HI Brummie,
Yes, unfortunately my dear Sherpa is a portly fellow! I just re-weighed him on the (sadly accurate) digital bathroom scales and came up with the same figures again.
It is because is wearing so much heavy stuff! I expect he will gain a bit more when complete. I'll post pics to the gallery when he is finished, but at present, here's the basic kit he's carrying when I weighed him--:
= Sherpa 560S
= Shimano Deore brakes, gearing and 170mm cranks
= Thorn (Zoom) seatpost with long layback
= Zoom 44cm anatomic bend drop handlebars, 11cm Zoom stem
= SunTour Superbe Pro sealed quill pedals with CatEye nylon clips and straps
= Rigida Andra rims (plain, not CSS)
= Schwalbe 26x2.0 Dureme rigid (wired-on) tires
= Schwalbe SV13 presta-valve tubes
= SON28 dynohub
= Brooks B.17 saddle
= Thorn Low-Loader Mark V front racks
= Surly Nice Rack rear
= B&M IQ Cyo "N" Senso headlight with standlight
= B&M Toplight Line taillight with switchable standlight
= Tout Terrain "The Plug 2" USB charging port (supplies charging for my water purifier, GPS, auxiliary lighting, cell phone, motion and still cameras).
= Tout Terrain removable replacement for star-fangled nut
= Portland Design Works (PDW) multifunction 1-watt LED taillight on left side of rear rack
= Thorn 105mm Accessory T-bar
= Click-Stand Max, carried in Click-Stand's repurposed Topeak pump holder below the T-bar
= Compass-bell combo on T-bar
= SkyMounti inclinometer on handlebars
= PlanetBike Protege 9.0 computer on handlebars
= CueClip cue sheet holder on handlebars
= Garmin Oregon 400T GPS on Garmin mount atop stem
= Tektro 740L "interrupter" levers attached to tops of drop 'bars
= Zefal HPX2 pump
= Lightweight nylon underseat bag with 1 spare tube, 2 patch kits (glued and glueless), tire levers, Nitrile gloves
= SKS P55 fenders with front Buddy Flaps mudflap
= 3 Blackburn "Bomber" 1.5 liter bottle cages and 3 (empty) PET botteles with sport nozzles
= 2 CatEye nylon bottle cages mounted on either side of steerer (for extended desert crossings; doesn't seem to have any effect on handling)
= 2 (empty) Zefal Magnum 1-liter water bottles for steerer-mounted cages
= N-Gear Jump-Stop overshift protector
= Ortlieb Ultimate 5-series handlebar bag mount
= PlanetBike fender stays to allow for larger fender clearances when crossing wet desert/dry lake playa
= Kool-Stop salmon brake pad inserts
Soon to add:
= BBG Bicycle Bash Guard atop the three chainrings
= Swap cassette for 11-34 from 11-32 for better gearing for my needs (increments as well as lower low)
= Small, microprocessor-controlled motion detector mounted to seatpost
= Tout Terrain "The Plug 2" high-output charging enhancement device
I think that catches it all at present.
Viewed individually in the list above, each item seems reasonable. However, it all adds up and it all comes in just about spot-on for what I'd figured. The Sherpa is primarily going to be my expedition tourer, and the weight of the additional components quickly fades compared to the weight of the whole when loaded (Dan's Maxim: The more you carry overall, the less each part weighs in proportion! 'Something wrong with that reasoning...). On my last extended desert crossing, my Miyata 1000LT weighed 109 lbs. (49.4kg) all-up, thanks mostly to carrying nearly 10 liters of water plus food when touring solo. For any reasonable tour on my other conventional bikes, my carried load *in* the bags weighs-out at a maximum or around 40 lbs. with food and water for solo wild camping with a tent. It is just that for the kind of touring I do, I have to carry so much to be self-sufficient and to provide a small margin in case of injury, as I am alone, wild-camping well over a hundred miles from the nearest non-alkali potable water source.
The author of _Adventure Cycle Touring_ advises wrt water, "...4.5 liters on the bike frame, a huge amount for most situations, but only enough for half a day when ambient temperatures rise close to body heat (37C)." They further advise, "It's also worth bringing along a ten-liter...water bag for occasional use; it gives you freedom to find a camping place away from water supplies." (both quotes, page 82, 2nd Ed.).
I have found that advice to be spot-on in my own experience, especially as the temps hover at or very near 121F/49C with no shade and the additional reflection of heat from the road surface. Desert touring is a special case, and it was not unusual for me to experience 70-80F day/night temperature variations with sub-freezing nights that froze and burst the bottles I didn't have room for in the warmer tent. There is a lot to deal with in that environment, including extremely corrosive salts in the sands and a phenomenon known as "playa foot" that can leave extremities raw and bleeding and open to infection if one doesn't use care. One literally cannot carry enough sunscreen for protection, so it is imperative to also pack sun-filtering clothing to prevent burning and further dehydration. Some links on the general topic are here:
http://www.burningman.com/preparation/event_survival/water.htmlhttp://www.burningman.com/preparation/event_survival/bikes.htmlhttp://www.burningman.com/preparation/event_survival/playa_foot.htmlhttp://giantloopmoto.blogspot.com/2011/04/dr-dan-hardcore-2-wheeled-adventurer.html#!/2011/04/dr-dan-hardcore-2-wheeled-adventurer.htmlhttp://giantloopmoto.blogspot.com/2010/06/giant-loop-tour-2010-email-from-dan.html#!/2010/06/giant-loop-tour-2010-email-from-dan.htmlWhile appallingly heavy in conventional terms, my Sherpa is outfitted as required for the job at hand, and the weight reflects this. My other tourers are intended for much lighter, less demanding duty. Horses for courses, one might say. I'd still like to see how the Sherpa fares as a rando bike...it isn't far off in many respects.
Best,
Dan.
