This is the gear I currently carry along while cycling east across Europe. It sums up to roughly 15 kg for the bike and 25 kg of luggage. This is on the heavy side especially for summer touring but I like to have a bit of comfort, and make stops to work along the way. Items in italics are those I acquired on tour and those crossed-out were discarded or sent back. I will try to keep the list updated as I continue my travels eastwards. Feel free to ask for more personal advice in the comments section.
The cyclist
France-made, 33-years old. Can speaking multiple languages. Weights around 65 kg but tends to become lighter when given poisoned foods. Beginning to wear out after being used on a bunch of other bike tours. Sadly the brain is permanently damaged after trying to be a scientist for ten years (Permanent Head Damage syndrome), but appears to be non-replaceable. Other parts are basically still functional.
Bike and bags
After multiple tours on cheap or second-hand bicycles, I finally purchased a Surly LHT and I am very happy with it. After about 6000 km of travel and a few day tours and commutes, all components are still original except for the saddle (swapped for a Brooks in Zurich), the tires (replaced by Schwalbe Marathon in Zadar), and one (yes) tube punctured in Ljubljana. Surly makes some of the most conservative touring bikes around, which has pros and cons (26 inch on rocky paths is shaky). The bike is particularly long, giving it stability (and less manoeuvrability) and a special feel that always made me want to go on a tour when grabbing it for short commutes.
I use a four-pannier set-up, which is what the LHT is build for, but sometimes think how replacing the front panniers with a 40 litre backpack would allow for longer hikes. It would put more weight on the rear wheel though.
- Surly Long Haul Trucker
- Tubus front & rear racks
- Bluemels fenders
- Giant light U-lock
- Micro rocket pump
- Surly reflectors
2x3x black bottle cage1x2x plastic bottle
- Thermos bottle 75 ml
- + Brooks B17 touring saddle
- + Cycle star rearview mirror
WTB original Surly saddleB-twin broken rearview mirror
- (Panniers and handlebar bag)
- Ortlieb front-roller plus
- Ortlieb back-roller plus
- Ortlieb Ultima 6 plus
- Ortlieb Ultima 6 camera unit
- Ortlieb Ultima 6 map holder
- Homemade map holder cord
- Homemade plastic phone case
2x1x extension cord (for tent)
Camping gear
My camping gear is lightweight because I have also used it on hikes. Some may prefer to carry a bit more for extra tent space. I prefer quilts to sleeping bags mostly for the comfort of not waking up all squeezed in a swirling bag in the middle of the night. Apparently I roll around a lot at night… I use bells as extra safety against theft and curious animals.
- Osprey StraightJacket Sack 20L
- Big Agnes Copper Spur UL1
- Big Agnes CP UL1 footprint
- Clothes pegs and duct tape
- + Exped Typhoon 15L backpack
- Thermarest pillow sack
- Enlighted Eqt. quilt
- Enlighted Eqt. hood
Sea to Summit silk linen- + Cocoon silk travel sheet
- Mammut Ajungilak bag and fix kit
- Mammut Ajungilak sleeping pad
- Shugakuso bear bell (against theft)
- Japanese まよけ (lucky charm bell)
Clothes
I certainly carry more clothes than necessary and could save a bit of weight there. But then I am not always cycling and like to have a bit of change when stopping for a few days in town. I also carry some (not so) cold weather clothes which, I think, should allow for comfortable cycling and camping down to at least freezing when the autumn arrives.
I have cleating shoes but do not find them so useful, and sometimes regret not being able to go for longer hikes. For this, I thought of giving up on my cycling shoes and get a more versatile pair of trekking shoes. Also for the last 1000 km along the Adriatic coastline, I have not used my cycling shoes at all, and always cycled in sandals instead to be ready for a quick swim. My sandals did not really like the seawater though and I will probably need to replace them some time.
- (Clothes bags)
- Meru dry bag yellow
- Sea to summit mesh bag
- Enlighted Eqt. nylon bag
- (Trousers and short pants)
- Columbia beige trousers
- Uniqlo green shorts
- Gore padded bike shorts
- (Shirts and t-shirts)
- Decathlon red cycling shirt
- Arcteryx green cotton shirt
- Outdoor Res. green cotton shirt
- Mont Bell white cotton t-shirt
Decathlon yellow cycling shirt
- (Raingear and jackets)
- Uniqlo light down jacket
- Outdoor Res. Foray jacket
- Michelin yellow vest
- Decathlon rain pants
- (Cold weather clothing)
- Everest synt. long underpants
- Everest synt. long sleeve shirt
- Fjällraven Karl trousers
- Ibex green wool jumper
- Craft winter gloves
- (Socks and underwear)
- 3x cotton underwear
- 1x swimming trunks
- 2x Uniqlo color socks
- 1x Sealskinz waterproof socks
- 1x Ankle compression sock
- + 1x Icebreaker UL wool socks
1x Bonobo underwear2x Uniqlo color socks
- (Headwear)
- 2x blue & green buffs
- 1x Japanese bandana
- 1x orange headband
- 1x mosquito net
2x1x sunglasses
- Outdoor Res. white sunhat
- Cycling helmet
- (Other accessories)
- Quechua synt. undergloves
- Herman silk undergloves
- Eagle creek money belt
- Yellow ankle straps
- 3x face masks
Sea to summit tek towel- + Specialized BG grail gloves
- + Snorkelling set
- (Shoes)
- Merrell sandals
- Giro bike shoes
Handlebar bag
- (Camera gear)
Fujifilm X-T1 camera and lensbody and shoulder strapbattery and memory cardEC-GFX viewfinder eye cupFujinon 18-135mm zoom lens67mm caps and hoodB+W 67 mm UV filterSamyang 12mm prime lensKenko 67mm ND1000 and caseCokin 67mm pol. and case3x spare battery and case
- + Canon Powershot G5X II
- + Canon Spare battery
- + Joby Gorillapod 325
- Lens wipe cloth
- 2x spare memory cards, 1 box
- (Other)
- Xiaomi telephone & cover
- Passport & vaccine log
- Wallet with cards etc
- Black diamond headlamp
- 1x front and 2x rear lamps
- ETH VAW Swiss knife
- Bontrager multi-tool
- Chain lube
- Sunscreen and lip balm
- Hand sanitizer
Electronics and paperware
- (Electronics to work on tour)
- Phoxx sitting pad
- Lenovo laptop & case
- Lenovo laptop charger
- Plug adapter for Europe
- Lacie USB archive drive
- Lacie USB coldroom drive
- Sea to summit yellow padded case
- ZAP 8G USB pendrive
- Tolino USB cable
- Cellevo power bank
- Spare AAA batteries
- Go luggage scale
- Phone charger plug and cable
1x Fuji charger & cable- + Old Nokia phone and charger
- Sea to Summit dry sack green
- Tolino vision 4 HD & cover
- Selected postcards
- Moleskine journal & ruler
- Moleskine notebook
- Tombow mechanical pencil
- Pen, pencil, sharpener and eraser
- Spare notebooks zip lock bag
- 5x Moleskine notebook
Tools and spares
- Xiaomi phone tool box
- Chain cleaning brushes
- Cocraft adjustable wrench
- Coop cable cutter
- Duct tape and wire
- Old fabric wipe cloth
- Spare Ortlieb bag clips
- Spare brake pads
- Spare chain links
- Spare keys for bag and lock
- Spare rings etc
- Spare Shimano shoe clips
- Spare screws etc
- Spare straps for lamps
- Tire repair kit
- Spare cords
- 2x spare Bic lighter
- Spare Enlighted Eqt. straps
- Spare cord and elastics
- + SKS Anywhere bottle cage straps
- Other
- Emergency blanket and heat pad
- Coop 26″ spare bike tube
- 2x fabric bags
Kitchen
- Plastic bottle with alcohol
- Honey aluminium flask
- Evernew stove mesh bag
- Evernew cooking pot
- Evernew alcohol stove
- Bic lighter
- Opinel No. 6 Carbone knife
- Wildo Fold-a-cup
- Lightmyfire Salt&Pepper plus
- Thermos chopsticks and spoon
- + Katadyn Hiker pro water filter
Toiletries
- Muji travel toiletries case
- Toothbrush, nail cutter and tick remover
- Mini comb, shaver and blades
- Solid soap, shampoo and toothpaste
- Vitiligo and foot creams
- Katadyn purification tabs
- Painkiller pills
- Sewing kit and earplugs
- Plasters and blister pads
- Deodorant and ear sticks
- Spare zip lock bags
- Spares zip lock bag
- Ankle strapping tape
- Stormproof matches
- Fjällraven Greenland wax
- Solid ox bile soap
- Dishwashing liquid
- Toilet paper
- Coghlans trowel
Souvenirs
I also carry a couple of totally useless emotional items which are not necessarily included in the above list, such as my best friend and mountain pass mascot which you may have spotted on some of the photos.