Originally Posted by
BigAura
Nobody considers their touring to be heavy touring.
People who have arrived at what they carry
after lots of experience not considering their load as heavy is
not the same thing as a newer tourist considering a 100 lb load as not being heavy.
Originally Posted by
BigAura
And this whole idea that fully loaded bikes are
more unstable, difficult to control, and therefore more dangerous is unfounded.
Here's some loaded tourists many of whom are doing multi-continent if not round-the-world tours. They do know what they are doing. Yes many of them could live without the extra set of clothes, large tent, warmer sleeping bag, and coffee presses..but they are generally not in a rush to squeeze out an extra 20 miles a day. Light & fast makes sense for some, but relaxed & comfortable also makes sense for others.
"Dangerous" might be an exaggeration but
this seems obviously true for a 100 lb (or whatever) compared to a 25 lb (yes, it's an extreme example) bike+cargo configuration.
The fact that people manage to ride with heavy loads
doesn't mean they aren't "more unstable or difficult to control".
Originally Posted by
Doug64
Originally Posted by
Squeezebox
I'm real curious about why someone would consider heavy touring?? Why endanger yourself with a bicycle that is difficult to control, and therefore dangerous. Why carry 50 lbs. of stuff you are not gonna use? just maybe? does not count as a reason. It counts as stupid! You are supposed to know what you are doing.
I'm also curious; how many UL trips have you done, where, and for how long? How many heavier loaded, 30-35 lb., tours have you completed where, and how long? You must have a lot of experience with both types of touring to come up with your assumptions.
Carrying stuff that you aren't going to use doesn't make much sense (obviously). One
could say that "stupid" is overyly harsh.
Originally Posted by
JaccoW
There is also the thing that when you are going for longer distances (multi-country/continent for example) it starts paying off to bring your own stuff instead of relying on local hostels, food or guesthouses.
If you
need (or useful) to carry extra stuff, then the
trade-off of being more difficult to handle might be worth it.
Many tourists (especially, people just starting out) tend to carry more than they
need.