Road touring setup

[jordo_99]

Hi all! My name is Jordan. I live in the Midwest (USA). I've got a bit of a background in making backpacking equipment (tents, tarps, hammocks, backpacks, down sleeping bags...etc) but I thought I'd join here as well since I also like making touring bags.

Anyway, here's the setup I made in anticipation for Ragbrai...Sadly, I wasn't able to make it this year but I can at least show off some of my hard work.

The seatbag is very similar to a Visacha in size and design. I actually made two frame bags, one for each of my road bikes.

In the picture, I have my tent, sleeping pad, 50F sleeping bag and sandals all packed into the seatbag. I've got my wallet, phone, solar charger, and snacks packed into the frame bag. I will also be making a "gas can" bag and handlebar bag harness (for carrying dry bag) in the future for when I need to bring along more gear (water treatment, more food, cookset, heavier sleeping bag...etc).

Any comments/criticisms are appreciated. I really enjoy making gear so I'm always looking to improve my skills and designs.



EDIT: For anybody who might be wondering why the hell I tour with a road racing bike...I enjoy going on speed tours over a 3-day weekend. The main reason for this is because next summer I plan to attempt a 10-day, 1000 mile, trip from Omaha, NE (home) to Salt Lake City, UT. I mostly want to have my 15lb road racer for the mountains when I'll be climbing...my touring gear is also very light at around 8lbs including the bags. I'm hoping to have a set of Cuben Fiber bags for that trip though.

[bmike-vt]

nice looking setup!

[Adam Alphabet]

Looks good, nice work. Cuben is fun stuff to work with. For a purely road kit with minimal chance of damage (user error aside) it'd be fun to play with some stupid light ideas. I'd love to go on a road tour with a 15 lbs bike. I've never even ridden a 15lbs bike hahah.

[aaron w]

Really nice looking bags!  I run a similar setup on my road bike, though it's not quite as nice looking.  I'm also into this type of speed touring and use a racing bike as well.

[jordo_99]

Looks good, nice work. Cuben is fun stuff to work with. For a purely road kit with minimal chance of damage (user error aside) it'd be fun to play with some stupid light ideas. I'd love to go on a road tour with a 15 lbs bike. I've never even ridden a 15lbs bike hahah.

Addy,

The 15lb weight was mostly just a fun hobby to take a 17lb bike and drop weight to the UCI limit for legal racing. While 15lbs can be very light and responsive there's also a trade-off for either comfort, stiffness or money. You just have to know what you're getting into before you devote all the time/money to doing it.


As for touring...I haven't weighed the bike all loaded up but my expectation is that it's going to be very close to 23lbs total.


In case anybody was interested, here's a rough estimate of my gear weights:

**Rear bag**
45oz -- 2 person, double-walled tent with stakes/poles (MYOG).
18oz -- Sleeping pad (Klymit Static V)
3oz -- Sleeping bag liner (MYOG). I actually sleep in just this on nights hotter than 70F.
16oz -- 40F down sleeping bag (MYOG)
? -- flip flop sandals

**Frame bag**
4oz -- solar charger
? -- spare clothes
? -- food, maps (if my phone dies or doesn't get reception)
? -- wallet (money, credit cards...etc)
? -- phone

[JRA]

Cool set up.
And I always admire those who make their own stuff.

[roadpacker]

What type of bike? Also, how did you get your wheel dishes (?) to get completely black?

[jordo_99]

What type of bike? Also, how did you get your wheel dishes (?) to get completely black?

Sort of forgot that I posted here. Sorry to get back to you so late but if you haven't found out already here are some details on my bike:

Frame/Fork: Dengfu FM0098
Wheels: Farsports FSC50-CM-23 (Novatec hubs)

Basically, I was part of a groupbuy from VeloBuild.com and we ordered direct from a chinese carbon supplier that makes their own frames (or rims). I've been riding on the frame for about 3 years now and have been very happy, though I can definitely tell a difference between my frame and a Specialized Venge. The wheels have been used for around 2 years and are still fantastic as well. I haven't compared them to something like HED or Enve but I think they'd be relatively close in performance.

I believe the frame/fork/seatpost was $750 shipped and the wheels were $500 but it's hard to say because I bought other parts from them at the same time (spare seatpost, hanger, stem/bars...etc)


If you consider going down the chinese carbon route, I think the wheels are absolutely worth it (if nothing else, buy the rims and lace up with your spoke/hub of choice). Framesets are a great value but you get what you pay for. I'd stay far away from their saddles, handlebars and stems; I've just not been impressed with the weight/strength as I've been able to upgrade to some name brand handlebars (Zipp, Kestrel) Stem and saddles that weighed less and flexed less. The saddle SHOULD flex but they're just not comfortable for rides over 30miles or so.

[roadpacker]

Nice One! I have a chinese-ish (On-One / Planet X) carbon cyclocross, with nice (used) reynolds wheels, sprayed black. It's quick, but doesn't look as hot as yours!!!