I don't agree because you're not accounting for different trip agendas. You've pictured Lost's bike as setup for a Idaho T1 type trip, I bet this isn't what his month long/gravel road Alaska setup would look like. If you've followed his history, you can see how his setup has evolved with the types of travel he's done. I'm more of a BigDog/Dingweed type and my setup pretty much resembles theirs. My trips are not about how fast I can get there and aggressive I can ride - enjoying the experience and taking it in is what I'm about. To that end, I want a chair to sit in at camp, sil-tarp in case it rains, etc. I've also done considerable research to buy light gear and distribute the weight evenly and low on the bike. The stuff I carry has never stopped me from riding where I want to go - Black Bear Pass or otherwise... What would you leave behind on a month long paved/gravel road camping trip to Inuvik/Prudhoe Bay? -Copper Spur UL2 with Tyvik footprint - 3.6lbs -Helinox chair - 2lbs -Helinox table (maybe) - 2lbs -Sil-tarp - under 2lbs -BA Mystic UL 15 bag - 2lbs -Exped Downmat9 - 1lb -JetBoil - 1lb -Heated jacket -Rain suit -Camera/gopro stuff -Tools/repair/first aid stuff .
I suspect there's more in your pack than what you listed below. Was simply a friendly suggestion...lighter is easier riding which makes the trip more enjoyable. You can bring whatever you want. Oh, and don't forget the bear spray. I likely would ride my tiger XC in lieu of the husky as well. Good luck and enjoy!
Yeah, I forgot: toilet paper, hatchet, chain lube, extra gloves, spare tube, couple straps, maps. Admittedly, it looks like a lot of stuff but what do you leave behind? What doesn't meet the eye probably - I carry a far more complete tool/repair/first aid collection than most - it's a bit of a curse - and usually it's a buddy's bike that breaks - but my trip isn't messed up for lack of something simple to get the show moving again. The XC would be a great bike to make the whole run on but could possibly be too much bike for my 135lb ass to handle in a couple places though (Top of the World, Hatcher Pass, Haul Road, etc). I've got something a little unusual in mind. I want to burn the 7000 miles to Whitehorse and back in comfort on the Wing - unload the Husky and do 3000 miles in the Yukon/Alaska where it excels. Still early in planning/consideration stage, could happen Sept '15, Sept '16, or maybe never... .
But if he removes his bags then nothing to cushion his fall. Don't think the mud on his bike's left side went unnoticed. Riding slick mud on a loaded down bike can be a handful. :-) _
I gotta tell ya Bob, that is one wild-assed setup! LOL 135 pounds? Are you kidding me? How tall are you anyway? I was 148lbs when I left my ex, was pretty stressed out. Now I'm up to 180lbs 25 years later. LOL. But I'm old so picking up a loaded bike is pretty darn tough these days. I would use some small or mid rolies for tank bags if you really need them. A 25L top bag might likely work better than a hard bin too. I do like my trunk as well, so handy for stuff all day riding - clear screen, extra gloves, maps, tools, tube, enduro stand, 12v pump...but that's on my Tiger. I don't have the big tank so for range I have to put the kolpin pax on the back rack and a 30L roll-top on top of that. Since you like to spend money check out Mosko-Moto side bags and top bag...pretty cool stuff. Would really streamline you and give you an extra 10 or 12L of storage in your side bags. I would weigh the gear and trim it to as close to 70 or 80lbs as I could get it.
Good eye... Ironically I survived the mud only to have the bike sink in and tip over the stand at camp I did have to drop the back tire to 4psi to extract myself from one spot on the trail - IIRC you're familiar with OH mud... CJ - I'm 5'8" - and nearer 50 now than 40 . With Crohn's Disease I have to fight some to keep weight on - when we returned from ForeverWest I was 129... I've have given thought to removing the top box and running a wolfman duffle but like you said, darn that box is handy. May be what I do though. FWIW, everything (all luggage/top box/contents) on the bike in the camping pic above is right at 70lbs. Re: Moskos - I like them, but w/ all their doo-dads they're over 10lbs a pair empty, the wolfmans are 4lbs. I'm sure not arguing that lighter isn't better - a few things may well stay behind - table, siltarp, some tools and spares. .
I did no know that. Well, that and the $600 price tag was a non-starter for me. Nice stuff though and Pete is a really nice guy. I'm impressed how they went about getting input on the design and then having them produced. Looked them over thoroughly at the bike show and it's really nice stuff. The top bag is also just excellent.
No doubt that they're the cadillac, and on a S10, GSA, XC etc 10lbs is nothing. What do you think of the wolf rocky mtns? Can be had for under $400 on sale I think. .
Frankly I think the expeditions are big enough. I found a very slightly used pair in ADV FM for $135 and put them on the Tiger. I have dirtbiags for the Husky and the wolfmans don't really work with their single little bars or I would use them on it too. No more wolfman racks. So even $400 for a couple of bags for me is pretty steep. Very early on in this whole packup the bike adventure I got turned on to the roll-top bags. They are very popular. Ortleib makes a 35L I paid like $35 for and it works just fantastic. I glued on strap holders but they're not really needed. Just extra insurance if you should dump the bike over. The best packing I found on helen-2wheels - roll up your self-inflating sleeping pad, cap it, then unroll it inside the bag, stuff your sleeping bag, down sweater, clothes, etc in the middle and seal it up for waterproof carrying. Super light bedroll and clothes all in one. I sometimes put my tent poles in mine as well. Tiger with expeditions....and the 35L ortlieb. Here you can see I like my hard topbox too. I like the roll-top idea so well I made a tent bag. Sometimes I use it, sometimes not. Holds a BA 2-man tent and a silnylon tarp with folding pole. I think my setup for long distance is way overloaded as well. Very top bag is for water, so only there when I have to bring water into camp.
@CJBrown splurging on a safari will allow you to move some of that weight forward from the Kolpin. Of course i haven't convinced myself to do it either so my Rotopax is still back there. But then I never have time to do multi day trips like you guys do so packing is less of an issue for me.
Great pic RDTCU- also like the black. Here's the before and after of mine: So, it's all back together now...that's a relief...I didn't totally botch anything. It runs better than ever, but I've still gotta figure out why it's a bit hesitant on cold start-up. It'll start on the second attempt, but idle is too low. I use the enrichener lever and even then it's too low for about 10-15 seconds (it's then warming up and starts idling high like you'd expect w/ the lever pulled...so me thinks I've got a slight exhaust leak or something that's somewhat closing up w/ heat.) On warm start it starts right up and doesn't seem to be popping, and idles at around 1650-1700.
Went for ride with my mate wade on his newly aquired 630 . A short run b4 a upcoming multi day . He is loving his 630 .
Yep, different trips have different needs. Climate variability is a big factor in deciding what to pack. I also go more for enjoying the experience than aggressive tracks. That said, so far I've found whenever I cut items intended to make evenings more comfortable, I end up enjoying daytime riding more, and on balance the tradeoff is worthwhile, especially since by evening I'm too exhausted to do much beside falling asleep! I use a Giant Loop Great Basin and Diablo, together with an Ortlieb 31L Rack Pack dry bag. Expensive, but tough, well designed and it has lasted three multi-week trips, and still good to go for the next. Currently the pack is under 50lbs. Here's what I had on my last trip: Not shown above is an iPad Mini and GoPro. There are still quite a few luxury items in there (a water color paint kit, hip flask, cooking pot, for example). The three pairs of gloves illustrate what I mean about climate - on this trip I had hot desert, wet rain forest, and high mountain passes... For your trip it looks like you are all dialed in (super cool trailer, look forward to the trip report!). I did notice a few choices where I went for lower-weight options: * Exped Downmat 9 specs say it is 36 ozs (44 with pump). I use a Thermarest ProLite Small (11 ozs) - its only a half length pad, which sucked at first. But I discovered my jacket has a huge slab of BMW NP back armor, if I place this under my feet and the Thermarest under my back/head I sleep very cosily. * The Copper Spur is 54 ozs, I use a Tarptent Moment DW (34 ozs). I have to say the Moment is a killer tent. * Jetboil Flash is 15 oz. I use a Snowpeak starter kit, 9 ozs. Then again the Jetboil is a great piece of kit. I'm not sure which camera you are using - I have a Ricoh GR which I really like - it is 8 ozs, fits in the pocket well, but has the same size sensor as many SLR cameras. Its a single fixed lens, and tack sharp. I also really like the Sanuk Pick Pocket shoes, they are lightweight (under alf a pound), slip on at camp at night, dry quickly, and pack really flat, but are comfortable enough that you can wear all day on non-riding days. I don't know how much clothing you carry - I tend to go with just two changes - wash one, wear one. One thing I like about the Ortlieb is that it makes it easy to strap on a cargo net, I just put the wet clothes under that and by the end of the day its dry, if dusty.
Cool, I like seeing other people's kits as much as their bikes What are Ben's? And the bottom right? Oilybars? What's in the big blue bag on top? Also the Big Agnes pads pack down super small, I don't quite understand how the R values correlate with temperature but there's a range of different insulation you can get.
^^^ Good suggestions ^^^ And very efficient packing! Some good 'thinking outside the box' on your sleeping pad approach. I'm still climbing the learning curve for sure ... a few things I've found that suit my preferences: I have a ProLite 3 Med and do find it reasonably comfortable, it weighs 21oz. My Downmat 9 is the one w/ built in hand pump and weighs 36oz. I'm finding I really like camping in cooler weather, even down to freezing, and the 8 r-value/3.5" thickness/sleeping warm are a worthy trade for the extra pound. It also fully fills the sleeve of the BA bag, coupling tightly to the insulation in the bag. And surprisingly the two pack almost identical size. Ricoh GR = very cool. Just zoom w/ your feet . Would love to see some of your stuff if it's online. My main travel cam has been a Sony RX100 ... but ... I just got a Sony A7 and picked up 28mm and 45mm C/Y Zeiss primes on eBay. The whole shebang fits in a tiny bag and goes in my Husky tankbag no problem. The jury is still out if the increased performance is worth the extra hassle over the RX100... but so far I'm pretty excited by results. I'm heading for BikeWeek next Fri and will take it for real-world testing. The Tarptent stuff is worth a closer look - good story there and prob not made in china... I have a ways to go figuring my clothing kit. Found these Timberland Radler Trail camp shoes that zip together and resemble your Sanuks but so far haven't used them but one trip. One diff is I wear Danner Super Rainforests for riding (I know, they're not MC boots) and they're great walkin around shoes. Pants - I'm addicted to wearing jeans under my overpants - prob not going to work well for 3wks to AK... Anyway we digress, better put up some 630 porn - may be re-runs
I'd like to know what rims and tires these are. I'm thinking of going supermoto and want to find a good setup for my te630.
Bens is DEET - I carry wipes and a small bottle of the 100% stuff. Ollybars are excellent snack bars (www.ollybars.com). The big blue thing is a BMW Comfortshell jacket. Some Pics using the Ricoh GR are on advtrail.com. I just made a Blurb book of my TAT ride with Sam Cuttriss, but that was mostly shot with a DigiLux 4 (great camera). Now Ill stop crashing the 630 thread!
