I've got an urge to ride up Mont Ventoux this year (hopefully before it gets too hot). Then I thought I might ride there then over to the med for a bit of hanging out on the beach (works out at something around 1400km). I don't really fancy putting a front mech and slicks on the hardtail and carrying luggage so was wondering whether it's realistic to use the road bike and get some sort of frame or seatpost bag, taking only a change of jersey, shorts, tubes, pump and a few tools and something casual for the evenings. Nights in B&Bs, eating in places by the road etc should mean I don't need to carry much more than emergency food and the usual water.
Doable? Any recommendations on bags?
I know someone who used a BOB trailer on a road bike through Italy for a summer, although an extracycle would probably be lighter if you want to ride up mountains.
Im a big fan of Carradice SQR mounted bags
ours were the 23 litre super c
http://pompinos.blogspot.co.uk/
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or for a little less space at 16litres
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http://www.carradice.co.uk/products/type/sqrtour
Yes, quite possible and much better than using an MTB.
As to luggage, I would not recommend a Topeak beam rack as My thighs hit it every pedal stroke from end to end a couple of weeks ago! ;(
My ride partner seemed impressed with Vaude kit.
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This was a mistake. Now I'm thinking that Rome isn't THAT much further so might as well carry on. 1800km.
Lightweight road touring is brilliant. Get a small bar bag, seat pack or a tubus fly rack and rackpack, maybe a small gas-tank top tube bag, if you're B+B'ing it it's all you need. I've done Alpine 7-10 day rides on 12-14lbs of kit + luggage, that included a book, camera, evening clothes etc, not as lightweight as it could be but comfortable. Travelling light and minimal is a great way to ride although B+B + restaurant bills tot up pretty fast. Nothing better than being a hungry cyclist with a credit card in Europe tho : )
+1 for the Carradice SQR tour.
They can carry 10kg and have a volume of 17 litres.
I put one on my road bike last year for B&B touring, carried everything I needed. Very stable and the load is a sensible place.
I did have to switch my carbon seatpost for an alloy one mind.
Hmm... I shouldn't be let loose with a map. It's now looking like Luxembourg to Mount Etna via the Alps, Ventoux, Italy, Corsica and Sardinia. 2300km. 160-something km a day and getting on for 500 miles of water crossing. Two weeks well spent. Unless I blow up on the first couple of days.
I have a Carradice bag support and strap a roll-top bag to it...a HB bag is great for valuables.
i managed a weeks tour last september with a caradice sqrtour like the one in stoners post.
alo done a tour in the pyrenees with a 10ltr saddlebag and a 8ltr front barbag.
i always take as little as possible when i go on a tour, usually a pair of shorts, freckers, tshirt and sandals for a night time.
wear the same clothes to ride in each day, and wash and dry out overnight.
Carradice SQR
if you need more then take a small handlebar bag + use jersey pockets
I'm thinking small handlebar bag for phone, wallet, cash, ID, food for on the bike etc then a saddle bag for any spare clothes I need. I'll hardly be dining out in posh places so it's not like I need more than shorts, tshirt and some light trainers.
I managed lightweight camping touring with Rear rack, bar bag (all good) and then a 35Litre rucksack. Should be quite easy to do without the rucksack if you have accomodation all the way.
Have fun, it sounds great!
Hmm... I shouldn't be let loose with a map. It's now looking like Luxembourg to Mount Etna via the Alps, Ventoux, Italy, Corsica and Sardinia. 2300km. 160-something km a day and getting on for 500 miles of water crossing. Two weeks well spent. Unless I blow up on the first couple of days.
Touring in the Big Ring ...
What are peoples recommendations for bar bags for this sort of trip? Especially if planning to do old school map reading en route
The Ortlieb one has a clip-on map holder.
~For me always panniers - holds the weight lower and I don't like the feel of weight on the bars as it alters the steering
TJ the OP is on about lightweight touring - it's a compromise and panniers not needed.
160-something km
FUN ENDS HERE 🙁
Any reasons not to get one of these? £32 from spa cycles at the moment.
http://www.carradice.co.uk/index.php?page_id=product&product_id=53&under=type
fun enough if you are up for it, think we will be doing under that but with 2000m to 3000m climbing per day thrown in but only for 5 days 🙂160-something km
cynic-al - MemberTJ the OP is on about lightweight touring - it's a compromise and panniers not needed.
No Cynic - al - try reading what I wrote. I know you find that hard but perhpas once you could.
Panniers hold the weight lower - better [b]IMO[/b]. Bar bags effect steering - not good [b]IMO[/b].
I have some panniers that are 25l the pair! Even lightweight touring I personally would always use panniers so as to make the bike handle as well as possible. My opinion from my experience of lots of touring. Yours may differ
Some friends of mine go touring in the Alps every year and take only a small saddle bag each and sometimes a small handlebar bag. Clothes for riding in, small set of toiletries and lightweight evening clothes tends to be about it. They're usually away for a about 10 days or so, doing as many big cols as they can. Very doable and you avoid heavy panniers so long as you dont mind the limited clothing selection.
small panniers will be no more heavy than a saddlebag and bar bag
Its just an opinion - there is no right or wrong to this but I prefer the better handling. I don't like weight on the steering
Bar bag and rack-pack works for me if I'm B&B-ing.
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I will sometimes run panniers instead of the rack-pack if I'm going away a bit longer and/or the weather is a bit uncertain. I do like having a good choice of clothes to wear 🙂
Bar bags are great. I used to have a map on mine but since I went all GPS, I use the pocket on top for holding one of those solar chargers. They also unclip easily and so are handy for stops. I keep camera, phone, money, snacks in there - basically all the stuff I'm likely to need while en route.
Whatnobeer - yes thats just about what we are planning (btw I first read your user name as whatanobber 😳 sorry)
TJ - the OP & I are talking road bikes without the mounting points for pannier racks
Atlaz, if you want my opinion (which you pobably don't 🙂 with a fortnight spare I would be doing Calais to Brindisi ( http://www.scribd.com/doc/19449440/CalaisBrindisi) or do your ride from Luxembourg but instead of going out of your way to Ventoux you can follow some of the Raide Alpine route from Geneva to Antibes or something similar.
Ventoux is a nice climb but I wouldn't go out of my way to do it when you have all of the other great alpine climbs to do.
IME bar bags don't affect the handling much at all - certainly not as much as you'd think, anyway. The great thing about them is that they're nearly all designed to be unclipped and carried in an instant so they're perfect for when you just want to grab your valuables and get lunch. Pretty essential kit IMO.
A large saddlebag (though I confess I've not used one myself) should be enough space for the rest of the stuff - SQR or a Bagman probably the best bet for mounting - but make sure whatever you get doesn't interfere with your thighs or you'll go insane.
2300km in a fortnight is fairly high-rolling. Doable, but you won't have the time or energy to do anything other than ride and eat.
Oh, and make sure your luggage has enough room to stash food en route. In rural areas on the continent you can ride for hours without coming across a shop that's open, especially if it's a local holiday - stock up on food when you can and always leave a crevice of your luggage for filling up with chocolate or cake when you find it.
TandemJeremy - Member
No Cynic - al - try reading what I wrote. I know you find that hard but perhpas once you could.
The OP was asking about lightweight touring - something everyone else on here has taken on board and answered...without mentioning panniers, which was the point I was trying to make, it's by definition not about panniers.
If you think I can't read what you write, please re-read your recent bombasts against me, where you have misread my points, implied I am stupid, then told me something basic I already knew - I've pointed that out to you already, but you seem to have killfile on selectively.
No cynic -al - Once again you simply fail to understand my point. Nothing new or unusual there.
Why is it by definition not about panniers? - its about carrying a small amount of luggage - my preferred option is to use two [b]small[/b] panniers as I find this spoils the handling less. thats all - just a simple point about my preferences for lightweight touring to give the OP another option /opinion
and yes - I have done the saddlebag / bar bag thing. I don't like the way it spoils the handling IMO / IME
I recently did a few days on the Way of the Roses C2C staying in B+Bs. Used an Ortlieb bar bag and an Alpkit dry bag on my rack. Worked spot on, no detrimental effects on the bike and held everything I needed easily and securely.
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TJ, I was going on this:
atlaz - Member
... wondering whether it's realistic to use the road bike and get some sort of frame or seatpost bag
Everyone, bar you, has said "yes, it is, here's what I do", you have said "I don't like that"...that's my point.
The less weight on the bike, the better. Thats why some of the TDF pros often put their bottles in their jersey pockets when tackling a climb.
I tend to use a couple of good quality bum bags, one fore and one aft.
"[i]The less weight on the bike, the better. Thats why some of the TDF pros often put their bottles in their jersey pockets when tackling a climb. [/i]"
I call baloney on that one. Makes no difference for road climbing. If you're on rough off-road trails, yes. If you're considering effects on handling, maybe. But not for pedalling up a tarmacked hill.
"whoosh"
I know it is a brompton...
8 day tour.. 12litre (custom) front bag and 3 litre saddle pack
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Single Speed - 16Litre Carradice - these bags are great slightly eccentric in manufacture, but robust, stable and out of the way + has loops on the top to bungy stuff to
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Awesome, that looks a bit like a praying mantis!
[i]"whoosh"[/i]
Oh. Sorry. It's late.
He's a pesky troll that one, employs subtlety...
As for
If you're on rough off-road trails, yes. If you're considering effects on handling, maybe
We can discuss another time!
2300km in a fortnight is fairly high-rolling. Doable, but you won't have the time or energy to do anything other than ride and eat.
The goal is more to see lots of stuff than it is to hang out. I live in mainland Europe now so I don't really have an issue with getting to places if I want to see them again. Overall I quite like the idea of being flexible. A friend told me getting on a ferry with a bike should be no problem last minute so I can change itinerary (or sack it off and sit on the beach for a week) without too much hassle. Already decided that if, once across the alps, I'm done in, I'll just ride the coast road back to Nice and train back up north.
Oh, and make sure your luggage has enough room to stash food en route. In rural areas on the continent you can ride for hours without coming across a shop that's open
Yep, luckily I'm used to the way small villages in particular operate so would stash food and eat when I find somewhere more than eating at specific mealtimes.
Ventoux is a nice climb but I wouldn't go out of my way to do it when you have all of the other great alpine climbs to do.
Might be a good point. I'll be riding Alpe d'Huez and crossing the alps anyway I guess.
atalaz - couple of tips that we picked up that the above potss brought to mind:
Day food (and wine bottle, natch) can usually be bought in the second half of the day and then strapped in a tighlyt wrapped stuff sack to the top of the back with some carabiners.
A shoulder strap for your bar bag is a good idea so that you can carry your valuables with you when, say you go to the shops, but leave your clothes on the bike. Looks a bit like a man bag but it's handy.
take 2x750cl bottles (rather than 500cls) and then you can fill them with a 1.5l el cheapo bottled water from the supermarket if you cant find a cafe for a free fill.
We never had to ride in the dark, so never needed bike lights.
A cable lock is lighter to carry than a D, and fine for a quick stop. TBH I was never worried about theft while in France, but if you do, you'll need to stash the bike inside/securely overnight rather than rely on a cable lock.
Waiting to hear on a couple of the custom seat/bar bag people then deciding what to buy. I appear to have written a cheque that my fitness and overall riding ability might be stretched to cash. But we'll see how it goes 😉