As mentioned before I've been working out how to save kit weight following the WRT, I've got rid of some kit saved a bit changing some other stuff and leaving it at home, greater savings are going to cost.....

New rims £336 saving 728g =2.1g/£
New bag £167 Saving 670g =4g/£

Of course the bag appears to be the best saving new rims appeal what do you think?

If course I've conveniently forgotten to include spokes and wheel building

The greatest savings actually save you money.

Less food = lower grocery spend = less body weight.

I don't think I'd be looking at rims as a first weight saving measure, unless your existing ones are solid steel Also given your username, superlight rims might not be the best course of action, I'd rather have rims that weighed a bit more but were going to last.

I wouldn't rush into it - figure out what you use and what you don't use on a trip. A spreadsheet is useful for this. After a few trips you'll have a good idea of what you don't need to take. After that weigh stuff and then look at the heavy stuff and see how best to reduce the weight of those items first.

Two years ago I wondered how I was going to fit everything in and would often take a rucksack for the overflow. Now I'm looking at bags and thinking I'd better take an extra shirt as the bag isn't big enough to sit in the harness! Made a few mistakes along the way so some kit doesn't get used much now.

My rims are 830g each
My first bike packing trips used a hilleburg nallo on a surly nice rack together with two front panniers so I've gradually cut down the weight severely

BigdummySteve wrote:As mentioned before I've been working out how to save kit weight following the WRT, I've got rid of some kit saved a bit changing some other stuff and leaving it at home, greater savings are going to cost.....

New rims £336 saving 728g =2.1g/£
New bag £167 Saving 670g =4g/£

Of course the bag appears to be the best saving new rims appeal what do you think?

If course I've conveniently forgotten to include spokes and wheel building

£336 for rims?

36h rims in 29+ are next to impossible to find hence going for carbon

ha ha i just googled 36h and it came up with links to lingerie

Rotating mass makes a huge difference and all those times you don't go bikepacking you have the benefit of the investment too.

Go carbon rims

What new bag are you looking at?

Have you tried to review every single item and work out whether you really need to take it. That will save you weight for free

As mentioned before, worry about becoming the most efficient form of yourself before worrying about your kit. Cheaper yes, but takes a lot of self discipline that can be hard. However, it will help you in the longer term.

There is no fat and fit, never was, never will be.

Greg - ex fat bloke.

I know a fat bloke who is quite fit.............

GregMay wrote: There is no fat and fit, never was, never will be.

BBC News - Fat but fit is a myth

Going by a recent thread on here, remove your valve caps

SuperSolo wrote:Going by a recent thread on here, remove your valve caps

...and the dork disk. In preparation for my last ride I saved 100g by eating 5 fig rolls before departure.

GregMay wrote:As mentioned before, worry about becoming the most efficient form of yourself before worrying about your kit. Cheaper yes, but takes a lot of self discipline that can be hard. However, it will help you in the longer term.

There is no fat and fit, never was, never will be.

Greg - ex fat bloke.

Hi Greg, I'm 13 1/2 st same weight as I was at school( I did lose 6kg this year) like many people my trips are as close to training as I can get. Full time job and children get in the way of any serious training, cycling to work is no longer possible due to 5am start and 33 mile trip.
I am very active at work however so fairly fit.
My main motivation comes after the WRT, 62lb was a shock I'm aiming to get the ECR and kit well under 50. The same trips will hopefully be faster and hills a little easier. The challenge of weight reduction is also quite addictive

Oh and before anyone says I wasn't fat at school

28Kg for a bike and kit is a lot I'll grant you.

I'm the same weight, maybe a Kg less, than you so we'll have fairly similar size and weights of clothing - having someone go "my spare clothes only weigh ..." when they are 5' tall and are stick thin isn't helpful

It might be worth you seeing how much the kit weighs when put into categories like: bivy; repairs/emergency; clothing; food & water; etc. Remember bags and harnesses weigh something too. You don't have to take everything on every ride, a ride in summer with warm temps and little chance of rain needs completely different kit to one in November with horizontal sleet. A couple of examples:

The Trans Cambrian ITT at the end of March http://bobwightman.blogspot.co.uk/2017/ ... n-itt.html
The northern loop of the HT550 on May Day bank holiday http://bobwightman.blogspot.co.uk/2017/ ... hland.html

Same bike, slightly different kit and packing: the first was lightweight and aimed at speed (though conditions dictated otherwise) and the second was more touring. Some more posts here http://bobwightman.blogspot.co.uk/searc ... ikepacking This post on here http://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpBB ... 316#p81308 is of a winter bivy local to us and is basically the same setup plus a rucksack as things like duvets are pretty bulky, it was about -5/6C that night.

Spare clothes? What luxury is this?

BigdummySteve wrote:My rims are 830g each
My first bike packing trips used a hilleburg nallo on a surly nice rack together with two front panniers so I've gradually cut down the weight severely

What bike is it? Is it heavy all over?
Never take panniers and racks as this means you carry too much kit.
Don't take food and use pubs and Spars etc, carry only breakfast bars to get you to the pubs/shops
1 or 2 bottles max and take a water filter

Just packed up the bike for a night out, I've dropped the revelate harness and strapped a dry bag to the bars secured with my revelate pocket, the carridice is gone ( sleeping bag strapped to bagman), minimal cook kit, less food, minimal clothing and no poor show...49lb

That's 13lb less than my WRT weigh with no money spent, in fact I'm up having ruthlessly sold anything deemed unnecessary. Admittedly it's only a short trip but I'd not need much more for extra days and there will be more to come. I'm happy with that weight for a rohloff equipped ECR and think I can drop another 2kg by parting with some cash

Interesting you dropped the harness. Please post back on how much your dry bag moved about on the rough stuff. FWIW, I'd leave the spare clothes behind and take the harness. But that's just my slant on it.

Greetz

S.

Nothing wrong with the harness but I've dropped it and a pair of anything cages, my tent and sleep pad now live in a small 8ltr dry bag secured direct to the bars and the pocket adds extra security. Roughly 650g dropped, handling is also better with less on the front end.

It's definitely lighter without a harness, but I found the extra faff in strapping the drybag securely without a harness wasn't worth the weight saving

benp1 wrote:It's definitely lighter without a harness, but I found the extra faff in strapping the drybag securely without a harness wasn't worth the weight saving

A few quid on Amazon will get you 20mm webbing, plus 3-bar-slide and quick-release buckles — it doesn't take much then to make the whole thing quick to mount in the same place every time, and very secure. Perhaps not as quick as a harness, but the difference is only a few seconds longer. And then you save the weight — and cost, if you don't already own one — of a harness.

I see 'weight saving' as a subject you can potentially divide into two. On the one hand, there's the perhaps more serious 'racers' angle where a reduction in kit weight will be a benefit but a reduction in rider weight could prove more beneficial due to the knock-on fitness improvements associated with it.

Then there's the 'every man' weight reduction which while making life easier, can also be a goal in its own right and simply done for the joy of experimentation and 'just because'. It needn't involve spending money and is often much more rewarding if done by reduction and alteration of existing kit and attitude / outlook.

Ultimately, a combination of both is probably the most rewarding and beneficial.