Bikepacking - a viable alternative to racks & panniers

Cheers. I heard theyre a bit smaller than the single ended bags, but I'd want one to go between drops as well and they look like they work pretty well.

Finally a bag I can catch fish with.

I've used Karrimor ones (sports direct). Seemed OK but only been inside an already pretty waterproof bag so not too testing conditions.

Ta. Picked up sea to summit at my local run bike climb ski emporium earlier. Good to know for future tho.

Anyone tried gorilla clips? addition of dropper thus loss of seat pack means I need some extra carrying space. How secure are they?

I haven't used Gorilla clips, but I can definitely recommend King Cage usb's.

They're available from here

Anyone want 2 x Blackburn anything cage

SOLD

maybe @mabrad ?

and also @xkittyx

This is how I was intending to fit the Salsa anything cages, seems simple and cheap.

I'd love the King Cage usb, but they are bloody expensive. I wouldn't mind to take a look at them if you are based in London though.

In the grand scheme of things the King USB's aren't really THAT expensive. People spend far more on new clothes, shoes...booze, fags, food etc that they don't even need.
Yet they'd rather bodge a bottle cage onto a fork in whatever way, and have a far greater likelihood of both the cage, and whatever is attached to it, working loose, and potentially ending up in their spokes, than spend a bit extra, once, on something that actually does the job well.
Maybe I just see these things differently. :)

PM'd

I have been working on a bikepacking rig lately.

• Restrap holster with Ortlieb dry bag (which needs a bit of adjustment). I have been very happy with this set up on the trips I have done so far.
  
• Alpkit Drybag (Airlok) with better straps
  
• Black Burn Frame bag size large. I am very impressed with the quality of this for the money. But the supplied webbing with Velcro sewn on is shit so I have order some 20mm double sided Velcro (a la what Alpkit uses).
  
• Alpkit Stem Cell.
  
  

I still need a hydration bladder and I am waiting for my new Surly ECR forks so I can mount my Salsa anything cage.

Bring on some adventures!

Solid setup! Blackburn frame bags look a great size/shape - interesting what you say about the webbing.

Thx.

1 meter at 3.50 gbp is just about enough to secure the bag (5 conecting points / don't be fooled by the black tape I have used temporarily to secure brake hose), but I have just ordered 3 meters as I am very impressed by the doublesided velcro and need it for all sorts of things.

2nd dibs pls

Nice bike hussleside

To you I'm "Hench Fellow"

You could think the same of a lot of simple items with a huge function, but that still doesn't remove the fact that they are simple, both in terms of development, manufacturing and actual material.
For example your house key has a vital function to let you in, but it's just a piece of metal shaped accordingly.

The King USB are a beautiful and clever upgrade to a standard hose clamp, but something inside me clicks when I see that one costs 6/9/12 times a standard clamp (with a similar tying capability).

I'll probably buy them.
#firstworldproblems and all that.

Edit: since I am using the midfork mount, the USB might not work anyway, because of the thickness of the tightening nut, it wouldn't come flush to the midfork mount.

But the thing is, someone else is getting the clamps in, threading and brazing the nubs on, getting the nuts, packing and posting them out to customers and dealers etc.
No matter how simple or easy they are to make, they're saving someone else the bother by doing it.
Unless you have the skills and equipment, or access to someone who does it's worth it for the lack of hassle, and the peace of mind that they've been done properly.
Unfortunately people's time costs money.

TBH I was surprised when I saw how cheap those King USB were.

I can weld and I (currently) have access to welding equipment so could make my own version for...

Right, I just went on ebay to see what stainless hose clamps in low quantities actually cost and I'm struggling to find them for under £1 each in low quantities, you can get them cheaper by buying in bulk but for individual use you aren't going to be doing that.

So, £1 for the hoseclamp, lets say 20p for a stainless bolt.

Velotastic.co.uk sell the King one for £5.99 so that's only 5x the cost of the materials and I haven't figured in the cost of the power to run the welder, the cost of the welding rod and gas, the time to cut the bolts down.

Plus the biggest factor, Ron probably knows a fuck ton more about welding than I do and his ones are less likely to snap and send the load into my wheel.

Bingo! :)
Then add in the fact that people have to be paid for shipping, importing, handling. . . Then the fact that shops have to make their cut from them too. . . It all adds up.
Business is bidniz after all.

Apols if this has been asked/explained, but I'm looking to strap a rather large sleeping bag to my bars, and it always rests on the levers/brake cables. Do you guys let stuff on the bars do that? seems like it would ruin them. This is on wide risers BTW.

Couple of photos of my bike for 9 days in Scotland.
It's mix of bikepacking and traditional setups I guess.
We got super lucky with the weather and the bike was brilliant.
Only issue I had, other then stacking it into a gorse bush, was I lost a bolt in the rear mud guard :)

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How far did you cycle?