My Genesis Croix de Fer

Firstly, Sorry for taking so long to get back to everyone with these answers.

I want them shorts.

Amazing stuff man, really nice seeing the bag get put to work.

I'm also favoring the idea of front loading too, the thing that clinched it for me was somebody likened it to 'pushing' the load from the front rather than 'pulling' from the back - which definitely appeals to me.

im sure a bunch of people here would love to see a gear breakdown, are you tarping/bivvying or tenting? etc!

Sadly those short have almost worn out, I've had the repaired a bit, but I've ordered some of this seasons ones.

Kit wise I haven't actually been sleeping outside, I've been lucky in that I've always had some some where to sleep.

I'm all for front loading, The push/pull thing definitely feels true to me. I'm going to try and use the two front panniers/rack bag as shown and then have a saddle bag/ pack for bulky yet light things.

I'm just about to start planning my summer expedition, I will probably be using a sleeping mat / tarp / hammock, I cant stand bivvy bags myself, I've always been a hot sleeper and they just turned me into boil in the bag meal.

You promised lots of ride reports!

Sorry Ed, no hablo ingles.

Spotter just wondering in the early pictures of your cdf you have a rear rack and since then it seems you've been front loading only. Just wondering if you found that the bike didn't respond to the weight back very well or are you just trying it out? Reading above I know you said that you prefer front loading now but just wondering if there were issues with the rear rack only. Have a rear rack and was hoping I'd get away with it and a small handlebar bag for a 7-10day (camping) trip. Views? Monsieur Scoble I understand your a deft hand in this kind of thing, is my above idea foolish?

Yes, I did used to run a Tubus Vega rack, and if i ever needed to shift a lot I would do it again, but for me I prefer the weight on the front. I've run a front rack on various bikes for 2 years now, I've always prefered the feeling of pushing rather than pulling, it makes the bike feel far less laggy and much more lively. I've been thinking of getting a stabilizer for this year, like this:

That being said, if I only had the option of a rear rack, It wouldn't be the end of the world at all.

http://theradavist.com/2014/06/e-r-t-z-u-film-rapha-continental-hidden-europe-holland/

Familiar? looks alot like your ride the other week!

It does, but by the looks of it they turned in land much sooner than we did, the coast was so nice we had to stick with it.

When we woke up at 6am to get the ferry the weather was appalling and we both had visions of us riding for hours in that kind of miserable rain. Thankfully it was fantastic sunshine, as you can see from the photos.