Originally Posted by
noglider
I propose a rule: weigh your bike with stuff bolted on but nothing else. This includes water bottle cages but not water bottles. It excludes strap-on tool bags. This is not so much for realism as it is for uniformity.
I like that rule for bikes. I'd like to see bike weights without the daily load because my daily load will be different than anyone else's daily load.
At the same time I am also curious about what people are carrying. When I read that someone carries 30 pounds of stuff, it leaves me scratching my head. I'd love to see pics of a heavy load like this spread out on the floor. Seeing a pair of panniers and being told that they're holding 30 pounds of gear tells me very little. Seeing tools, locks, lunch, etc. spread out would let me compare that to what I'm carrying.