Originally Posted by acantor
There is a point of diminishing return when considering the weight of a touring bike. It may be possible to create a sub-20 pound touring bike from titanium and carbon. But on a tour one typically needs tools and spare parts and carriers and water bottles and cages for the water bottles and maps and insect repellent and sunglasses and a book (or two) and a wallet and lights and a bell and plastic bags for carrying dirty laundry and laundry detergent and a toothbrush and toothpaste and dental floss and maybe a cell phone and maybe an MP3 player and extra batteries or a recharger and a helmet and shoes and socks and maybe a pair of sandals and a first-aid kit and maybe a camera and a journal (and perhaps a spare pen or two) and a Swiss Army knife and a lock (or two locks) and a bike jersey (or two or three) and a sweater and rain gear and... and... and...
It all adds up. Suddenly, you no longer riding a 19 pound bicycle, but a 30 or 35 pound bicycle. And that's not including camping gear, food, and water (which is heavy).
I have ridden two different touring bikes, one weighing several pounds less than the other. The weight of the bike has had no bearing on my enjoyment on any trip I have made. It is more important to have a well-tuned bike that fits well.
While I agree that there is a point of diminishing returns when worrying about the weight of a bike,and touring weight in general, I still think that it should be considered as its good to save weight where you can, and if you take pains to lighten your touring gear you should do the same with the bike. Obviously if you carry 50lbs plus of gear a couple of pounds more in bike weight won't make much difference, but if you go ultralight you can also lighten up the bike a bit and a few pounds will be a larger percentage of your overall weight.
For me the biggest weight saving area will be for me to reduce the size of my gut. I can easily take 20lbs off my touring weight by going on a diet.
