Tacoma, I could see that yes, the bike will not flip flop in and out of S curves like it used to, but I cant see how the handling would be actually dangerous (again, considering that some riders that this bike has to be designed to handle can easily weigh 200 lbs). Especially given that Nun has lots of experience riding bikes with stuff on them on all kinds of roads, I dont see how this would be an issue.

and Nun, I think your plan of a "reward system" would be great incentive, I mean, we all (or I anyway) go at things better or enjoy it more, if there is a "goal" so to speak (training for a trip, an event, or whatever)

The bike handles well and I do a lot of my climbing out of the saddle. At low speed over rough stuff you notice the weight and it is a bit tippy when you go to get on it, but you get used to that and don't throw it over quite as much when you go to get your leg over the saddle.

Some people will use a couple of small front or rear panniers instead of the saddlebag. I use the saddlebag because that's what I did as a teenager and I like that it requires no eyelets.

and there are some pretty neat saddlebags, frame and bar bags out there now arent there? (the ones that have compression straps and such, so not floppy, some neat designs too)

suppose the highest weight on the bike is the rider's butt.

Im thinking weight could be saved by using a small nylon Drybag
rather than the heavy canvas Saddlebag on the rear Bagman.. support ..

or Klick Fix makes a seatpost [Metal one] bag mount,
there are some slick bags in their and Detour's lineup.
hoop bags that have a narrow profile..
nice Hotel room at the overnights I expect..

Using a 20L dry bag saves about 1.5lbs over the saddlebag, but you give up a lot of utility as it's hard to get at stuff in the drybag.

I like a good hotel room, but I carry cooking stuff, tent, sleeping bag and pad as camping is often required.

That might be an acceptable compromise for me because I seldom open a pannier during the ride except for putting on or taking off my wind breaker (which I seem to do many times a day in cool weather) and it could be stowed outside the sack or in the handlebar bag. Other things I need during the ride are typically either in a jersey pocket or in the handlebar bag.

I would think that maybe I'd split the load into two smaller sacks rather than one large one.

Lower gears, a brooks saddle, heavy wheels, a non-carbon seatpost - all of a sudden you've added at LEAST 2 pounds to the bike. And lowering the gears will mess it up as a road bike, unless you never want to go fast/pedal down hill.

According to Brook's web site, the Ti Swift is 390 grams (my Toupe is 180).

I don't have any objection to re-purposing a road bike for touring, but I think you need to use the right tool for the job, and it's a little weird to BUY a bike that doesn't really match your needs then tweak it out. If he had the Roubaix already I would be in the "go for it" camp.

That Roubaix would be great with 10 pounds on it for a CC tour, but leave the basic bike alone to fulfill it's destiny as a fun light century bike. Once you start changing wheels & gears, your turning it into frankenbike. If you keep the original equipment, and only swap out to the touring stuff for while you are touring, that would be better.

Nun, it's your bike of course, and your money, do what you want, I think you could probably modify that bike enough to make it acceptable for touring. BUt I stand by my original statement - modding it too much will make it a lot less fun as a road bike. Also, if I was going to make a sport/light tour bike, I would start with a titanium frame.

These are all good points, and I'm going to agree with you to give me added motivation to drop weight from around my middle. If I can loose 20lbs I think it will be ok to put me (at 170lbs) and 20lbs of gear on a Roubaix. The one change I'll probably still make is an Al seat post as the 13 lbs of the saddle bag will have a bit of a moment on that post rather than weight from the rider that pushes straight down.

The drybag approach just makes it hard to find stuff. Sure things that you need during the day should be kept in the handlebar bag, but at night the thing you want always seems to be right at the bottom of the drybag. With the saddlebag it's easy to open the flap and get at stuff without having to remove everything. I'd love to see a saddlebag made from modern materials that weighs less than a pound.

valygirl, all really good points. As you say, at what point do you begin making this bike a lot like heavier sport bikes?? The devil is in the details isnt it, and points of view too?

a Brooks, this is one area I do disagree with you, if a given seat (whatever brand or model) fits ones bottom and said bottom is fine after riding all day, then I say Who cares about 2 or 300 grams, not being sore makes up for that. This is completely user specific though, go with what works for yer butt I say.

gearing, a 48-12 will still give 107 g.i. which should spin out at a good 60k or 40mph, but then again, this is something that is a personal preference (plus there are 11-whatever cassettes, which would bring the top gear up more)

wheels, ya, starts to get tricky here doesn't it, there are so many options of "how much stronger" vs " how much heavier" combined with the cost involved...

in the end, a Roubaix must weigh under 20 lbs? Would a light, high end cross bike weigh almost the same and have stronger wheels, lower gearing already? (and cost less probably?)

I guess its a balancing act of how much extra to spend on changing stuff, along with the allure of still having a really fun, light, fast road bike...

makes an interesting exercise to follow from our keyboards though.....

oh, Nun, have you done any test rides of bikes?

there's a fellow from Vermont who has posted photos of his saddlebag , barbag setup, modern materials...cant remember the company name ever...nice looking stuff...
if it comes back to me, I will put it up. you might be tempted.

I agree that can be an issue, but I could see using two (or even more than 2) stuff sacks one with the stuff needed to make camp and one with mostly clothes. I pretty much do that now with panniers One gets emptied because it has all of the stuff needed to make camp and the other has the stuff I expect to need packed in last. I have gotten pretty good at anticipating when and where I will need various items and packing accordingly.

Trying the stuff sack approach would be pretty easy since they are not terribly expensive and you will always find uses for them. The really light silnylon ones are kind of expensive for what they are, but not that prohibitive even just for a trial.

BTW, my approach has had the side benefit of demonstrating what items I didn't need when they stayed in the bottom of a pannier and never came out. Sometimes I still have a hard time convincing myself to leave things home :) The most persistent has been my headlamp/flashlight. I virtually never use it and still bring it. I think on my last 25 day tour I turned it on twice for less than a minute each time, in both cases I could just as well have done without it. Maybe one of these days I will just take one of those tiny key chain ones the size of a quarter.

I have thought the same and wondered if some duffels might be easily modified into that function.

A friend of mine does ultra light/ultra distance bike packing. He uses a bag from Banjo Bros, a frame pack and small stuff sack under the handlebars.
Not sure of the weight.

http://www.calhouncycle.com/productc...idproduct=2352

Engineers out there - Carbon Seat Post - BIG seat bags - long lever arm - PROBLEM?
 

I like some of the ideas about the seat bags but the engineering worries me.

What happens to my carbon seat post if I hang 10 pounds off the back of the seat in one of the bags that several have suggested?

My seat is 7" above the clamp and the back of the seat is 6" behind the seat post. That means the 10 pound bag has a significant lever arm exerting rearward and downward force on the seat post.

Is that a problem for carbon fiber posts?

Can a metal seat post be used to replace the carbon fiber? Would it be stronger?

Nun, if you get down to 170 then you and your gear will be 15lbs lighter than I am on my own, and I wouldn't have any worries about the Roubaix wheels taking my weight, so imo you don't need to change them. As for gearing, a 50/12 is plenty enough to exploit the potential of the Roubaix as a road bike and a 34/28 will get the new slimline you up most hills, so to that extent I agree that you don't need to modify this bike too much.

I made this point above....the moment on the post is the issue. So I think the two changes I'd have to make on the Roubaix would be a Brooks Swift saddle and an aluminium seat post, but I'm convinced that's all I'd have to do.

Does that mean stock gearing too? If not what are you thinking there?

BTW: Personally I'd stick with the stock saddle, but that is just me.

This had me thinking (always a dangerous thing). I have kind of decided to give this type of setup a try, but am leaning toward a bit less radical of a road bike. It occurred to me that I have a nice 1990-ish Cannondale road bike with 32 spoke wheels that needs a new fork and front rim that might be more suitable than my current road bike.

My thought is to use an ultralight (10 ounce) REI Flash 18 backpack as a saddle bag. I plan to try packing my gear in it this weekend, hanging it on my CF road bike, and taking it for a spin to see how feasible that is.

I figure that using the old Cannondale means buying a cheap nashbar carbon fork, a rim, and changing the crank for one that takes something like maybe a 42/30 or maybe a 36/24 depending on where I would be going. That would allow using the stock derailleurs and might be possible with a crank and rings I already have on hand.

Edit: Oh and I also did a quick and dirty attempt at a packing list of the gear I might take with such a rig. Note that only the stuff marked as "Carried" is included.

Nun, I knew I could find the page with the fellow using this interesting setup. Scroll down to Bmike's photos of his lovely Ti bike with his lightweight setup, 3 or 4 photos.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...panniers/page2

Relevate Designs

oh, and Nun, I had to laugh looking at that post from last year as having just now seeing that you responsed to this thread just after said posted photos and so you already know of these bags....oh well, no matter, have fun with your project!

Having just finished my first tour using a rack and panniers set-up on a Redline conquest Pro I say:

Do it UP!

I am writing something up right now on my suggestions for touring and I say: Go as light as you can, get a bike you like riding, if it has no eyelets it is even better! You need to learn how to cut down the excess.

Of course that is coming from someone who also races and enjoys drafting trucks when he needs to get to his destination ASAP.

mmmmm drafting trucks...its like a free "be able to ride at 40 or 50k" get out of jail/headwind card isn't it (if I know the road and surface)

It is definitely harder to accelerate to match those trucks with a touring load.....AKA GO LIGHTER! Your truck drafting depends on it!

yup, I do it in town, so dont usually have more than 10 or 15lbs on me. Trick is of course to luck out on the big heavy trucks, they both accelerate and decellerate slowly, so easier to latch onto and to not become part of their rear.