Touring with road bike - minimalist setup advice sought

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jever98
Posts: 1179
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2009 12:02 pm
Location: Seattle

by jever98

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
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No longer in the industry


by Weenie


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jever98
Posts: 1179
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2009 12:02 pm
Location: Seattle

by jever98

THanks - if one is enough, what would you tend to? Handlebar or saddle?
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basilic
Posts: 1029
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 8:05 am
Location: Geneva, Switzerland

by basilic

I have done this with both the handlebar bag and the saddle bag, eg:
Image

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.

mattr
Posts: 4671
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 6:43 pm
Location: The Grim North.

by mattr

I'd go with both. In fact, we're doing a mini tour in a few weeks. Topeak bar bag and viscacha on the back.
Gives a bar bag for hardware and such like. Saddle bag for soft stuff.

mattr
Posts: 4671
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 6:43 pm
Location: The Grim North.

by mattr

http://www.topeak.com/products/bags/Tou ... ndlebarBag
Much more useable space than the apidura.

jever98
Posts: 1179
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2009 12:02 pm
Location: Seattle

by jever98

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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mattr
Posts: 4671
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 6:43 pm
Location: The Grim North.

by mattr

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.

sawyer
Posts: 4485
Joined: Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:45 pm
Location: Natovi Landing

by sawyer

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.
----------------------------------------
Stiff, Light, Aero - Pick Three!! :thumbup:

jever98
Posts: 1179
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2009 12:02 pm
Location: Seattle

by jever98

sawyer wrote:Hi
...
- two sets of underwear
...


Further room for optimisation :P

Thanks for the feedback!
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No longer in the industry

jih
Posts: 596
Joined: Fri Jan 29, 2016 12:54 pm

by jih

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.

jever98
Posts: 1179
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2009 12:02 pm
Location: Seattle

by jever98

@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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jih
Posts: 596
Joined: Fri Jan 29, 2016 12:54 pm

by jih

Fair enough. If I'm viewing the map all day I run out on my Garmin 1000 on longer days.

jever98
Posts: 1179
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2009 12:02 pm
Location: Seattle

by jever98

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.

Image
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by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

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