Originally Posted by
silverwolf
More info (thanks for responding)- I will be "camping" but in the lightest way possible- about a 30-35lb at most pack, probably less- apart from the bike, which has my water supply and toolkit/spare parts on it, I will be carrying a sleeping bag, change of clothes, basic firestarting equipment in case of a campsite, a folded bota bag incase I need water when away from the bike, music player and spare batteries, flashlight, radio, poncho, small length of rope, swiss army tool, two knives (one for general use, one for protection), probably about 5 or less lbs of food at a time, and shelter of some kind (this being my most irritating issue; I don't have much money but it isn't fun to sleep in the rain, in the open).
I do have previous experience doing touring (150-300 miles) on a geared bike, and lighter touring (70 miles over 2 days) on a single-speed, though it was a mountain bike and ridden on trails. I also have experience "ultralight" or lightweight camping, though tent/shelter choice is perplexing me currently- I had previously toured with someone else who could carry a much larger pack containing a foldable tent.
I assumed as much about the SS versus fixed- I will definitely get a BMX freewheel rather than a track cog.
Well then, it sounds like you have a pretty good sense what you're in for. As for gearing, why not simply figure out what works empirically? Assuming you have even a few days to play with, just try riding loaded and experiment. If you're at all uncertain, I would keep an extra, bail-out freewheel on-hand. That's obviously easiest if your hub is threaded on both sides, but also doable depending on which tools you plan to carry.