Originally Posted by
afrowheels
Reading this thread with a chuckle and grimace after weighing up my current bike and gear, which come in at a whopping 54kg total (119pounds) of which 15kg (33pounds) is the bike with racks, etc, and no food, fuel or water included yet.... I will probably pare down the luggage a few kilograms before I hit the road, but I think the weight is partly because of feeling the need to be expedition prepared (tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, etc) so that I can go off the beaten track, while also carrying a fair amount of tech (camera, heavy second lens, lightish laptop, chargers). Can't say I am enjoying the initial feeling of cycling a truck but it's not called the Long Haul Trucker for nothing!
My suggestion on that front is minus tent and sleeping gear and maybe some cooking gear and stuff try living off of the stuff you plan on bringing with you and seeing what you need and don't need. You may not get it down much but some people find they are taking 8 pairs of undies and 20 shirts for every occasion and you really don't need quite that much. I would say one to wear and one to wash for cycling wear and undies but everything else you can probably get more time on. Also depending on where you are going you might also just get yourself a box of stuff you think you would need and see if a friend or relative can mail it to you if you need it.
I am a chronic overpacker so I know the feeling. With phones these days you can ditch a lot of the electronics potentially unless you need to work or are doing photo journalism or similar type stuff but these new phones have really great cameras and I have friends who have taken some of their best shots with cheap point and shoot cameras even though they have expensive camera equipment.
Though the weight on the touring bike isn't bad that is pretty average I think mine when last weighed was around that with dynamo hub and lights and charger.