Bekologist

Well, following down the path of the ever lightening load....

This last summer I did some UL bike tripping in California with a SNS travelers check with a Carradice rear bag and an Ortlieb medium HB bag.

I've refined the setup and added a larger Ostrich handlebar bag and a Nitto mini front rack.

I know having canvas bags and mini supports pushes the boundaries of true Ultralight bikepacking, but it is oh so classy.

I've developed quite the modular approach to the setup on the Travelers Check, i have a series of flat,




drop,

or upright handlebars

all cabled and ready to switch out on the bike, takes about 5 minutes. I also have a robust folding rear rack that can pack in the bikebox so i can bring a real rear rack when needed for heaver duty packing.I need to look into some fat knobbies, fatter than the 37s i've run to make the flat bar option even better of an off road vehicle.

This latest reiteration of the TC is with upright Civia Loring handlebars, 80 mill rise, most comfortable. Ostrich front bag, carradice rear, compact double with mountain cogset. 28-35mm tires depending on conditions.

This setup is for European trip i may take this summer or next, depending on some family issues.

fietsbob

I got 2 narrow Sekai Randonneur bars , cut them in a mirror image,
on opposite sides of the center sleeve,
and had a stem fabricated to clamp the 2 sections in a 4" wide face plate.

Now with the Oversize handlebar spec having lots of stems made
center sleeve with the 1" or 26mm iD and 2 seatpost clamps
would probably do the same task.

My result a wider than made Rando bend bar , by coming apart in the center ,
packed in the Airplane Box with the cables un disturbed.

Bekologist

I don't need handlebars that split in half, i wanted to set up the TravelersCheck with a variety of easily swappable cockpits for all types of touring and terrain. i've got the bars cabled identically all the way to the brake yokes.

I wanted to set up a SNS coupled bike I can bike camp with on the jeep trails of Haleakala on Maui with, as well as tour Europe or work well as a traditional high mileage road bike, and be capable in all pursuits.

fietsbob

well splitting them was a side effect of taking 2 narrow Bars
and making something not commercially offered out of them.

a 42 wide Randonneur bend Bar, a 50 across the drops.
Nitto's is only a 38 - 46 across the open end.

bought a Bike Friday, it will stow and go, quite nicely
Rohloff hub disc brakes , put trekking bars on instead of the H bars

May exchange the H bar for their Mountain Bar, so I can put Ergon Grips and integrated Bar ends on.
to get it back to pack in a Suitcase sizing.

NoReg

It is commercially offered, drop bars to mount the Rohloff shifter split in the middle, though currently the middle bit needs to be custom made, but the bars are still out there.

Bekologist

there's no advantage to my setup to have split bars.

I setup the bike with differing types of handlebars that swap out in just a couple of minutes, to go from drop to flat to upright with ease.

Fietsbob, you should cable a trekking bar identically, so you could switch between the drop bar and trekking bar in short order. then you could choose the bar for the trip without a lot of monkeybusiness moving componetry between the bars.

NoReg

Yeah, I was just thinking of all the Fietsbobs out there. I use the split bars for the Rohloff advantages, and also for the extra width. Also they are cheap if you are making the stem anyway.

Thasiet

You packing up in a cardboard box or a case? A case seems like a hassle if you're not going out the way you came in, not to mention contrary to your UL ethos here, but a box doesn't seem like it would save you any airline fees or convenience vs a non S&S bike

NoReg

What are the rules these days on shoving your bike in a cut-down box with a lot of tape. So it is suitcase dimension, but just something you picked up at the last moment?

Bekologist

oh, its 0 or a 20 bucks suitcase versus around 150 bucks average for oversized bike airline fees. Is a suitcase a hassle when going on vacation? Not for me. If i were not returning the same way i'd for sure pack it in a box or ship the case home, no biggie.

a hard case to travel with a bike is contrary to a UL bike touring ethos? What does this mean in regards to taking a bike on an airplane?

how else would a person transport a bike if they weren't riding it, except to box it or encase it in something? i've heard of people boxing their bikes in cardboard or even soft luggage, some coworkers and polo champions from the bikeshop travel with their SNS polo bikes in soft luggage all the time.

Hard case is by far the easiest and most protection.

Another couple of pics configured with drop bars from my trip to San Francisco last summer, heading to the top of Mount Davidson, and riding out to the GGNRA for some backcountry bike camping in one of the few national parks that allows it.