Light Evolution

Below you will find history of light evolution: what I changed during the course of last 8 years of cycle touring, mostly in persuing the reduction of load and volume. This might be more insightful then reading the above tips. It may save you some money too: learn from my mistakes and don't repeat my evolution by bying several bikes, sleeping bags, tents, etc.

This was the setup in the summer of 2002 in Mongolia and China. Steel road bike with big 630 wheels, front and rear racks, two front panniers, two bottle cages with 0,75 l cycling bottles, 2 kg tent bungeed atop the front rack, 40 l backpack and 5 mm foam sleeping pad on the rear rack and big handlebar bag (which is not on the photo). I wasn't weighing my stuff yet at that time, but the setup was already light in comparison with most of the cyclists.

In the winter 2002/3 I rode in Mexico. I had lighter road bike, this time with the usual 622 wheels. I got rid of the front panniers, but still kept the front rack to bungee the (same) tent on it. The setup at the rear is unchanged. The handlebar bag is still the same.

In the winter 2003/4 I rode from Phnom Penh to Kuala Lumpur. I bought a new lighter steel road bike for this occasion. I wasn't camping on this tour, so I had no tent and sleeping bag. I removed the front rack. The setup at the rear and the handlebar bag are unchanged. I still wasn't weighing my stuff.

Summer 2004: 1 month in Kyrgyzstan & China. The bike is the same as the trip before. The setup is also the same with the exception that I had a tent and sleeping bag (in the backpack on the rear rack). I also included an underseat bag (yellow one) for carrying tools. This trip marks the beginning of light weight awareness (and maybe folly?). I started weighing everything, trying to find better (=lighter) solutions. At the end I managed to get the weight of all my stuff down to 9.8 kg, or 21.8 kg including the bike. At that time cycling community considered this as extremely light.

• I cut the waist belt of the backpack and removed several straps, leaving only shoulder straps so that I can use the backpack for hiking. It lightend the backpack for about 300 g.
• The plastic cycling water bottles (0,5 and 0,7 l) were replaced by ordinary 1 litre PVC bottles. You save 40 grams per bottle.
• I bought new 1-person single walled tent weighing 1365 grams. That was 500 grams less then the old tent.
• I stopped taking tourist guides on tours. At least 300 g saved.
• I cut the map and took only the part where I planned on cycling. Big saving in volume and about 50 grams in weight.
• I bought smaller and lighter SLR film camera with 28-300 mm lens. 80 grams less, or 600 grams less if I count also the old telephoto lens, which I normally took.
• I started using dish washing cloth instead of towel. About 50 g saved - and huge amount of space.
• I bought very light foam sleeping pad. It was as big as old one, but weighed 155 g which was 150 g less than the old one.
• I bought a small, 25 g flashlight. That's about 80 grams less than the old one.
• I used sandals instead of shoes - about 150 g saved.
• I had a pen water filter - the first time (30 g with the container).

Tour in China (Xinjiang, Tibet) in summer 2005. I made several changes. This was very demanding

tour because of altitute, low temperatures and rough terrain, but I still managed to cut down the stuff by 130 g (to 9.7 kg) - mostly because I used a waterproof bag instead of the backpack. Overall weight including the bike was bigger: 22.5 kg, because of heavier bike.  

• Replacement of the backpack with a waterproof bag. The bag was 445 grams, which was almost 400 grams less than the backpack.
• New down sleeping bag. At 1190 g it was heavier then the old one by 210 g, but was rated at -5 C (old one at +5 C). It packed a little smaller.
• No silk sleeping liner: 210 g less. It was not necessary with the warmer sleeping bag.
• I used only one bungee cord instead of two: 80 g less.
• Only one underwear - 30 g less.
• Smaller mulitool: 50 grams less.
• I had no maps - not even cut-outs, just a paper with riding directions.
• I gave up on "monocular" - a part of small binoculars for birdwatching. 80 g less.
• I left the container for pen water filter: 10 g less (+volume).
• I had about 50 grams more of warm clothes and 300 g heavier shoes.
• I lost the bike and practically all the stuff in Tibet, so I could start building up my gear from the scratch.

There were some radical changes for a winter tour 2005/2006 in South America. The overall stuff weight was cut down by 950 grams, counting the bike even by 3350 g from the previous trip to China and 2685 grams less from the lightest setup so far (in 2004). Stuff weight 8.7 kg, with the bike 19.1 kg. 

• I bought new, 2 kg lighter bike.
• Stuff bag (160 g) instead of waterproof bag (445 g) - saved 285 g.
• Bubble wrap as sleeping pad and waterproofing material for the stuff bag. Not much saved in weight (30 g), but an enormous change in volume and the whole lightweight philosophy.
• Lighter gloves: I had only plastic kitchen gloves. 60 g less. This was not a good idea - I suffered from ulnar nerve inflamation.
• No woolen cap and neckechief.
• No pen water filter.
• Only one pair of spare socks, 30 g less.
• Much lighter top clothes than in China - it was summer in S. America. Around 220 g less.
• I also had some stuff which was heavier: camera (80 g), overshoes (70 g, new addition), tent (530 g more! - I used the old tent from before 2004).

The trip to Indian Himalaya was the peak in the evolution and it set a standard for my ultralight setup. I dropped the weight of the stuff by 1770 g, down to 6970 g (or 17.5 kg with the bike).  

• Compact (ultrazoom) digital camera instead of SLR film camera. The camera itself with charger and spare battery meant 390 g less.
• No spare film rolls: 125 g less for 6 rolls.
• Underseat bag used as a handlebar bag: 420 grams less. Since I had small camera and no spare films, I didn't need the big handlebar bag.
• Lighter, single skin tent, only 950 grams. Saving of about 900 g from the previous tent and 450 g from the lightest tent I ever had.
• I trimmed down the tent for additional 45 grams (removed inner pocket and straps from its bag).
• No soap. I relied on the soap in hotels.
• I cut the handle of the plastic disponsible razor. Not a big weight, but quite some space saving. Besides, you really need only a small handle for a razor - unlike the tooth brush.
• I cut down the medical/sewing kit by 30 g.
• Also the amount of plastic wrapping bags was smaller for 40 g.
• I bought new light shoes: shoes for in-door football (soccer). At 660 g they were just 25 g heavier than sandals, but infinitely more comfortable and warm, both for cycling as well as walking.
• I had some heavier/bulkier stuff: warm gloves (+140 g), fleece top (+70 g), tool kit (+55 - chain tool), cycling gloves (+45 g).
• With all these savings I could indulge in a bit of luxury: I mounted a kick-stand (200 g) for the bike.

The trip to Australia was done with similar setup. I dropped the weight of stuff down to around 6200 g, mostly because I expected much warmer weather then in Indian Himalaya. 

• I used very ligh rain jacket (140 g) instead of my standard 500 g jacket.
• Fleece top replaced with lighter one, saving 90 g.
• I removed kick-stand. It does provide some luxury by not having to lay down and lift up the bike, however it doesn't provide a stable support (a few times the bike toppled down), so I will not use it again. 200 g less.
• I cut the pedal spanner in two - 50 g saved. You don't need a big handle for the pedal spanner: just find a stone and hit the short handle a few times to unscrew the pedals.
• I cut 8 cm of seat post, saved about 50 g.
• Ligther lock: I bought a tiny combination lock which weighs only 48 grams. 130 g saved. The philosophy is that any lock could be broken by a dedicated thief, so take the lock that just ensures your bike can't be ridden away by occasional passer-by.
• No camera battery charger. I estimated that one spare battery will be enough for 1 month trip - and I was right.
• Only one spare tube. I relied on availability of those in Australia.
• No tooth paste. I brushed the teeth just with water.
• Instead of a knife I used razor blades. Quite a volume saving and about 40 g less.
• Less pages in a notebook - minus 10 g.
• Shorter and lighter wicking cycling socks: 30 g less.
• I did use a helmet this time (280 g more).

The trip to Central Asia (Tadjikistan, Kyrgyzistan, China, Pakistan, India) was done with practically the same setup as from 2006. There were little changes, resulting in about 300-400 g less: stuff 6.7 kg, with the bike 17.1 kg. 

• I bought new down sleeping bag - smaller and almost 100 g lighter, with the same rating (-1 C comfort) as the old one.
• I cut off the inner mesh lining form my rain jacket. The weight dropped from 500 g to 370 g. I am still undecided whether this was a good idea or not.
• New strip of bubble wrap. The new one was 60 g lighter. I don't know if this comes from different construction or from the dust that collected on the old one.
• A hat replaced with a cycling cap: 30 g instead of 90 g. The cap is also an excellent tool for killing flies and mosquitos (a hat would be too heavy for that).
• Lighter rain pants - 30 g less, but worse quality. I will go back to heavier ones.
• Heavier stuff: there was a spare tyre (300 g) this time. 

In the January 2009 I was in the Middle East. This was a rather radical experiment regarding the ultraligh cycle touring. I tested how it would be to tour with just the bivy bag, carrying all the stuff on the bike, without the racks or backpacks. With 3.9 kg of stuff and 13.7 kg including the bike, it meant about 3.7 kg less from my usual "fully loaded" setup as in 2008.

• Tent, the sleeping bag and bubble wrap were replaced with a bivy bag and a silk liner. I saved 1.5 kg there. The bivy was carried in the bottle cage holder.
• I kept most of my stuff in the compression bag behind the seat. I saved 100 g because of lighter bag and another 40 g by using nylon straps instead of bungee cords.
• There was no need for a rear rack. 570 g saved.
• The rain jacket was replaced with two items: a windstopper and a light rain shell, both of them together were almost 100 g lighter then the old jacket.
• There were a lot of small things that I left out: water filter, sun screen, neckerchief, lighter, battery charger, one spare tube, spare spokes, chain tool, hypercracker, one water bottle. All of this meant about 500 g less.

In the summer of 2009 I rode from Vancouver to New York City. It was a full-kit camping tour with the least weight so far; I managed to cut down my touring weight by almost a kilo. I had 5.8 kg of stuff and 16.0 kg including the bike. 

• Smaller and lighter rear rack. It's 450 g or 120 g less then the old one. Besides that it attaches to the brake bridge screw and enables me to adjust the brakes without the need to remove the rack.
• Lighter road tyres 25x622. Almost 300 g lighter then the 32x622 Schwalbe Marathons.
• Only one tube - 100 g less. No spare spokes. No spare tyre.
• I bought the lightest pump there is: 25 g, means almost 50 g less. It's also a bit smaller.
• Only one bottle cage and one water bottle: 110 g saved.
• I bought a new summer down sleeping bag. With 600 g for a bag with light compressioin bag it was 350 g lighter than my 3-season sleeping bag.
• I had new lighgter shoes, 60 g less.
• A few things left out: beanie, battery charger, card reader, altimeter, hypercracker. Smaller first-aid kit. In all about 150 g less.
• The clothes were different from the last year's tour, but the overall weigth was practicaly the same. Rain gear and cycling shorts were lighter, but the merino cycling jersey and arm warmers were heavier.
• I did have some new additions. Rear view mirror. I took a 170 g tyvec protective suit (meant as rain gear). Cell phone (70 g) and "monocular" for watching birds (80 g) didn't work at all and were never used. I threw monocular away on the 3rd day. 

In august/september of 2010 I cycled in Africa. It was a mini "Africa's coast-to-coast", through Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Lesotho. To start with, I took stuff from the 2009 trip in Canada and then reduced it for about a kilo: 4.9 kg of stuff and 15.3 kg including the bike.

• After having illusions for 20 years about me becoming the National Geographic's featured photographer I finaly realized that it is not going to happen. So I bought a very popular "travelling ultrazoom compact" and I am quite happy with it. It weighs 220 g and saves me 150 g, counting in the charger as well.
• I used "crocs" as my only footware. They are incredibly light (320 grams a pair), comfortable, have excellent pedal grip, can be used for fording rivers or as bathroom slippers, and they dry in a minute. Complemented with some kind of waterproof/windproof socks, they may be the ultimate cycle-touring footware. Saving 340 grams!!!
• The things left out: rain shell, rain pants, fleece gloves, overshoes, tyvec suit, "monocular", mosquito net, spare socks.I didn't expect much rain this time, so my windbreaker jacket (160 g) should suffice. It ment 660 g less.
• Carbon fiber bottle cages: two of them have the weight of one aluminium cage - 60 g less. They worked perfectly with 1 l and 1.25 l PVC bottles, even on rough gravel roads.
• I replaced quick release skewers with skewers with allen-key titanium bolt. A small change which resulted in 120 g saving!
• Additions: second bottle cage and water bottle, heavier front tyre, beanie, a small tripod for the camera, headtorch: 330 g more.
• I could have been even lighter. For example, I had a merino jersey, that performet great (being  warmer and quicker drying then synthetics), but was heavier: 240 g in comparison with 160 g synthetic jersey. Also, I didn't cut off the struts from the rear rack, as I planned originaly. That would save about 80 g, but in the end I just didn't bother with it. I'll probably do that on the next trip. You see, that's how over-engineered the things become when you have a small load to carry. Some things were unnecessary, such as tripod, maybe even a headtorch.

In july/august 2011 I cycled in France. It was a mix of two tasks: climbing over 100 French cols and completing Paris-Brest-Paris randonnée. It was also the weight record breaking tour, which is not surprising since I didn't take full camping gear. I had 3 kg of stuff and 11.9 kg including the bike.

• I took the road bike with compact double crankset, which I usually use for training at home. I managed to lower its weight from 9.2 kg to less then 8.9 kg by easy and relatively cheap modifications: folding tires instead of wired tires (-100 g), super light tubes at 53 g (-90 g), and titanium bolt skewers instead of QR skewers (-120g).
• I didn't have the tent, sleeping bag and pad (-1500g), but I took bivy bag (+280 g) for emergency (and money saving) camping. There were no racks either (-450g).
• Clothing was a bit different this time. I had: cycling cap, gloves, socks, shorts and jersey, arm and leg warmers and windproof & water resistant jacket. Apart from that only bathing trunks and touring shorts (instead of long trousers). Saving about 200 g on clothing.
• Participation in PBP required some more stuff that I'd usually not take: front and rear lights with batteries, reflective vest. About 370 g more.

brandNEW

In december 2011 I was in Tenerife for one cycling week. I made five daily excursions on rented road bicycle. When cycling I had about 1.5 kg of gear - which I think would be my absolute minimum for a credit card summer tour (the setup would be without the seat bag in the picture, which was there only the first day) .

• Just one tip from this tour: I didn't want to carry a wind/rain jacket in a jersey pocket, so I wrapped it in a plastic bag and carried it in the second bottle cage.