Originally Posted by
LlamaBikes
Just wondering how long those who do ultralight stay on the road before returning home? More than a few months? Many of those who do RTW attempts have a relatively fully loaded setup, so at what point does the extra gear become more necessary or common? Is it easier to tour ultralight in some areas of the world than others?
Some of those who ride fully loaded, their bike is their home, and having no home to come back to, ultralight isn't as feasible. In the end, what does it matter, do whatever works for you. Nothing wrong with taking lots of gear if that's what makes you happy right?
As for the topic, I haven't weighed by bike, it weighs what it weighs... I do look out for overpacking of gear and buying too much food which can add up fast...
If you are talking about extended RTW trips, op-shops/secondhand clothing stores are your friend. It's quite easy to spend only a couple of dollars to buy used clothing that will suffice for a particular segment of a tour.
Often you can pick up fine woollen garments that weren't meant for cycling, but are sure useful in certain conditions. Pulllovers, for example, or cotton T-shirts in really hot weather. You don't feel so guilty disposing of a garment after you've spend a couple of dollars, rather than tens of dollars or more when you've got no further use for it.
I spent a bit of time travelling by bike around Australia, in Canada and then back in Australia looking for work in country locations. I had a base inventory of cycling gear that stayed with me throughout. But when it came to work gear, I went to op-shops and bought what I needed, even down to boots. It was the one time when having four panniers worked with a full work wardrobe, as I had to move from orchard to orchard until I settled on one full-time job.
I learned in that particular phase that if I needed to travel light and cheap, I could keep myself warm, dry, and reasonably comfortable as I needed to.
Having said all that, though... it is nice to have cycling-specific gear that does what it is meant to, such as the aforementioned Ground Effects StormTrooper jacket, and shoes. And one of my favourite adventure wear fabrics is Capilene.