Originally Posted by
staehpj1
That does raise a question. Just where do we cyclists draw the line on what constitutes ultralight? Do we use the usual standard for backpacking which is often cited as 10 pounds or under? I think most cyclists probably consider something like 15 pounds (including bags) to be ultralight and some maybe even 20.
If we stretch it to 20 pounds then just leaving unneeded stuff home and skipping jeans and hoodies might be enough to get some folks to ultralight. If we stick with 10 pounds as the line then not many folks have actually toured ultralight and it does mean pretty careful packing.
Me, I considered it borderline ultralight when I was at 22 pounds, but looking back I no longer do. Personally I now might put the line at 15 if pressed, but that is just an arbitrary choice not based on much. And I could see an argument that the line should be 10 pounds. The bottom line is that it is really just a label and only means something if the folks using it agree on where the line is drawn and care about the distinction.
That said I am curious where others would draw the line.
.....and do you include the bike.....maybe 40lbs for gear and bike is ultralight. But this is really only meaningless fun for the people who look at this thread and say "oh great a UL thread", and it probably detracts from the possibility of "evangelising" heavily laden tourers into applying a few UL ideas. Most tourers would say it's crazy to tour with 20lbs of gear including bags when their Arkel pannier set and handlebar bag weight 10lbs with nothing in them. But if they were to just change a couple of pieces of gear and leave some behind they might be able to drop 10 or 20lbs.