Gear weight

[hikerjer]

I'm pretty sure this has been discussed extensively before but I'm curious as to what the weight of  your gear, minus consumables (water/food) would be for say, a summer coast to coast tour across the midsection of the country.   Let's assume you'll be camping most nights and cooking most of your own meals.  I know there are a  gazillion gear lists out there but I'd like to hear from the experienced folks on these boards.  Personally, I always seem to weigh in at 32-35 lbs of gear which includes the weight of the panniers and handlebar bag and tools but not food and water.

Thanks much.

[RussSeaton]

Unless you are going ultra light, and invested the research time and money before buying the gear, I think a very reasonable gear weight is 30 to 35 pounds.  Including tent, sleeping bag, mattress, clothes, hygiene gear, cooking gear, food.  Not included is all the electronic stuff people seem to not be able to live without.  Amazing how 25 years ago I was able to ride all over Europe without any computer or smart phone.  Just used paper maps.  Amazing.  I seem to recall being perfectly happy on my adventure and I never ever got lost.  Amazing.  Back to the story.  If you invest the time studying and buy the right gear, you can get the weight down from that 30-35 pound number to 10 to 20 pounds all in.  AND most important of all, be smart about what you take.  Eliminate, do not take, all of the stuff you do not need.  That is the best and cheapest way to reduce weight.  Light weight gear generally costs double or more of regular weight gear.  So.....  Then add on 30 pounds for a fully loaded touring bike with racks and fenders and all the other stuff on a bike.  Couple full water bottles.  60 to 80 pounds for a fully loaded touring bike is very average.

[misterflask]

Well here's a data point you can easily beat.  My Surly LHT fully loaded at the end of a tour weighed about 100lbs.  Some things that ran the weight up:
Clothing/sleep gear picked to be comfortable to 30degF, survivable down to 0degF.
My fuzzy fleece-centric wardrobe isn't the lightest way to go.
I carried a Marathon Plus spare across the country.  I wouldn't do that again.  I'm also neurotic about spare tubes.

I know I ride heavy, but I'm not sure what I'd trim.  I'm sure not guilty of sartorial or gastronomic excess. 

[Inge]

Am currently in the proces of creating my packing list for my Pacific tour and come to the following numbers:
weight of everything (bike, bags  + content, water, fuel for stove etc..) = 43.658kg = 96 pounds
bags + content + water+fuel = 27.158 = 59.75 pounds
just contents of bags = 19.072kg = 41.96
(weight bags 5.196kg = 11.43)

Same here I know it is fairly heavy but for me have reached the minumum for me of what to take. I know there are things I could go lighter on but do not want to leave a good heavy camera home since I like taking photo's too much (could shave off about 600 grams by choosing a different camera)

Also when talking about weight think about the fact that those travelling as couples/ friends always carry less weight per person since they share several items like tent, stove, pots etc..

[staehpj1]

Well here's a data point you can easily beat.  My Surly LHT fully loaded at the end of a tour weighed about 100lbs.  Some things that ran the weight up:
Clothing/sleep gear picked to be comfortable to 30degF, survivable down to 0degF.
My fuzzy fleece-centric wardrobe isn't the lightest way to go.

We all have different ideas of what is necessary and even with the same basic list of necessities can vary widely in what we pack.  I know that on the ST I was packed for those temperatures with a fleece centric wardrobe and carried 14# total including camping and cooking gear, but not counting food and water.

I carried a Marathon Plus spare across the country.  I wouldn't do that again.  I'm also neurotic about spare tubes.

I won't even put Marathon Pluses on my bike.  The set i did buy were fairly quickly removed and sold.  I hated the stiffness of the sidewalls and the weight.

Am currently in the proces of creating my packing list for my Pacific tour and come to the following numbers:
weight of everything (bike, bags  + content, water, fuel for stove etc..) = 43.658kg = 96 pounds

I might have started my first long tour with something approaching that weight, but had sent at least 20 pounds of stuff home in the 10 weeks of the tour.  By the next tour I had trimmed the list a good bit more and continued to do so on subsequent tours.

Even at 14# of gear for winter on the ST, I still had things I could get by without and items where lighter ones would be fine.

Not everyone wants to go that light, but it is certainly possible to get along fine with a pretty minimal setup.

I found that when backpacking I was asked a lot, "what do you have in that little backpack?"  If I asked them what they were carrying they would list their gear, and I could honestly say that I had basically all the same stuff despite my pack being much smaller and less than half as heavy.

[Pat Lamb]

Well here's a data point you can easily beat.  My Surly LHT fully loaded at the end of a tour weighed about 100lbs.

Thank you for that data point!  My total load probably started around 110-120 pounds, and ended up similar to yours.

Every time weight comes up, the discussion seems to mirror that joke about the teenage girls going to the beach:  "Did you forget your swimsuit?"  "No, it's here in my clutch.  Did you forget yours?" "No, it's in my compact."

I carried a Marathon Plus spare across the country.  I wouldn't do that again.  I'm also neurotic about spare tubes.

I managed to pare my tubes down to only three (and used them all one day, and had to patch one!).  I had a spare chain (used it, wife mailed me another at my request, daughter used that one) and a spare tire (which I also used).  I'll skip the chain in the future, but I'll take a lighter spare tire that's about half the weight.

I think I could pare back some on the clothes if I didn't end up in the Pacific northwest; I certainly wore the extras enough to be glad to have them.

[BikeliciousBabe]

The old "N" word: "Need." I don't "need" a Kindle or a book in the sense that I can tour without one.  But I bring one because it makes being on the road more enjoyable. One could argue that something like a toothbrush is not a need for the same reason.

[Inge]

Quote from: Inge on April 05, 2018, 02:00:19 am

    Am currently in the proces of creating my packing list for my Pacific tour and come to the following numbers:
    weight of everything (bike, bags  + content, water, fuel for stove etc..) = 43.658kg = 96 pounds

I might have started my first long tour with something approaching that weight, but had sent at least 20 pounds of stuff home in the 10 weeks of the tour.  By the next tour I had trimmed the list a good bit more and continued to do so on subsequent tours.

I absolutely agree with the fact that you do trim down on things you do not need. Though I think for my needs I have reached pretty much the limit in what I can/ want to trim down. It is just what you prioritize or not. I am mean I could take a diferent camera and shave off 600 grams but like photography too much to make the sacrifice. Same for my tablet -like to read at night + work at my blog. Could probably also get by with with 1 long sleeved shirt instead of two however I like one for cycling and use the other as backup ans as a pyjama. Same for short sleeved ones - am bringing 3 where I could probably get by on two (but since laudry facilities are a bit scarce I like the extra shirt. That would bring the weight down another 375 grams but since I am also spending some time in my starting and ending cities I do like the extra shirts. In other words if I really wanted to I could bring down the weight by 1kg (2.2pounds) but choose to carry the extra weight at least to start out with. I might indeed end up shipping 1 long sleeved shirt and a short sleeved shirt home the closer I get to Calfornia. But will see how it goes.

[misterflask]

Here's an entertaining Adventure Cycling blog post on their bike weighing experiences back in 2011.  The TL;DR is a low of 50lb, a high of 174lb!!!, with most falling between 70 and 95lb. 

https://www.adventurecycling.org/resources/blog/no-weigh-weigh/

[staehpj1]

Here's an entertaining Adventure Cycling blog post on their bike weighing experiences back in 2011.  The TL;DR is a low of 50lb, a high of 174lb!!!, with most falling between 70 and 95lb. 

https://www.adventurecycling.org/resources/blog/no-weigh-weigh/

Interesting article.  Perhaps it should be noted that those weights include the bike itself as well as any consumables like water, fuel, and food.

[Inge]

Interesting indeed - guess compared to those of 50lbs I am taking too many luxuries 

[RustyCrank]

I'm heading out on the TransAm May 26th. I just returned from my shakedown ride. Gear (incl water) weighed 63.6 lbs.  Bike + gear (incl water) weighed 97.6lbs

[staehpj1]

I'm heading out on the TransAm May 26th. I just returned from my shakedown ride. Gear (incl water) weighed 63.6 lbs.  Bike + gear (incl water) weighed 97.6lbs

It always puzzles me when folks include water in the gear weight.  It makes it hard to figure how much gear they are actually carrying.  Since the weight of water carried is variable throughout the day as well as day to day depending on where they will travel and how hot it will be, it is better in my opinion to not include water or other consumables in gear weight.

I know that for me there are days where I carry only two small bottles and days where I carry well over a gallon.  Also on any given day some of the day I'll have the whole load, but it will diminish during the day, perhaps getting close to zero at times.

Other consumables (food, fuel) are similar, but usually not nearly as significant as water.

Just me, but I'd suggest that folks not include water in gear totals, but if they do at least specify how much they included so we can tell how much gear they are carrying.

[RustyCrank]

Front left (rain/warm clothing) 5.6 lbs
Front right (tools/medical) 9 lbs
handlebar bag 4.8 lbs
seat bag 1lb
Rear left (stickers/cards/maps/books,clothing)  12.4 lbs
Rear right (clothing, power pack) 10.6 lbs
Luggage bag (camping) 11.6 lbs
Water (three 1 liter bottles)/lock 6 lbs

Detailed gear list here:
https://rustycrankc2c.blogspot.com/2018/02/gear-list.html

[dkoloko]

I'm heading out on the TransAm May 26th. I just returned from my shakedown ride. Gear (incl water) weighed 63.6 lbs.  Bike + gear (incl water) weighed 97.6lbs

It always puzzles me when folks include water in the gear weight.

It bothers me that water is not included, also food, fuel, etc. For me, weight carried is everything included ready to roll. I start with the same number of bottles, filled, for trips lasting weeks, months.