Bikepacking - a viable alternative to racks & panniers

Got to preserve the wrist

PAH, BUSSSTED

When I'm doing a 'fast-and-far' commute I usually go for my apidura frame bag, and roadrunner burrito bar bag, with clothes rolled up. I take food in a small size tupperware that fits in the frame bag, but I keep cupboard-based carb options at work, along with shoes, complete emergency set of clothes, and other similarly overprepped stuff (we've all forgotten underwear at least once though, I'm sure)

My casual-and-direct commute bike has a porteur rack which is very useful but I really notice it in crosswinds

randoneur/racktop bag

+1. This is my set up for my commute. Can fit work clothes, laptop, waterproof, lunch, lock, a bunch of other miscellaneous shit, and a load of shopping on the way home too. Versatile as fuck.

I'm finding my carradice super c saddlebag spot on for laptop, lock, clothes, sometimes food and other various bitsnbobs

The time I forgot trousers was not ideal. Although my colleagues did find it hilarious.

Yeah, have had nightmares like that.

Ever run it on the front?

I've squashed it into a wald on a different bike before but no more than that. People get pretty inventive in the carradice thread if you want to look into that.

Planning on the Trans Cambrain late August and wondering what people do about water when slightly remote. I'll have a 500ml bottle and a 1l Nalgene. Worth carrying water filration / tablets / drops just in case I have to fill up from a stream? Or am I overthinking it?

You'll be fine but my touring companion always takes along a life straw just in case, and for the occasional fun of drinking out of a stream in the mountains.
https://www.lifestraw.com/

you'll be fine, there's water everywhere, streams are ok to drink

delicious in fact

You can get something absurd like 300-litres'-worth of water purification things on eBay for £5, I think one of the brands is "Oasis". They weigh nothing and you can take loads of them. Bonus, you'll be sorted if they shut the water off after Brexit and we're all forced to drink out of muddy puddles.

Watch out for heavy metals and that sort of thing, the filters and purification things just kill bacteria and viruses. If you're near old mines or whatever (there's a fair few in Wales) just be a bit careful about what you drink. (Same goes for boiling)

But yeah you'll be totally fine drinking from most streams.

Most filters can’t protect against viruses, only bacteria.

I'm trying to find out if the last few hundred metres of the south path from corrour station to staoineag bothy are passable by bike - google maps resolution not sharp enough. anyone got any resources to help with this? I can find plenty of examples of people walking the north path (on youtube etc) but don't want to have to cross the river on the standing stones...

edit: I'll probably just wild camp on the south shore of loch ossian. no availability at the youth hostel, sadly.

So I know this is something that has been thrown up in other examples of bike packing kit before and of course there’s the old adage: ‘everything’s been done’ but somehow this still pisses me off a bit. Stumbled across this company the other day: https://vapcycling.com

They literally only make two products and both of them are just complete rip off’s of other people’s fairly innovative designs but with dumb as shit names. Firstly their “Butterfly guns” handlebar harness system is just a copy of bar yak’s design and then their seatpack, the even more loathsomely named, “kangaroo guns” is a copy of porcelain rockets Mr. Fusion design.

Welcome to the bikepacking 'business'. :(

Yeh I steered clear of mentioning another such example involving someone’s saddle bag design and a well known company beginning with ‘R’ but rest assured I’m sure a lot of other people haven’t forgotten either! Excited to see what’s coming in the future from you btw!

It's the nature of 'business' unfortunately. The more popular and mainstream something becomes, the more the toe dippers drive production towards the manufacturers who have the ability to produce other peoples ideas for less. When half of the R&D has already been done for them, the market has already been built, and the ideas already perfected, all that's left is to cheapen the end product.
I was speaking with another bag maker the other day about this same subject. It's actually quite a shame to see how it affects those people who have been pushing things forward from the start, and invest so much time and money into creating truly innovative products, only to see them copied as soon as they hit instagram.
Not everybody wants to grow beyond a certain point and become a huge money making machine...but if you don't you eventually get swallowed up by those who do, or already are.
That's life I guess...but there are certain people who have been instrumental in creating what is practically seen as a whole new sport now, that most people who take part in it have probably never heard of. eg. Carousel design works.

Shand have jumped into the bag game . Expect a new launch in autumn.

Hopefully they're as nice as their frames!

It's the return of Wildcat.

Yep bought into like shand where by liberty.

we stock the “R” branded seatpack at my shop and it has just gone through it’s 4th re-design, maybe focus on your crowdfunding/rejuvenating BRP rather than trying to put the marketplace right.