Originally Posted by
mdilthey
I invested $80 per tire to reduce my tire weight from about 1000g to a mere 400g. The tires I'm running are Schwalbe Marathon Supremes, so they have anti-flat resilience, but when you pay the extra 50 bucks a tire, you get lighter materials. The Schwalbe Marathons have a durability rating of 5/5, and the Supremes have 4/5. I also shaved more weight by running a 35 in the back and a 32 in the front based on where the most weight was mounted. From what I understand, centrifugal force on each wheel almost doubles the effective weight of your tires and rims, which is noticeable when rolling from stoplights or at top speed. My bike feels quicker from this weight savings.
I modified a pair of Ortliebs, which I may need to bring on this tour since my current setup is limited in how much food I can carry at once. I took out the plastic sheet in the back and the cloth organizer and did away with the extra shoulder strap, cutting the weight by about 1/4.
My rack is the lightest in my LBS, since it's carrying less than 15-20lbs it will, and has, held up fine.
My saddle is a WTB Pure-V, lighter than a Brooks saddle but heavier than a racing saddle. It's more than comfortable enough with a good pair of bike pants.
Most of my clothing is Merino Wool, which naturally fights odor and dries fast, meaning I can bring a single outfit for the entire tour and wash it every few days (or nightly for socks). My rain gear is UL backpacking gear, and I have a full set of merino wool long underwear for sleeping. Instead of a sleeping bag, I'm layering the merino wool with nylon tights as a windbreak, a light softshell jacket, and a thermolite sleeping bag liner on top of a Thermarest Neo-Air (inside a hammock that weighs 1lb 9oz). This is good to the lower 40's, and I have a space blanket for an emergency if it gets lower (but it's august.) If I go to South America, I'll buy a 20 degree down bag for high altitudes and cold nights.
The Point:
When I see my bike, I see rims that weigh twice as much as some others, a frame made of thick metal tubing, solid metal seatposts and handlebars, and a frame that is perhaps 2 inches larger than it needs to be. I see $1200 racing bikes that shave 8lbs off of my bike's weight. It's enticing. Am I so greedy to want to invest in saving that weight by riding a faster, lighter bike?
Should I just replace the frame on my bike with a titanium one instead, and pick up some carbon seatposts/handlebars?
there are a myriad of factors that go into a packing solution for touring.
heck... I've toured on a Big Dummy a bunch of times, simply because I was going thru areas where there were not provisions at all for a minimum of 5 days. Other times, I have holed up in the winter in Humboldt County, where the rain is pretty much constant, hail, etc...
other times I've been able to cover 1000 miles off road in 7 days, along The Divide from one town to the next
so much of being "On The Road" or "traveling" vs "being a tourist" is adaptability. that is to say something along the lines,
The more we associate experience with cash value, the more we think that money is what we need to live. And the more we associate money with life, the more we convince ourselves that we're too poor to buy our freedom.
that is to say, when we have bought into the marketing value of selling experience(s), like a trip to hawaii, zip lining, swimming with the turtles, we have left the moment, we have forgotten what it is to simply just live.
adaptability and creativity are innate human skills. its one thing to be prudent and realize that maybe you should filter water in certain places, its quite another to itemize your future travels to an exacting extent.
the world is full of resources
a good book is Vagabonding:
http://www.vagablogging.net/
and of course "Hobo" by Eddie Joe Cotton:
http://www.eddyjoecotton.com/
my point here is adaptability.
myself I have yet to nail down what I consider an "UltraLight Touring Rig" and I've spent about the last 5 years, meandering as much as I could balance.
in the very near future, I'm pretty sure that I'll have the opportunity to run down the west coast, where cafes and amenities are abound, weather should be good, I'd be amazed to get rained on, etc...
from experiences of doing double centuries, 24hr racing, and just about every camping/touring trip I believe to over packed to a certain degree,
the CAAD10 with Williams 30x wheels, a set of Vittoria Rubino Pro 28c,
some bags that I've used on a mtb for bike packing,
stuffing a Kifaru ParaTarp, Woobie, Parka, Patagonia Capeline long johns, 1 pair of light weight nylon Prana Knickers, 1 extra pair of wool socks, a micro hygiene kit, a wire saw, an orange BellWeather cycling jacket, Knog USB rechargeable Boomer lights, front and rear, a Brunton inspire battery pack to fuel Garmin 700, iPod, cheapie small cellphone, a USB adapter to plug into a wall when the opportunity arrises (west coast is abound with electrical outlets)
in the past I've relied on a Brunton Freedom solar charger which has a battery inside it, and it can also charge from an electrical outlet when available.
I'll probably stick to wearing a wool jersey with a wool base layer, wool arm warmers, and defeat wool gloves. probably only take 1 set of shorts, just rinse them out every night, and wear damp clothes in the morning, they dry out in fairly quickly once you start pedaling.
without water bottles, I'd be surprised if the bike and gear are over 25lbs.
of course there is no food, no stove, no filter and no cook set...
this setup is fairly well focused on a 1000 mile jaunt straight down the west coast, do my doorstep then back to work.