Platypus S24O

[DavidP]

Intrigued by recent examples and talks of light touring on a Platypus (Leah, Diana H, Tim B), and spotting an opportunity to get out Tuesday evening in advance of the Juneteenth holiday, I packed two of my bikes up for a light weight, sub-twelve hour overnight with my son. Our destination was a local town owned forest with several primitive camp sites (no facilities) less than a 10-mile ride away.

This outing served a few purposes, 1) to see how the Platypus would fare with a light overnight load, 2) to see just how light a load I could get away with for two people (each with their own sleep setup), and 3) to see how my middle son (the one most interested in bike rides with dad), would take to pedaling his own load.

My Platypus carried my sleeping gear, stove kit (unused), bike tool kit, and a few bars for food (an advantage of waiting until after dinner to ride out). My son's bike carried his sleeping gear (using a seat pack and harness setup). Massachusetts is in the midst of a heat wave with highs near 100F and lows in the 70s, so we didn't need to pack extra sleeping layers and could use minimal bedding.

The Platypus did great - due to the minimal packing load my Happisack weighed under 9lbs and my Tunitas basket bag under 5lbs. My stem bag carried an extra 32oz of water (unused). My son enjoyed the overnight and is open to doing a longer ride (~30mi each way) out to a State Forest campground (with facilities!). We'll need to carry more food (and possibly layers) on that trip; putting a couple of more lbs on the Platy and using a frame bag on my son's bike should do the trick.

-Dave

[Steve]

What a great ride  - especially doing it with your son. Thanks for the report.

Steve

[Pam Bikes]

Great trip!  S24Os are great for trying everything out.  Lots of great campsites from local ones to state parks to nat'l forests,etc.  I've used my Betty Foy for light touring.  I've lived off my bike for 2 weeks at a time.  Thanks for sharing.

[ascpgh]

Most excellent! 

S24Os represent so much value and have weathered the time since named and promoted at Rivendell. They offer a taste, a trial experience and a low regret situation if some part of your prep or kit isn't right. It becomes the threshold of a whole new set of opportunities with your bike, especially for your son. Kudos for doing that for him.

Andy Cheatham

Pittsburgh

On Wednesday, June 19, 2024 at 7:36:33 PM UTC-4 DavidP wrote:

[Valerie Yates]

Nicely done! Gorgeous pics. You are lucky to have such a lovely place nearby. Your approach is great for building interest and confidence. Hope you enjoy many more adventures with your son and share the pics here.

[Tim Bantham]

Fantastic! And great that your son came along. I think the Platypus makes good sense as a touring bike. I'm planning to give mine a trial run. Yesterday I booked an Amtrak train from Albany to Utica, NY. I'll ride back East as an overnight trip. Total distance is a little over 100 miles. I want to give the Platypus a try before I do a week long trip on it. Thanks for sharing your S24O experiences.

Tim