Touring with road bike - minimalist setup advice sought
Moderator: robbosmans
Hi all,
I have been thinking of doing a 5 to 7 day tour with my road bike across Switzerland. The objective would be to travel as light as possible, to have a road bike feeling and to ride at reasonable speeds. In the past, when doing such a thing on an MTB, I managed with 5kg on my back, but expect I could travel lighter on my road bike.
My current thinking is to have a 10 to 15l handlebar bag (like Adipura make them): https://www.apidura.com/product/handlebar-pack-dry-9l/. In the bag I'd carry:
- Very light change of clothes for the evening (thin trousers, boxers, t-shirt, fleece), flip flops
- Rain jacket
- Travel size hygiene stuff
- photocopied map pages as backup
- charger and cable
On the bike:
- GPS with mapped out route
- 1 tube, CO2, etc
Anything else (food, etc), I'd buy along the way and would wash the bike clothes every night.
Thanks for any tips on a minimal packing list and your experience on how best to carry it (handebar bag or not?).
Cheers
Jever
I have been thinking of doing a 5 to 7 day tour with my road bike across Switzerland. The objective would be to travel as light as possible, to have a road bike feeling and to ride at reasonable speeds. In the past, when doing such a thing on an MTB, I managed with 5kg on my back, but expect I could travel lighter on my road bike.
My current thinking is to have a 10 to 15l handlebar bag (like Adipura make them): https://www.apidura.com/product/handlebar-pack-dry-9l/. In the bag I'd carry:
- Very light change of clothes for the evening (thin trousers, boxers, t-shirt, fleece), flip flops
- Rain jacket
- Travel size hygiene stuff
- photocopied map pages as backup
- charger and cable
On the bike:
- GPS with mapped out route
- 1 tube, CO2, etc
Anything else (food, etc), I'd buy along the way and would wash the bike clothes every night.
Thanks for any tips on a minimal packing list and your experience on how best to carry it (handebar bag or not?).
Cheers
Jever
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Big saddle bag to even up the weight.
https://www.revelatedesigns.com/index.c ... s/Viscacha
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I have done this with both the handlebar bag and the saddle bag, eg:
In the saddle bag change of clothes, flip-flops, toiletries, battery charger, rain booties, rain jacket if dry weather (in the photo I put it in the 2nd bottle cage, rain was threatening).
In the handlebar bag (accessible while riding) maps, clip-on lights for tunnels, tube with electrolyte tablets (for the hot days), sunscreen, sandwich or other food (not always easy to find up in the mountains), finger gloves, armwarmers, tube/tool.
Be ready for extreme weather, both hot and cold. Bring cycling clothes that dry the quickest.
In the saddle bag change of clothes, flip-flops, toiletries, battery charger, rain booties, rain jacket if dry weather (in the photo I put it in the 2nd bottle cage, rain was threatening).
In the handlebar bag (accessible while riding) maps, clip-on lights for tunnels, tube with electrolyte tablets (for the hot days), sunscreen, sandwich or other food (not always easy to find up in the mountains), finger gloves, armwarmers, tube/tool.
Be ready for extreme weather, both hot and cold. Bring cycling clothes that dry the quickest.
http://www.topeak.com/products/bags/Tou ... ndlebarBag
Much more useable space than the apidura.
Much more useable space than the apidura.
mattr wrote:http://www.topeak.com/products/bags/TourGuideHandlebarBag
Much more useable space than the apidura.
I'm surprised by that - it says 5 liters volume vs 10-14 of Apidura, depending on size. Did you get to try it out?
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I said useable
The apidura is wedged under the bars and a (relative) pain to get to. IIRC it's also quite long and *may* interfere with bars/brakes/cables etc.
The topeak one you can access on the move, don't need to unlatch/unroll/muck around with. If you see what i mean.
Also got space for a map or phone on the top which can be useful.
The apidura is wedged under the bars and a (relative) pain to get to. IIRC it's also quite long and *may* interfere with bars/brakes/cables etc.
The topeak one you can access on the move, don't need to unlatch/unroll/muck around with. If you see what i mean.
Also got space for a map or phone on the top which can be useful.
Hi
I've cycled across France on a road bike credit card touring, and also did Barcelona - Lisbon
You're thinking on the right lines.
I took a rucksack. Lightweight Berghaus 20 or 25L thing IIRC. You could probably optimise that further with a Deuter or something but I knew the one I had was very comfortable.
As long as the weight is minimal, riding with a rucksack is fine.
In terms of kit:
- flip flops or light weight sandals
- two sets of underwear
- two cycling outfits (i.e. socks, shorts, ss jersey)
- light weight shorts or trousers - I took Northface trousers with zip-off legs... shorts and trousers!
- long-sleeved t-shirt (slightly smarter than short sleeved, allows more dining options)
then minimal toiletries - toothbrush, toothpaste (small tube or 1/3 full standard tube), deodorant (just as much as you need), and, importantly, some washing powder for clothes
And then just a pump, a lever, a few allen keys (not a heavy multi-tool), a puncture repair kit, a spare tube
Credit and debit card and some cash
Passport
that was pretty much it. No problems.
I've cycled across France on a road bike credit card touring, and also did Barcelona - Lisbon
You're thinking on the right lines.
I took a rucksack. Lightweight Berghaus 20 or 25L thing IIRC. You could probably optimise that further with a Deuter or something but I knew the one I had was very comfortable.
As long as the weight is minimal, riding with a rucksack is fine.
In terms of kit:
- flip flops or light weight sandals
- two sets of underwear
- two cycling outfits (i.e. socks, shorts, ss jersey)
- light weight shorts or trousers - I took Northface trousers with zip-off legs... shorts and trousers!
- long-sleeved t-shirt (slightly smarter than short sleeved, allows more dining options)
then minimal toiletries - toothbrush, toothpaste (small tube or 1/3 full standard tube), deodorant (just as much as you need), and, importantly, some washing powder for clothes
And then just a pump, a lever, a few allen keys (not a heavy multi-tool), a puncture repair kit, a spare tube
Credit and debit card and some cash
Passport
that was pretty much it. No problems.
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Stiff, Light, Aero - Pick Three!!
Stiff, Light, Aero - Pick Three!!
Portable USB charger (the battery kind) for Garmin, plus cable that reaches from inside handlebar bag to the Garmin.
Then, forget the paper maps (unless you're going somewhere very remote)
This would probably end up slightly heavier but the convenience of keeping the Garmin running longer is IME worth it. I haven't carried a paper map in years.
Then, forget the paper maps (unless you're going somewhere very remote)
This would probably end up slightly heavier but the convenience of keeping the Garmin running longer is IME worth it. I haven't carried a paper map in years.
@jih: on my Garmin 800 I never run out of battery, even on the longest day. My concern is more the inability to see enough detail if looking at bigger areas. I guess google maps plus phone is the trick here.
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To come back to my question at the time: we managed to travel for a week with 2.6kg between two people, washing our stuff every night. Good weather was definitely helpful (we would not have done full days in the rain).
The rear bag worked well, only out of saddle the bike felt a bit odd I would say.
The rear bag worked well, only out of saddle the bike felt a bit odd I would say.
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