Bikepacking - a viable alternative to racks & panniers

Compared to what I thought airbeds cost!

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/forclaz-air-inflatable-camping-sleeping-mat-red-50cm-id_8298497.html?iv_=__iv_p_1_g_35592448979_c_152710109881_w_pla-158289818216_n_g_d_c_v__l__t__r_1o4x_pla_y_15177021_f_online_o_1792116_z_GB_i_en_j_158289818216_s__e__h_1006886_ii__vi__&gclid=CKfjk8XcsNMCFewW0wodQdgLgA

I have one. It's great.

Thermarest are great, but not the smallest when packed, I just need a bit of insulation and softness, not camping in the coldest months anyway..

I have an old Thermarest 3/4 kicking around. I used it for 4 months of touring and it's sat around ever since.

Not the smallest but pretty damn small and a lot warmer, more comfortable than the ultralight Klymit stuff. I never did get one though, I just slept in hotels or on the ground. If I was touring I'd get (another) one.

Cool. Looks kinda nice considering it's so close to the city.

@spotter no real plan, just feeling it out

I've got a thermarest venture. About 500g, cost about 50 quid but it's so comfy I use it as a spare mattress at home. Packs pretty small. Seems to be quite robust too. The further up the lightness scale you go, the more fragile they look.

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/wolf-tooths-system-b-rad-will-help-you-ditch-the-hydration-pack-49694/

Looks ridiculous, frame bag and hydration bladder makes so much more sense.

There are advantages/disadvantages to both.

This is useful though. Utilising the unused space in the bottom of your front triangle to take some tools out of your bags

That's why I sent to giofox since he was asking about filling that bottom triangle space.

There's advantages to the multi-bottle system too.

Ah yeah I see now. I think it's a good solution personally. It's good to have options

I think it's not optimized, if you just need to carry a spare tube down there you can just tape it, or even better wrap it around and tie it. I want the whole tool bag down there, with side access.
The long brackets are useful to move around the bottle cages, but not cheap.
The double bottle mount is bogus, unless you have chopstick thin legs, I don't see how that won't get in the way when people struggle with the width of frame bags alone. I'd use longer screws, mount the single cage on it, and use the side holes for fitting other things (some tools perhaps)

People struggle with frame bags because of thighs/knees.
I think depending on the position of the cages, the side bottles might end up in front of your shins and not cause interference. Possibly not though

I think I hit my single cages with my shoe at least once, let alone double with that arrangement.

There are plenty more better solutions to fit extra bottles on a bike

Tape is sticky, normally single-use, disposable and not swappeable between bikes. Once you use a spare tube what do you do with the flat one? Ditch it? No thanks. Tying it down is better but still a bit of a faff and doesn't cover as much of the tube, this option is more protected.
Cost? Meh :) Anything related to bikes is £free :)
The double cage is just another option. I know some people who have already used their own version of that kind of double cage so there's definitely a small market for it.

FTFY: There are plenty of solutions to fit extra bottles on a bike and this is another.

I wouldn't use tape either, I grew up using old tubes as bungees, so I'd have a piece of an old one cut and use it to tie a spare one to the bike. Very swappable between bike, non sticky, no need of bolts/holes, cheap and can make many from one single old tube. ;)

Edit: I obviously wouldn't ditch the old tube, that's just more bungees!

Or another tube to patch and use again, if it's a long ride with lack of bike shops.

Yeah sure, I only ditch a tube if it has 6/7 patches or holes to big. But not the point here.

I think I will just use a top tube bag for tools, and place it against the saddle

Like the Revelate Jerrycan?

Indeed, or the cheapest iteration of that design

I like Revelate, it's spendy but nice stuff. Maybe I should've got Restrap to use some red highlights so all my bags match again? ;)

Bikepacking fashion >>>>>>>