> hi, > > since there are quite a few (more) experienced (than me) > cyclists here, i thought i would pick your brains. i am > putting together the kit for my july ride in the himalayas. i > am roughly planning to do about 1000 km over 20 days. > > i am looking to get a (pair of) rear bicycle panniers for the > ride. i have no idea what to look for except that it needs to be: > > 1) big enough to carry basic necessities to last at least a > week. i am not carrying a tent or stove or tinned food this > time so that would be basically clothes, plenty of > nutribars/electral, woollens, thermals, spares and repair > kit. and the k-x with the sigma 17-70 (does that bring this > post on topic? :)) > > 2) reasonably light > > 3) july/august it rains in the himalayas, especially the > lower himalayas so it'd be nice if it is waterproof too.... > > so what would you recommend? and, thanks in advance for your inputs. > appreciate it... > > regards, subash
Ortlieb and Carradice seem to be the main choices of long-distance tourers. The rack may be more important than the panniers. If you don't get waterproof panniers you should probably make sure you use waterproof stuff sacs. See if you can borrow a rack and panniers off someone to try them out. Whatever you choose, make sure you do a decent shakedown ride before your big trip. I have a Tortec rack and Altura panniers, and they've been fine for the little bike tours I've done, but they have been very tame tours. I don't like cycling with panniers though - I prefer a saddlebag and I'm trying to develop a way of cutting down on the amount I carry so that I can get everything into a Carradice Super C and a decent bar bag for the camera and other necessaries. I'd recommend that you be utterly ruthless about what you take, reducing it to the absolute minimum. The classic lightweight trip was Nick & Dick Crane's Journey to the Centre of the Earth, in which they cycled from the mouth of the Ganges, over the Himalayas and into the Gobi desert to the point on Earth that's furthest from the sea: <http://web.archive.org/web/20041211045554/http://www.koopmann.lightup.net/c rane/> Here's their kit list (includes a Pentax MX, so on topic): <http://web.archive.org/web/20040919044827/www.koopmann.lightup.net/crane/jo urney_appendix_1.html> Worth looking for in hard-copy - a great book. Bob -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
