How light can you go?

Specifically for cycle touring subjects & questions
PH
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Re: How light can you go?

Post by PH »

Pendodave wrote: 9 Jun 2021, 3:27pm Just collecting some bits and bobs for a day out tomorrow.
Was slightly perturbed to discover that pump/lock/inner tube/puncture kit/tools and lights came to 1.3kg :oops:
I read this a couple of days ago and as I'm packing to go away for a couple of days I thought I'd weigh what I was taking. I was about to smugly post that my tools and repair kit only weigh 550g, when I noticed you'd included lock and lights :oops: My lights are fitted dynamo ones, though I have 150g of backup, and the lightest lock I'll consider is 650g. If I was the sort of trip where I'd leave the bike for more than a few minutes, I'd take the 1.2kg D lock.
I've not weighed it before, so obviously not too bothered, but thinking about it I don't think there is anything I'd leave out.
gloomyandy
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Re: How light can you go?

Post by gloomyandy »

Tools are a tricky one and spare parts even more so. It's hard to balance weight against risk to your trip/hassle of getting things fixed. These days I usually camp, carry cooking gear, food and I like to be able to be comfortable if I need to sit out bad weather so travel with four panniers and don't worry too much about weight.

I carry a fairly large set of tools (hex keys, adjustable spanner, spoke key, tyre leavers, chain tool, screwdriver), but not a lot in the way of spares (spare tube, puncture patches, spare gear cable, zip ties, spare nuts and bolts, tent pole splint). I mainly travel around the Scottish Islands and so don't usually bother with a substantial lock. I have a small rear light always fixed on my rear rack and only take a front light if I know I'm likely to be using a very late/early ferry, I have a head torch I can use in a pinch. I always check things like tyres, chain, brake pads, cables a week or two before I set off and replace (and test) anything that needs it.

I've usually managed to fix anything that goes wrong during a trip and I've helped many cyclists to repair bits on bikes that they did not have the tools for (mainly rear racks and cables!).

The Scottish islands have very few bike shops, but they do have lots of people with tools and "stuff" in sheds and a willingness to help. On one trip a few years ago, one of the people I was travelling with had a pedal seize and strip the threads in the crank arm. What looked like the end of the trip for them was saved by a very helpful local that offered a lift to Stornaway where a bike shop stayed open late and sorted things out!
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matt2matt2002
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Re: How light can you go?

Post by matt2matt2002 »

Gloomyandy: same experience on Shetland.
My front sprocket stripped itself and no chain grip at all.
I was just starting my Scottish end 2 end tour.
The one charity bike shop in Lerwick searched through a junk box of spares and found a replacement.
I was close to returning to Aberdeen.
Tour continued down to Mull of Galloway.
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mattheus
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Re: How light can you go?

Post by mattheus »

Pendodave wrote: 12 Jun 2021, 11:43am
mattheus wrote: 10 Jun 2021, 8:46am
Pendodave wrote: 9 Jun 2021, 3:27pm Just collecting some bits and bobs for a day out tomorrow.
Was slightly perturbed to discover that pump/lock/inner tube/puncture kit/tools and lights came to 1.3kg :oops:
Although its only a day trip, it's my full week tour bits. Thats as much as a small tent...
Maybe I'll have to remove the parts of the multitool i dont know how to use?
Are you racing? Will 1.3kg really ruin your day?
No. I wasn't racing. But i was doing 50 miles somewhere near llangollen, which included a number of steep enough pitches...
I mentioned it here, because I (maybe like a few others from a backpacking past) think of the "big 4" as tent, sleeping bag, pack and cookware. For cycling, my toolkit was as heavy any of these. I could spend a lot of money knocking 500g off some of those items, but probably a lot less streamlining my repair kit.

I passed a couple of tourists with 4 panniers on. They weren't racing, they also didn't look as if they were having a particularly great time...
Reducing weight carried where possible seems a one way bet to more enjoyment to me. Ymmv etc.
Plenty of people have had enjoyable camping (even cycle-camping!) trips with a tent or sleeping-bag weighing more than 1.3kg.

Is there a hill that you enjoy riding up with empty bottles, but not full ones?!?

I agree that reducing weight = increased speed, but does that necessarily increase enjoyment? Just MAYBE where there is a hill that you can only barely climb on a good day, with minimal luggage. Maybe. But then you mentioned riders with 4 panniers, so it doesn't sound like your unladen bike was making the climbs impossible for you.
willem jongman
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Re: How light can you go?

Post by willem jongman »

I have a few comments to make, I think. The first is that I am getting older, and therefore my strength is less than it was once was. Climbing is always the hardest bit, and I love it, but it is a fight against gravity, and hence weight matters. Second, a nice bike usually handles nicer when it is not overloaded. And thirdly, with more and more traffic and faster cars, it is all the more important to look for minor roads and trails, and there lower luggage weight makes a real diference. I really do not want to just ride along canals and on disused railway lines in the valleys.
Bmblbzzz
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Re: How light can you go?

Post by Bmblbzzz »

mattheus wrote: 10 Jun 2021, 12:07pm
Bmblbzzz wrote: 10 Jun 2021, 11:33am Think of it this way: 1.3kg of unused (even unusable) tools could have been 1.3kg of lunch!
I like your thinking!

But why not take both?
1.3kg is a pretty big lunch! So it's probably to be shared with one or maybe two others. In which case, there's a chance they'll be able to use the tools you can't. Equally, it would make sense to only carry one of each tool.

But if that's lunch for one, then there's no point carrying tools you don't know how to use.

And addressing the "does [speed] necessarily increase enjoyment?" point above; we each have our own preferred balance between effort and comfort.
Oldjohnw
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Re: How light can you go?

Post by Oldjohnw »

I don’t know if anyone has mentioned this (apologies for not going right back through all these pages) as excessively lightweight is not something I worry about these days although it was when I backpacked. Quite pricy at £400 but this is expected for something weighing less than half a kilogram and only one litre in volume.

https://www.tauntonleisure.com/camping- ... odel__6597

A bike/back-packer’s dream?
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willem jongman
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Re: How light can you go?

Post by willem jongman »

I like the weight, but if I look at the interior space and the flimsy materials, I will give it a pass.
leftpoole
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Re: How light can you go?

Post by leftpoole »

willem jongman wrote: 18 Jun 2021, 9:38am I like the weight, but if I look at the interior space and the flimsy materials, I will give it a pass.
Size, yes too small.
But, you mentioned flimsy materials. It is actually not flimsy in the slightest. Modern materials are fantastically lightweight but also very strong. You are mistaking light and thin, for poor.
willem jongman
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Re: How light can you go?

Post by willem jongman »

I am aware of the qualites if modern materials: I have Helsport Rinstind Superlight. However this Vango tent has a 10 denier floor and that is very thin.
Vorpal
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Re: How light can you go?

Post by Vorpal »

Several people have pointed out on this thread that we are discussing a balance between comfort and weight.

I would just like to point out that the best balance is an entirely personal decision, and it matters not a whit what someone else does unless you are touring with them.

I carry a 2 kg tent for the space & warmth. There are hills in Norway that I can barely get up unladen, so if takes me a bit longer to do a day's cycle on tour, so what? A super duper fancy light weight one-person tent could save me almost a kg, and I would curse the choice when trying to take off wet leggings while lying down in a tent that doesn't have room to sit up.

So I will carry on carrying the things I want with me, and touring in a lazy manner, stopping often to take pictures, and walking up the occasional hill. And someone else who wants to buy the lightest kit, and do 100 miles per day can do that.

Neither approach is 'best'. Mine is best for me, Willem's is best for him, leftpoole's is best for him, Oldjohnw's is best for him, etc.

It's an interesting & worthwhile discussion, if only because one of us might find something that they can adopt from what another does. I won't give up my favourite tent, but maybe someone will post another weight savings that I want to emulate.
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Bmblbzzz
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Re: How light can you go?

Post by Bmblbzzz »

Well said Vorpal. Ride your own ride, tour your own tour, camp your own camp.
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Re: How light can you go?

Post by Bmblbzzz »

Meanwhile I've just got back from a few days camping. There are a few things I took but didn't use, so I've been wondering if they were a waste of weight:
Waterproof jacket: not a wasted carry, due to British weather.
Bikesters: I've known June and July blazing hot days to be interrupted by freezing (literally sub-zero) nights, so on balance these are worth taking.
Large pot, when all my cooking would have fitted in small (which I'd chosen not to take): seeing as both are large enough to hold my stove, matches, Opinel and tea bags, I'd probably take the small one in future.
Shoes: for this weather, these were the most wasted carry! Worn for a few hours on the first day, then it was sandals all the way. Would go with just sandals for future when weather looks good, with socks in case.
Jdsk
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Re: How light can you go?

Post by Jdsk »

What are "Bikesters", please?

Thanks

Jonathan
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pjclinch
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Re: How light can you go?

Post by pjclinch »

Jdsk wrote: 18 Jun 2021, 1:18pm What are "Bikesters", please?
A version of Ron Hill Tracksters made for cycling, with a higher back and reflective trim on the backs of the legs.

They periodically appear and disappear, sadly we seem to be in one of the latter phases as they're (a) good and (b) relatively cheap.

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