I invested $80 per tire to reduce my tire weight from about 1000g to a mere 400g. The tires I'm running are Schwalbe Marathon Supremes, so they have anti-flat resilience, but when you pay the extra 50 bucks a tire, you get lighter materials. The Schwalbe Marathons have a durability rating of 5/5, and the Supremes have 4/5. I also shaved more weight by running a 35 in the back and a 32 in the front based on where the most weight was mounted. From what I understand, centrifugal force on each wheel almost doubles the effective weight of your tires and rims, which is noticeable when rolling from stoplights or at top speed. My bike feels quicker from this weight savings.

I modified a pair of Ortliebs, which I may need to bring on this tour since my current setup is limited in how much food I can carry at once. I took out the plastic sheet in the back and the cloth organizer and did away with the extra shoulder strap, cutting the weight by about 1/4.

My rack is the lightest in my LBS, since it's carrying less than 15-20lbs it will, and has, held up fine.

My saddle is a WTB Pure-V, lighter than a Brooks saddle but heavier than a racing saddle. It's more than comfortable enough with a good pair of bike pants.

Most of my clothing is Merino Wool, which naturally fights odor and dries fast, meaning I can bring a single outfit for the entire tour and wash it every few days (or nightly for socks). My rain gear is UL backpacking gear, and I have a full set of merino wool long underwear for sleeping. Instead of a sleeping bag, I'm layering the merino wool with nylon tights as a windbreak, a light softshell jacket, and a thermolite sleeping bag liner on top of a Thermarest Neo-Air (inside a hammock that weighs 1lb 9oz). This is good to the lower 40's, and I have a space blanket for an emergency if it gets lower (but it's august.) If I go to South America, I'll buy a 20 degree down bag for high altitudes and cold nights.


The Point:
When I see my bike, I see rims that weigh twice as much as some others, a frame made of thick metal tubing, solid metal seatposts and handlebars, and a frame that is perhaps 2 inches larger than it needs to be. I see $1200 racing bikes that shave 8lbs off of my bike's weight. It's enticing. Am I so greedy to want to invest in saving that weight by riding a faster, lighter bike?

Should I just replace the frame on my bike with a titanium one instead, and pick up some carbon seatposts/handlebars?

Also, staehpj1, the e-Vent stuff sacks are damn good. I saw on your UL Article you were considering them. I have one, and it takes serious abuse, and I can pull the compression extremely tight without worrying about it.

thanks for that, the reason i asked about keeping warm when i was in france we cycled 70 miles in a rain storm when we got to roscoff the ferry port i taught i was going to die with the cold bee n on the hunt for better clothing ever since, and just this morning i got delivery of a fantastic rain jacket from www.corinnedennis.co.uk excellent company for cycling cloths top quality all the way, so next time i shall be well prepaired for the weather.

I'll be using a similar set up for a week-long tour next month. What bag do you have on your handlebars? Is that just a stuff sack strapped on?

Thanks. I now have some and they seem pretty nice. I have not toured with them yet though. I am not sure if I will use one of them or not on this next tour since the MTB rig is shaping up to be very different than my road bike rig.

I'm using a Cervelo RS to do some lightweight touring. The stock RS comes with pretty basic components so I've replace the Shimano wheels with some 32 spoke Open Pros and put a Brooks saddle on it to hold my saddlebag. It's not in the photo, but I've also replace the 50t chain ring with a 46t ring.

Love it. Is that a Carradice on the back?

Yep, a camper longflap

WoW Nun you went and done it again
fantastic set up as usual, i'm just waiting for my bag support from carradice the new version of the expedition hope it works .Nun i'll also be trying out my camper saddlebag , but most of it is taking up with sleeping gear, would compression bags be better to pack my stuff saving some space not so much weight.
i will be using the ortlieb barbag as well get quiet a bit of gear in that.
my tent is the akto.
anyway nun thanks for posting that super set up.

Can you buy Carradice in the U.S.?

peter white cycles had a big clearout not sure if he has any left but youcould try.

The canvas bag itself is rather heavy , if you really are shaving grams.

the Carradura is a bit lighter, being Cordura nylon..

there are a myriad of factors that go into a packing solution for touring.

heck... I've toured on a Big Dummy a bunch of times, simply because I was going thru areas where there were not provisions at all for a minimum of 5 days. Other times, I have holed up in the winter in Humboldt County, where the rain is pretty much constant, hail, etc...



other times I've been able to cover 1000 miles off road in 7 days, along The Divide from one town to the next


so much of being "On The Road" or "traveling" vs "being a tourist" is adaptability. that is to say something along the lines,
The more we associate experience with cash value, the more we think that money is what we need to live. And the more we associate money with life, the more we convince ourselves that we're too poor to buy our freedom.

that is to say, when we have bought into the marketing value of selling experience(s), like a trip to hawaii, zip lining, swimming with the turtles, we have left the moment, we have forgotten what it is to simply just live.

adaptability and creativity are innate human skills. its one thing to be prudent and realize that maybe you should filter water in certain places, its quite another to itemize your future travels to an exacting extent.

the world is full of resources
a good book is Vagabonding: https://www.vagablogging.net/
and of course "Hobo" by Eddie Joe Cotton: https://www.eddyjoecotton.com/

my point here is adaptability.

myself I have yet to nail down what I consider an "UltraLight Touring Rig" and I've spent about the last 5 years, meandering as much as I could balance.
in the very near future, I'm pretty sure that I'll have the opportunity to run down the west coast, where cafes and amenities are abound, weather should be good, I'd be amazed to get rained on, etc...
from experiences of doing double centuries, 24hr racing, and just about every camping/touring trip I believe to over packed to a certain degree,
the CAAD10 with Williams 30x wheels, a set of Vittoria Rubino Pro 28c,

some bags that I've used on a mtb for bike packing,
stuffing a Kifaru ParaTarp, Woobie, Parka, Patagonia Capeline long johns, 1 pair of light weight nylon Prana Knickers, 1 extra pair of wool socks, a micro hygiene kit, a wire saw, an orange BellWeather cycling jacket, Knog USB rechargeable Boomer lights, front and rear, a Brunton inspire battery pack to fuel Garmin 700, iPod, cheapie small cellphone, a USB adapter to plug into a wall when the opportunity arrises (west coast is abound with electrical outlets)

in the past I've relied on a Brunton Freedom solar charger which has a battery inside it, and it can also charge from an electrical outlet when available.

I'll probably stick to wearing a wool jersey with a wool base layer, wool arm warmers, and defeat wool gloves. probably only take 1 set of shorts, just rinse them out every night, and wear damp clothes in the morning, they dry out in fairly quickly once you start pedaling.

without water bottles, I'd be surprised if the bike and gear are over 25lbs.
of course there is no food, no stove, no filter and no cook set...

this setup is fairly well focused on a 1000 mile jaunt straight down the west coast, do my doorstep then back to work.

Thanks,

Using a big compression sack instead of the Carradice Camper will save you almost 2lbs. The cotton duck material is not light, but I keep with it as it's more convenient than a compression bag. I've looked for the lighter carradura saddlebag, but it's never in stock. I put my sleeping quilt in a compression sack and then it goes in the saddlebag along with my sleeping pad.

I'll also be using an Ortlieb on the front, I have just received the Klickfix clamps for 32mm diameter handlebars

if it can't compress, it better be something that is hell-a-important, something that you can't source from your immediate environment.

We're off-topic, even though this is all very interesting. Thank you AsanaCycles, especially, for your input. Your rides are inspiringly well thought out.

My question is about the actual bike itself. Stuff sacks, bags, and gear are all things I can figure out on my own with a scale and some research, but the bike is much more daunting.

Let me be more specific with my questions:


1. What's the weight difference between a road bike from the $1500 price point today and 20 years ago? If I see a 90's Cannondale with a carbon fork on Craigslist, am I saving a lot of weight?

2. With $1500 to spend, am I better off buying a Titanium frame and carbon fiber seatpost/handlebars, or should I just buy a used road bike with carbon components and an alum/carbon frame?

3. How big of a concern is durability on lightly loaded racing bikes?

10/11 I bought my 2011 CAAD10(4) in Rival 56cm for $1500
it was around 17lbs.
with a compact up front, 50/34t and 25/11t cogset

I've had some thoughts of asking my buddy Scott Felter, www.PorcelainRocket.com to make a full size frame bag for it.

racing bike are basically faster because lighter tubes tighter angles, steel is probably still the best,but having said that carbon is nice really nice ,of course you will save weight on the more modern steel /TI /carbon/ bikes but it depends to on what group set you go for, Tiagra is way heaver than dura ace simple, lighter wheels tubes tires will make a vast difference.
i am selling my look kx light with full dura ace compact chainset for 1400 euro 51 cm but i'm on the othere side of the planet and its probably to small but it would be perfrect for your needs .

My Cervelo RS weighs 18.5lbs compared to my steel Rambouillet sport tourer which is 22.5lbs.

i just weighed the CAAD10 and its 17.4lbs with multi tool, tube, pump, tire lever, williams 30x (approx 1550gm wheelset) and Vittoria Rubino Pro tyres in 28c and pedals.

Well, now that begs a more important question, am I gonna notice a substantial difference in day to day riding if my bike + gear is 38lbs instead of 49lbs? That 9lb difference looks like what i'm looking at when I reduce a steel frame to a racing bike.

My recommendation is to forget shaving grams, and focus on getting a bike that is comfortable, handles well with a load attached, and is reliable over the long haul. Things like attachment points for gear, wider tires, durable wheels and reliable brakes outweigh the benefits of a slightly faster ride.

the weight only becomes a burden when you start trying to... for lack of a better term, "race".
if you start trying to knock out the miles quick, or cover lets say 100 miles a day for a bunch of days in a row, then less weight is to your advantage.

once you start to settle down, and encroach into the 10mph av, for the most part, weight is not much of an issue.

often I put it like this: weight = comfort

lack of weight = more comfort/easier to accomplish the task of riding the bike

more weight (typically due to camping gear) = more comfort in camp.

for the last few days I've been working on a route that should eat up about a month. Initially I was thinking of using my CAAD10, but the bike has a fairly narrow range of use. its more pinpoint focused. no dirt detours, etc... lack of carrying capacity necessitates spending more money along the way, eating from town to town, and maybe taking in a hostel or hotel here and there.

instead I'm thinking I'll use my Big Dummy with frame bags. this way I can do some fire road touring that I like, and spend 3 to five days in the dirt, which means that I'll need to carry about 20,000 calories a water filter, etc...
on the pavement I can still roll out 60 to 100 mile days without much difficulty.

Mdilthey, what is missing from the equation is the power to weight ratio of the rider which Asana addressed by the comment about speed. If you're putting out fairly high efforts the light weight rig will be a benefit. If you aren't the light weight rig will be easier to lift over fences. Personally I'd go with the stripped down PT with light wheels. You won't get anywhere faster TOURING with a bike that weighs a few lbs more. If you have 5lbs of extra fat you will benefit burning it off over the cost and compromises of a very light rig.