nun

There's a sweet spot with the number of compression sacks; too many and there is space left between them just begging for something to be stuffed into it. I go with just two and compress my sleeping bag and tent fly. I don't put my clothes in a compression sack as they are used to fill all the small spaces around the compression sacks. In my saddlebag these two sacks go on top of my tent poles and pegs, my cooking gear and a layer of clothes. Into the little spaces between the bags go things like socks and underwear and finally my Marmot Catalyst jacket gets stuffed in. The key is to fill every cubic cm of the saddlebag's 23 liters and turn it into a compression sack itself by the end. This makes a very solid bag that is easy to carry on the bike. If there is room in the bag it can sag and sway which is bad.

Squeezebox

Dirt happens!!!

Squeezebox

I have a fly creek 1. I'll stick with my copper spur 2, thank you very much.

BigAura

Dude, why are asking how to lighten up but then rejecting suggestions? It thought you were starting threads about UL (several I think) because you wanted to lighten up and go UL yourself. I'm confused.

Additionally I'm interested if you toured before, and what your experience was?

indyfabz

No need for that tone, especially when the Copper Spur is not that light compared to a lot of other options and this thread is about going UL. Welcome to my iggy list.

indyfabz

Yeah. See my post #30 in this thread. His attitude in this thread and others is uncalled for.

andrewclaus

I'll add a lot more dittos to this. After I reduced my load from 40+ pounds to less than 15, my first shakedown cruise was a huge surprise--back-to-back 115 mile days in mountainous terrain, over 6000' of climbing. I'd never been able to ride a century on tour before, or do that kind of climbing in one day. I allowed two days to reach my destination, but the cycling was so enjoyable I stayed on the bike all day, over eight hours in the saddle, and made it in one. And I was 55 years old at the time. I became a UL bike touring convert.

I already had my camping gear and style dialed in from years of UL backpacking, and it was fairly easy to adapt the style to bicycling. The bike took a surprising amount of weight--my packs are heavier because of risk of abrasion, I wanted some sort of lock, tools and spares are heavier. And I took more clothing to deal with wind chill on long mountain descents.

Buffalo Buff

This. This is why its awesome.

I've ridden a route I made from my new home in North Carolina to my old home in Ohio three times now. Tons of elevation.

Once with 40-45lbs of gear. Once with 25. Once with 16. Comparing the first and last trip on that route was night and day. Steep climbs I struggled with felt effortless. I remember riding up that winding road on the WV/VA border that goes west of the I77 tunnel by Bluefield and thinking "That's it? It was so much harder the first time!"

I did back to back centuries with 6000'+ elevation multiple days in a row last time, and it didn't feel like a challenge at all.

alan s 

I'll be riding in Florida over the upcoming holidays. This is my version of UL, which weighs in at 46 pounds including the bike, but not including water. Had the rig out today for a test run, and really pleased with the weight distribution and less weight overall. Plenty of opportunities to cut back even further, but I really, really like my gear for camping, including full inflatable pad, two-person tent, footprint, etc.

staehpj1

Lots of ways to go here. How much volume you have to work with is one factor. Usually I like to keep my gear packed small, but sometimes it makes sense to leave items loosely packed to fill the space, especially if carrying something you want padded. Also I find that I have gotten pretty good at stuffing silnylon sacks pretty tight without the need for compression sacks. So sometimes I only have one for my sleeping bag and sometimes none at all.

If you ever tour somewhere with infrequent resupply, like back country touring, the ability to pack looser as the food diminishes is useful for keeping bags from getting floppy. I find this more handy for backpacking than touring, but can see where depending on the tour it might be a good option there as well.

Another thing I have done is to use a single Evac Drysack with everything in it in lieu of panniers, seat bags, or frameless bikepacking bags. The Evac Dry sack is actually lighter than the other options even when I use a couple straps and a 12 ounce rack. The 20 liter one weighs 3 ounces, a couple straps add maybe 2 more ounces, and the little rack I use is 12 ounces, so the whole deal is just over a pound. I tried lighter ultrasil bags but found them not to be up to the abuse I gave them; they were still usable, but pretty trashed after a month on the road. The Evacs are a sweet spot between weight and durability for me.

BTW, the little rack I use one like Nashbar sells as a front rack, but I mount it on the rear sometimes. It can be found for $12 or so, mounts on the canti bosses, and I have logged quite a few miles with them on various bikes without issue. Folks have said they break them, but I find them to hold up well for me. I think the key is to keep the load light. You could even just strap the bag on without a rack, but I found the little rack to work better for me with the setups I have tried so far.