After reading the spare cable thread I thought I'd comment on the weight issue and the associated choices.
For each gear item I ask:
- What is the penalty for leaving this item home? If it is not significant leave the item home.
- Is there a lighter choice or way to lighten this item and if so what are the downsides?
- Is there some item that will do this and other functions at a weight savings and if so what are the downsides?
People like to poke fun of small weight savings. The toothbrush handle comes to mind as do things like the tabs on tea bags, but why wouldn't you cut the handle off shorter if the shorter handle doesn't bother you or take the tea bag tabs off if you don't use them. Many of these little things a so small of a savings that you won't notice them individually, but when you make 20 or 30 or 100 of these decisions the difference can be significant. It all adds up. Given that we make lots and lots of little decisions small differences add up. I went from carrying 45 pounds of stuff to carrying 10-15 pounds of stuff while still maintaining the ability to camp and cook in decent comfort, in large part by paying close attention to each and every choice.
I do think that some backpackers go overboard when it comes to buying really expensive items like cuben fiber stuff. I think that bike tourists tend to be less likely to go down that road though.
I also start to lose interest in pursuing weight savings once I am down to some point that for me is probably somewhere in the 10-14 pounds of gear range.
People say things like "lose body weight", "that is less than the weight of a bottle of water", "that is a tiny percentage of total gear, bike, and body weight", and other such comments. On the body weight thing, some folks don't need to lose weight and those who do can choose to lose body weight AND gear weight. On the other comments I'll point out that I managed to lose 30-35 pounds of gear weight and the difference is amazingly significant.