Steve, I am 62 years old and have been riding for thirty years, using my Atlantis for daily transportation since 1999. I have a good understanding of what I need in a bike. My entire bike packing load is less than fifteen pounds. It has to be, because I tour up in the Oregon Cascades on single track and double track, once I climb the twenty miles and a climb few thousand feet to get there. Right now, I am having a hard time packing my bike for a three day tour, because it’s so damn hot and the wild land fire smoke can roll in, with a change in the wind. Anywhoo, yes the weight difference is important. Only by sweating over every gram, and always choosing the lighter way, have I been able to get my load light. It took twenty years of refining my touring load. When I first started, I had a forty to fifty pounds worth of crap on my bike and climbing was not fun, and kept me on paved roads. I make all my own bike packing bags because I enjoy trying to design something new, which is really hard in the cycling world. I live with the Atlantis’s weight, because the bike is perfect for my severely battered body (12 surgeries, knees, back, wrists, elbow). It fits. Like an old pair of broken in boots. I have two carbon bikes, a S-works Crux (insanely light and quite absorbent for a rigid) and an Ibis Mojo 3 with 2.5” tires. I could bikepack on either one, but I never have. They have no soul, and they would hamper my connection with Nature. Sounds weird, but I guess a comparison would be going for a hike in moccasins versus bright yellow, foam hiking shoes with pink lightening bolts on the side. There is a better connection to the earth with the moccasins. Same with steel frames. For the Earth, of the Earth and it will only oxidize into the dirt. Since I am a Dirt Dancer, it feels proper... Rivendell, in name, attitude and products is all about being a nature bike deep down, and Dammit, I want a fully lugged plus bike named after something that lives in the woods. (“Mr. Natural”, hmmm... a Mr. Crumb co branded bike?) Back to packing my bike..... I can’t decide whether or not to carry my Swiss Army knife now. Treehugger Clayton DirtDance
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