Thanks for the replies. One of the difficulties is the context. In this instance I am aiming to do a tour of a large chunk of South America, which means having things on me that I will not need most of the time but will need some of the time. For example, cooking and camping gear (7kg) is for routes taken out of necessity or/and areas I particularly want to visit that are lacking in accommodation. Sunblock and permethrin (insect repellent) for a sustained period is 1kg alone. Anti-malarials, antibiotics, first aid kit, etc at least another 1kg. Cold weather clothes for colder areas, rain gear, and warm weather clothes for warmer ones (yes, layers, but there are limits to that). A pair of clothes that are decent enough to wear off the bike for when I stop in places for longer periods. And so forth.
Originally Posted by
veganbikes
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.
Yeah, I think the bike itself is okay/reasonable, the gear is just too heavy. And it currently seems a mystery as to why it's so heavy 😅 but I've made a detailed list of what was in each pannier when I did the weighing so will start cutting using that. The photographic aspect is too important for me to ditch that equipment for a phone. At least this time I can use SD cards: on my last tour many years ago I was at one point carrying 20 spools of film!
Originally Posted by
Tourist in MSN
I try to do sink laundry almost every day. Two shirts, two pants, two bike shorts, two jerseys, four undies and four socks. One pair bike shoes, one pair hiking shoes. That means a 25 foot clothesline (very thin cord) and a dozen clothes pins comes in handy.
If you had 39 kg of gear not counting the bike, I hope a lot of that was food. I find that a day of food is close to 1 kg.
Yeah, none of it is food at this point... 😬 which I agree will add about 1-2kg (since I will likely want two days' food).
Originally Posted by
Miele Man
Uh, are you saying that your total weight thus far WITHOUT food or water is 54kg/119 lbs? Ah, I see that is so. 39kgs/86lbs.
How much food and water do you intend to carry?
Are there any steep or long hills on the route you plan to take? Loose surface roads/trails?
How much loaded bicycling have you done?
Do you have gearing low enough for these weights and routes?
To be honest, I'd try to pare down that initial 39kgs/86lbs weight if I needed to carry much food and/or water. Walking a loaded bicycle up a hill or on a loose surface is NOT fun.
Good luck and cheers
Well, I'm starting in Colombia so that would be: yes to steep climbs 😅 'probably' to trails and loose surface roads. My main experience of loaded riding in this kind of context was my first (and only) long tour in East and Southern Africa, but that was many years ago. My gearing is now much lower than it was (just need to get it tuned properly). Agreed on the advice: need to somehow find a way to cut 5kg+.