Originally Posted by
79pmooney
The joke - gearing up isn't expensive. Just buy a smaller cassette. Your current derailleurs will work just fine. Now, gearing down? That can get expensive!
And seriously - the tent. Test it out in a hard rain. With you in it. And all your gear in it. (The gear can be whatever but have it inside.) Waterproof? Dry pad. Done in time you can send it out to one of the first class outfits to have it waterproofed and repaired. (I've got a name I can dig up if you need it.)
I have a 5 ounce cover for the bike and the bags that combats the rain rather well. Well worth the relatively inexpensive cost. My "tent" is a single person sort of bivy framed deal that has plenty of space for me to sleep but not much more except a light and a Kindle. Everything else is under the cover. But the premise is correct: fully complementing a touring bike can get quite expensive!