 | cstandley on Cervelo RS – Touring… |
 | Nick on Cervelo RS – Touring… |
| Nick on Cervelo RS – Touring… |
| cstandley on Gear |
 | Jim on Gear |
So the Brattle kickstarter appeal was a success and they met the goal and go a few extra bucks as well. This makes me happy, not just because the theater will get some much needed equipment upgrades, but also because so many individuals were willing to help out.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brattle/brattle-theatre-digital-projection-and-hvac-renova
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This year’s bike ride is slowly taking shape. I’ve decided to ride the Erie Canal bike path from Albany to Buffalo with a bit of a detour to see Niagara Falls. That will be the second week of the trip, the first will be riding from Boston to Albany via North Adams.
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I like things other than bikes and touring. I like movies too – and my favorite movie theater is the Brattle in Harvard Square. They have a Kickstarter project to get a digital projection system installed because fewer and fewer movies are being made available on 35mm film and to replace an aging HVAC system. The success of this project will greatly enhance my weekend movie watching pleasure….here’s hoping!
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“In the night that is very long, the men of the Northlands sit by their great log fires and they” think about where they’ll ride their bike in the summer - credit goes to Oliver Postgate for most of that opening.
After my enjoyable long weekend ride from Boston to Portland and journey back on Amtrak, I though that I’d supersize the idea for my 2013 tour and ride west into New York state for a couple of weeks and then take the Amtrak Lake Shore Limited back to Boston, maybe I’ll check out the Adirondacks or ride out to Niagara Falls, that would be around 500 miles so just right for a couple of weeks of easy touring. It’ll be easy to pack my bike up in a box for the train ride back from Buffalo.
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As will be apparent if you read my last few posts I’ve been touring on a Cervelo RS. By no stretch could this be called a traditional touring bike: its frame is carbon, maximum tire size is 25mm, it has no eyelets for racks and it’s gearing is 50/34 x 12/25. The stock bike is not ideal for touring, but my contention is that with a few changes it can become an excellent bike for light weight touring. It’s designed with a relaxed geometry that gives a comfortable ride over long distances and the carbon frame is a great feature for any tourist looking to control the weight of their equipment. So what do you need to do to a Cervelo RS to make it into a touring bike?
First off are the wheels – literally. Get rid of the low spoke count Shimano training wheels and replace them with good quality, higher spoke count wheels that will be better for long distances and rough roads. I chose 32 spoke Mavic Open Pros with Dura Ace hubs. You might look at the seat post and change it out to better suit your saddle, bag and maybe seatpost rack combination, but the big issue that I’m sure you’ve noticed is the stock gearing.
The Cervelo RS comes with a gear range of 113″ to 37″. It has none of the small gears usually associated with a touring bike. I immediately replaced the 50t ring with a Sugino 46t ring that I had laying around. This reduced the top gear to 104″ and shifted the gearing in the big ring to be more appropriate for all day riding with a light weight touring load. A gear of around 70″ is nice to push all day on the flat – 46/17 is 73″ and I can get that with minimal chain angle. With the stock 34t inner ring and the 25t cog the lowest gear is 37″, which might seem to be high for touring, but I found it to be fine for riding in MA’s Berkshire Hills. The combination of light weight gear and bike allow you to be comfortable climbing in higher gears than with a heavier traditional touring setup. But I can still understand how many tourists would want the assurance of some lower gears for long steep climbs. To get those requires a different rear cassette and derailleur with a larger capacity. The new SRAM PG-1070, 10 speed, 12/36 cassette costs $99 and a SRAM X9 10 speed rear derailleur with 36t capacity costs around $100. Order those and in less than an hour they can be installed and you’ll have a more traditional touring gear range of 104″ to 26″.
I imagine other relaxed geometry carbon bikes like the Specialized Roubaix and Colnago’s Ace would also make interesting light weight touring bikes…………..
Filed under: Bicycle, Bike, bike, Uncategorized, Wrenching | 5 Comments »
I’ve recently updated my gear and have been touring on a Cervelo RS without a rear rack. I’ve changed out the stock Shimano wheels for beefier Mavic Open Pros with 32 spokes and I’ll probably go from the stock 11/25 cassette to a 12/36 to get a lower gear, but the current setup was very successful touring around Massachusetts for 10 days climbing some steep gradients in the Berkshire Hills. The weight of my bike and gear is 37.5 lbs and the weight of the clothes I wear and the food and water I carry is 10 lbs.
I’ve tried to be as thorough as possible, providing a brief discussion of each item, weights, where I carry stuff and a link to the item. I’d encourage all tourists to make a detailed equipment list so the utility of every item can be considered, I believe that it’s the first step towards lightening the load that you carry and making touring even more fun. Here is another post where I show all my bags and gear.
| Item | Description and Discussion | oz | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
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Bike: Cervelo RS. This is a relaxed geometry carbon bike. Gearing is 46/34 with 11/25 cassette although I intend to go to a new rear derailleur and 12/36 cassette to give me some lower gearing. Mavic Open Pro rims on Dura Ace hubs with 25mm ultra gatorskin tires. Brooks Swift saddle | 304 | N/A |
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Rear Bag: Carradice Camper Longflap. Traditional saddlebag with 24 litre capacity and an extending flap for oversized loads. The weight includes two nylon cam-straps that can be used to lash stuff to the outside of the bag (although they are mostly used as a carrying handle or shoulder strap) and a red blinky light. | 31 | Behind saddle |
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Front Bag: Ortlieb Ultimate 5 Classic Large. 9 litre capacity. The bag has a single compartment that stores all the stuff I need to take with me when I’m off the bike. | 20 | Handlebar |
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Tent: Tarpent Contrail Single walled tent with sewn in bathtub floor and bug netting. I pack the poles in the bottom of my saddlebag and the fly goes in a small REI compression sack. | 28 | Saddlebag |
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Sleeping Bag: Montbell UL Super Spiral Down Hugger #3 30F sleeping bag. It’s comfortable into the 40Fs just wearing a T-shirt, and with a jacket and long-johns you can be comfortable into the 30Fs. This is packed into an REI small compression sack. | 25 | Saddlebag |
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Compression Sack: REI Light weight and used to compress then fly and sleeping bag so they’ll fit in the saddlebag. (Weight is 2.5 oz, but weight is included in tent and sleeping bag weights so is given as 0 in table). | 0 | Saddlebag |
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Sleeping Pad: Thermarest NeoAir, Regular, (original) Light and warm inflatable sleeping pad | 14 | Saddlebag |
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Stove: Evernew Titanium Alcohol Stove This is Ti version of the Trangia stove. It doesn’t have a simmer ring or a screw top, but I seldom used those on the original Trangia so I went to the lighter Evernew stove. Additionally the Evernew stove has two sets of jet holes and I’ve found that it works most efficiently with my TI mug when I just place the mug directly on the stove, blocking the upper holes so that it’s just heated by the lower ring of holes. This also means I don’t need a pot stand. | 1 | Saddlebag, inside my TI mug |
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Pot: Evernew Titanium Mug This is my only cooking pot. I use it to boil water for tea, porridge, soups and couscous etc. My cooking kit fits inside. | 2.5 | Saddlebag |
| Windscreen: I use a simple piece of aluminum foil. I fold it in thirds across its width. This gives the screen some strength and makes it the right height for my cooking set up. I hold it together with a paper clip. | 0.5 | Saddlebag inside TI mug | |
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Lighter: Bic lighter: Simple, inexpensive and light. I carry a spare in my handlebar bag | 0.5 | Saddlebag inside TI mug |
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Cup: Sea to Summit X-mug. Collapsible silicone mug. | 1.5 | Saddlebag inside my TI mug |
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Dish cloth: REI LightLoads mini towel. Used to clean and dry pot and to pick hot pots/stove up. | 0.25 | Inside Ti Mug in Saddlebag |
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Water Bottles: Maxi Cincio one liter capacity. these are ok bottles, but the thing I like about them most is that they are one liter capacity and fit in a standard bottle cage. I carry two of them. | 7 | Cages on bike |
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Shirt: Patagonia Capilene 2 with long sleeves and a zip neck. This is great for warm days. The zip allows for good ventilation and the long sleeves stop my arms from getting sun burned. The shirt is lighter and quicker drying than a merino one. It’s not a cycling specific shirt and there are no pockets on the back, but I don’t miss those much. | 7 | Saddlebag |
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Trousers: Ex-Officio Convertible Long Pants Lightweight trousers with zip off legs so they can be turned into shorts. | 10 | Saddlebag |
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Underwear: Rapha Merino Padded Boxers These are very comfortable. I use padded underwear rather than having a pad in my cycling shorts so I can wash them out at night and they will dry before morning. It also allows me to keep wearing my cycling shorts at night. | 4 | Saddlebag |
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Socks: Smartwool PhD Good comfortable socks. | 2 | Saddlebag |
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Long Underwear: REI Basic Running Tights I wear these when it gets cold. They fit easily underneath my trousers or my riding shorts and they can also be worn on their own. | 8 | Saddlebag |
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Shoes: KungFu Shoes These have a hard rubber sole and are good for relaxing in after a day on the bike, going to the showers and walking around town. They pack very flat and take up very little room | 11 | Saddlebag |
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Pillow: Exped Air Pillow This is a lightweight inflatable pillow that is actually quite comfortable. | 3.5 | Saddlebag |
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Backpack: Sea to Summit Ultra-sil Day Pack This is a small backpack that I take if I need to carry stuff on a day hike. I don’t usually wear it while riding, but can if necessary. | 2 | Saddlebag |
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Cord: Basic Utility cord. Used as a clothes line etc etc | 2.5 | Saddlebag |
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Spork: Snow Peak Titanium Spork. This works well for eating just about anything, noodles, soup, couscous etc. | 0.5 | Saddle bag side pocket |
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Fuel Bottle: Antigravitygear 8 fl oz fluid bottle. I use this to carry ethanol for my stove. It holds enough fuel for 20 meals, this means heating 2 cups of water; one for tea and one for soup or cousous. | 1 | Saddle bag side pocket |
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Wind Jacket: Marmot Catalyst. This is my 3 season insulating jacket. It’s surprisingly warm and has a thin, soft lining so it can be worn comfortably next to the skin . When worn with a couple of base layers I’m comfortable into the 30Fs. It has a two hand pockets and a chest pocket too and it’s great for wearing around town or at night around a camp fire. It will deal with a light shower, but not heavy rain. | 11 | Saddlebag |
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Tools: Topeak Alien II. A good multi-tool with everything you need to keep the bike on the road. | 10 | Saddlebag side pocket |
| Parts/Spares: Brake and gear cables, AAA batteries, duct tape, cable ties, Fiber Flex spoke, patch kit, 4mm SHC screws, chain link. | 6 | Saddlebag side pocket | |
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Tubes: Continental Race 28, 25mm inner tubes, I take two. | 6 | Saddlebag side pocket |
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Balaclava: Smartwool balaclava. I wear this when it’s cold, it works as a beanie too. | 2 | Handlebar bag |
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Rain Jacket: Marmot Mica This a great light weight waterproof jacket with two hand pockets and a hood with a visor. The hood is a bit large for everyday wear as it’s intended to go over a helmet. The material feel nicer than most water proof jackets, but I still like to wear long sleeve shirts under it. | 8 | Handlebar bag |
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Multitool: Leatherman Juice A good pocket sized multitool with a knife, various screwdrivers, can opener and pliers. | 5 | Handlebar bag |
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Umbrella: Totes micro umbrella. I’ve used this many times. It’s just wide enough for one person and the locking mechanism isn’t the best, so you might find a better one out there, but having an umbrella is a nice little luxury. If it starts to rain I usually stop riding and if there’s no suitable shelter I wait it out under the umbrella. | 6 | Handlebar bag |
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Wash Kit: Toothpaste and brush, comb, shampoo, DEET, sun screen. lip balm, razor, medium REI camp towel | 9 | Handlebar bag |
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Sunglasses: Julbo race. | 1 | Handlebar bag |
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First Aid Kit: Adventure Medical 0.5 First Aid Kit I’ve never used this, but obviously you need to include one in your gear. This kit has enough to patch you up if you cut or scrape yourself. I’ve added a few more ibuprofen tablets to it. | 3 | Handlebar bag |
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Overshoes: Castelli Pioggia over shoes These shoe covers work well in the rain, but my touring SPD pedals rip the bottoms. I’ve sewn them together a few times now and they have kept my feet dry, but they are not really rugged enough for multiple tours. | 4 | Handlebar bag |
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Smartphone: iPhone4, but obviously take what you like. I use mine for email, to take photos, maps, blogging with WordPress, books and for music and podcasts. | 6 | Handlebar bag |
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iPhone External Battery: HyperJuice mini. This will recharge my iPhone 5 times. I bought it for my trip to Iceland and it worked really well. Whenever I have access to mains electricity I plug it in to charge. I allows for pass through charging of the iPhone too. | 8 | Handlebar bag |
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Radio: Sony Walkman SRF M37W So Smartphones are great, but if you want to listen to the radio they don’t work well over 3G and you’ll use a lot of battery life. So a small radio still works best. This Sony uses one AAA battery and has good FM and AM reception. | 4 | On belt |
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Cables and earphones: iPhone AC adapter, iPhone charging cable, Hyperjuice USB charging cable. | 5 | Handlebar bag |
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Head Lamp: Petzl headlamp. This is great hands free lighting around camp and for on the bike. It straps around the head and has several different modes and lens configurations. | 3 | Handlebar bag |
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Wallet: I just use my regular wallet. I carry 2x credit cards, bank cark, health insurance card, driver’s license, stamps and money. | 4 | Handlebar bag |
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Pump: Lenzyne Pressure Drive. The hose and screw thread on this pump makes it easy to pump up a tire. It’s also small, light and will get a tire up to 100psi. | 3 | Saddlebag side pocket |
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Lock: Kryptonite Kryptoflex 815. A basic lock that won’t stop the serious thief, but is good for locking the bike up in busy areas and at night. | 10 | Handlebar bag |
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Gloves: Manzella Windstopper. | 2 | Handlebar bag |
| Total Weight | 601 oz | 37.5 lbs |
Below are the items I wear and the consumables that I carry
| Item | Description and Discussion | oz | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Cap: Rapha is a bit pricey, but this cap is excellent. Mine is now sun bleached gray rather than black, but that’s only because I wear it all the time. It has a good stiff brim, high quality elastic at the back and the cotton is a bit heavier than the throw away caps you get in many bike shops. | 2 | Worn |
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Bandana: REI basic cotton bandana. Worn around the neck on hot days to keep me cool and used to wipe away sweat, or dry dishes. | 1 | Worn |
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Shirt: EMS Techwick Midweight with long sleeves and half zip. This is slightly heavier than my Capilene 2 shirt and good for all but the hottest of days. By layering it with the lighter weight Capilene 2, my marmot Catalyst jacket or my Marmot Mica rain shell I can be comfortable in a wind range of weather. | 11 | Worn |
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Shorts: EMS Touring Shorts These shorts are simple and just right for touring. They are light and have good pockets. I don’t use the liner they come with as I prefer the Rapha Merino underwear. For touring in cool weather I’ll substitute Rapha’s 3/4 length pants. | 6 | Worn |
| |
Underwear: Rapha Merino | 4 | Worn |
| |
Socks: Smartwool PhD Good comfortable socks. | 2 | Worn |
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Shoes: Shimano M076 These are a great compromise between walking and riding comfort. The SPD cleats are recessed enough so you can walk normally, but the shoes are stiff enough to work well on the bike too. They have good ventilation to keep your feet cool on hot days, but your feet will get wet in the rain unless you wear overshoes. | 22 | Worn |
| Food and Water: Raman, couscous, stock cubes, candy bars, dehydrated veggies | 100 | Saddlebag side pocket | |
| Fuel: Denatured alcohol | 7 | Saddlebag side pocket |
Filed under: Bags, Gear | 2 Comments »
I recently realized that my front Ortlieb Classic and my Carradice Camper bags weigh 3.5lbs. I tried to console myself with the thought that a single Arkel touring pannier weighs the same, but it was no good, my bags are one of the heavier items of my touring gear. Now that I tend to tour on a Cervelo RS, my bike and gear weight is 38lbs, so by bags are almost 10% of that. So they are an obvious thing to look at and see if some weight can be saved.
Lightweight and ultralight tourers are always looking to save some weight so I wondered if the rackless world of bikepacking could help. There, gear is carried in dry sacks strapped to the bike with various nylon harnesses on the handlebars or the saddle, or in bags fitted inside the bike frame. The link below gives lots of examples of this sort of setup.
I like the lack of racks so the system can go on just about any bike and the use of dry sacks that you can buy at places like REI. One drawback is the difficulty getting at stuff at the bottom of the sack. The traditional saddlebag has a nice big opening making it easy to pack and find stuff. Also bikepacking seems to use an awful lot of bags…….
a seat bag (Booster rocket) = 11oz
a small frame bag = 9oz
handlebar harness (mission control) = 12oz
gas tank = 4oz
backpack = 12oz
…and the weight quickly starts to add up, even if you do use material that’s lighter than cotton duck. Also, these bikpacking bags are mostly made by small businesses, so they can be expensive, with a complete set costing several hundred dollars. I wondered if the truly ultralight minded (and budget concious too) could just use a couple of dry sacks strapped to the bike. That would be lighter and less expensive. Tough 20L and 10L compression sacks and some cam straps could carry your gear in a way that’s almost as convenient as a bike packing set up for a fraction of the cost and they’d weigh well under a pound.
So here is my attempt at “bikepacking”. Using a 20L eVent Seat to Summit compression sack on the back and the 10L size on the front. The bags are far from full and I have packed my all the gear I just used for my 3 day tour to Portland; so tent, sleeping pad, sleeping bag, cooking equipment, clothes food etc.
The seat pack needs no extra straps. The bag is held against the seat post by the thick fabric band on the bottom of the bag. This needs the seat post to be removed and slipped inside the band….so this is not a quick release bag. Then two of the compression straps are threaded through the saddlebag loops, but the saddle rails would work as well. Some tightening of the straps and it’s very stable.
The front takes two cam straps to attach the bag to the handlebars and one compression strap is threaded through the bike frame to stop the bag bouncing up and down. The tent poles are strapped to the top tube in this picture, but they are better carried underneath the front bag. The cost is about $70 and the weight is under a pound reducing my bike and gear weight to around 36lbs. Other bags would be lighter and less expensive, but not as rugged. The set up is not particularly convenient, but it is solid.
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