Hi guys! This is my current bike setup.
The bike itself is a Riverside touring 900~17 kg approximately and I think it has all that I need for european travelling.
From a dinamo hub, to mechanic disc brake, three chain rings and a brook saddle.
The only thing I would change is removing the front pannier since I don't need it, but unfortunately it is not possible.
I have recently did a 10 days bike trip and the bike weight was between 30-35 kg depending on how much water, food and alcool I had.
I would like to improve my bike comfort and my speed (if possible) just to not struggle too much after multiple days of riding.
I was thinking about putting aerobars in the front (I should take some elevated bars because of the front bag), clipless pedal with a flat option and then I would not know how to furtherly improve my setup.
If you have any reccomandation please let me know 😉
by Any_Station7668
4 Comments
I wouldn’t recommend taking the front bag off, having all your weight backloaded will become a huge pain on heavy inclines, and will make just moving your bike around when off of it really awkward. I’d put some heavy but small Stuff up top.
I’m not sure how long you’re going for, but I did a month long camping bike tour and my entire setup (excluding bike) was around 11kg. I’m unsure if you really get much more value out of your potentially 18kg of stuff. Considering your bike is already really heavy.
The tyres play out a big role in speed, so some faster rolling tyres will make a major difference.
Depending on your budget, if it’s higher, carbon wheels do really help with speed and maintaining it.
I have a pretty similar setup as you and the aero bars is something Im considering as well. Im not sure how much difference in speed the aero bars would make since an elevated aero does more for your hands and back with the additional riding positions. They might help some especially in headwinds i hope. If the clip ins would make a huge difference i dont know I read lots of mixed things about it regarding touring. I think although you dont like it, getting use of the front rack with weight distribution could improve the riding experience more than you would think😅.
I don’t see any front panniers on that bike, though I do see a rack. If you’re running front panniers with rears that full, you are absolutely over packing. 18 kilos for European touring seems like a lot. I’d really consider what you can cut. While you don’t want to get too weight weenie, I’m pretty sure my transam kit out was about 18kg, and that included almost an entire bike shop to make it through Montana and North Dakota without much in the way of bike shops.
Personally, I don’t love flat bars because of the lack of hand positions, which based on your desire for a aerobar, I suspect is an issue for you. You can’t actually go to a drop bar, but there’s a ton of flatbar-esq bars with more hand positions like a butterfly bar, jones bars, etc.
Personally, I am a hardcore clipless person even for touring. Mostly because the stiff shoes I feel are just more comfortable on the bike. This does mean I have to carry a very, very light pair of slip on shoes for off-bike. Honestly, clipless with flat options are the worst of all possible worlds. You’ll never ever get on and get the side you want, its science. Either get some really comfy, wide and fat flats, some good quality clips and straps, or some decent MTB clipless pedals.
Looks like there’s huge scope to improve your comfort by cutting gear weight. Probably by substitutions and also leaving things out completely. But the only way to get solid advice is by listing everything you pack, including accurate weights. If you don’t own a digital kitchen scale, that might be your best next gear purchase. It’s a pain to do it the first time, but the payoff can be huge.