Originally Posted by
niknak
Since the bike seems to handle fine with less weight, I'd use the money to buy nice lightweight camping gear instead of a new bike. There have been plenty of recent threads about touring with lighter loads. 70-90lbs of gear is a lot, especially if you'll be doing fair weather traveling along the west coast. Maybe you could post what you carried on your last tour and some of us can offer suggestions how to reduce the cargo. I bet you could easily halve the weight with no loss in creature comforts.
I agree. Even with the 23 pound CPAP machine it should be possible to get the weight down to something like the the 50-60 pounds the OP has already said was OK. The fact that it is the Pacific Coast should make that even easier since the weather is moderate there and services frequently available. Getting the remainder of the gear to 37 pounds should be pretty easy. I carried 22 pounds on the Pacific Coast and wasn't using any high dollar fancy gear. The only expensive lightweight item I carried was a NeoAir pad. I was very comfortable and didn't want for any gear items or clothing. My list was pretty minimal, but with an additional 15 pounds you should really be well equipped if you plan your packing list well.
I personally would rather stay home or do a car trip than carry 80 pounds of stuff on my bike. That said if you really must carry that much I'd suggest using panniers and a trailer.