This was my second tour, I really enjoyed it from the begging to the end despite the storms during the first five days. I used everything in my set-up so I don’t feel like I was carrying any dead weight. There are some things I would change such as weight reduction and reorganization but apart from that I believe it was fine. I also built the bicycle from scratch based on the frame that was a gift from my father. Aparte from the frame, back wheel, cassette, and cassette derrailleur. I’m posting here to share my experience and some photos as well as asking for opinions on my current build.
by ImpossibleOne8057
6 Comments
Considering that you’re riding in Germany and France at the height of summer, I think your bike is pretty overloaded, so you could certainly reduce a LOT. We can’t see the contents of the bags. What we can see:
– The **tent** looks *very bulky* on the bike.
– The **solar panel** is absolutely superfluous and solar panels are generally *overrated*, there are power sockets everywhere on your route.
Thanks for the post! Great photos as well, looks really nice and enjoyable. Those bike paths next to roads are real luxury. And I really like the pic with your tent and your bike next to each other.
When cycling, extra weight is not as critical as it is when backpacking, and even there, people enjoy their trips even when carrying extra gear for photography, fishing, cooking etc.
Nowadays, online hiking, backpacking, cycling, bicycletouring, and bikepacking subreddits are full of gatekeeping and purists. I would encourage you to find your own way to enjoy the hobby by experimenting. Listening to others may bring individual good tips, but also ones that simply won’t work for you. Have fun out there!
OP get a decent cargo trailer 😂. How can you enjoy riding with this much stuff?
SWEET! Congrats. Nice photos
Cool trip! Can’t understand what you all brought, I tour in Belgium/netherlands for similar periods and distances with basically 2 back panniers and a tent strapped on top of it
Anyway; if it doesn’t bother you all the better!
If you’re going somewhere with hills I’d reconsider some of the stuff though :p
Nice trip. How did you travel back? Did you disassemble the bike?