jpogge

im planning on doing a cross country trip on my road bike(its an orbea race bike, i know its not the best geometry for touring, but i want to ride light and fast). its a lightweight steel bicycle under 20pounds.
i want to pack as light and minimal as possible. i have a lightweight tent and sleeping bag and im planning on doing a couple of overnight rides to see what i need and what i dont.
any suggestions?
have a light rig?
how light?
im hoping for not much more than 30pounds.

bccycleguy

You might consider the Tubus Fly for a rack. It's one of the lightest on the market and strong. I'm putting one on my Lemond.

nun

search for threads with "ultralight" in them. There was a discussion about touring with 30lbs or less. Look up
ultralight backpacking on the web for equipment lists

david.l.k

Pack like an ultralight backpacker. Check out Ray Jardines book "Beyond Backpacking" some really fresh thinking in that book.

becnal

Esbit cooker for hot food when you're far from civilization.

acantor

That gives you about 12 pounds to play with. Besides a credit card — which you will probably be using regularly — your load might include:

* Panniers or packs to carry your stuff. — 1 lb.
* Bicycle shoes — 1 lb.
* Two (or even three) water bottles at a pound apiece — 3 lbs.
* Emergency food — you should always carry something to eat — 0.5 lbs.
* 1 set of cycling clothes that you wash every night — 1 lb.
* Small pump and basic tool set, spare parts, etc. — 1 lb.
* Cold weather and rain gear. — 2 lbs.
* Toiletries, first aid kit, sunblock — 1 lb.
* Small lock — 1 lb.
* "Essential" miscellaneous items — maps, bicycle lights, goggles, etc, 0.5 lbs.

My list does not include a tent, sleeping bag, camping stove, fuel, fuel containers, a cooking pot, a dish, books, a camera, a journal, clothes to wear when you are not riding, a towel, or entertainment items.

Although it may be possible to do a minimalist cross-continent trip, ask yourself whether that's the trip you really want.

On my "minimalist" credit-card tours, I usually haul 15 or 20 lbs. I carry no camping equipment or cooking supplies, but I always have sandals (and sometimes lightweight hiking shoes), a few clothing items for evenings and rest days, and a book or two. The weight and bulk adds up easily, but I would be hard-pressed to leave anything more at home.

tharold

What I bring, which comes to about 10lbs:
2 t-shirts, 1 long sleeved shirt, 1 pair each bike knicks and shorts (bermuda length)
1 pair chinos, 2 pair briefs, 2 pair light socks,
threadbare towel (almost transparent), umbrella
wristwatch, 1 pair walking shoes, 1 pair spd shoes, floppy hat
bike tools (some bits off a disassembled multitool, pump, spare tube, patch kit, pedal wrench), cable lock
film container of laundry detergent, camera + charger
toothbrush/paste, floss, soap+dish, disposable razor
nappy rash cream, meds (sudafed, damotil (for diarhoea), ibuprofen), nail clipper
pen, photocopied interesting pages off a guide book
passport, credit card, cash, kleenex, wipes from the plane.

If I was expecting cool weather I'd ditch the umbrella and take a rain coat.

This all fit in a knapsack (except for the items I was actually wearing) with space enough for food for the road and gifts to bring home. I never felt I needed something I didn't bring. You can always buy extra stuff.

Quite a few times I'd lock up the bike and was able to hike into an interesting area carrying all my gear comfortably.

Again, bring less, you can always buy more stuff.

nun

I took the OP's 30lbs comment to mean above the 20lbs of the bike. Add an ultralight tent and sleeping bag
(4 to 5 lbs combined weight) and some ultralight cooking equipment and to your at 25 to 30 lbs. I think one good way to keep the weight down is to limit yourself to a rear rack and maybe a really small handlebar bag

TomM

Stuff/lash your items to a Carridace Saddle Bag.

RiotBoi

well, I'm going to ride from San Fran to charleston, SC in early/mid april and im aiming at under 30 days across and going REALLY light. Going to use only my messenger bag and maybe a saddlebag to haul my stuff. My list(havent even really gotten here yet)
Tent-3.5lbs
Bag- 2.5lbs
stove/pot/spork-1.3lbs
misc tools and spares- 1lbish
2 big water bottles- 3lbs?
poncho/space blanket-3oz?
toothbrush/paste/TP/Dr. Bronners- .5?
Camera/charger-.75?
stove fuel- 1lb
Vegan Food- 3lbs.
Maybe like 3 shirts and 2 pairs of bike shorts under my "work" pants and 2 pairs of socks.

so like maybe 20lbs? Thats a rough list. Wanna come with me?

**edit** oh, and I'm either taking My cannondale Cad 3 or my dumpstered Daneleigh if it even gets here.

markf

A Carradice or Rivendell Baggins saddle bag will carry enough gear for ultralight camping, and will be easier to carry on a race bike than panniers. Wallingford sells adaptors to let you attach a Carradice or Baggins style bag to any saddle.

supcom

Want some help lightening your load?

Ditch that boat anchor 3.5 lb tent and use a silnylon tarp and net tent. Total weight - with aluminum stakes is 41oz - 2.5 lb. Get titanium stakes and you'll save a few more oz. You can get kits and sew your own pretty cheap from rayjardine.com. You can also buy premade tarps - some even lighter than jardines.

REI sells a summerweight down sleeping bag that is rated down to 45deg, weighs 25oz. Or, you can make an ultralight synthetic quilt from rayjardine.com good to about freezing that weighs 28oz.

You can make an alcohol stove from a couple of soda cans. Total weight for the stove, aluminum foil windscreen, and coathanger pot stand is 2oz (yes, that's two ounces). A 1L walmart grease pot makes a fine cook pot. Add an aluminum pot lifter for a total of 6oz. Make a pot cozy out of a foam camping pad so you save fuel by not having to simmer food - just boil water, add food, put pot in cozy and wait - weighs 1.5 oz. Total cooking kit weight: 9.5oz! And it all packs into the 1L pot that sits inside the cozy for protection.

Use 1L plastic soda bottles for your water bottles. They weigh only 3oz each empty as opposed to 7oz for lexan bottles. A 4L MSR DromLite water bladder is only 4oz empty. Water 1lb per pint (A pint's a pound, the world around)

You did not list a sleeping pad in your equipment. You will want one, trust me. A Thermarest ProLite 3 3/4 length pad weighs 14oz. Heavy, but worth it IMHO. You can go lighter with a cheap foam pad (use the same one you cut up to make the pot cozy - they come too long anyway - and save about half that weight.

You only need two shirts, two pair of socks, and two pair of bike shorts. Each afternoon change clothes and wash the dirty set. Hang to dry. A little woolite in a bathroom sink cleans the clothes in a few minutes. Use a plastic bag to stop up the drain. Take some lightweight cord to string up as a clothesline. clothespins not required, though nice if it's windy.

3lbs of food seems like a lot. Most days you should pass through towns and can shop for food every day or two. If you buy dry food (pasta, rice, etc.) for the bulk of your calories, it won't weigh a lot. Fresh foods will weigh more, but if you buy them just before you make camp, you don't have to haul them far.

I think I've saved you several pounds. I suggest frequenting www.backpackinglight.com for lots of ultralight tips.

nun

I'd probably go with a Carradice Nelson Longflap and a rear Nitto mini rack for the tarptent and sleeping bag.
Also I'd carry weight on the credit card and stay in motels a fair few nights....

jpogge

alright here is what i have thus far.
i have
rear panniers that weigh about 1.5lb with rack

ultralight tent 2lb 2oz

kelty lightyear sleeping bag 25 degrees 2lb 9oz(getting compression sack to make it really small when packed)

purchasing titanium cooking pot between 4oz and 8oz

pocket rocket stove 3oz

gas 1lb

sleeping pad(not sure but probably 1/2lb)

clothing(2 pair chamois shorts, 1short sleeve jersey 1 long, 2 pairs socks, 1 pair of shorts/1 t shirt for off the bike, 1 waterproof windbreaker, leg and arm warmers,ultralight towel) 1.5lbs.

1 pair mountain cycling shoes(i plan on wearing these all the time or go barefoot) 1/2lbs

spare tubes, multitool patchkit 1/2lb(estimate)

dr bronners, toothpaste, wet wipes, stuff for saddle sores etc. 1/2lbs(estimate)

runners fanny pack with 2 waterbottle slots. pack will carry map, sunscreen, sunglasses 1lb

water and food(not sure of weight yet)


this is looking at about 15pounds max im going on a short ride soon and ill test out the rig.

nun

The sleeping bag seems heavy, if you have the money and inclination you could get a similar speced
bag from Marmot or Western Mountain the weighs 1.5 lbs.

Now I'll suggest adding something to your list--- a lock, you can get U-locks that weight 1.5lbs or go with a cable. I go with both as the last thing I want happening is having the bike stolen on tour

supcom

A flashlight comes in handy. You can use an LED bike headlight (double duty is always nice), an LED headlight (elastic strap around your head) that will work on the bike in an emergency, or the ultralight approach of an LED squeeze light. A squeeze light has one small LED and is adequate for finding your way around the campsight, but is not useful as a bike light in case you underestimate the time to the next campsight.

Mosquito repellent. Get some 100% DEET type for lightest, most compact. A small medical kit (Adventure Medical, REI, Campmor, etc.) in case you have an accident. Some painkillers are always good to have on hand.

For your camping stove. Be sure that replacement cartridges are readily available in small town USA. There's not an REI store in every town.

Depending on the time of year and where you are, you may need some warmer clothes. You may be able to wait until you need them and buy them, then mail them home afterward. Probably also want rain pants as well.

Don't forget plastic bags to keep your stuff dry in the rain. You generally should not trust panniers to be waterproof in an all-day downpour.

You might also consider a small radio with earphones. Sitting in a tent with nothing to do every evening can get pretty monotonous. Take a book as well. Lots of small towns have used bookstores where you can trade one book for another (with a small bit of cash).

david.l.k

Well this ray Jarine guy backpacked the length of the appalachean trail with just under 9 lbs in his backpack, minus food and water. This is camping and hiking over some pretty rough train with super variable weather. You could tour with under 15 pounds of empty weight gear of you packed like an ultra light backpacker. 20lbs would be super.
One of the best ways to save weight is to ditch the tent in favor of a tarp. Tarps are actually better in rainy weather. The ideal tarp is large and made of light material. Depending on the weather you can pitch the tarp to the ground except for one side to get in and out or you can pitch it high in windless fair weather. Tarps provide infinatly more liveable space then tents with a fraction the weight. Tarps also nuture a better connection with nature. Those couple microns of nylon are a purely psychological protection any animals or people that are out to get you won't be detered by that fine membrane. With a bug net bugs are as little of a problems as with tents but you get the best ventilation (as you tend to have the most bugs in hummid weather). Also tarps are cheaper and more packable.

If its raining simply pitch your tarp then through your ground sheet down under the now erect tarp, presto. Even in a downpour a tarp provides a quick escape from the weather. But a tent is usually set up inside first. Well guesse what's happening while your tent is laying out in the rain. So you finally get your tent set up which is now damp. Then you pile into it in your wet rain gear or take your raingear off and store it Where? With a tarp you have loads of room so livability actually goes up. I'm a big fan but you are free to do what you want.
That's just my 2cents

jpogge

the tent i have is a mountain hardware waypoint and it packs quite small and light, it pitches quite fast and its comfortable. i also like my sleeping bag and i dont mind the extra 1/2 pound. as for the cold weather clothing, in the winter i usually ride with a windbreaker and a long sleeve shirt even in the coldest weather, after a few minutes its quite warm.

supcom

Sometimes you do things other than riding and sleeping. Sitting around in the evening can get pretty cool if you don't have proper clothes. You might even want to hole up for a day if there's a cold steady rain. It just depends on where you happen to be and what the weather is like.

If you're comfortable with your current tent, all power to you. Your tent is a single wall variety. Usually, single wall tents have ventillation and condensation issues. Although this is usually not a big deal in the mountains of the west where it's cool and dry. Summer in Texas might be a different story. But I haven't used that tent and your experience may be different. Although tarps are also single wall shelters, they have flexibility in pitching and you can raise the edges up above the ground so you get excellent airflow through the tent. However, pitching a tarp quickly and effectively takes practice and they don't provide the privacy of a full tent.

sula

If you keep it REALLY light stick the weight behind the sadle I agree. But I mean REALLY light. IF there is much weight you are going to feel it waiving around if you want to honk on hills ride fast and agressive it will spoil the feel of the bike.

For the stuff you are suggesting. Which to me sounds is more like a normal toure than supper light, I would go for low riders. I know this is going to be hard to organise with the forks you have but there are such things as U bolts. Small panniers on the front will effect the bike handeling a lot less.

Have fun

MichaelW

Hostel and ultra-light camping loads can be carried on the rear with no problems at all. You can honk up hills all you like. Front panniers are useful for balancing heavier loads but do they slow down your steering response and you ability to manouvre over potholes and rough trails?

How viable are hammock for US touring. If you can fix them to someting, they have obvious advantages over tents. Modern hamock systems come with mossie nets and rain protection.

supcom

Hammocks are nice so long as you are in areas where you can hang them. I have read reports of campgrounds that do not permit hanging hammocks on trees. In some parts of the US, trees are few and far between.

Hammocks also do not work well in cold temperatures unless you take special measures to insulate underneath.

becnal

I love love love my hennessy hammock, and will use it till I die.