Buffalo Buff

So the general consensus of many cycle touring message boards seems to be "I don't like UL bike tourists because they're evangelists that think they know the only right way to tour, and never fail to tell other people how to do things."

Which is something that I've personally never witnessed. (I'm sure it has happened at some point though).

What I have witnessed is a general condescending attitude towards people who are interested in UL touring.

Recently someone asked about chain lube on an UL tour, and a fellow poster was snarkily remarking about how the OP probably wouldn't want to carry a rag for chain care and waste a half ounce.

In another UL thread (That the poster could tell was about UL touring and easily ignore) someone remarks its ironic that if you brought everything on everyones UL lists, you wouldn't be UL. Well no **** sherlock, different people pack different gear, regardless of their gear weight.

In one thread where people were discussing all sorts of gear calculations I simply said "It's nice to not have to worry about this, since as an UL tourist I can just use stock road gearing and be fine, even in mountains." I had replies like "The UL evangelists are getting old, fast" and "UL isn't the be all end all of touring" and "would you use that pack list on a round the world tour through remote areas?" I made no attempt to convert anyone, or talk down to anyone who packs differently than me.

So I can't comment on what you've personally experienced over the years from tourists with different opinions. Some of us pack light, some heavy, some in between. Some of us have talked to nothing but friendly people on the road, some of us have others tell us how stupid we are for using the bike / gear we do.

But what I can comment on is my past year posting here. What I can tell you is if there are UL evangelists, I can't find them, but I can find you plenty of people who get super defensive if you talk about it, and want to keep UL tourists from posting in general touring threads, and some that even go out of there way to be idiots in threads clearly dedicated to UL touring.

We're a small community. We should be able to get along better IMO.

indyfabz

****

bikemig 

You started a thread on UL touring earlier that went on pretty long. There was some back and forth involving criticisms but it was a pretty good thread that involved a frank interchange of ideas (and that means there were disagreements). This, on the other hand, is a dumb (and tired) idea for a thread. I agree with @indyfabz on this; in before the lock indeed.

Squeezebox

I do find the heavy packers get pretty defensive any time light touring is mentioned. And always bringing up " you can't go around the world with that"
Answer "I'm not trying to" . If I were to attempt Africa my bicycle, bags, and gear all would be much different. I'm smart enough to know that. Sometimes the question does arise "Is the heavy packer smart enough to know what they don't need crossing the US."
Carry what you want.

Buffalo Buff

Exactly what I posted in that thread. Right tool for the job. If I'm touring siberia in the winter VS Cuba in the summer my gear load would be completely different.

fietsbob

wore out the 'why do you hate ultralight' thread So started a new one (because) Spring is still several months away .

bikemig 

+ 1,000 on this.

mstateglfr 

Some comments come off as preachy, most don't.
I enjoy reading UL threads, even though they can seem way out there at times, because when I sift thru everything sometimes I find an idea or approach that I can implement while still fulfilling my goals.
When that happens, all the better since why not ride a little lighter without giving up anything that you want.

I certainly haven't ever read about people trying to ultra heavy tour. People don't pack on more weight to see if they can handle it for the heck of it. So we all look for ways to cut weight rather than carry more.

saddlesores

shelbyfv

https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/10...unpopular.html 39 pages just last month? I love that dead horse thingie, those flies buzzing around.... Seriously though, you may be finding some backlash to your posts, I'll cite your mileage post as example. https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycli...ge-thread.html post #18 for those interested. Let me be clear. I am not taking a position, merely pointing out that it's easy to lose credibility here since all remains for everyone to see. IIRC, Inpd went through this not long ago. Over and out.

GamblerGORD53

Ultra Weenie Madness strikes again. Pfffft Makes less sense than ultra cheapskates. 55 lbs is too heavy ??? LOL
Time to get a Dutch IGH bike and grow some legs and perspective. Mine does centuries up to 125 day miles just fine, can avg 15 mph moving even.

My SE Asia hotel tour was certainly ultra heavy. 120+ lbs 74/ 76% of my weight. Took almost everything I take on car trips.
I was mostly doing 140 miles per 2 days when moving. 10 to 5 or 6 o'clock usually. Lost 2 mph i guess, NBD. Too heavy to steal. LOL
Clothes dryers were almost non-existant there.

alan s 

There is something amusing about those who take everything imaginable, and those who cut off their toothbrush handle. Both ends of the spectrum are fodder for humor. That just the way it is.

bikemig 

North of 20,000 miles for the OP in his first year of riding a bike; not bad.

hokie cycler

His miles add up to 22k which equals 60+ per day in his first year of riding. I have a hard time believing that.

Ridefreemc

Welcome to the internet. It gets worse as winter gets worse, no matter if it is bicycle touring, motorcycling, sailing, kayaking, etc. forums. When people are anonymous (or at least not face to face) they tend to be quite opinionated and sometimes downright AHs.

However, I like the back and forth when it is civil, because I have learned a ton on this forum. Plus I like to read this stuff before I can actually get out and ride a tour. Interesting.

shelbyfv

We all learned as kids that if you start with a prevarication you'll probably get caught out eventually. It's hard to keep your story straight when you start on a shaky foundation. Here in the forum it's easy to find prior posts so you can't escape your history.

indyfabz

Don't understand why people fake things. After Super Storm Sandy I caught someone on BF, who had a penchant for "puffery," in a blatant fabrication. He started a thread about how bikes can often go where cars cannot and claimed to have gone on a ride from his house during the storm. The OP included a photo of a flooded street with a "road closed" sign. Being familiar with the area where the OP lived, I could tell from various things in the photo that it was not taken anywhere near his house. Not even 3 minutes of Googling revealed that the photo was not his but rather one taken by an AP photographer two states and several hundred miles from where the OP lived. I set him up by asking him if he had ridden through the flooded street shown in the photo. He replied that he had ridden right near it. I then replied, quoting his claim, with a link to the photo and noted where and by whom it was taken. The OP deleted the reply in which he claimed he had ridden in the area and claimed the photo was merely representative and that he never claimed to have ridden in the area. Problem with that was that I had already quoted his response containing the claim, and him deleting his reply with the claim did not delete the quote from my reply. The entire thread disappeared so thereafter. Not sure how that happened as I didn't think one could delete one's own thread.

shelbyfv

I think only the mods have the ability to delete a thread, maybe at the request of the OP. If you catch something particularly egregious by a known troll, you could "save the page" so it doesn't disappear.

robow

An international professional cyclist will ride anywhere between 18-22K miles in a year but that's their sole occupation and focus. Miss a day for whatever reason and you need 120 miles tomorrow, God forbid, miss two days riding and now you need 180 miles in a day just to catch up. Not an easy feat, especially if one has a job, other responsibilities than to himself and any other interests. So kudos, you are among the elite.

shelbyfv

Yep, 10,000-12,000 miles if you have a job and are REALLY a committed and strong rider. The only guy I know personally who rides 15,000 to 16,000 miles/yr is retired and I expect is much stronger than any of us here.

veganbikes

In before the lock, which apparently is a popular thing on message boards.

shelbyfv

You can just say ****. But it may stay open awhile, at least until someone comes back and throws a hissy fit.

Happy Feet

I just find it weird that anyone would describe the type of touring they do by how much their touring gear weighs. How about cotton pants touring; describing your tour by the fabric of your britches...

I guess worrying about all the haters is a good way to make oneself feel edgy. To me, obsessing over weight for a bicycle to the point of "ultra" is kind of meh... I'ma gonna start a thread about something that really matters on a tour - What kind of camera equipment you use to capture the best images of all the amazing places you see!

gregjones

Yup.

If you are on the shoulder of the road I will stop to see if you need help. I you have a flat because "I bought two spare tubes instead of a patch kit" you'd best not be clean shaven. If you brought a razor, out of vanity, instead of a patch kit, out of necessity, you will still need help when I ride on.

Feel free to make it as hard on yourself as you care to.......don't expect me to save your ass if you carry vain items instead of emergency repair goods.

gregjones

I AM a weight weenie. I save every gram that I can on every piece of equipment required for every task I might face while riding.................BUT I DON'T SET, A STUPID, GOAL THAT I REFUSE TO FAIL TO MEET.

I don't leave the frame pump because I WANT a digital slr camera. Vanity has it's place and it's not on the road.

If I want something I consider its useful value and put that ahead of weight considerations. Doing this and acquiring the lightest version of items that I consider necessary keeps the total weight down.

It all gets back to the old time sayings......watch your pennies--the dollars will take care of themselves.

Just don't leave yourself a dollar short and expect me to flip a quarter your way.