There should be some tires out there that are reasonably good for both. I have used the (now discontiued) Schwalbe Marathon Extreme for off road and on road riding. Noisy on road, but rolled almost as efficiently as some of my road tires. And I had good grip off road.

The tire in the photo is 57mm wide. Sorry I don't have a better photo.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=491774

Check with Trailnet in St. louis they can tell you about some paths into IL.

The Old Chain of Rocks Bridge is a great way to cross the Mississippi River - when it's open. It's often locked.

The easiest way from the Katy Trail into Illinois is the Clark Bridge in Alton, IL. RAAM uses it. The Clark Bridge has very wide shoulders and is part of a bike path system.

Thanks. I've been looking at TrailLink.com So far, I have a tentative route to Chicago Heights to pick up Thorne Creek Trail-->Old Plank Road Trail (ends just east of Joliet)-->then pick up Illinois & Michigan Canal State Trail, which should get me within a few miles of the Mississippi. Have a few more sections to fill in on the way to Katy Trail, though.

I'm a proponent of using knobbies where they are called for and have no real problem running them on the road but running them on the road for a few hundred to a few thousand miles before you hit the point where they are needed just wears out the tires and saps your energy. I wouldn't suggest carrying extra tires but purchasing and swapping out to an off-road tire when you get to the point where you need them is easier on you and the tires. No sense wearing down tires just to wear them down.

There are only portions of the Cowboy Trail that are completed but I think you can ride even the parts that aren't finished yet. I was going to suggest it but it is rather far north. On the other hand, the Sand Hills are very pretty and there's a lot of history on the western end at Fort Robinson. There's the old Fort, Toadstool Geologic area and the Hudson-Meng bison kill site in the Crawford area.

Although I am loath to suggest another state, you might also want to consider aiming for South Dakota and the Black Hills and/or Wyoming and Yellowstone rather than Colorado and Utah. Utah gets warm in the summer.

I just havent ever found 2 panniers to be difficult to find stuff in, and like carrying 2 bags instead of 4 when possible. Ill never be called UL, but if i dont need to bring extra bags and a rack, then all the better.

As for the bear canister, I havent used one, dont own one, and only mentioned it because the OP specifically brought it up.

Any time I have messed with my seat or seatpost it has taken me days to get it back right. Maybe just me. I think I'll look for exterior placement for extra spokes, I do see he point of seatpost carrying of spokes.
Thanks!

zipties are your friends. i gots a ziptie on the seatpost to
mark seatpost height. gotta remove the post for travel.

and didn't someone mention sticking the spokes in
the handlebars? why, you could even stuff them in
the steering tube under the topcap, push 'em through
a foam plug above the starnut.

Depends a lot on the bike and total load on the bike. What might work fine on a LHT might not work as well on a CrossCheck. That said keeping the load light and close to the frame triangle makes for better handling than a pile of weight in a set of panniers front or rear. For off road riding having the load tight and secure to the frame or rack is better than a loose pannier load bouncing around.
I wouldnt focus on percentages as much as what works best for your bike and load.

I think this is where you can make mistakes according to catalog shopping and general images of touring loads based on what you know now and not what works best for that bike after having ridden it with different load combos.
A big rear load can work for a bike with long chainstays but I'm not sure if that describes your Ogre although the rear wheel does have a range of adjustment.
Instead of getting big rear bags start off with small front bags that can be located front or rear. Experiment with those smaller bags and a reasonable touring load of 25-30lbs in various configurations instead of committing to hundreds of dollars of stuff that may end up staying home.

Spreading the load is a great idea. Different bikes call for different configurations, and the route, weather and availability of food and water means you may need to carry more or less gear and supplies. Here are my basic light, medium and heavy touring setups.

http://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/...6A37C82E86.jpg
http://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/...E1C1A5CC90.jpg
http://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/...0CFAA9A360.jpg

45liter rear panniers are not small for bike touring, they are large.
Why 28spoke hub? There is no practical advantage with low spoke count and touring especially w 700c/29" rims.

A frame bag is useful for securing loads within the frame for better handling and taking loads from the ends. A small frame bag is useful if you want room for water bottles in the frame. Your tools won't be greasy but it is nice to have tube/tire repair essentials in one place on the bike all the time.

Son 28 is just the dynamo hub model number, I believe. I'm not changing the wheel.

I'm just collecting information at this point! My latest thought is to start with the Revelate framebag that is custom made for the Ogre. Then I'll try loading it and putting my tent, with maybe my bed roll, on the Jones loop handlebar to see how it handles.

BTW, the chainstay length on the Ogre is about 3 cm shorter than the LHT, according to the Surly web site. I'm totally oblivious to how much of an effect that will have on loading.

Edit: I'm looking at adding fenders immediately for winter riding. So far, I'm leaning to the Planet Bike Cascadia 29ers. Actually, I first need pedals, since it doesn't come with any!

I gather light to heavy from top to bottom. Would you share your approximate load weights (or even just volume) for each setup, please.

My light touring setup is all Revelate bags and harnesses. It really limits the amount you can carry vs. panniers (not necessarily a bad thing), which is why most bikepackers need to add a backpack for water and food. You will probably not notice any significant difference in handling adding some weight to the handlebars and a frame bag. However, make a list of everything you want to bring, and you'll find yourself running out of space pretty quickly, and having to add more carrying capacity.

I don't tend to weigh the load, because there are so many variables (water and food being the main one). However, as a rough estimation, I'd say 20-30, 30-40 and 40-50+ pounds respectively.

Like cycomute said if you have a long unbroken distance of road riding it might be worth starting off with road tires then switching when you get to a long stretch of dirt. Again this is something you can play with before the trip so you know how the bike handles on the road and dirt under load. Just because a bike comes with one set of tires doesn't mean they're optimum for your use. Also you may get the on/off road versatility you want just by switching one tire.

Oops, right.

Yeah, for backpacking the weight of consumables vary tremendously according to remoteness and length of stay. For bikepacking on roads, I suppose it will be much less of an issue.

Not necessarily. This is the age of Helmart and that means the distance between supply points is often quite large even in "civilized" areas. For example, there are very few places to get food along the Missouri River on the Lewis and Clark ACA route. If you follow their route from Sioux City, IA to St Charles, MO (576 miles), there really are only 3 supply points...Council Bluffs, IA, Atchison,KS and Jefferson City, MO. I found that I had to carry 3 days or more of food or I would have to go 20 to 30 miles off-route.

If you are going to follow the TransAm, I'll guarantee that you won't find much from Girard, KS to Pueblo, CO. You won't find anything from Alexander, KS through Eads, CO to Ordway. There's not even much in the way of people out there. I grew up in that area. In fact, I'd suggest following US50 through Lamar, La Junta and on to Pueblo for that part of the TransAm. It's a lot more interesting and you aren't the only thing around for miles and miles.

Sometimes I feel like Greta Garbo, though! LOL

Exactly why I have been posting questions here, so I can get help! I can do a fair Ringo imitation if necessary... LOL

My wife got me the Axiom Typhoon 45 liter (combined volume) panniers for Christmas; no problem with heel clearance. I think someone asked about attaching a tail light to the rack: this one works great for me after using some locktite: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01...ilpage_o05_s00.

I bought a very small saddle bag (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ilpage_o00_s01) for tools, and a small handlebar bag (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ilpage_o08_s00) for electronics (unfortunately, too small for my iPad Mini, though). I'm thinking of buying a pair of Cleveland Mountaineering Everything Bags (Cleaveland Mountaineering: Everything Bags) to mount on the front fork in order to hold a few things, like a rain jacket, and a couple of liters of water when I eventually reach the desert. With the ease of strapping my tent, bag, and pad to the Jones Loop handlebar, I feel like I will be set for storage...though I have been considering a Revelate Design Tangle bag to use as a feed bag or maybe for a water pouch (my dromedary bag would be too big, but I think that one of my Platypus bags would work). I'm afraid, though, that the tangle bag would mean losing both internal frame mounts--one of which has my whimsical "bird cage" (Amazon.com : Portland Design Works The Bird Cage Water Bottle Cage, Black : Bike Water Bottle Cages : Sports & Outdoors) and the other will hold, when it arrives, my Ti mini u-lock (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0155L1G9W/...I2WFLWIGRH5P6H).

Oh yeah, for those who keep telling me that I'm putting the cart before the horse, I've been riding up and down the local hills almost every day. (My neighborhood is built on the Indiana dunes.) My cadence is still too slow; I hope to focus on it after I pick up the Garmin Edge 25 Plus Cadence Bundle. (I cannot afford everything at once...or at least I don't want my wife to see packages arriving every day!)