I am an over-packer. My loaded bike usually weighs between 110 and 120 pounds. I really wanted to do this tour in a more lightweight fashion, so I started with a titanium Bearclaw Thunderhawk and put smaller panniers on it, using the excellent Tailfin system.
I’ve never done a test ride on a loaded bike for other tours before this. I figure I can fix anything I run into along the way, but I am really glad I did a test ride on this bike. I learned that the titanium fork is absurdly unstable even at low speeds. At 12 miles per hour, if I take one hand off the handlebars, the front end starts shimmying. I’ve put around 5,000 miles on this fork, and this never happened before, even on high-speed descents, so it is certainly due to the load or distribution.
I was sharing this experience with some friends, and wanted a picture of the fork, so I found its web page.
https://bearclawbicycleco.com/products/gravel-ti-100-12-fork-405mm-a-c
This is what jumped out at me: “Max Load (bike+rider+gear) 260lbs.”
Well, I am certainly over that limit. Then I read this:
“Please keep in mind that this fork rides much like a steel fork (soft) BUT it doesn’t have the same precise steering and braking as a well made carbon fork, like our Blitzen fork. We suggest our Blitzen carbon gravel fork for racing, extreme gravel riding, and heavy loaded bike packing. We suggest our Ti fork for party pace adventure gravel riding and light bike packing!“
When I built this bike, I chose this fork because I loved the way it looked. Clearly, I should have read the product description. Lesson learned!
So, after thinking about it for a couple days, I decided to dig out my supremely trusty Surly Disc Trucker that hasn’t been ridden since I finished the Pacific Coast tour last year. I made a couple minor changes from my previous tours: First, I switched back to the smaller panniers, to force myself to pack less. I also switched saddles to my current favorite saddle, and I got a mount so I could put my Garmin Varia radar on the rack.
Note: On all of my other tours, my bike weighed between 110 and 120 pounds. I just weighed my bike (with empty water bottles) and it weighs 82.2 pounds, so that’s progress!!!
Here is a nearly complete packing list for this trip:
Bike
- 2014 Surly Disc Trucker with 26″ wheels
- Shimano Deore XT T8000 Trekking/Touring groupset
- Thomson Elite X4 Stem
- Nitto S65 Seatpost
- Gevenalle GX shifters
- Ryde Andra 40 rims
- Phil Wood Rear Touring Hub
- SON 28 Dynamo hub
- Velo Orange fenders
- Tubus Duo front rack
- Tubus Logo rear rack
- Salsa Cowchipper Handlebars
- Baryak Ultra 35 accessory bar
- DMR Versa dual-sided pedals
- King Cage titanium bottle cages
- Click-Stand
- Stages left-side power meter crank
- John Duggan’s water bottles
Bags
- Ortlieb Back-Roller Plus rear panniers
- Ortlieb Sport-Roller Plus front panniers
- Revelate Designs Terrapin 14L seat bag
- Revelate Designs Mag Tank top tube bag
- Revelate Designs Mountain Feed Bag
- RouteWerks Big Handlebar Bag
Cold or wet weather gear
- Gore ShakeDry jacket
- SealSkinz gloves
- Gorewear Shoe Covers
- Showers Pass waterproof socks
- Showers Pass rain legs
- Puffy jacket
- Zippered leg warmers
Electronics
- Garmin Edge 1050
- SON Ladelux headlight and USB charger
- Busch & Müller μ Taillight
- Garmin inReach Mini 2
- Garmin Varia Rearvue 820 radar
- GoPro camera
- Cheap helmet-mounted blinking red lights
- Compact laptop
- HoverAir X1 ProMax drone, two batteries and charger
- Two port wall-wart charger for laptop and phone, with long USB-C cables
- 8-port USB charger, for other electronics, with short charging cables
- Oura ring charger
- Wireless charger for phone (in case it gets wet)
Camping gear
- Sea to Summit Helium UL Bivy
- Sea to Summit inflatable pillow
- Sea to Summit sleeping bag
- Therm-a-rest NeoAir XLite sleeping pad
On-bike clothing
- Three Voler jerseys: Light, medium and insulated
- Three Procorsa McKenzie Summit bibs
- Three pairs of ankle socks
- Shimano cycling sandals
- Reflective triangle (I wear it around my waist)
- Reflective ankle reflector bands (used at night)
Off-bike clothing
- Shorts
- Shirt
- Lightweight sandals
- Cap
Water
- Collapsible water bladder
- Sawyer water purifier
Repair and maintenance
- Silca Elettrico Ultimate tire pump
- Topeak Mini-Morph G pump (backup!)
- 2x innertubes
- Rema TT02 Touring tube patching kit
- Rubber gloves
- Hirobel Gear Wipes
- Crank Brothers M19 mini tool
- Set of small hex wrenches
- T20 and T25 Torx wrenches
- Park Tool tire boot
- Presta valve core
- Wippermann Connex 10-speed link
- Zip ties
- Velcro cable ties
- Brake cable
- Shifter cable
- CR2032 batteries
- Tweezers (for pulling things out of tires)
- Mini chain breaker tool
First-aid kit
- Naproxen
- Tegaderm
- Adhesive bandages
- Triple antibiotic ointment
- Some random unused amoxicillin that expired a long time ago
Miscellaneous
- Toiletries
Leave a Reply