The Wheels of Chance » Touring

“Ultralight” Setup

cstandley — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:36:56 +0000

I’ve never completely signed up to the ultralight camping manifesto that requires the adherent to remove all the labels from clothes and sleep on bubble wrap, but I do like to save weight by using light weight gear and packing sensibly as long as my comfort isn’t severely compromised. Over the years my gear list has evolved and so have my bags. One constant though has been my Carradice Nelson Longflap saddlebag which has successfully carried my gear over many miles. I admit that I have an emotional connection to this saddlebag because it gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling of those halcyon days of English bicycle touring, but it also works very well and has some excellent features such as the expandable long flap, the side pockets and it’s rugged dependability. It’s made of cotton duck material which is very un-ultralight and this became apparent when I recently weighted all my gear and made the spreadsheet below. The saddlebag, at almost 2lbs, is the heaviest thing I carry. So I experimented to see if I could replace it with a 20 litre 100D nylon compression sack that weighs 5.4oz. This is made of heavier nylon than most compression sacks, but I think it’s important for it to be waterproof and fairly tough. The compression feature is vital as it stops items moving around and gives the bag structure so that it can be tightly attached to the bike. There are a couple of companies that specialize in rackless compression sack bicycle bags, so check out Epic Designs and Carousel Design Works sometime and definitely look at this excellent ultralight site http://www2.arnes.si/~ikovse/weight.htm. There are also a few more links on the Gear page of this site. But now to the numbers, click on the spreadsheet images to make them more readable and if you want to copy it it’s available at

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AhZSPUeVaGV5dHplVmtST0pmZFJHZ1AxNjBlU20tcWc&hl=en

Gear weights using traditional cotton duck saddlebag vs nylon compression sacks.

The result of all this weighting and typing is that by using compression sacks and updating a couple of items I can immediately reduce the weight of my gear, bags and racks from 22lbs to 18.7lbs. I also looked at my clothes and my choice of Merino wool has a definite weight penalty, but I just like the way it feels and performs so I think I’ll stick with it. So what does this look like on the bike. Well almost the same as using a saddlebag, except that my sleeping pad is now in the rear sack. It’s quite easy to strap the sack onto the saddle and Expedition Bagman using a couple of nylon straps through the saddle loops and the front sack is equally easy to attach by strapping it to the handlebars and looping one of the compression straps around the stem to stop the bag flapping up and down.

It works after a fashion, but there are a lot of straps and I think that having to undo the compression straps every time I wanted to get something out of the bag would get frustrating. The side pockets and large top opening flap of the traditional saddlebag are far more practical. The compression sack has one advantage over the Brand V handle bar bag as it has an expandable capacity, but there’s no way to access stuff when riding. So while this approach is a good way to reduce weight I think it lacks the functionality of my traditional bags. The seat bags made by Epic and Carousel seem to have the same draw backs as my compression sack hack, but they might work for you so check them out. Carradice also make a 23L capacity Cordura saddlebag that weighs 1.3lbs, but it seems to be out of stock everywhere and I think it should be possible to use 100D waterproof nylon and come up with some ultralight bags (less than a pound) with the useful features of my traditional bags. If someone made something like that I’d buy it tomorrow.

After going through this exercise I’ve revisited the way I pack my saddlebag. By folding my Big Agnes sleeping pad in two, rather than three, before rolling it up (and putting the Nelson Longflap into Tardis mode) it now fits nicely it into my saddlebag. This makes the setup look cleaner, I never like having stuff hanging off the saddlebag if I can help it. So here it is: a traditional three bag set up using some ultralight principles that will allow indefinite, unsupported, civilized, three season touring at a weight of 22lbs. It can be installed on any bike, road, touring, mountain as it requires no eyelets and even if you don’t have saddle loops you can buy simple clamp on ones or use a quick release Bagman. If I can loose a few pounds I’m thinking of trying this setup on my DeRosa Neo Primato. That would be touring on an Italian steel bike with Japanese components and English bicycle bags. Call me crazy, but I just love the idea of all those weird juxtapositions.

Traditional setup, but now the Tardis like qualities of the Nelson Longflap have allowed me to pack the Big Agnes pad inside

The seed of a tour grows best in mid-winter

cstandley — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:02:29 +0000

Boston has been covered in snow and the temperatures have been below zero for a couple of weeks now so my cycling has been limited to a couple of short trips to the supermarket. So what’s a bicycle tourist to do. Well there’s always planning for next summer. This usually involves lots of time spent with Google maps and cruising crazyguyonabike. Last year I went to England so for my next trip I decided I wanted to go somewhere a little more rugged and challenging. I don’t exactly know where the seed of the idea to tour in Iceland came from, but my research so far has confirmed that it will be interesting and challenging.

I’ve visited Reykjavik once, on one of those weekend “get aways”, but my experience is limited to a few bars and a bus trip around the geological wonders close to the capital. My summer trip will probably last 3 weeks and in that time I’ll try to ride the entire 850 miles of the Route 1 ring around Iceland. I’m not going to rough it too much as I’m going to stay in hotels where possible. It looks like the only place where this might be difficult is in East Iceland where there’s a stretch of 100km without services. I’ll be taking full camping equipment, even if I do manage to find hotels for every night, as I don’t want to risk beingwithout a tent and sleeping bag given the remoteness of where I’m going and Iceland’s changeable weather.

Instant Pillow

cstandley — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:34:29 +0000

After a long day’s ride I just want to rest my head and get some sleep. However, getting comfortable on a sleeping pad can be difficult, especially when it comes to pillows. Many people carry a blow up or compressible pillow and some just stuff some clothes into a bag and put that under the head. But I’ve always found those solutions to be less than satisfying; either they at just not big enough or they slip out from under the head. A cotton pillow case is an improvement over using a slick stuff sack, but there must be a better solution. I have often thought that sleeping pads should have an integrated inflatable pillow, but failing that an easy may to get the head at a comfortable angle is to just put your shoes under the head end of the pad. This angles the pad nicely providing a soft support for the neck and head and there’s no need to use clothes as a pillow that could be worn if it gets really cold during the night. The pictures below show the set up, but you’ll have to imagine someone laying on the pad and the angle that the end of the pad would then make with the ground

New loaded touring setup

cstandley — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:58:12 +0000

I’m always thinking of ways to improve my loaded touring setup and I recently bought a new front bag from Rivendell to give me a little more space for snacks. I’ve been using the Acorn handlebar bag for a while, but I’ve found that it’s just a little bit small and Rivendell’s Brand V bag’s two liters larger capacity sounded just right. The bag is very simple with a single compartment closed by a rear zip. It’s held onto the bike by five velcro straps; two around the bars; two around the brake hoods and a single strap around the head tube. The bag is light and the waxed cotton material will be hard wearing and the only criticism I have is the rear zip is hard to open when the bag is on the bike as it is right against the handlebars and it gives poor access to the contents s you end up feeling around blindly for items inside. On the back of the bike I’ve gone over to the Carradice Expendition Bagman as my only rack and I now strap my sleeping pad to the top of my saddlebag. I did try strapping the pad to my top tube, but there was too much leg rub and I wonder how much of an issue that is on the setups that use internal frame bags. My tent is strapped under the saddle and the straps looped around the Bagman so that the tent is tight up against it which stops any leg rub.

Touring Taxonomy

cstandley — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:52:26 +0000

There have been a few discussions on various cycling forums, of late, about how much gear to carry on tour. So I thought I’d take a leaf from E.O. Wilson’s book and do a bit of touring style taxonomy. So what are my categories? I’m going to go with three; Conventional; Lightweight and Ultralight. To make things simple I’m only going to include set ups with some sort of shelter and sleeping equipment, so credit card touring is out.

Conventional

I’d say that this approach emphasizes comfort off the bike or safety in remote places. Many examples can be found at http://www.pbase.com/canyonlands/fullyloaded. The basic set up usually includes 4 panniers, a handlebar bag and probably something strapped to the top of the rear rack. Gear weights can range from 40lbs upwards. The number of bags, their construction methods and need for sturdy racks contributes a lot to the overall weight as does the choice of traditional camping equipment.

Conventional arrangement

I’m not a fan of this approach for general touring where you’ll be riding on roads between towns or campsites and can expect regular resupply as I feel that the weight of the load takes away from the actual cycling. However, a good argument can be made for the conventional approach when going on expedition tours to remote places like Mongolia. In places like that resupply can be many days ride away so you just have to be more prepared. However, it’s not the only way to go.

A good argument can be made for the conventional approach on expedition tours to places like Mongolia.

Lightweight

I’d categorize this as having a gear weight between 20 and 40lbs, maybe a couple of panniers or a saddlebag and some other lightweight bags. Some effort will have been made to use lightweight camping gear and to cut down on items that are not strictly necessary, but comfort is still a criterion. I’d put my set up into this category.

Henry Kingsman's lightweight approach

Rivendell Rambouillet set up for long distance touring

This is the way I like to tour because I have plenty of comfort in camp, but the bike is not loaded down by a ton of gear so I can still enjoy the cycling. I have a tent, a blow up sleeping pad a sleeping quilt and cooking equipment. I estimate I’m 95% as comfortable in camp as I would be with the conventional approach, but a whole lot happier when I’m actually riding. Here are a couple of more examples using rear panniers

Ultralight

This way of touring is for the hardiest of adventurers and rigorously applies the principles of ultralight camping. So you might be sleeping on bubble wrap or a thin 3/4 length pad, the tent will be replaced with a bivy or a tarp, you’ll have no or minimal cooking equipment and your gear will weigh less than 20lb. Igor Kovse has an excellent over view of this way of touring http://www2.arnes.si/~ikovse/weight.htm and there’s also a yahoo group at http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/ultralightbiking/. The bags used are generally made of lightweight nylon and are often just stuff sacks strapped to a rack.

Igor Kovse ultarlight approach

This approach to touring starts to meld with bikepacking and adventure cycling http://adventurecycling.org/features/ultralight.cfm although I’ll never understand how the guys that bikepack can ride with backpacks on. The current trend in this sub-branch of touring is to use frame bags and to strap stuff to the handlbars. Saddlebags tend to be longditudinal rather than transverse so that they don’t get hung up on vegetation.

Off road bikepacking set up

Finally I want to mention the Crane Brothers in this ultralight section as in the 1980s they rode through Central Asia with only 18lbs of gear carried in two panniers. Their story is inspirational and can be found at http://web.archive.org/web/20041211045554/http://www.koopmann.lightup.net/crane/

Somewhere in the Gobi

My “Loaded” Touring Gear

cstandley — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:45:45 +0000

After getting lots of questions about my touring set up I decided to do a short video to show what I take with me on tour. This is everything I take apart from the clothes that I wear on the bike, the bike itself and two, 1L water bottles that fit in the standard cages. If I need to carry extra food or water the flap on the saddle bag can be extended

Here is a fairly recent photo of the bags loaded onto my Rivendell Rambouillet. I’ve replaced the Thermarest and it’s orange bag on the front rack with the a Big Agnes sleeping pad and it’s black bag and I’m now using a smaller rear rack.

Rivendell Rambouillet set up for long distance touring