Originally Posted by
andrewclaus
One big decision was eliminating three packs--two front panniers and HB bag--therefore limiting what I could carry. Not only did I reduce bulk and mass to fit my kit in the remaining rear bags, but I eliminated about eight pounds of rack and empty pack weight. When I got on the road with the revised rig, I found I could suddenly ride centuries quite easily.
Originally Posted by
bikemig
In my mind, that's the big decision. Once you decide to ditch a set of bags and a rack, you save a fair amount of weight in terms of the rack and bags and you are forced to pare down what you actually do carry because you will have fewer panniers to work with.
I had toured with a rear rack, two panniers, rack bag and handlebar bag ... and was quite comfortable with that set-up. Then in 2004, I set off on a 3-month tour of Australia and thought I needed the front rack and two more panniers. That idea lasted about 3 days. I struggled up hills with a lot of difficulty and was not enjoying myself at all.
Fortunately we stopped at an acquaintance's place where I was able to lose the two front panniers and about 10 lbs of gear. Freedom!!
Since then I've returned to the rear rack, two panniers, rack bag (my Carradice) and handlebar bag for all my tours ... including travelling for 8 months around the world. I wouldn't want to carry any more than that!! Way too difficult to get up hills ... way too difficult to manage in train stations ...
I read somewhere once, a long time ago, that if you can't lift your loaded bicycle and carry it all at least 20 or 30 steps, it's too heavy ... and either means taking up some bodybuilding to increase strength ... or lightening the load.
And personally I've discovered that I can cover a lot more ground a lot more comfortably if the bicycle + gear < half my body weight. That's just a formula that works for me.
