Touring on a fixed

I like the Bikamper.

Here's Ray's epic thread, including a cool video.

http://www.londonfgss.com/thread9761.html

Ah, good man. Thanks. :-)

no your right, i guess i'm just on about the weight distrubution.

Just out of interest, what gear to you take, i was considering getting Nemo gogo

http://www.nemoequipment.com/nemo08-gogo-tent

I was in Camberwell on the weekend and I saw a trailer made out of the back end of a couple of cheap MTB's and a shopping trolley. It was ugly as sin but looked incredibly sturdy. It also looked heavy as fook.

This guy's pretty serious about weight: http://www2.arnes.si/~ikovse/weight.htm

I'd get a trailer, i use them all the time and take my kids on me fixed and have no different issues as to riding with gears, it also reduces the weight on the bike, back and legs. I'm planning London to paris and back ultra light with something like a xtrawheel.

i went to paris with just a messenger bag. if i was going to do it again i'd go lighter. any extra weight compromises fun.

gonna fastercard tour wales this summer!

This guy's pretty serious about weight: http://www2.arnes.si/~ikovse/weight.htm

That's the guy I was looking for. A little too extreme for my liking.

Just out of interest, what gear to you take, i was considering getting Nemo gogo

http://www.nemoequipment.com/nemo08-gogo-tent

I've only used tent before but have bought a bivi bag and am looking into pairing it with various tarp style shelters to pair it with. I looked at a tent just like the one you linked to but wanted a bit more space and versatility. It's all just an experiment at the moment, I am trying out different stove designs too at weekends so I can see the pros and cons e.t.c.

The bro and I went all over France in the summer fixed and it was a blast. We didn't have a trailer but it was fantastic fun bombing hills and the such

the problem i always have is deciding what and how many clothes to take, which is a big consideration. i dont plan to be riding all of the time, and want to take a pair of jeans, a shirt or two, and some shoes. as well as swimming trunks, a warm hoody, flip flops and all my cycling clothes. and i wont visit any part of the universe without a towl.

i dont want to have to live in my cycling clothes, and i still want to be able to hang out on the beach or in a bar/restuarante at night. i went for a two week tour around cornwall last summer and got really fed up of having to wear my cycling jacket all the time, and not a warm comfortable hoody.

then how many cycling clothes do i need to take. do i need more than one pair of shorts/jersey? if im riding all day theyre going to get sweaty.

Towel - micro fleece or smallest normal towel you can get away with.

flip flops and swimming trunks - Definitely needed. Both are light and small so no prob anyhow.

Jeans and hoody - while nice these are both bulky and heavy. Is there not another top and / or trousers which you like casual style? I go with some light cargo / walking style trousers personally, I find them lighter, quick drying. Ideally if you could have a top that doubled up as a top for cycling if it is ever cold, but I suppose a hoddy can do that but it is just so bulky when packed away.

Shoes - If you don't want to walk around in cycling shoes I'd use toe clips. Fuck carrying around a spare pair of shoes. That is supper heavy and bulky. Ideally you want as many items as possible to have two of more functions.

Cycling cloths - I'd say two shorts and two tops and pair of legwarmers. Wear one, wash / rinse at the end of the day dry over night and during the next day wear the others. You could get away with one of each, washed / rinsed in the evening and dried over night, that's a personal one though.

All this plus a small tent and sleeping bag plus small cook kit can easily fit into one pair or rear panniers. I would not get too worried but the shoes are a real biggy wast of space / weight.

Here is an approximate list of what I took for a two month tour (geared) from London to Istanbul. Next time I would take less tools and spares as I didn't really use them. My advice to anyone wanting to lose a bit of weight would be to buy front panniers and use them on the rear - the rear panniers are far too big and this means you will take too much stuff!

1 pair cycling shorts
1 pair cargo shorts
4 t shirts
1 pair jeans
cycling top
merino wool jumper
4 pairs boxers
2 pairs cycling boxers (padded)
6 pairs socks
waterproofs (top & trousers)
travel towel
swimming shorts
1 pair sandals
1 pair trainers
money belt (travellers cheques, passport, documents)

vango banshee tent
sleeping bag (small down filled)
foam sleeping mat
msr dragonfly stove & fuel bottle
2 x saucepan (trangia type)
fork & spoon
cup
folding plastic bowl
1 litre water bottle

pump
spare tube
patches & glue
tyre levers
spare chain
1 x spare gear cable (inner only)
1 x spare brake cable + outer
spare toeclip straps
cable ties
hose clips
electrical tape
small tube lithium grease
small tub oil
spoke key
hg cassette tool
chain tool
bb tool
crank extractor
small adjustable spanner
allen keys
swiss army knife (spartan)
head torch
led bike lights (cheapo)
whistle
a few paperbacks
various maps (bought/discarded along the way)

all this was packed into 2 small (front) ortliebs on a tourtec rear rack, with a small rucksack strapped to the rack containing food and valubles
tent was strapped to nitto mini front rack. Hope this is relevant/helpful.

thats a good list. close to what i was planning. in my head it doesnt seem like alot of stuff, but when i go to touring sites people seem to have about 10 bags to carry all this stuff. i dont really want to have anything more than a rear rack with panniers.

part of me would like to do it with just a messenger bag, but i know this would drive me crazy after a couple of days, especially in a hot country or if i wanted to ride shirtless. i did a tour of south wales with a messenger bag and it was fine, but id hate to do this anywhere with bigger distances and more heat. i was only gone 10 days and it did me a fine service.

has anyone tried using those vacumm storage bags for packing thier stuff really tightly? those plastic bags that you fill with your stuff, and then attach to a hoover to suck all of the air out. maybe they could be modded to work with a bike pump. i reckon this would save a fair bit of room when packing clothes.

Here is an approximate list of what I took for a two month tour (geared) from London to Istanbul. Next time I would take less tools and spares as I didn't really use them. My advice to anyone wanting to lose a bit of weight would be to buy front panniers and use them on the rear - the rear panniers are far too big and this means you will take too much stuff!

1 pair cycling shorts
1 pair cargo shorts
4 t shirts
1 pair jeans
cycling top
merino wool jumper
4 pairs boxers
2 pairs cycling boxers (padded)
6 pairs socks
waterproofs (top & trousers)
travel towel
swimming shorts
1 pair sandals
1 pair trainers
money belt (travellers cheques, passport, documents)

vango banshee tent
sleeping bag (small down filled)
foam sleeping mat
msr dragonfly stove & fuel bottle
2 x saucepan (trangia type)
fork & spoon
cup
folding plastic bowl
1 litre water bottle

pump
spare tube
patches & glue
tyre levers
spare chain
1 x spare gear cable (inner only)
1 x spare brake cable + outer
spare toeclip straps
cable ties
hose clips
electrical tape
small tube lithium grease
small tub oil
chain tool
bb tool
crank extractor
small adjustable spanner
allen keys
swiss army knife (spartan)
head torch
led bike lights (cheapo)
whistle
a few paperbacks
various maps (bought/discarded along the way)

all this was packed into 2 small (front) ortliebs on a tourtec rear rack, with a small rucksack strapped to the rack containing food and valubles
tent was strapped to nitto mini front rack. Hope this is relevant/helpful.

I think I tend to get a bit over enthusiastic with taking tools, but I always take a few spare spokes, a freewheel remover and a small wide-mouth adjustable spanner for the freewheel tool.
Not much extra weight or space taken up but it meant that I could change a broken spoke - and they always snap on the rear drive-side first, hence the freewheel tool.

decathlon has these good waterproof stuff sacks that (from the video) you start rolling down the top, then let air out, then roll them a bit more e.t.c then strap and seal them. The video show if being down with a sleeping bag but it looks like it would work well for other stuff.

single speed but not fixed http://pompinos.blogspot.com/

We're pretty using the gear list as our guide for Paris-Amsterdam. Using a pannier rack with a messenger bag on top rather than a saddle bag - heavier, but cheaper and more spacious.

Will be riding singlespeed in some parts, but fixed in others.

Wasn't the first Lands End to John O'Groats ride done on fixed wheels ?

it's definitely possible, there are some creatures out there who have pain thresholds way higher than our own.

I was just wondering, do a lot of people just pitch a tent in a random field when they're touring and not planning too much, or is that plain stupid?

depends on place and time of year. heading to Sardinia and am expecting most camp sites to be closed so not fretting to much about pitching up tent. That said, think its sometimes frowned upon. Some countries have laws (believe this includes Scotland) that give you legal right to do this)

What Gustav said. And try not to do it within a certain distance of the nearest road, for obvious reasons... unless you enjoy being squashed in your sleep

decathlon has these good waterproof stuff sacks that (from the video) you start rolling down the top, then let air out, then roll them a bit more e.t.c then strap and seal them. The video show if being down with a sleeping bag but it looks like it would work well for other stuff.

Dry bags and stuff sacks from here - http://www.ewetsuits.com/acatalog/Dry-Boxes-dry-bags-uk.html
Truly fantastic value for money. I've been using them in my kayak for a fair few years and no problems at all.

I was just wondering, do a lot of people just pitch a tent in a random field when they're touring and not planning too much, or is that plain stupid?

I would not just do it in a random field because of disturbing livestock and crop damage e.t.c, but you can find hidden out of the way places quite easily, rock up late leave early, leave not trace e.t.c

Dry bags and stuff sacks from here - http://www.ewetsuits.com/acatalog/Dry-Boxes-dry-bags-uk.html
Truly fantastic value for money. I've been using them in my kayak for a fair few years and no problems at all.

They are really cheap. Thanks for the link.

i remember reading [ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Journey-Centre-Earth-Richard-Crane/dp/0593012917/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236940766&sr=1-7"]this book [/ame]by Richard and Nicholas Crane years ago - ultimate lightweight touring - they got obsessed with cutting/drilling everything possible and rode to the middle of the Gobi desert......

I had a cracking time in the Bavarian Alps and then through Croatia last summer. 48:18 but not fixed. Don't bother with a trailer - it's not necessary or heterosexual and would just be a pain, get yourself a set of Ortliebs and off you go.