saddlesores

you can mention accordions.

tcs

An addition the last few years: my Kindle (E-reader). An entire library smaller and lighter than a single paperback, useful for rain delays and downtime; guidebooks and pre-researched local history; pdf's of map details, contacts and resources; instruction/repair manuals; travelogs from folks who have ridden the same area/route; recipes with shopping lists.

79pmooney

I was a fan of polypro in the early '80s until ( bought a pair of expedition weight Patagonia Capilene; top and bottom and wore them for the first 5 days of a trans-Artlantic sail. Lots of bad weather. Day 6 was nice. Put my clean and dry polypro on. 24 hours later I could not stand the feel against my skin and put the soggy Capilene on and wore it another 5 days.

Their Capilene has only gotten better and their grey synthetic T-shirts are worth every dollar of the ~$80 price. (Next to my skin on almost all my outdoor ventures.)

So, to the topic: haven't toured in many years but if I did, I'd pack enough of those grey Ts to always have a pair ready to go.

KPREN

Gear I don't leave at home on bikepacking trips, as strange as it may seem, is this tiny four pound poodle

Miss Maggie

bunnyberg

Good coffee: fresh roasted beans, manual grinder, V60 or Moka pot or AreoPress Go

tcs

Not exactly 'gear', but I carry plans-went-awry calories.

That little restaurant can be closed on Tuesdays. The owner of the tiny grocery store might have had a death in the family. Or, cycletouring in France, the cafe might be closed for lunch.

So I carry backup food: calorie-dense, good shelf life. We've discussed before what might be appropriate and personal: lembas bread, cram, pemmican, jerky, hardtack, gorp, nuts & nut butters, Cliff bar, Greenbelly, Ka'chava, Kate's bar, Huel, Soylent...

I leave from home with it. If I get back home with it still in the saddlebag, great, didn't mind one bit carrying it but not using it.

Tourist in MSN

My touring partner and I did Pacific Coast with a day or two of freeze dried meals in the bottom of a pannier. Never used them and they are still in storage somewhere, but having them meant we never had to obsess about where the next grocery store was. We almost always were starting to wonder where the next Safeway would be, just before we saw one.

But, several of my tours have been in food deserts, so I got accustomed to carrying several extra days of food.

My Canada trip in 2019, I think this was the first grocery store I saw in over a week.

indyfabz

Totally forgot about good coffee, although I take mine pre-ground. And I use a Bodum Travel Press combination French press and mug. Matches the panniers.

robow

I'm not a coffee drinker and so it's hard for me to grasp this worship of the dark beverage but I will say, the most popular gentleman within my little touring group every morning, is my buddy who hauls along his coffee press each and every ride. It should be rule #1 in any book titled "How to Make New Friends While Touring"

Tourist in MSN

I think mine is GSI. Lexan, not glass. I can't remember how old it is, quite old. They have made several generations since.




That said, I leave it at home on bike trips, only carry the French Press on canoe trips.

On bike trips, I use <insert grimace here> instant.

sloar 

I like good coffee, but I’m ok with instant while camping or touring.

indyfabz

My morning challenge is to see if I can get the coffee brewing before I have to take a leak. #Multitasking

And after perusing the PNW thread, I’ll add a corkscrew.

Paul_P

Another coffee addict here. I use a french press at home, but decided to go back to filters for my touring. I just bought a collapsible cone and a reusable filter from GSI :

zandoval 

That's gotta be that 34T ring on my crank...

Yep... That's it... I spend more time on that one then any of the others...

As for gear gear... Well that's gotta be my Mini Pump and Flat Fix Kit. Oh, and gotta call Mommy for a ride home cell phone... Waaaahhh...

tcs

Ever wonder why Leatherman multitools don't have a corkscrew?



YouTube tip from a cycletourist who uses the handle Lady Brompton: box wine, leave the box @ home (or at the store) and pack the bag into your panniers!

indyfabz

Chateau Lafita Rothschild doesn’t come in a box. At least as far as I know.

Paul_P

I've been reading threads like this for weeks now and have assimilated an enourmous amount of information and traveled several times around the world from the comfort of my arm chair.

One thing that is not mentioned is that if you put everyone's great ideas together on a single bike, they weigh quite a bit !

I'm going to test ride an almost finished setup later on today and I can see that without food, water or fuel I'm getting pretty close to 50 lbs for the panniers and gear, not the bike. I've acquired some lighter versions of what I already had, and added or renewed a bunch of other things, but I guess for the moment my style could be summarized as car camping on a bike. Just so many things I'm not yet ready to give up. We'll see after a few hills...

My body has lost around 10 lbs since the spring so I get the 4 panniers and handlebar bag more or less for free.

indyfabz

But not everyone takes everything others take. The coffee example above is an example. Several different approaches among several different people. As another example, some people don’t mind wearing the same shoes in camp. I rode across the country with a guy like that. I, on the other hand, like/need to have separate shoes for camp and walking around town. Some people take pillows. I don’t.

One piece of advice I can offer is don’t try to replicate as many creature comforts of home as possible.

sloar 

I like to rough it, I leave a lot of unnecessary comforts at home. I’ll choke
down instant coffee, one pair of non bike shoes, and very few non riding clothes. No pillow or
chair. I do like to have my Kindle and my phone with earbuds. I always have my desert boonie cover I wore in the Marines while deployed to Somalia.

GhostRider62

Not everybody tours heavy. I used to carry everything. In the lower 48, one can usually get coffee at some commercial establishment en route and in Europe, it is easy peasy. There are some decent single serve instant coffee that are pretty good cold. I would never take the time to make coffee or fumble around in the dark making it. I do take one means of disinfecting water and sometimes two because I can't live without clean water

indyfabz

We sound somewhat alike, except for the coffee thing.

Cutting down on non-riding clothes can really help with bulk and weight. When I got back into loaded touring after a 9 year break, I first carried a lot more of that stuff than I did during my 3 long trips in 1999-2000. I remember going to Montana in 2011 with a couple of short sleeve tees, a long sleeve tee and a bulky fleece. I’ve pretty much cut it down to a pair of convertible pants, one synthetic tee, a light, long sleeve pullover, one pair of light, synthetic long Johns, a light pair of off-bike shoes, one pair of warm socks and a wool cap if it might get chilly, and two pairs of underwear. If I won’t be going out anywhere, I’ll often leave the pants legs at home as I can wear the shorts over the long Johns. Not worried about making a fashion statement. All of that stuff plus my sleeping bag fits in my right, rear Ortlieb Back Packer Plus with plenty of room to spare if I have to carry food.

Love my Kindle Fire. Got tired a burning through headlamp batteries reading at night, and it’s less bulk and sometimes weight. (Try carrying For Whom the Bell Tolls around the mountains of Southern Spain.) The battery lasts a long time, it recharges quickly and I can add a new book if I get Wi-Fi access on the road.

Tourist in MSN

Then start out with 50 pounds. Next trip after that, might be 45 pounds, or might be 55 pounds.

My light touring bike, below:



My heavy touring bike, below:



The weight on the two bikes is pretty similar, although the trips and bikes and locations were quite different.

mev

I am one someone with one pair of shoes. That was an issue on a 2016 tour when these shoes started to fall apart. Fortunately, duct tape held for a few days before I bought new shoes in Fernie BC...

No need for coffee either.

​​​​​​However, still end up taking a bunch of stuff so I'm touring on the heavy side still. Typically more than average repair/spare parts and a set of tech toys e.g. laptop and phone and kindle etc.

As far as the can't live without gear goes there are foundational items (e.g. rain jacket, tubes/patch kit/tools, bike clothes,...) that I expect everyone has... So my slightly more offbeat item is even when I anticipate staying in motels, I'll bring a lightweight tube tent.

All things being equal, I like finding a bed and a shower to sleep inside. However, I dislike having to nail down a set schedule of reservations too much in advance and ideally like to find a place as I go along.

So the tube tent and lightweight sleeping bag are a good backup for staying mostly in motels but keeping flexibility for basic camping as needed.
​​​​​​

indyfabz

I’ll bet that shop in Fernie is where we got chain lube back in ‘09 on the second day if the trip, which is something we forgot. Of course, it rained the first day.

dvdwmth

Mini foot pump with gauge (holy **** do I ever hate hand held mini pumps)

collapsible stool (as I learned changing a flat in the blazing Sun, feeling like barfing from bad lunch choice, and back crazy stiff from sleeping on ground. Also while making fire. If you’re 20years old disregard)

binoculars (my favourite non essential bonus thing)