So with the bike fully loaded my average speed was 17-18km/h with several hills and no tailwind, 20km/h on the return with some tailwind behind me. My neck and wrists started hurting, otherwise im fine. Sleeping shook the pain off, but it did come back after about 30km. My hope is that since Germany (east frisia), NL/Belgium are so flat ill be able to do several more KM without suffering from upphills, since they lowk taking the life out of me slowly.
I might just rotate the handlebar a bit more upwards, otherwise im happy with my speed, with tailwind on totally flat sections I migjt be able to do like 22km/h. My biggest fear is hurting my neck/wrists to the point where I cant keep going on
by boeing727-100
12 Comments
Do you have a packing list, what’s the weight of it all? That looks quite heavy, I’d probably invest in some lighter gear, there are fantastic budget options nowadayts
piece of unrequested advice: ignore average speed and enjoy the ride. there’s always a train if you need to get somewhere at a certain time.
That saddle will not be comfortable for anything over a few miles.
Rotating your handlebars is not how to get your bike fit right. If you want help then post side on pictures of you riding the bike to r/bikefit
Whats in the red and green bags on the rear rack? They look large and bulky
This is r/bikepacking so everyone’s going to tell you its to heavy.
Bring the minimum you think you need to be comfortable.
Rotating the handlebar more won’t accomplish much as it’s ready pretty rotated. Maybe a different stem with a more upright profile would help, but getting more upright could place more weight on your seat as it put less on your hands – gotta dial it into the right balance.
Your bars are rotated really high.
If your bike doesn’t fit you you probably want to focus on that more than gear.
Wrist pain etc can be helped a lot with proper bike fit. The saddle position alone can change so much about the pressure on your wrists as can you core strength to take some weight off.
But for me it’s the same after a multiple day ride which i never do besides the trips, neck n wrists start to feel uneasy.
Taking rests and moving and stretching tjose inbetween can help quite some and changing positions every so often.
Also speed i wouldn’t change with this set-up and plan. Better keep some energy to enjoy what you see 🙂
Does the panners and weight at the back of the bike feel unbalanced? Would it be better lower on the front?
The handlebar bag looks like it will hit the tire if you hit any uneven ground.
Your bike has fork mounts, why not use them?
Nice to see someone post their times, I recently started cycling after 15years, do around 18km/h on average, hoping to catch up. Anyways, best of luck on your trip!
Weight only really matters up hill, on the flats you’ll barely notice it once moving. Take what you need to be comfortable and carry sufficient spares to get you moving in the event of a mechanical.
Avg speed means nothing, enjoy being immersed in the world and don’t set yourself unrealistic mileage targets for the day.