Half your body weight
06-29-15, 10:19 PM
#51
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Oh BTW - personally I like the unlocked feature of this forum. It's good to keep threads, even old threads, available. 
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06-30-15, 12:59 AM
#52
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On the other hand this thread did saved me from posting a question on weight, so it was a fortunate thing for me.
06-30-15, 02:38 AM
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The main rule in touring for me is that I have to be able to stay comfortable. That is a combination of things, from saddles to gearing, weather to food. If you can stay comfortable you can keep going, in my case some discomfort could be a sign that I was likely to cause myself permanent damage, or it could just be that I was no longer enjoying myself.
While I enjoy ideas like that one should be able to carry a bike, and have been in situations were my safety depended on my being able to clean and jerk the bike over some obstacle, I wouldn't recommend trying these ideas out in the real world. I have hurt myself doing these kinds of tests and they are largely arbitrary so why bother.
While I enjoy ideas like that one should be able to carry a bike, and have been in situations were my safety depended on my being able to clean and jerk the bike over some obstacle, I wouldn't recommend trying these ideas out in the real world. I have hurt myself doing these kinds of tests and they are largely arbitrary so why bother.
06-30-15, 05:03 AM
#54
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Of course my preference is moot as it is up to the mods to decide that sort of thing.
07-04-15, 11:10 PM
#55
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Yesterday in KUL I weighed myself before checking out of the hotel: fully clothed with steel leg-brace:109 kg. At the KUL airport with all my gear (except for the handlebar bag) I was 50 kg. So that fits into the range others are discussing. I will need to buy some oatmeal, PB, Vegemite, etc. BUT this trip I will carry only essential food maybe 3 days. Otherwise it is stop for a meal @ a roadhouse on the Eyre Hwy. Oh, then of course there IS the water 
I once met a German traveller who said the ate mostly oatmeal - sometimes cooked and sometimes raw as he was riding from Broome WA to Cairns Qsld. Yuk to that diet! Nutrition balance?? Monotony???
I once met a German traveller who said the ate mostly oatmeal - sometimes cooked and sometimes raw as he was riding from Broome WA to Cairns Qsld. Yuk to that diet! Nutrition balance?? Monotony???
07-05-15, 09:24 AM
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I'm heading off on another month-long tour through NY state and New England, (Buffalo to Saratoga Springs, down the Hudson, up the N.England Coast to R.I and Boston. Bush camping, but not cooking, and I've got my complete rig down to 42 lbs. Bike with racks weighs 22lbs, Panniers with gear weighs 18 - 20lbs. Last year I did a similar trip and I was at just under 50 lbs. This equals just over 1/4th of my body weight of 162lbs. 204 lbs of rolling lightening, hold the thunder.
I don't mind old threads. Something always tips me off. It would be nice though if people reviving old threads would indicate that at the top of their post.
07-18-15, 12:00 PM
#57
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I've Gained weight since my last Long tour , maybe that will compensate for the comfortable gear I brought, Back then ..
07-18-15, 08:32 PM
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For me my bike, gear, water, and everything else, for a self supported 2 month long camping tour in Japan was 25% of my body weight, and since im only 65kg that's not much.
07-18-15, 08:37 PM
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Even when I carried the kitchen sink I don't think I ever carried anything close to a third of my body weight (including my bike), or well less than 1/4 of my body weight not counting the bike itself. These days I don't think I ever carry more than 15% or my body weight, if that.
BTW - I'm not tiny, but I'm not a Clyde either.
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Just because I'm tired of arguing, doesn't mean you're right.
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WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
07-18-15, 08:40 PM
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Holy smokes -- I tour with 6 to 10 pounds, including panniers
I've just sat down and started to weigh up things. At my weight by this guide, I can plan on not more than 80 pounds. My LHT is about 27 pounds with racks front and rear. Add in the 6 poiunds for the Lone Star Panniers front and rear.and that leaves me about 46 pounds to work with.
I add in my home (tent, sleeping bag and pad) at a total of about 9 pounds, and that drops me to 37 pounds to work with.
I suspect that I can get under the limit easily enough, but I've never weighed everything like that before, so it's a bit of a shock. I wonder if I may consider getting a smaller lighter tent. I do like the space of having a 2 person tent however.
I wonder how many of us this winter will start laying out stuff, grabbing the baby or kitchen scale, and going "Humm, how much can I save if I don't bring this.... or only half as much of that?"
Thanks Machka, now you've given me a new thing to try and quantify.
Steve W.
Who thinks that the 5 pound canned ham isnt going on more rides... just in case it's needed.
I add in my home (tent, sleeping bag and pad) at a total of about 9 pounds, and that drops me to 37 pounds to work with.
I suspect that I can get under the limit easily enough, but I've never weighed everything like that before, so it's a bit of a shock. I wonder if I may consider getting a smaller lighter tent. I do like the space of having a 2 person tent however.
I wonder how many of us this winter will start laying out stuff, grabbing the baby or kitchen scale, and going "Humm, how much can I save if I don't bring this.... or only half as much of that?"
Thanks Machka, now you've given me a new thing to try and quantify.
Steve W.
Who thinks that the 5 pound canned ham isnt going on more rides... just in case it's needed.
I weigh 152 pounds. If I carry more than 15 pounds, I am not happy. I suppose that at age 52, I am a weakling. Ride your own ride, camp your own camp, tour your own tour, though.
07-18-15, 08:58 PM
#61
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And of course ... the suggestion of half your body weight is the maximum amount I want to lug about. Generally speaking, I'm happier when I come in a bit lower than that.
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11-22-15, 05:30 AM
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For fun I'm just calculating my ratio from last tour.
Starting Bodyweight: 218lbs
Bike weight: 20lbs
Starting gear weight: 14.5lbs
I got a little under 16% assuming my drunk math is correct
Starting Bodyweight: 218lbs
Bike weight: 20lbs
Starting gear weight: 14.5lbs
I got a little under 16% assuming my drunk math is correct
11-22-15, 07:10 AM
#63
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(sexy, handsome) body weight: 180 pounds
bike: 30 pounds
gear: 30 pounds
hey! i'm ultralight! do i get to preach now?
bike: 30 pounds
gear: 30 pounds
hey! i'm ultralight! do i get to preach now?
11-24-15, 04:16 PM
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And really, before getting all worked up about going with a super light bicycle and buying up equipment that weighs less than a breath and carrying the absolute minimum required to survive, I'd suggest getting down to your ideal body weight ... if you aren't already.
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11-24-15, 04:35 PM
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I am my ideal body weight ... actually, the low end of my ideal body weight.
And really, before getting all worked up about going with a super light bicycle and buying up equipment that weighs less than a breath and carrying the absolute minimum required to survive, I'd suggest getting down to your ideal body weight ... if you aren't already.
And really, before getting all worked up about going with a super light bicycle and buying up equipment that weighs less than a breath and carrying the absolute minimum required to survive, I'd suggest getting down to your ideal body weight ... if you aren't already.
11-24-15, 04:46 PM
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Especially since ultra-light stuff tends to be ultra-expensive.
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11-24-15, 04:54 PM
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While I agree about getting to your ideal body weight....dropping weight from the bike feels a lot different than dropping weight from yourself. It's not a 1:1 comparison IMO.
11-25-15, 12:45 AM
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Available bikes/racks/equipment doesn't vary much in a few months so why have an artificial limit to thread? Seems simpler to have a continuing thread than other replicating same info.
In RE body vs luggage weight it's all about the terrain eh? Went on experimental loaded camping tour in the mountains & was pretty grueling though included weird feeling of getting stronger but tireder thru the weekend. So for extended hilly tours doesn't one become accustomed to the effort? Also BTW bikes & equipment don't always scale down easily for lighter riders. Most stuff designed for mid-weight folks so Clydes deal w/breakage & lightweights have to push more % of body weight.
11-25-15, 01:00 AM
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Not sure about this. I agree it feels different, weight on the bike changes its handling and gives one a sense of hauling a load in a way that being fat does not. However, if in losing weight one retains one's power - which may be quite a big if - I think the physics of it would be the same. 20 pounds off my fat carcass would have as big an impact as shedding 20lbs of luggage, assuming the wind resistance of the panniers remained constant. And, of course, losing the weight off myself would mean I retained the advantage even when riding unloaded. Now that's an attractive prospect.
11-25-15, 02:37 AM
#72
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1- I think it's great to be able to look at an old topic, don't see a downside to reading older stuff.
2- on this topic, one other factor to the bike+gear= less than half body weight general rule is how strong a rider is, legs, cardio and all that.
I'm a skinny guy who is probably very average in terms of power, but some big guys with big legs really do have the equivalent of big diesel engine power. I'm the opposite, but then again a big person who is overweight can also be out of shape a lot, so lots of factors going on here.
For me the half rule pretty much reflects what works for me.
2- on this topic, one other factor to the bike+gear= less than half body weight general rule is how strong a rider is, legs, cardio and all that.
I'm a skinny guy who is probably very average in terms of power, but some big guys with big legs really do have the equivalent of big diesel engine power. I'm the opposite, but then again a big person who is overweight can also be out of shape a lot, so lots of factors going on here.
For me the half rule pretty much reflects what works for me.
11-25-15, 07:17 AM
#74
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Don't forget chasm, it's "bike+gear" weight that this general, more of less rule (recommendation is how I think of it) applies to.
ie my bike at 30+40 load=70 , which is about half of my 140 body weight
But yes, I suspect you are right nonetheless
ie my bike at 30+40 load=70 , which is about half of my 140 body weight
But yes, I suspect you are right nonetheless
11-25-15, 07:30 AM
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I'm not forgetting. I've never toured with a combined bike/luggage weight of above 80lbs. I certainly wouldn't care to add another 20lbs to that if any climbing were involved - and on my tours, some climbing always is. These days my combined load is likely to be no more than 60lbs, less than one third of my body weight. Of course, one has to remember that in one sense the bigger rider has an advantage. Let's say I weigh 50% more than you. If we compile similar gear lists, mine - including the bike - won't weigh close to 50% more than yours. So bumping my load up to the half body weight criterion would simply mean I was taking far more stuff than I needed.