@Derek Re: light and sleek…
Good point. I'd given most of my thought to weight savings but frame bags also tremendously reduce front wind profile as well. Especially after I drop the winter bivy roll.
Perhaps I'd not really considered the aerodynamic qualities of frame bags over traditional panniers because the whole idea of frame bags comes from off-road touring and self supported races like the Iditarod Invitational and Great Divide mountain bike race (GDT / GDR) where the focus was on reducing and securing swinging weight. Certainly not aerodynamics.
The truth is not many (if any) besides me have applied these frame bags to on road touring where they likely do have much more of an impact on aerodynamic qualities then on anything else.
It will be interesting to see how this affects the amount of miles I can do in a day out touring. I was topping 120 last year toward the end of the year.
Thus far I've only gotten them in on a 24 hour overnighter getting in only about 80 on the second, but it was a partial day and I broke and then replaced a pedal at a local bike shop right in the middle of the ride.
Given that I'm not yet in shape post winter I'm thinking I should be able to quickly regain my 120 and hopefully move toward the 150 mark. (One of my summer goals.)
I must state though this setup is not about speed… it is about efficiency, and above all comfort. I want to be be able to as easy and comfortably as possible and more miles is a byproduct of being able to spend more time comfortably in the saddle as it is the small increase in speed.
It's imperative to me I reach my 150mile a day goal over repeated consecutive days while still retaining the time to stop and smell the roses. i.e. break a pedal, chat with locals and people I meet along the way, and take lots of photos.
I have no idea how many miles I'd be looking at if I was racing nor do I care to find out. In the RAAM they do some 250+ or even 300+ a day solo… that's not what I'm about.
== major changes toward UL touring ==
Here's a little analysis on major performance changes over my UL road setup.
Keep in mind I still have a true blood steel touring bike that and I only use this setup for light touring in areas where the quality of roads is known… i.e. mostly in Ohio. You might even think of my UL touring rig as my UL Ohio touring setup. Ohio has some of the best roads and hills in the whole country.
1) from steel to aluminum & carbon frame
Cross Check to Salsa Campeon = stiffer, lighter, more responsive frame
2) 22.5mm touring/cross rim to 19.5mm road rim
Salsa Delgado Cross to Mavic Open Pro. In combination with tire choice = dramatically less spinning weight. Add this in with lighter overall weight and you get an amazing and downright addictive responsive in climbing that few tourers have experience or even dreamed of. Hill country touring is at the heart of my obsession with UL touring.
3) 35mm tire to 25mm tire
I love the Conti Travel Contact 38mm (measuring in more like 35mm) that I use on my steel touring bike and prefer them for touring, especially dirt / back roads. However on the UL rig I'm using a Conti Gatorskin 25mm. I'd prefer 28mm but the 25mm seem to be working fine and are the biggest tire that can fit on my Campeon frame.
In addition to offering less rolling resistance this also dramatically decreases spinning weight, which once again when combined with the lighter rim and stiffer frame makes for dramatically more responsive power, especially when climbing hills.
4) XT mountain drivetrain to ultegra road drivetrain:
Most interesting neither are new stuff, both are circa 2001. When it comes to cranks the older stuff can be just as good as the new. In fact I prefer my 9-speed stuff over any 10-speed stuff if purely for the durability and cost savings of maintenance over time. (10 speed cog sets, chains and components are so expensive.)
Not sure how much of a speed / efficiency gain the road drivetrain is over the off road, but I definitely like the precision of the STI road shifters over the Tiagra bar end shifters I'm using with XT. In fact I may replace my Tiagra shifters soon. I do love the durability of the XT drivetrain thus far. I was just thinking and I believe I'm still running the original XT bb! Even though it's only been on the touring bike for about a year and 5-6k miles (previously was used only off road) that's still remarkable durability. Comparitively I toasted my first outset bearing BB in about 18 months of riding. More on this later.
Unfortunately there is one negative on my otherwise beautiful Ultegra UL road touring setup. My ultegra cranks on my road bike are a double… a triple is a must for touring, especially in the hills where I most like to play. Am about to upgrade it to a triple.
5) Traditional panniers vs. frame bags
I dropped 11.5 lbs just in the weight of racks and the traditional pannier bags by switching to frame bags. I repeat, 11.5lbs in racks and empty pannier bags!
The pannier bags and racks added up to about 13 lbs! Meanwhile my main frame bag weighs 15.5 oz and my seat wedge / super twinkie / buritto seat bag weighs about 11oz. There is also the weight of the gas tank (stem bag) and, the gear net and the stuff sack for my winter bivy roll, but these are negligible. Probably another 5oz total if that.
Traditional waterproof pannier bags are tremendously heavy it turns out. Weighing in at about 2-2.5lbs each. Surprised me actually. They are not only extremely heavy but grab a lot of wind as you ride (as Derek pointed out).
That explains why I could never get my traditional touring setup below 55 pounds. However it's not just the weight, as Derek (Gofflin) has pointed above it's probably the front wind profile and drag reduction that is the biggest performance difference of all these listed.
6) Though I'm sure I'm forgetting something important I think that's it for now.
== a word on components ==
I've never been much of a person for showy gadgets.
The Cross Check is a perfect example. It like it's cousin the very popular LHT (Long Haul Trucker) are all about value. They're work horses.
In fact the Salsa is far and away the showiest bike I've ever owned. Though I love it, being so showy is not my style.
That said I typically avoid the highest end components like XTR, Ultegra and Dura-ace. Primarily this is on the basis of cost. Not just up front but the cost of things like replacement chains and cogsets. However I also believe that Shimano is probably compromising some durability for weight and performance in these lines (as they probably should be). Contrary to how I approach all my other gear in which I'm perfectly willing to push the envelop of durability I play it much closer with bike components because if these fail I'm stranded or worse hurt.
Unlike other gear failures of certain things like frames, wheels and some elements of the drive train can be ride or tour enders. Anything I can replace with a bit of ingenuity and my small bag of parts and tools on the side of the road requires a little bit more consideration.
At 19.5 pounds sans gear and bags the Campeon is as light as I dare go.
While I love it's steel and carbon frame and ultegra groupo I'd probably lean more toward Shimano 105 and an aluminum or titanium frame for more practical UL touring. Also something that takes a wider tire. It will always be a "go-fast" road bike that i have the luxury of occasionally taking out for an occasional multi-day ride.
As per off road or back road touring… just one word. XT. Love it. Though I suppose there's also a comparable SRAM groupo I've not yet tried.
