Firstly this is my first post so, hi :)

I'm pretty much setup and fairly happy with the kit, just after some advice,opinions from the experts.

Obviously low weight and low bulk were priority as I am using a seat post rack and not a full rack like those you commonly see on Road Bikes, this was mainly because I don't like the look of them.

Pictures I took last night, the rear dry sack and its contents are poorly compressed so looks longer than it would normally.



Now onto the kit selection and weight for the REAR.

Seat Post Rack: 500g

Dry Sack (28L): 100g
-Sleeping Bag: Snugpak Softie Elite 3 (3 seasons, comfort of -5) 1600g
-Air Mat: Vango Trek Self Inflating Mat 950g

Bivi Mat: Army Surplus folding mat 550g
Bumbag: Karrimor (holds a spare 12L Drysak, 12 pegs, 10 micro bungee cords for a Tarp) 500g
Walking poles: Generic (Tarp poles) 300g

Including Seat Post Rack REAR total weight: 4.5KG

Now onto the kit selection and weight for the FRONT.

Tent Bag: Generic (holds Bivi and Tarp) 50g
-Bivi: Dutch Hooped Bivi 1482g
-Tarp: Generic DPM (3m x 2.5m) 200g

FRONT total weight: 1.77kg

I also carry a 25L Ruck Sack for bike bits and spare clothes, this may weigh in around 2kg

Total carry weight: 8.3kg

My currently weight: 95kg

Total weight on bike including myself and fully loaded: 104kg (I read that most mountain bikes can hold a total combined weight of 125kg)

What I'm not sure of is if the 125kg includes the weight of the bike parts itself minus the frame weight. My bike weighs in at 14kg which may mean that the combined total of 114kg is within safe limits?

My other concern is the REAR. Is 4.5KG on the REAR safe or could it need further distribution or weight lowered?

Couple of notes:

The sleeping bag is heavier and more bulkier than I'd like but can compress down well with effort (26cm x 26cm) and would be swapped out for a Summer setup.
Using my old Air Mat which I will also swap out at some point to shed a little weight.

Long post, so thanks for reading and any comments left.

Evening and welcome :D

Part of the process is just a case of getting out there and testing stuff out. Most stuff works its just a case of the usual compromise of cost/weight/packsize. Dont worry about that for now.

Things to comment from me is Seat post Racks have a tendency for cracking when used offroad. Due to the cantilever effect of the load, they flex and with the increased vibrations they will either snap the Rack or seat post itself

The other may be to try and balance your bike up as much as possible. Putting the majority of the weight on the back will make the front of the bike light and upset the handling.

After your first trip lay all of your kit out and put it into 2 piles:
Stuff I used
Stuff I didnt use

Next trip leave the didnt use pile at home (ie. anything you would class as 'spare')

Hi, thanks for posting the info.

You seem to have some heavy items but I'm in the same boat right now with perfectly good versions that I could save weight but would cost a fortune. Sleeping back in particular, PHdesigns ones are less than a third of yours and with a duvet jacket would be warm for many months. However, £200-300...

The bivy bag is interesting. It is quite heavy if you are using a tarp. Yours is nearly 1.5kg, a £30 one from Alpkit would be 376g. No hoops etc but if you have the tarp you might be able to save a ton of weight.

http://www.alpkit.com/shop/cart.php?tar ... ory_id=324

I'm interested to hear about the rack. I have a problem with my Salsa El M which has a very small gap between rear wheel and seat. The bob and swing of regular seat luggage is a problem. A rigid structure might be the fix. How do you find it?


Before the BB200 I didn't think weight was a big deal. And in fact on some trips it isn't. However if you are going a long distance and have to carry/push/pull out of big puddles a heavy bike you'll appreciate the weight saving.

However, as I'm always being told, having any kit is great if you get out and ride. Getting out is the important bit. Having the perfect kit is just icing on the cake.

Check out the winter bivis happening on the forum and the El and back happening in Jan.

Also to add, I use a frame back and can fit loads in there. It seems a good place for heavy small items. I try and avoid anything on my back as after a few hours the faint tiredness/pain on my back is what I notice most. If I put anything in a backpack it will be lightweigh bulky stuff like duvet jacket and also food which will get lighter throughout the ride.

Looking at your description you could probably swap backpack for frame bag. You could keep the space one of those bottles uses and have a partial frame bag.

Evening

The rack would be my major concern, as Chew says they can break, bend and snap quite readily ... a 'normal' rack would be much stronger. You don't have to like it, 'cos when you're riding you can't see it

As Greenmug says, you've a pretty hefty bivvy bag, so maybe a fairly cheap reduction in weight (and possibly bulk) could be had there. AlpKit Hunka does tend to be the default choice if funds are tight. Your tarp at 200g offers just as much weather protection as the 1482g bivvy bag ... if it's pitched well.

I think I've missed something here but have you got 2 sleeping mats?

-Air Mat: Vango Trek Self Inflating Mat 950g

Bivi Mat: Army Surplus folding mat 550g

Thanks for the replies! Loads of fantastic advise already so thank you for that. I'm mobile so may of missed some questions which I will answer later on my desktop.

The rack has been great so far, it's been on a few summer trips and had around 5kg on it with no signs of any issues or movement/flex. I checked many reviews before settling on a specific design, will find it later and link it.

I am indeed carrying 2 mats, 1 goes under the hooped bivi, probably not needed but helps keep it clean when I know it's going to placed on wet ground.

The bivi itself is so fantastic and cost around £80, love the design and after using a couple of more basic bivi types not sure I could change :D

Again thanks for the advice I'm still very new and will take onboard the advice and comments.

I am indeed carrying 2 mats, 1 goes under the hooped bivi, probably not needed but helps keep it clean when I know it's going to placed on wet ground.

Well that's a slightly different take on the dual purpose concept ... it usually involves 1 item doing 2 jobs, not 2 items doing 1

One thing to keep in mind is ... all the cuben, carbon and Ti gear in the world is useless without the ability to use it. Knowledge weighs nothing and it's well worth investing in.

Welcome

I think, like many of us on here, you may end up with lighter / more compact kit in due course.
Every time i come to an uphill technical section and have to walk when i know i could get up on an unladen bike i make a mental note to trim the kit again. As my kit has evolved, i can now ride further and over more challenging terrain than before. The enjoyment factor increases at the same time.

If you find yourself in the same boat i suggest the following as easy first steps
Replace the Vango air mat with a cheap 600g one or an expensive 450g one
replace the bivi mat with a 10mm thick foam "kipmat" at around 300g. You can get thinner 3 or 6mm ones.
if it's just for protection of the bivvy groundsheet rather than insulation then a bit of thick plastic / tyvek / old tarp will be fine.
lighter sleeping bag in due course.....PHD / Rab/ Mountain Equipment down bags are the mutts but costly
lighter bivi bag.....you are carrying a tarp as your primary shelter after all.

As your kit gets lighter and more compact the way in which you carry the things can evolve too. Shedding weight from your "carrying system" is particularly satisfying since you may not actually use it for anything else. As it stands a seatpack would not work for you as the volume is typically 10-12 litres. but it may in the future which will allow you to loose the rack.

Anything to get any weight low down and centred between the wheels will help bike handling ( e.g carry tools in a frame bag not up high or far back on the rack).

make a list of everything you take then do Chews "did i use it" test. If you did use it.....is there a lighter smaller alternative.

good luck. Just ask on here...someone will know

greenmug wrote:I have a problem with my Salsa El M which has a very small gap between rear wheel and seat.

I know this is going to sound a bit harsh, but have you considered NOT riding a 29er?

I only say this as, at 5'7", I've already discounted getting a Krampus (or other 29+) as I know there would be no space for any luggage.

Having said that, I manage OK with a Revelate Viscacha seatpack and my Medium El Mariachi.I do have to snug it up pretty tight, but there's enough of a gap left as long as I'm not looking to lower my saddle.


IMAG0408 by ScotRoutes, on Flickr

@Have to agree with Scotroutes about the sizing. There is nothing peculiar to the Salsa El Mariachi which causes the seatpack clearance issues. Any 29nr in a smaller frame size ridden by anyone with shorter legs will have these clearance issues. My 5'8" mate has to run the smaller size seatpack on his Niner. In winter when he needs to carry more he has adapted a cheapo rack and straps a stuffsack to the top.

@Scotroutes....i fitted a rack to my E.M recently for a spot of road touring with my better half. I used a Salsa Rack-lock seatpost clamp and attached the legs to the pivots of the alternator dropouts. As these pivots are quite high up i found a 26" mtb rack fitted better than a 29"/700c one.

If it gets you out then it can't be bad.

Before I met this lot on a snowy Welsh hillside for the inaugural winter bivvy my set up looked like this:


South Downs Way short ride Feb 2010 by fantasticmrmatt, on Flickr

and I used builders DPM for a tarp


South Downs Way short ride Feb 2010 by fantasticmrmatt, on Flickr

It all worked and I enjoyed using that kit.

Over a couple of years it's now been refined to slightly better but unless you use the stuff you've got you don't know what to change for the better if that makes sense.

If you use it then you can refine it, lighter sleeping bag, lighter mat, etc. If you don't use it then you don't need to refine it. Not sure that makes sense

Hi, and welcome to a path of expensive en'lightenment'! On your total weight q, CEN frame and component tests generally assume 100kg rider + kit weight but most parts exceed those standards so if a part lasts 1.5x test-pass level of cycles will mean it's safe for a higher load for less cycles. Frames and seatposts aren't often tested to the kind of loads that something like a seatpost rack applies over many miles of use, it's an unusual loading and I've met a tourer with a cracked frame due to using them. For getting started it'll be fine but I'd try not to rely on it for too long.

Thank you of all the comments and advice, I will indeed get out there and then deduct what I didn't use. I have a much lighter bivi but do like the idea of being zipped up with the mosquito net to keep out bugs, but I think it will come down to when and where I go, as a top of a hill with a breeze should mean bugs wouldn't be an issue so I'd take the much lighter simpler bivi. I also have a bivi tent which is around 700g but waiting till I can set it up and seam seal it.

Probably won't be updating to a down bag anytime soon, purely as I had one in the past and when it got wet it was horrible.

The air mat will certainly be changed for a much lighter variant and your right about the other foldable mat, I'm actually likely carrying a small perfect sized groundsheet for under the bivi already so it seems pointless to take a second mat.

My bum bag could go too as I have a frame bag close the front which has room for the bits.

Those seat post racks are ok I think, I know some people had had problems but the 3 guys I ride the WRT with have all used them to carry relatively heavy (3.5kg 2-man tent) loads without any problems, you do have to do them up pretty damn tight to stop them moving though.

Re down bags, I've always used an Alpkit PD400, in winter (with a down jacket) and in summer, the dampest it's got was last year and that was down to condensation rather than anything else, fortunately I was able to air it off before packing it away, but on previous years WRT while bivvying on the Corris rugby pitch in the pissing rain I had to be very careful to keep the bag dry - but I managed to.