Originally Posted by
Tourist in MSN
That does look better than the road bike for touring with a load. I am not familiar with the brand, but it looks quite capable.
I like to put things that I might need quickly or frequently in the handlebar bag. Sunscreen, bug repellant, chain lube, small multitool.
Chain lube, when my drive train is noisy, I want to lube it then instead of in the campsite that night. And I have often forgotten to lube the chain once I am in the campsite.
Multi-tool I often carry a big one with lots of tools in my tool bag in the bottom of a pannier, plus a tiny little one with only screwdrivers and allen wrenches in handlebar bag or in a shorts pocket. (My bike touring bike shorts have pockets.)
If your tools are in the lower bottle cage, I can tell you from experience that a zippered case like that can let water into it when riding in the rain. Putting a plastic bag over it when raining is a good idea. It is easy to carry a small plastic bag in the case. In hot weather, you might want a water bottle in that cage instead for a third bottle, but it would have to be a small bottle.
I see you have a suspension stem. That should smooth out the road a bit too.
the Ozark trail is a Walmart brand and the factory components weren't great. The frame was what really stood out to me and for 250 it was hard to pass up. Since I had most of the parts I wanted to change out on the shelf at home. I will ziplock the stuff in the not water proof bags that I don't want wet. I do plan on finding a smaller bottle to go in there with a cover on the nipple so it doesn't get dirty or muddy. That or I'll put a water bladder in a panier to add water capacity. I need to do a few rides loaded up to verify that it feels right to me and to get the suspension stem adjusted well.🤞 Hopefully I can do a couple of weekend trips to get a better feel of how it might be on a longer tour