Bikepacking - a viable alternative to racks & panniers

Anyone looking to sell a Alpkit stem cell, or similar?

I've been really impressed by the decathlon one so far, seems sturdy with good stitching.
Worth checking out for a fiver https://www.decathlon.co.uk/fabric-bottle-cage-id_8487122.html

Me too. For a fiver it's hard to find any faults

That very much fits into my budget. thanks.

Anyone looking for a ‘bottle cage mover’, I found this on eBay and I’ve ordered one.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F152639344385

Appears to be a knock off version of the shimano one but in 6061, I’ll report back if it’s any good!

Also used S2S ultrasil bags and they've been good.

I'm about to order some of these but slightly confused about how many and what sizes I'll need.
I have a 1l TT Bag, a 3l In frame bag and a 17l saddle bag.
Do I need one for clothing, one for electronics etc or one that corresponds to the size of the bag I'm trying to protect. Ie a 1l s2s for the 1l TT bag?

I have had around 10kg in mine with no swing what so ever, but you have to be aware that it gets very rear heavy. I've used it to take my mac with shoes etc underneath, a file on top and a jumper packed over the top. I think they are amazing bits of kit, very liberating being off the back.

Buy for what you're putting in them.

I think I have their two smaller ones. But then I normally just use ziplocks for most stuff.
Electronics for the smallest and the bigger one keeps my down bag. Maybe the next bigger size for sleeping bag but my bag has it's own.

You know it’s there but no issues with the weight and I don’t feel any swinging. It’s not the heaviest weight I’ve carried on the bag and I don’t experience any noticeable side to side.

Ta, have ordered a couple of 1l and 2l bags.

I just read a thing saying that a goon bag (silver bag out of a box of wine) works as a pillow. Probably pretty light. Wondering if @hippy or any other Aussies have ever tried it? Bonus, you get to drink the wine.

Yes, it does 'work' for a given value of work.

You need to make sure the valve is pointing down and there's not much air in them.

Best idea ever.

1. free wine
   
2. extra emergency water storage bladder thing
   
3. ultra-light pillow
   
4. reflective foil to keep you warm
   
5. minuscule pack size
   
   

I'm trying it

My bikepacking is mostly racing so 2L of wine ain't that useful.
#4 is bare jks fam (sorry, i've found myself watching the big narstie)
#5 they have big valves so don't pack that small
#1 ok maybe the wine is a good idea

This looks very cool, I'm going to trace it rather than paying up for Strava

Try to find someone who did the whole event route - we went wrong a couple of times. Wouldn’t want you to miss any nice gravel sections.

what was the event? not graveldash?

Yeah, Dorset Gravel Dash. I grabbed it off Strava - someone who did it in 2015. Ended up following each of his wee stops down side roads.

ahhaha not totally ideal. I'll tidy up the U-turns

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/27499732

(take your pick: https://ridewithgps.com/find#search/0/search%5Boffset%5D=0&search%5Buser_id%5D=&search%5Bstart_distance%5D=250&search%5Bstart_location%5D=London%2C+Greater+London%2C+GB&search%5Bkeywords%5D=Dorset+Gravel+Dash&search%5Blength_min%5D=0&search%5Blength_max%5D=500&search%5Belevation_min%5D=0&search%5Belevation_max%5D=10000&search%5Bsort_by%5D=)

^ this guy. Not just good for routes across Europe.

Hippy to the rescue!

We started in Blandford so we could camp near the beach and split it in two. Look at my Strava start point - that’s a free little car park you can use for a couple of days and is literally on the route. If you want a dip, skip the sea and wait for Moreton - there’s a beautiful river and some rope swings!

Where do you think I steal all my TCR routes from? You don't think I'm riding around in circles across Europe because I spent days and days planning my route... :S

Banging. I was only over that way recently, but last minute opted to take the motorbike instead of a pedal cycle. Still nice but not the same.

Too hot for leathers right now. Although the river has a ford so you could bosh straight through for a refreshing spritz. I rode through and my bottom bracket, wheel bearings and chain loved it.