Choosing the Right Kit to Cycle Around the World

It was a long and arduous process, many a night was been spent weighing up the pro’s and con’s of everything from disk brakes to underpants, aptly, only one of those made the cut because the other did not.   A common occurrence  as you lose one item you often need to compensate by adding something else, the trick is to find a workable compromise that gives you what you need, balancing the fewest possible items with the lowest possible weight and pack size.  Oh, and for the lowest possible cost.  It’s not easy.

In the end I came up with some simple criteria that helped to cut through the vast choice of products available, everything I bought had to be; reliable, durable and good value for money.

I was also determined to keep the overall weight down to a minimum, not necessarily through buying the lightest components, just through buying only what is essential. The ideal components would be strong, light and good value for money, the reality is you have to pick two of those criteria and sacrifice the third. Components that are strong and light are expensive, components that are light and good value for money tend not to be strong, components that are strong and good value for money will be heavier.

There is also a relationship between how much kit you take and the level of comfort you will experience both off and on the bike. When I cycled from John O’Groats to Lands End, I had a pretty lightweight set up, somewhere around 18kg for the bike, camping equipment, tools, etc. This was ideal for making fast progress when on the bike, but meant camping was limited to shelter for the night, and I had to rely entirely on buying packaged food from shops, cafes and restaurants.

Lightweight JOGLE Setup

JOGLE-Bike-set-up

The  set up I chose to cycle around the world must afford more comfort when off the bike, I will essentially be living in a tent for around 85% of next four years, this will only be feasible with a few extras. I will need to take cooking equipment, clothes for hot and cold climates and have some spare capacity to carry several days’ food and water. I aim to fit everything into; two 20 litre rear pannier bags, one 20 litre dry bag and one 8.5 litre bar bag.  I will also fit a front rack which will remain un-laden, most of the time, but serve as extra rack space to carry food, water and who knows maybe the odd señorita (mother would be pleased).

As I gain experience using this kit I will add reviews to the blog.

Full Kit List

Part

Description

Price

Camping Kit
Tent MSR Hubba Hubba £215
Sleeping Mat Thermarest Z max £30
Sleeping bag Alpkit pipedream 400 150
Towel MSR
Washing sponge
Head touch £12
Water bladder MSR 10 litre £35
Stove Primus Omnifuel £128
Gas canister Coleman C500 Pi Cart. Bu/Pro £6
Water filter Travel tap £29
Spork Titanium £10
Pan Primus Litrech Trek Kettle £21
Misquito head net Pyramid Head Mosquito / Midge Net £4
Fire starter Fire Steel Flint & Striker SAS Survival Tool Kit £2
Knife Mora Companion Green Handle – Stainless Steel Camping Fishing Knife £12
Plates and cup Camping Eating Plate, Bowl & Mug Set £9
Folding bucket Gelert Pvc Folding Bucket – Green, 10 Lt £5
Pot scourer
Fairy liquid
Water tight container
Dish cloth
Total £668

Part

Description

Price

Clothing
Short sleeve cycling
Long sleeve cycling
T-shirt Merino wool x 2 40
Long sleeve top Merino wool x 2 40
Waterproof outer shell Karimor elite 40
Poncho Kombat US Style Ponch Green 14
Lycra cycling shorts Endura x 1 42
Baggy cycling shorts Endura Humvee 3/4 length x 1 54
Lycra cycling leggings Endura x 1 75
Waterproof tights Max repell
Walking trousers Karimor x 1 zip off at knee 20
Padded underpants Endura x2 20
Underpants loose fit x 1
Cycling mits 20
Cycling gloves Seal Skin 25
Cycling hat Seal Skin beeny and black cap 12
Socks Merino wool x 2 + cotton x 2 10
Cycling buff x 2 Buff High UV Protection and merino wool version 24
Cycling glasses 100
Total £536

Part

Description

Price

Electrical
Smartphone Samsung S2 £174
SD card 64GB SanDisk SDSDQU-064G-U46A Ultra 64GB Class £40
Bluetooth Keyboard Anker® Ultra Slim Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard AK1280 £18
Battery recharger pack Anker Astro Pro 14400mAh Portable Power Bank Pack £46
Electronic maps Nokia N8, C5, 5800, x6, n95, n97 £65
Total £343

Part

Description

Price

Medical
Insect repellent Incognito or Deet 50% min alternative £12
Sunscreen Riemann P20 Once a Day 10 Hours Protection SPF 20 Medium 200ml £19
Malaria tablets Doxycycline 100mg tablet/ day £0.07 each 4 months supply £20
First aid kit Compact First Aid Kit £2
Total £53

Grand Total

£1,600

I will be having a trial run with the full kit in the coming weeks and will write a review of my initial findings.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the individual kit selections there are well researched reasons behind every choice I made, which I’m happy to share.

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