Re: Rocky Mountains

Steve Fuller wrote:

There's definitely a huge difference in riding on road vs off road with 
a lot of weight. Two years ago I took a couple of long rides on 
gravel/sand roads with two small panniers, a tent and a sleeping bag and 
they were both a ton of work. Last summer I spent 3 days riding across 
pavement, gravel, single track and grass two track in Wisconsin with 
what I considered (at the time) a light load (18 lbs of gear split 
between a backpack, a dry sack and a frame bag).

Wayne replies:

If your unloaded bike+body weighs more than 180 pounds, 18 pounds of 
cargo adds less than 10% to the total weight.  That's not a huge 
difference to me.

If your bike isn't designed for touring and the cargo is behind the rear 
axle, adding 18 pounds might make a huge difference in the handling 
characteristics.

Wayne Estes
Oakland, Oregon, USA