We had our trial run this last weekend, but had to change plans. As we were caravanning out to the Pleasant Ridge route a guy in our group blew his heater core. So after waiting for a tow truck and brining it back to a service shop, we were already 4hrs behind so we just opted to gear test on a local route.
Here's the debrief:
Bike (31 lbs base) depending amount of sealant
Trek Fuel 9.8 EX Size L
Bags and Storage (+4.5 lbs)
Revelate handlebar Harness and Egress Pocket w/ 20L Ultralight dry bag from REI.
Revelate Hopper frame bag, Ortlieb 16.5L Saddle bag w/ Topeak dropper post mount.
Revelate Mag-Tank and two Feedbags.
What I packed (Approx. 25 lbs) will be less on long trip
In the front stuff sack: I had my 6 moons lunar duo tent, REI Magma 30 trail quilt, bag liner, inflatable pillow, post ride change of clothes and a small bag for toiletries.
Egress pocket: Headlamp, luekotape, phone, map, two PB&J's and my puffy coat for quick access.
Mag-Tank & Feedbags: A bunch of goo blocks, mustard packs, skratch powder and two nalgene bottles.
Frame bag: Flask, tools and parts.
Seat bag: Sleeping pad, para chord, flip flops, ball cap, extra clothes, rain coat (not shown, but I just rolled it up and put in the elastic weave on top for quick access), sawyer water filter and extra collapsible canteens.
My frame has a hollow hidden compartment in the down tube, and I have a spare tube, tire wrenches, CO2 and extra repair kit stuff there.
Test Run & What I learned
The ride we did was 20 miles total with 1900' elevation gain, total seat time 3 hrs. Conditioning is on par with were it should be, and I felt pretty good after. I didn't really notice the extra weight on the climbs, just ended up using a lower gear than I normally would. Some of the steep parts were "just get after it" for sure, but not dreadful. Need to adjust the pressure in the shocks, the load was too high and shocks we're bottoming out so I didn't use them. Dropper post mount and lower saddle bag velcro strap doesn't clear and rubs the seat tube clamp when I activate DP, so I need to spin the clamp 180 so the clamp screw is on the front for clearance. The saddle bag rubs on rear tire when DP is all the way down, so has some limited travel. Also, saddle bag load was enough to prevent the DP from rising unassisted so I had to manually pull it up. Don't know yet if there is any adjustment I can do for this. I was worried the feedbags and cockpit bag would limit handlebar travel, which does to some extent, but wasn't a factor for how we rode. I think if we did any single track, it might come in to play, but I'll bring an extra strap or two to make any field adjustments.
The only part I wasn't happy with, and what I normally struggle with was nutrition. I ended up only consuming one package of blocks, and one PB&J during the ride which was definitely not enough. My garmin instinct said I burned 5900 calories that day, and I could totally tell the next day... ate like a horse. So I'm going to need to get used to downing more consumables during the longer trip. Also, for some reason I thought it was 170 miles, but it's actually 215. We're planning on running the test route again this weekend, but with the actual gear and additional 10 miles. I feel like we're training at a higher intensity and shorter interval than what we're going to have all day to do, so I think It's just a matter of nutrition and nursing the pressure points on my rear.