I had hub problems on a tour. Take the cone wrenches.

The cage under the downtube on my bike is pretty useless for a larger bottle: too close to the front fender. I may try to use it for one of those small stash containers to carry tools. I still want to experiment with that Camelback though. I have no other use for it. Perhaps with some modifications it'll work out. I'm pretty handy with a sewing machine

OK

(funny bug in the forum, changes stuff to lower case killing smileys, I've edited this post a few times to fix it)

I also had the left crank arm fall off at 17 mph.

Oh man, in such case I'll just hitch a ride to a bike shop.

I was in the middle of Arkansas on a Sunday Morning..
Had my long hex wrenches and put it back on.

I don't know how many compressions sacks you're taking, but I usually keep my sleeping bag segregated. Many times I've ripped down and the tent has been wet. That may seem like splitting hairs, but the tent fly or hammock can dry later rather quickly. The sleeping bag would take longer. I usually take my sleeping clothes and put then in the same sack. That way, everything is together and segregated from smells.

But take my advice with a grain of salt. I'm an over-packer.

Agreed, and in addition:

Nail clippers and a nail file?

Seam sealant? Seal your tent before your trip.

Hand lotion, moisturizer cream and Oily cream (Nivea)?

Bar soap? Try CampSuds or something similar. You can wash your body and your dishes with it.

You should be able to buy many of the "meds." when and if you need them.

So you're obviously a believer in taking extra tools with ya. I may go that way too

I think I'm on my way to become an over-packer too!

A.

Hi,

I don't wear my camelbag backbag. On that Link you can see it on top of my rear rack:
https://www.rad-forum.de/showflat/Num...ten#Post395392

Thomas

Some tourers carry their camp stove fuel there. Depends of course what fuel you use and length of trip, and whether you can resupply easily during tour.

--J

Good info, thanks.

Lasalle rear(2440 cu in), Seymore front(1700 cu in). Any bigger and I'd be tempted to pack way too much. I am disappointed in how heavy they are. The backing plates seem to be the culprit. Very substantial, more so than is necessary. The locking mechanism is too much trouble to use on my rack(Topeak Explorer). Really not an issue for me though. They stay attached just fine without it. Overall, I am satisfied.

In summer, I haul about 30-35 pounds including a rack pack, minus water. Winter, about 40 pounds.

Different POV... how many times a week do you need a given wrench on your bike? For mine, it's zero. You do put in a lot of miles on a tour, but it's going to be really rare to be SO far away from towns and cities that it's impossible to get to a shop. And if you do a quick check over the bike every morning and evening, you'll catch a lot of problems. (in fact, I think our bikes barely hit the wrench every 6 months mark)

So for touring, instead of carrying my regular flat kit of a bus pass, I'd add tire levers, the wrench I need for my wheels, 2-3 inner tubes and a patch kit. I have a foldable Allen key set that works quite well, and I'd take that since it's prudent. Bolts do come loose sometimes. That level of kit will let you handle a pretty wide range of problems, and in a LOT of places, towns are about 20 miles apart or less. So the odds of being so far from a town that you can't walk the bike there are pretty low. Tours are not brevets, so there's no worry about a DNF if you have to walk to town. Mostly, we're not touring in deserts or along the Great Divide trail. So there's no need to bring along the kitchen sink AND the entire contents of the workshop. (no matter how heartbreaking it is to be separated from your toolkit... you don't need the whole damn workshop. really)

just for experimenting sake after you pack the bike give it a shake to see how much the contents in the bags and the bags wiggle around. Then loop a bungie from the bottom part of the rack up over the pannier to the top rails and see if it is more solid. Take it for a ride either way and see how shimmy or out of the saddle riding is affected. One thing though is to make sure the bungies cannot come undone as the last thing you want after hitting a big bump is for the bungie to unhook and get caught in the wheels.

So you're saying I should leave my Park stand at home?!?

In Polish we have a saying that it's better to carry a little more than waste time looking for things later. Although in Polish it's a short one-liner that rhymes, so it makes more sense

(snortle) this actually describes my June 2010 tour perfectly.
still, I'm packing lightweight - just not ultralight. 2 backrollers in the rear, a bar bag a and a front platform rack for extra water and sundries.

Bike touring isn't quite like backpacking. On normal days you pass stores, gas stations, restaurants, parks, etc. Therefore, you can replenish items daily. You also have the ability to hitchhike in the event of a serious problem. I carry stuff that I'm likely to need or use, and don't carry too much "just-in-case" stuff.

Getting water is seldom a problem. You can fill up in bathrooms, at the soda fountain at Taco Bell, etc. So I carry three water bottles on my frame, but usually only fill two, unless I have to go through a longer stretch with no services. However, if my route takes me through long stretches with no services and really hot weather, I've also carried a Camelbak for extra water capacity.

I carry tools for fixing flats and fixing broken spokes, and a few extra bolts for ones that might vibrate loose (plus a small tube of Loctite), plus a good multitool with a chain tool, but that's about it. I only carry one spare tube and no spare tire. If my tires look like they're getting worn I replace them before the tour. If I was going through an area with lots of thorns I might bring more tubes, but in many years and many tours I've never needed more than one spare. Usually the tube with the hole becomes my spare (with a patch on the hole) if need be, but if I've installed my new spare, I stop at the next bike shop and buy a replacement (and jetison the tube with the hole. It may not be ecological, but you do what you must on tour.)

Take as little as possible, but don't short-change yourself either. I'd rather carry a little extra weight and be comfortable than live an overly Spartan existence on tour. I'm doing it to enjoy myself, after all. After someone's done a few tours they usually settle in on an understanding of what works for them (and remember, what works for me may be unsuitable for you; we all have our own priorities.) If you find yourself with too much stuff, stop at a post office, buy a box, and send the extras home. I've done this twice, and I've read about lots of others doing the same. Just make sure you don't sent too much stuff home. I did that once, and I missed some of the things during the rest of the tour.

As far as loading goes, I try and load my front wheel quite a bit, since broken spokes on the front are virtually unknown and I've broken spokes on the rear. I put small, heavy items in front (stove, gas bottle, pots and pans, tools, book, etc.) In the back I put clothes. I strap my tent and sleeping bag across the back. I have a Big Agnes air mattress. it packs up into a small package that fits perfectly on the platform of my front rack, so that's where it goes.

Remember, however, that loading up the front really affects handling. In order to stay balanced we usually make a series of small adjustments with our handlebars - usually so subtle and small that we aren't consciously aware of doing it. However, all that mass in front resists being put in motion (Newton's 2nd Law) and it becomes much more difficult to balance, especially at very slow speeds - which are often necessary going uphill, since we're climbing with such a load. If you're focused it's not that hard, but if you take one hand off the bars to wipe your nose, or try and take a drink, you may find yourself off the shoulder or wandering into traffic. My feeling is that this might be exacerbated if your load is unbalanced side to side. Furthermore, I used to have a whippy touring bike that had a terrible shimmy when it got going fast. I found that this was lessened when the load was carefully balanced. I always pay attention to side-to-side balance and do the best I can.

Thanks

I did some test loading. I gave up on the Camelbak idea, I'll just carry two large bottles in the cages and maybe a couple of Nalgene bottles in the panniers. I'm still thinking hard about hat I really need. I checked the maps. There are stores along the way, few bikeshops, campgrounds, etc. I think I'll give up some stuff to be able to take my SLR along with me. I have to. I'll be upset if I miss some great shots and compact cameras don't satisfy me.

I got my Jetboil personal cooking system. This thing is great, boils water really fast, nice and compact. I can have my fresh, hot tea any time

If something you packed really bothers you, just stop by the post office and mail it back home! (don't mail your SLR though)

Where are you going on your tour and how long are you going for?

I'm going from NYC to Adirondack Mountains for 2-3 weeks.

Have fun on it. I just read you journal on CGOAB, and it sound like your getting it planned out. Good luck on your trip.

Thanks

no, bringing your park stand is one of the wisest decisions you can make. Many of us older tourers bring ours, it' one of the "secrets" we seldom tell newbies about. Not only do they do double duty, they do triple , quintuple, even gaziluple duty. fix your bike, park your bike anywhere, dry your laundry, tarp pole, hold your book open to the right page, paper weight, object d' art, meat tenderizer, conversation piece.