[Closed] Another touring Question (Sorry)

on road or off road?

Saddlebag 😛

Sorry, Should have said..

Tts for this http://www.cycling-loire.com/

So road(ish) mainly..

You'd be fine with either then, I'd imagine.

Personally, I use panniers, but I have a friend who has a bob trailer, and that is fine on smooth stuff - manageable off road, but a bit too 'lively' sometimes.

How much kit are you taking? Bivy/Tent/B&B ?

T2, if you're credit card touring, Id highly recommend going lightweight - bar bag/saddle bag. Or beam post and rack pack.

If camping and not lightweight, then panniers for both of you mean you can pack the Mrs ones with the light high volume stuff, and you can lug the heavy stuff.

ah yes, be careful of the age old trailer problem... if there are two of you touring, and you are towing the trailer - you will be lugging ALL the kit!

better to split it between you, so you aren't utterly destroyed while your partner is fresh.

Shouldn't this touring stuff be on the bike forum?

I'd favour panniers myself if I had the bike for it.

Advantages and disadvantages to both

Panniers keeps it all compact and makes it easier to park the bike / get thru gates etc.

Trailers spoil the handling less. for that sort of trip I would go with panniers but my next offroad tour I am going to try a trailer

If you're touring with a trailer, you're carrying too much kit (IMO). Leave the creature comforts at home. Pare it down to the minimum and free yourself of all the clutter of daily life! Panniers should be fine but saddlebags and bar bags are ace!

Panniers if you're not going for Stoners suggestion 🙂 You really dont need any more capacity. DGOAB and I did a month in Spain and Portugal last year with camping kit and still only had each pannier about 3/4 full (at the start when they were properly packed obviously, once you realise you have excess space you stop packing so carefully).

Mol - check out freeload racks - you have the bike for it!

Last year for Glasgow to Durness via Arran and Western Isles I had Panniers, mate had trailer.

Both had plus and minus points, but got there with no problems. We both took our own small 2 man tents. For rougher ground, trailer would be better, I preferred pannier on the road.

Brilliant way to travel is by bike....

I reckon you can enjoy riding more with a decent set of panniers. You do feel the weight on the back but you can still do just about everything with them. A trailer makes you longer and you always have to think about the extra length. I reckon it might add more drag too with an extra wheel, but I've no evidence for that 🙂

I'd always choose panniers unless I had too much weight.

I'm planning a bike/train trip with the family - train to seaside, cycle 10 miles to campsite, camp for a week - which will see me carrying all the gear and two kids in panniers and trailer by way of handicap. It'll be fun 🙂

If you are going abroad...4 x panniers are just about possible on a plane but a PITA (if they charge per bag)...trailer? I think you'd struggle or have to bend over big-time.

If you're touring with a trailer, you're carrying too much kit (IMO).

+1

We used to credit card tour on a tandem with just rear panniers - ie 1 pannier each. Have even done short camping trips like that with mini-aracer (before he was up to riding the back of the tandem I even did a camping trip with him on a kiddy seat and panniers).

I have tried offroad touring with a Bob and its a complete pain in the arse. The base of the trailer gets caught on rocks the whole time, getting over even a small ditch is a PITA and if the wheel gets caught in the muck, it can really wrench your frame.

[img] [/img]

If you are going abroad...4 x panniers are just about possible on a plane but a PITA (if they charge per bag)

If they charge per bag, just attach the panniers together or take one big duffel to put them all in.

Yup, you can fit a lot on a bike w/o a trailer, I rode 40 miles to Geneva like this...not recommending it mind! 😉

[img] [/img]

EDIT - aracer, I did take a big duffle, and a PITA it was.

cynic-al - Member

If you are going abroad...4 x panniers are just about possible on a plane but a PITA (if they charge per bag)...trailer? I think you'd struggle or have to bend over big-time.

Not an issue - done it several times with panniers. Have you?

One pannier checked as hold luggage one as hand luggage

Will be driving down to the start point. and thinking of camping.. so looks like panniers it is..

Cheers all. 🙂

molgrips - Member
Shouldn't this touring stuff be on the bike forum?

Yeah, probabaly should... but hey, thought I'd be wreckless...

I said 4 panniers - and I also had the bar bag - and yes I have done it several times (see that picture above) I speak from experience.

Jeez Al..

What where you carrying there???

wouldn't bother with a trailer for a non-camping trip. love mine for when you need a bit more stuff. being warm, dry and having a tent you can sit up in far outweigh negatives of towing a trailer for me. never had to think about trailer when riding, it followed wherever i went.

My GF did scotland with just heavily loaded rear panniers and had all sorts of problems in terms of an unweighted front end.

messy handling and impossible to push the bike as it constantly falls over because if it starts to fall the front end comes off the ground when you try and stop it. Make sure you get at least a heavy bar bag but better 4 panniers even if you have extra room

IMO

I'd toured with all but the box, the box contained a few things I'd posted to myself for PPDS, stuff I'd bought, and also the duffle bag.

EDIT and a bike bag!

Having said all that about light weight.... I do have this urge to buy one of those bell tents (20kg) and a trailer to take the GF bike glamping...

Cling film is your friend for flying. We took 1 pannier each as hand luggage and wrapped the other two together, with bar bags, to make 1 piece of checked baggage between us (plus bikes).

Don't need to carry an extra duffel for the sake of a flight as a roll of the cheapest cling will do the job. Just wrap it at the airport to make carrying easier - the transport police in Madrid did keep an eye on us as we packed outside the airport metro station though 🙂

EDIT - our checked 'bag' was still ~1/2 the weight limit for easyjet and had most of our heavy stuff in it.

Riding across northern spain we met these two german guys:
(didnt get the camera out quick enough to get a better shot of: lo-riders, panniers, bar bags, rack packs all stuffed to bursting on both bikes)
[img] [/img]
while we were riding with this:
[img] [/img]
This lot + the clothes we stood in.
[img] [/img]

This lot + the clothes we stood in.

Credit card touring?

being warm, dry and having a tent you can sit up in far outweigh negatives of towing a trailer for me.

Better yet to be warm, dry and have a tent you can sit up in which all fits on the bike with panniers. I've managed that on the tandem with just rear panniers, so I don't see why it should be so difficult with rather more luggage capability on solo bikes. I have to admit I am thinking about front panniers for this year if I take both my boys with me.

Heh - you can always spot the Dutch/Germans; the taps from their kitchen sink stick out the top of their panniers 🙂

IGMC...

Credit card touring?

nope, tent roll on top of one bag, thermarests on the other.
Down duvet, cooking pots etc inside the bags

http://pompinos.blogspot.com/

[img] [/img]

Carry as little as you can. Want to borrow some old but perfectly fine panniers to try?

Stoner - Member

Credit card touring?

nope

Oh right, fair play then... very compact 🙂

Better yet to be warm, dry and have a tent you can sit up in which all fits on the bike with panniers

In your opinion. I prefer a trailer over panniers any day of the week, nothing else on the bike at all. Having to camp in bad weather in a tent like Stoner's would make me miserable. The trailer's main advantage for me is being able to take bulk rather than weight.

What do folk do for bike bags on flights then?

Cling film 😉

Just found the first issue with taking a rack- My Cove has no Rackmounts... 😐

Arse.

🙁

You can get P-clips to help this and also seat tube mounted racks.

I would not want to put much weight on either though tbh. Looks like a trailer is in your future.

My Cove has no Rackmounts

p-clips?

On a related note, and one that is occurring to me as I am sorting kit out for a Hebridean tour in April, but what do people do for security of bikes when sleeping on tours? Do you take a lightweight cable lock and hope for the best or take the weight hit and take something more proper? Also, how do you lock your bikes when wild camping? Just to each other and hope no one finds you?

Hebridean tour in April

Don't bother with a lock - or a lightweight one if you must. wild camping - If I am worried I tie a guy rope to the bike

Teetosugars - Member

Just found the first issue with taking a rack- My Cove has no Rackmounts...

Arse.

You can get seat clamps with rack mounts and axle mount kits - also look at the tubus stuff - better than P clips

That was kinda what I was wondering. I'm just slightly paranoid after having had a bike nicked from inside a tent I was asleep in.

TTS - what size seatclamp does the Cove have? You can get seatclamps with upper rack mounts built in.

Lightweight camping setup:

[url= http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6200/6061186997_7c7e05045b_b.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6200/6061186997_7c7e05045b_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url]

p-clips aren't sufficient at the lower mount, no doubt better solutions exist tho.

Druidh, Its 30.0mm..

Think I'll head to the LBS and see what they can come up with as I'm useless anay type of bodging.. 😳

want to go touring now....

My favourite is a couple of Ortlieb front rollers on a rear rack plus bar bag or roll up front to balance weight up. Plenty of room for anything you might want to take, including a decent size tent. Trailers are handy if you want to go out for the weekend and don't have can't/can't be bothered fitting your pannier rack before then!

What do folk do for bike bags on flights then?

Cling film 🙂

😆

Wander into the nearest bike shop with a quick spiel scribbled down from google translate along the lines of "could I please have a couple of cardboard boxes from bikes" - trying it in the local lingo seems to be appreciated. I've done it twice now and you usually get a funny look and handed a box or directed to the bins 🙂

Teetosugars - Member
Druidh, Its 30.0mm..

New frame time.....

Nick I'd post up here for help re. adding a rack - it's fairly specialist stuff and they may be clueless...

Ta Andy.

as for frame without rack mounts; I've said it before and I'll say it again - [url= http://www.freeload.co.nz/ ]freeload[/url] Merida Germany import them so you should be able to get them online from a German retailer if you don't want to import from NZ

mustard - SJS are selling Freeload racks now.
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/page/find/?name=freeload&page=1

I knew they wouldn't be a cheap option...

We have camping toured for 4 months on our tandem with just four panniers. I'm a bit anal about what we take and owning pukka l/w kit. On a single, I can easily get my kit into 2 rear panniers and summer backpacking, 4 nights into a 35l sack without compromising. (i.e. no silly bubble wrap mattresses or ladies tights instead of troos).

Less is most definitely more.

Less is most definitely more.

Not convinced - I have done a fair amount of touring. On a bike weight is not so critical as when backpacking and its nice to be cofy. For example we have the thermarest chair gadgets, it nice to carry a decent coffeepot, full set of normal cutlery and decent town clothes as well as something else to wear on your feet

We play it different ways depending on where and how long we are travailing for. Mind you we still don't carry as much as the dutch or germans

My only tip with a bob is to get two of the rear skewers that the trailer attaches to the bike with. That way you can share the towing...

Mrs GDRS does the flat bits.......

TJ +1. I would take certain luxuries if just randomly cycle touring. A battery powered central light for example, and thermarests. I have a 3 man tent which weighs about 2.7kg ish. Much ligher tents are available but the extra space is lovely. Also a pan set instead of a billy can which allows you to cook properly rather than just heat stuff and some MSR folding utensils. And a teapot and thermal mugs. Little things 🙂

we will be waltzing down the Danube yet 🙂

I take all those as well, I really mean we're not silly about leaving stuff out. I take a Tadpole for 2 camping, proper Thermarests, a Whisperlight, pan, kettle, RAB 500 each, full waterproofs, spare togs etc etc.

But.. I don't take lots of 'extraneous' stuff. I do take an MP3 palyer, phone, maps etc but we are really careful about adding stuff to the basic pile.

I took a cheapie IKEA frying pan with nice deep sides to cook with - stove was another story 🙄 - we had clothes for the evenings, were in Spain and Portugal so every litle bar does GOOD coffee (50cents or less in Portual). Tupperware boxes are very versatile; bowl to eat out of, lid as a plate, store leftovers for lunch the next day etc.

My tent is huge and weighs v little, albeit it is a single skin tarp tent. Tall enough for me to sit up comfortably, in fact they say that four can sit up and play a game of cards comfortably if the weather is grim.

I think carrying a teapot is taking things to extremes though.

I'll see if i took a before pic of all our kit when i get to the laptop tonight

Wife and i cycled part of the route Teetosugars is proposing last year, the section from Orleans to Chinon, apart from one or two sections where the sign posted cycle route took you up the valley sides, cycling was relatively flat and easy going. quiet roads/cycle tracks and don't recall any chicane type barriers you get on the cycle paths here so trailer is no problem.

We rode a tandem and borrowed a trailer from my LBS, first time i used it was getting on the ferry at portsmouth. takes a bit of getting used to, but fit all camping kit clothes etc for me an the wife. the only time we noticed it was going uphill, where the bike felt draggy and trying to get around in town. Tight turns or trying to reverse the bike ended in jack-knifed frustration.

I did find a rack bag useful in addition though (for shopping, easy access tools, puncture kit etc) roll top bag was a faff if you needed anything on the move.

we will be waltzing down the Danube yet

God I feel sick.

Wanna go touring now after reading all this, cant wait for it to get a bit warmer. I use racks and panniers but try to keep it all as minimalist as possible, not tried off road touring wi the panniers on yet, could be a plan for this year.

Only experience of touring is a magical mystery month long tour with mustard, using two rear panniers and a small bar bag (plus two extra water bottles on the forks) I liked the panniers, however, when running very late for our train connection to Madrid (train in the station, on the other side of the platform, down one set of stairs and up another) I disliked them immensely! Some kind stranger helped me lift my bike as we legged it. Never had an issues with an unweighted front end - we did a 20% hill from cold after we crossed into Spain which was nasty but i didn't have an issue with the front wanting to come up. Can't really see why a trailer would appeal.

Less is most definitely more.

Ah, brings back happy memories. I want to go away now! 🙂

yeah, i'm getting pretty psyched reading all these threads too!

I've got 3 days off next week (finish one job on tuesday, don't start my new job until monday), but the weather is unlikely to be great, and I really should prepare for my new job.

I wonder if I could fit a sneaky tour in....

Dave

I wonder if I could fit a sneaky tour in....

When I tour with my girlfriend I have a bar bag and a trailer, my girlfriend has a bar bag and rear panniers. We each carry our own clothes and sleeping bags%pads, I carry the tent, stove and a larger portion of the food in the trailer. We have found that this nicely evens up our paces on the bikes, making it more comfortable to ride together with neither of us getting more tired than the other.
To get around the flying problems I have a bob-esque trailer from [url= http://www.twbents.com.tw/HTM/trailer.htm ]TW-bents[/url] that folds flat. I can then put it alongside the frame in a nylon bike bag.

Paul

Yes, yes you could, sod the weather and do a wee credit card tour of some nice pubs...

You are a bad man. I'm telling teacher.

You are a bad man. I'm telling teacher.

Yay, another excuse to use my favourite smiley!

Hmm there's a hell of a lot of inspiration in here! Starting to plan three years in advance now as the ideas accumulate...

More prosaically in the first instance though: has anyone any experience of touring in Dorset? We're planning to get the train down to Bournemouth over Easter and then head west via Poole and the ferry through the Isle of Purbeck and along the coast. Any suggestions on routes and sights to see very much appreciated!

Hmm, can't find one in that size.

So they do!!

[img] [/img]

Of course, they call it a collar, not a seat clamp 🙄

if you are camping don't make the mistake I did - take a therma rest. I was bloody freezing for two nights in Scotland last year. wasn't particularly cold outside more the damp and cold creeping up through the floor. I even lined bottom of tent with all my clothes etc in plastic bags and it made little to no difference.
Couple of weekends later I used an self inflating sleepmat andit made a hell of a difference.
as for panniers vs trailer - panniers would always win for me.Lot easier to sling your panniers off the bike andup and over gates/onto trains/pick up trucks etc.

I use a freeload on FS and bikes with no mounts. Has been awesomely brilliant. [url= http://freeload.co.nz ]FREELOAD RACKS[/url]

Take some tips from this guy: http://ultralightcycling.blogspot.com/

I doubt you'd even get a trailer on a train - tandems are not allowed.

Trailers can be taken on a train - a friend of mine does so. Tandems can go on some trains - not scotrail but east coast mainline and some others

Good to know, I am guessing an officious guard could cause difficulties if they are not explicitly allowed on?