salvaico

There are often pictures of bikes, but pictures of loaded bikes seem to be harder to come by searching this forum. So here is my contribution.

This is a picture of my bike from my european tour.

bradw

hh

Patch29

Here is my touring bike and panniers. It is less than a month old, so it has not seen any touring yet, but it is ready to go, just tuning the motor for the long haul.

Kodama

Here's a pic of my ride taken mid-tour this spring on a Washington State Ferry:

Cyclist0094

Picture just before my 620mile tour from Montreal to Quebec city to Albany NY this summer.
I built this frame in the spring of 2003. It has True Temper stays and butted seat tube along with a straight gauge down tube and top tube. Drive train is 8spd Deore XT, Brakes are Vintage (1986) Deore XT, Rims are Sun Rhyno lites 36H, Brooks 66 champion saddle, Girvin Flex stem, Brahma 44cm bars. Planetbike freddy fenders,
IRC Metro 26x1.5 tires, Vaude world tramp panniers, Kangaroo Handle bar bag. the red bottle in the cage behind the seatube is alcohol stove fuel. Sleeping bag and tent are in the two front panniers,

Revtor

Here's mine (again)

2004 Poprad about 1/3 of the way through my summer tour this past july/august.
Tools, first aid, camping, heavy stuff up front, clothes and other stuff out back, tent, sleeping roll, dirty laundry and ground cloth on top.

~Steve

Csson

1. Ride (and rider) on top of Mont Ventoux three years ago.
2. In Poland last year (trying to even out the tan lines).

/Csson

jharte

This is my bike in Sedalia, MO. I rode 90 mi to see ZZ Top at the Missouri State Fair. A few sprinkles on this day. Nice ride, though. Great concert!

H23

How did you like Poland on two wheels?
I visited there years ago (as a "foot" tourist) and thought it would be a great place for a cycling tour.

Jay H

This is my commuter/tourer in front of the Mid Hudson Bridge just before crossing it to get to Poughkeepsie, NY

Jay

capsicum

Question: why do I see a lot of bikes with lowrider front pnniers, then I look up and bam! a fatty bag, way up on the handle bars, what's the point they just cancel out?
Why not lowriders with a small bag that sits on top of the rack instead of way up on the bars?

Roughstuff

Well...I always travel light...this was my bike the night before I packed it and started my 2 year world tour.



roughstuff

halfbiked

How do you like those panniers? they look like dry bags, like those used in rafting. are they? If so, like em? or are they a pain in the hind end?

rnagaoka

Oh-oh...don't get roughstuff started on those Ortliebs!!!

https://www.cyclingscholar.com/ortlieb.html

Cyclist0094

I have vaude panniers which are also rolltops like Ortlieb. The biggest complaint I hear is they don't have outside pockets. If you have paddled with dry bags you know the object is to keep everything dry. and that is what they do. They won't IMO do it as well with outside pockets. I was riding in torrential downpours in Quebec this year and everything in the vaudes stayed dry. That is all a pannier needs to do for me.

Cyclist0094

Yes The handlebar bag does affect the handling somewhat but only at very low speed. I don't expect my touring bike to handle like my club racer.
Problem with a bag on top of a standard front rack is an issue of convinence for me. I like to be able to quickly stop and reach for things I need, for me a handle bar bag works best. I have a front rack bag on my tandem and it is a PITA to reach into while straddling the bike..

Roughstuff

Yes, indeed, as an above post states, don't get me started on Ortlieb. My purpose was to test out waterproof bags in my world tour, despite every bit of logic convincing me that they could not POSSIBLY work. I can count on one hand the number of days where i said, 'thank god I have ortlieb.' Yes, see the page on my website as referred.

roughstuff

acantor

I ALMOST feel guilty when I view photographs of heavily-laden bicycles! OK, it's not guilt that I feel, but relief! Personally, I don't carry camping equipment on my tours. I don't enjoy camping, so mostly I stay in cheap hotels and B+Bs.

I manage to squeeze all of my gear into:

- a pair of ancient (circa 1989) Cannondale panniers.
- a regular daypack (containing bulky, lightweight items) bungy-corded to the top of the rear rack.
- a small pack under the seat where I stow my tools.
- a fanny pack, with my camera case slung on the belt strap.

Note that I don't have front panniers or a handlebar bag. I found a mapcase that fits perfectly within the aerobars (which are intended for triathletes, but are great for tourists, too.)

I do not have a lot of space, but I find room for lightweight hiking shoes, sandals, a couple of paperback books, two water bottles, a massive Stocks Lock U-lock (which is Velcroed to the top of the rear rack), and food for the road (fruit, bread, chocolate, nuts, etc.)

The photo shows me in July 2004 after climbing Gotthard Pass in Switzerland (altitude = 6916 feet or 2108 metres).

Alan

jharte

Hey rnagaoka, I can appreciate your struggle trying to get into your rear bags while carring ANYTHING on your rear rack. I had a set of Cannondale rear panniers that I actually put on the front rack and a set of Performance rear panniers that I had on the rear rack. The Cannondales open from the side but the Performance bags open from the top. I had a tough time getting in them with a sleeping bag and tent on top. I just bought a set of Arkel front panniers. I really like them. I plan to pick up a set of Arkel rear panniers in a couple of weeks (I have to save a little more money). I like the side entry of the Arkel bags. That was the biggest reason I didn'd go with top load. They say the top load bags are "more waterproof". I need a couple of rain covers. I like them though.

Csson

Yes, I liked it and look forward to going back. If things work out I might be doing a tour between Gdansk (Poland) and Vienna (Austria) next year. Last year's tour was limited to the extreme north-east (entering at the Lithuanian border and staying pretty close to the Kaliningrad (Russian) border all the way to Gdansk) so it would be interesting to see a larger part of the country.


I have lots of small items that I want easy access to and ability to remove from the bike easily when I'm not near it: Money, camera, keys, tickets, passport and so on. I also find it very convenient on local rides so it stays on almost always.

/Csson

Revtor

I was thinking the same thing before I went on my tour.. Why such a huge handlebar bag?? I saw no need and thought it looked weird, so I got a small tubular one (Jandd, made for kids I guess) and it was perfect to hold the three essential things (for me).
Tape recorder,
digi camera,
wallet.

It had enough space to hold a power bar (never did) or a piece of candy or two. (dump a pack of starburst in there for small treats along the way)

my 2 cents, everyone lives differently. .
~Steve

eventually I moved the bar padding to the drops, where it was very comfortable. . .

saddlesores

1st photo is my mercian at ayer's rock during the 2-year tour of oz and nz. phil/rhyno 48sp wheels,
and xt components. 2nd photo is my schwinn high plains (nos frame $10 on ebay!) during the
southwest tour. same basic component setup.

halfbiked

Ha! Thanks. I've thought about getting similar for my motorcycle, but can see why they'd be less than perfect for bicycle touring.

gonesh9

Here's mine loaded and covered due to stormy weather at takeoff:




And here she is in the middle of nowhere:

gonesh9

I was just noticing how different our top tube angles are on our 530's.... I know mine's a smaller size, but that just strikes me as a bit strange that they would change the geometry so much....