mdilthey

Your packing problem almost certainly falls under "clothes" and "tent." I went super minimalist there.

In Colorado, I had a sub-10oz hammock and about 2 outfits, all merino wool and washed frequently.

perspiration

All set and ready to go for my cross USA tour, departing 4/21

bmike

From an early season overnight


fargo in revelate kit by mbeganyi, on Flickr

thestoutdog

Have fun, safe travels!

rwpshaw

My Le Tour Luxe with Ortlieb bags and a tent, sleeping bag, and chair on the back (left the chair at home).

B200Pilot

Nice bike stand. What type is it and where did you get it? I need something similar for my touring bike.

Thanks

Davet

It's called 'Click Stand'. A great product that does it's job well. My wife has one for her touring bike. Website here: Products & Ordering

rwpshaw

Click-Stand The Only Portable Folding Bicycle Kickstand!

Got it for Christmas.

tomn

I'm glad you liked your Christmas present.
Tom

str

if you lower your back panniers your will have a much more stable ride.

Grumpytroll

Bmike I like that bike what frame is it almost looks like my GT mountain bike might do some modifications on it.

m.indurain

Use for tours in Europe up to 14 days (stay at night in hotel or guesthouse):



Weight of the bike with rear rack: approx. 8,1 kg

Weight including luggage and panniers: approx. 13 kg

Details of bike here:

Racing Bike with Rear Rack for Touring - cycling tours,bicycle tours,travel reports,Italy,Spain,Austria,Slovenia,France,Switzerland,Germany, Europe

Detailed packing list here:

Packing List for Cycling Tours - cycling tours,bicycle tours,travel reports,Italy,Spain,Austria,Slovenia,France,Switzerland,Germany, Europe

Ciao
Peter

djb

well thought out kit there Peter, you are very exact in your detailing your bike parts and luggage. Must be a very nice bike to ride when you do the hotel, b+b type trips. I too really like a 50/39/26 crank setup, I find it works very well.

m.indurain

Yes, setup works well. In younger years I had a 52/39 crank. But now I am older than 40 ...

djb

Well welcome to the forum, its a nice place to share ideas of all things bike, although most of carry a lot more than you!
Chus

tortron

circa 1980 Shogun 500 i have built up (just the seat post, shifters, cranks and pedals are orginal now i think)




Some last minute changes before i leave on a long ride next month


Have removed the fenders (good clearance for 32's, 35's just fit with them on)
put on 700x35c schwalbe marathon plus tyres
am swapping the chainrings from 32, 42, 52 to 28,34,42 (rear is 11-34)

Fly to Inuvik in June and start cycling south to Argentina

Will have more details on crazyguyonabike.com: Author Info: Tori Collins once i leave

djb

quite an adventure, all the best.
Very good idea to switch out the crank, I'm curious, why did you go with a 28, rather than a 24? I ride a fair amount on a bike with 42/32/22 and agree that a 42/34 is great, but a 24 would shift really well with the 10t diff to the 34, and your low gear would go from 22ish to 19ish, which would be a nice bit lower for real sloggy bits. Is it 7 speed? 6? Cant tell from the photos.
cheers

tortron

Has a 9sp cassette on there. The new gearing is really because that is what i had available

djb

most likely that crank will be able to take easily a 24t, maybe even a 22t, so keep it in mind if (and perhaps when) you find you'd like a bit lower gearing. A 24t granny can be found for probably under $20 and its a super easy change, and most likely again you wouldnt have to touch the front derailleur, it would just work right off. Having ridden with a 19.5 gear inch low gear in pretty steep areas, I'd recommend making the switch, it wont affect your riding at all, but essentially it will give you one lower gear than what you have now. You'll be packing a good amount for a trip like this, so its entirely normal to want to have some lower gearing than the 28-34 combo.

take a peek at the Sheldon Brown gear calculator, put in your wheel size, put "gear units" to "gear inches", then find your 11-34 9 speed cassette and it will show you your gearing in "gear inches".

Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Gear Calculator

Neat to see an actual number for your gearing, I've toured in hilly areas a fair amount, and in Latin America steepness of hills can be quite a lot steeper than in N America on the whole, so for me getting your low gear down a notch is a win-win, you might not use it often, but you'll be glad as heck for it sometimes.

Like I said, if you dont do this now, any bike store along the route will have reasonably priced 24 and 22 grannys. Takes just a few mins to change it out.
Will follow your trip on CG if I remember.

tortron

Yes, i plan to stock up on spares before i leave the US (cheaper than buying locally, and i should have a good amount of riding to come up with any changes i want)
Have ridden all over new zealand with the higher gearing (and a road double, which was way too high for my knees in the south island). Plus im not above walking if i have to.
Have built this bike up right from a bare frame, right from brazing the cantilever posts, to hand building the wheelset. So swapping anything out isnt a big problem

All up my bike and everything im taking (i.e. if i were standing there nude and had no fuel, food, or water - now theres a good story) comes in at just under 30kg or about 66lbs. Approx half my weight (and nearly a perfect split between bike and gear)

studyourheart

Here are a few photos of my rig. I am a bag maker, and the photos were taken right after I finished the new bags. I will be riding this bike from San Fransisco to Boston via Seattle this summer. Wish me luck!

Thulsadoom

Pretty friggin awesome! Good luck.

djb

With the NZ experience you know what your up for then.
The bike+stuff = 1/2 body weight is a good rough estimate that works for me. There will be places you'll have to carry more water than usual and food, so you may end up with up to 20lbs more at some points, but your base amount is certainly good.
All the best.

djb

Indeed, very impressive.

B200Pilot

Very beautiful panniers. Clearly you're very talented. I do have a question. What type of material are you using? Are they water resistant or even waterproof?