Bikepacking - a viable alternative to racks & panniers

:D It was late at night! that's hers "why the fuck did you turn all the lights on? are we going out for a walk?" Just moments after, with the NDS photo, she was still trying to adapt to the light

I'm a monster

ah, lurcher bitches, such lovely creatures

Polish company is bikepack.pl

UK companies are many but maybe focussed more on traditional bikepacking stuff (wildcat, alpkit). If you're after something specific try someone who can do something more custom made such as beerbabe. Restrap also do some stuff

Yeah, I've got the 57cm version so I lose a lot of triangle real estate compared to you.

I guess it's still an option for me but I'll need to build it up and have a look at how much room I have with bottles and knees and stuff before I proceed with a bag.

I used a Deuter frame bag during PBP which worked "ok", save for it not being secured at the bottom so it flicked left to right all the time.

Actually, I have the normal Kinesis 4S sitting at home without a rear wheel at the moment - I should just put that back together and test fit bottles to see how much room I have!

You can test the leg rubbing also, I did a simple test with bubble wrap around seat tube and headtube and around again, with some tape to keep it in place while on the indoor trainer.

Looking at the geometry chart, you'll loose 1,5cm of height and 1,3cm of lenght, but if you use some 750ml bottles instead of 1L you may get even more space since Camelbak 710ml bottles are 4,5cm shorter than 1L SIS ones. Anyway any storage space gained will be great to remove heavy objects (spares, phone, battery...) from the seatbag to avoid some wobbling when out of the saddle or in hairpin corners.

I just left enough room for the bottles to be open without touching the bag, no mental adaptation required to get them in/out even going full gas in the 9th hour to make the 10h objective.

Talking more about framebags... I was intrigued what could I store inside a rear triangle framebag like the one shown here between the seat stays and the seat tube... since my frame is so big, theres a nice space there. About the same size as a fuel pod but with a piramidal shape.

That set up looks like the most incredible faff to repack on your bike in the morning...

That is the nice thing about ortlieb panniers, they take all of 3 seconds to click back onto your pannier rack

Bikepacking does seem to lose it a bit when you've basically created a full-on touring bike. Saying that, when I toured I just left my cheap panniers on the bike and had thick (bag for life) shopping bags containing separate stuff that I'd pull out when setting up camp.

The point in bike packing is travelling light and minimal.
That bike misses the point.

*I get they're just displaying their whole range of products stuffed with newspaper.

That is the trick though. Taking less stuff so there's less stuff to pack. The smaller bags are useful for things you need to have but hopefully not use - tubes, tools etc

OK, I have more room on this frame than I imagined.

I'll post pics in a bit.

Where did the cafe dropper come from (I've seen them in Oz, I use an Elite cage with lower holes normally)? I will need to space it out to clear band-on derailer.

I measured the Deuter I used in PBP and it's 5cm wide, so 4cm should be OK for me.

Anyone got UK custom framebag stitcher links? Do those Inui design guys deal with English speakers?

Restrap, can inquire if you want?

How quick do you need it?

Bike isn't built yet so I doubt I'll be needing it for BCM600 in two weeks but if you know 'em and could find out if they'd do it that'd be useful.

Nate says he's happy to make whatever you want. Drop him a line on sales@restrap.co.uk if you want to discuss specs.

If you're worried about space you could also get a full size bag with a port for a Camelbak. Alpkit do them

I've had to order some of the Mount Skidmore bottledropperthings, couldn't find anywhere in the UK.

Considering ordering some alu strips... have dremel, taps and drill... how hard can it be...

I also supplied them! :)

They are narrow, only about 5mm or 11 if you need save the ring of the 'front derailleur' or your bottle cage was completely flat.

You can drop 5cms the cage...

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Not very ;)

Piece of alu from scrap yard for free, drill and tap.

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A photo..

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No thanks. Without bottles I'd have nothing to throw at idiotic drivers and/or dogs.

Cheers. Do they have form when it comes to frame bags, etc. think I've only seen their toe straps.

Considering ordering some alu strips... have dremel, taps and drill... how hard can it be...

I have a @scherrit. I'm sure he'll be frothing at the mouth as soon as I mention an opportunity to dremel something :)

How much are those, Carlos?

Will they clamp over the band-on derailler shown below?

I guess I could file the section near the derailler but it's probably safer to run longer bolts and some washers to space it away from the frame.

This was custom sized to fit my Croix.

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Yes you can use the cage dropper avoiding the derailler clamp just using a washer between frame and adapter. I used the washer that comes with a presta valve to screw it on... just the right size, light and anyone has some lying in the sparebox

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