The best percentage is the one with the smallest amount of gear that allows you to be reasonably safe and comfortable. People have different ideas about what it takes to be comfortable, but my experience is that if you plan carefully you can get by nicely with surprisingly little stuff. An the ride is far more comfortable than if you are loaded down with a ton of gear.

You probably could ride with a load like that but I definitely wouldn't want to and I would not call it comfortable especially if in the mountains.

There is no reason to even consider what bike and panniers or other baggage you need untill you have worked out what you actually need to carry. Here is my recommended approach:

• Figure out what is the minimal list of items you can safely tour with without being uncomfortable. If you really work at it you will find that is surprisingly little stuff.
• Figure out how much luggage space that requires.
• Figure out if that means 4 panniers, two panniers, a dry sack strapped on, or a big saddle bag.
• Pick a bike and racks that best accomodate that load.

I know that I over packed on my Trans America (my first tour) and had about 50 pounds. I mailed stuff home multiple times on the tour. On subsequent trips I cut the list more and more. Then I started buying lighter replacements for various items. Last tour I had under 13 pounds of gear and even counting the bike was under 36 pounds of stuff. I was still very comfortable.

I realized that even that was not the minimum amount of stuff I could carry and still be comfortable. I have a gear list that gets the gear and bags down to a little over six and a half pounds. It isn't really missing anything that I really needed on my last few tours.

BTW trip length is not a major factor in the amount of gear required. I take the same stuff if it is a multi month tour as I would for a week.

My point is not that you should necessarily strive for travelling with 10 pounds of gear, but that if someone else can, then just about any one can get by with a lot less capacity than you seem to be planning.

You don't say, but it is my guess that you've never actually been on a bicycle tour. If so, you wouldn't be so cavalier with the uphill comments.

Another thing you've never done is fly with a bicycle packed into a 62 inch box. I have an S&S coupled frame and it takes 2 cases to fly with it: one for the bike and another for the gear. So, while you seem to believe that you could take 1.5 bikes in 2 62-inch cases, you will likely need, at least, 3. What is your plan for cases 3+?

The idea that you can use 62 inch airline cases as panniers is lunacy. Have you ever tried to do this? I have one of these beasts and I can't imagine trying to mount one on a bike (let alone 2). Would you put holes in it for hooks? There is no way to bungee them to the rack/frame. You seem to think this is a simple problem to solve, when, in fact, it likely isn't doable at all.

Also, I can't imagine trying to move these cases from airport luggage carousal to airport hotel by myself. I can barely deal with the two I travel with. Adding even more stuff to get around would be madness, in my experience.

I wouldn't spend alot of money making this fantasy a reality without first doing a couple things:

1) take a bike tour
2) take a bike tour with lots of weight that has some good sized hills on it.
3) try to attach a 62-inch case to a bike.
4) try to attach 2 62-inch cases to a bike.

But, good luck with your idea.

simple solution
hard case / panniers would be made of aluminum ( L shape extruded an flat panels) , total single weight around 6 lbs. It would be bolted to braze ons on the frame.

imagine motor bike

I predict the finished product will ride like a wet noodle.

well

third duffle bag will take some of the personal stuff, carry on will take some stuff,
each suitcase / pannier can be "filled up" to legal 50lbs

why ??

do people with long tail bikes have this type of opinion ??

In Iceland I saw plenty of off road motor bike's with AL "panniers" mounted to the side of the bike. But they looked very heavy. I'm not sure what problem you are trying to solve with a 1.5 wheelbase bike with AL panniers.

No, but the long tail bikes in question are designed very differently than what you're talking about. If you have the brazing skill, spare parts and time, I'd advise you to go ahead, because I want to see the result, but this is likely going to be an academic endeavor more than a useful one.

First step though scale sketch.

still ???

done

I thought your plan was to somehow couple two traditional frames together. Maybe a drawing would clarify. A really long bike with the entire load on the rear will probably sway quite a bit. You could probably stiffen to some extent, but as I'm not an engineer, I have no idea whether this is feasible and how it would work.

Besides the issue of packing the bike plus gear into two 62" boxes, the weight of bike plus gear needs to be less than 100lbs if you want to avoid airline overcharges. My own off-the-cuff weight estimate for your fully rigged bike & boxes is about 70 pounds. That would leave 30 pounds for gear.

more or less

front frame is FULL
rear frame will be reduced up to the length
so the 62" airline case is mounted above the rear axle but is not hitting the heel of the rider.
Second seat tube will have extra braze on for water bottles cages , and front seat tube will have braze on on the back as well.

yes
Plus carry on
Plus locally purchased stuff ( disposable and no so disposable)

I'm having a hard time picturing your rig, but it sounds like possibly you will have a giant sail on the rear of your bike, which will make handling tricky in crosswinds or when a semi blows by.

I have a feeling that will be easier said than done. A 6 pound aluminum case will have to be very well engineered to stand up to the abuse it will get when checked as baggage if it is even possible. The $430 case that S&S sells is well designed and about as light as they can make it and still be adequately robust. It weighs 17 pounds in it's lightest incarnation and variations of it approach 20 pounds.

The OP has an interesting engineering project ahead. But the idea that you necessarily need a specialize bike or to carry enormous amounts of weight to tour and fly with your bike isn't correct. I'm disappointed when I read threads like this as it makes touring so much more complicated than it needs to be, I wish more people were strapping some plastic bags to the back of the 10speed racer like we did back in the 1970's rather than looking to increase wheelbase and add airline compliant cases. I still don't really see the problem. I've flown with my bike and gear all in a single soft sided case at a weight of 40lbs total and wasn't charged anything. That was on transatlantic flights so it might be different on US internal flights. The problem of what to do with the case is solved by either leaving it at your hotel or simply posting it to yourself for pick up at any convenient Post Office.

My guess is that either you are correct or someone is yanking our chain with this whole thread. At this point I am leaning toward the former, but have not ruled out the latter. If he or she is serious, it is an incredibly bad idea in my opinion.

I'd break this down:

- Long frame. Good idea, most touring bikes should be like this, even the light ones. Added weight is pretty trivial, rear end could be bolt on carbon, if the idea ever got legs.

- 90-120 pounds. Totally crazy, unless you have a reason. Like the guy who climbed Mount Everest after riding there on a bike:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9x1Jkl_680

But just to have the gear, newbie/crazy. I met a guy who had a regular MTB and was cycling across Canada carrying about 150 pounds. The guy was seemingly happy with his choice, but it was painful to watch. Just finished reading a trip journal by a guy who soloed El Cap. He needed/wanted to be up there for 2 weeks (he has also done the nose in a day) so he had to haul up the cliff 150 + pounds of gear, and carry it down in four stages. You need to carry all your water, all your waste, and a ton of gear for the aid climbing, a portaledge, I think he had a least a 24 of beer etc... He said at the end he didn't want to do it again... So what is the reason for your wanting to carry so much? Otherwise the whole thing sounds a little nutty.

Also, claims the wheels aren't strong enough, and need to be tandem weight (good enough idea), seem like self fulfilling prophesies. "I needed a strong bike, because I was carrying a lot of gear, because I was moving so slow..." One can pull 120 pounds, anyone with two kids at max in a bike trailer knows it can be done... My wife did it all the time and she weighs 95 pounds.

- Makes no sense to me to make the bike you are contemplating for air travel. That is where i would start to think in terms of a Bike Friday. Probably would stay full size, but would not ever consider a gonzo bike unless it just had to be.

i got it
first time , and second and third
I DO NOT WANT TO DO THAT

well
reading about long touring trips
seems like the broken spokes of rear wheel is VERY COMMON PROBLEM
even with standard size bike and average load

I do have few "pocket size" folding bikes
do not like them at all
they are good for "crossing" unknown city one evening or two
when you stay in the hotel
instead of walking
you cover 5 times more area and you are 1/3 tired

BUT NOT FOR FULLY LOADED TOURING