyable.

bradtx

Steve, As you can see from the photos, almost anything can be an ultra light touring bike.

I've experimented with my distance roadie, but I keep going back to my touring bikes. They work quite well with a light load and I already have them, medium sized panniers, and a top bag.

Brad

andrewclaus

I smile because that was my first touring set-up in 1975, except it was my old high school gym duffel bag on my Schwinn Continental. I'd never even heard the word "pannier."

I managed to cycle 1000 miles around Lake Michigan from my home in Chicago on a $40 budget (and came home with change). After that things got more complicated for a while because I could eventually afford to buy more stuff. But now it seems I've gone back to those basics and it's just as enjoyable, if not more so.

steve-in-kville 

As a background, the Tourist started with rear rack and panniers. Tried a handlebar bag but got in the way of my lights and cables. Then for the longest time it was just a front rack and small panniers, simply because after I got the BOB the rear rack interfered with it.

Lately I have been running a 6.6L eoGear seat bag that I really like, but I may go for the next size larger (9 something?) and use the 6.6 as a handlebar bag once I have my areo's installed.

A frame bag would interfere with my water bottles. Tried 'em. Didn't like 'em. A top tube bag might be next as well. I do use a small hiking pack for riding to work, though. Trying to stuff my lunch in a seat bag gets interesting to say the least!

bradtx

Steve, I have a set of Profile Airstryke aero bars on my distance roadie and they were good with supporting ~20 lb. using a repurposed top bag. I like the Airstrykes because when not in use they don't eat up any space on the tops.

Brad

bikenh

I'll have to grab a phto of my current setup that I made myself out of copper pipe and wood. It mounts right on top of the stem and sticks out over the handlebars and creates a two position aerobar(45 degree angle, roughly and a 90 degree angle flat position). This homemade aerobar is an all in one mount and then some. On the upright(45 degree) is mounted the speedometer, pretty much right at eye level when riding on the aerobars, and down below that on the copper pipe is velcro for attaching a ziplock bag that contains an unactivated cell phone which will be used as cue sheet.

At the front, mounted on the underside of the wooden deck that the copper pipe fits into I have the Niterider headlight mounted. Right where I need, out front. On the top side of that I have the bolt for the video camera mount. I'm leaving the POS gopro behind this year and taking a real video camera instead. Behind the copper pipe, err towards the rider, is a water bottle mount.

Now with the elbow pads I still have pretty much full use of the regular drop bars as the mount for this only take up as much space as a piece of 2x wood, laying on its side, on both sides of the stem. Not bad for having 7 different hand positions.

Now the key secret is underneath, just in front of the headtube I have bungeed on a recycled 40 oz oatmeal container...perfect size to fit in a 6 pack of bagels. I can take the lid off and with the attached velcro to to lid and the attached velcro to the bottom side of the elbow pads I can attach the lid to the elbow pads and be able to get quick access to the food I have in the container, pull the lid off and put it back on the container and I don't miss a pedal stroke. The container could contain any kind of food you want.

You can still have your lights, camera and action while still using a little ingenuity in how you design your setup. Sometimes you just have to learn how to stop following the crowd and how to start making your system work for you...not for everyone else.

nun

Here's my gear list....38lbs including the bike.....not including water and food.

https://wheelsofchance.wordpress.com.../25/gear-list/