Bikepacking - a viable alternative to racks & panniers

Excellent, thanks!

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/500-smartphone-holder-black-id_8385553.html

What bluetooth earphone do you use out of interest?

Cambridge Audio Melomania 1

Amazing battery life and you can have either right or left as primary.

I have a Rab ascent bivi and Rab sil tarp 1 that are no longer needed if anyone is interested?

Seat post mounted bike packing bags - I saw a link once to a template to make a holder that the bag goes in. Cant find it anywhere...

Any help?

I did a prototype for a ripoff of the Wayward Lousie harness while back, used an Ikea cutting mat. A tad on the small side but seemed promising, other stuff got in the way, might pick it up again this summer. I can send you the Illustrator file / pdf / svg if you want?

2 Attachments

yes please - svg or pdf would be great thanks - i'll pm you now

Thoughts on putting this out for all the world to use? Design piracy or open sourcing?

1 Attachment

• drybagharness.pdf

Anyone got a source for custom-made hydration bladders? Cramming a rectangular decathlon one into the lower triangle of my frame bag has been generally fine, but it's been springing leaks an awful lot recently. A sweet triangular one would make way better use of the space.

PM'd

are the planet x podsacs actually any good? any one got much experience of them?

I'm thinking about this https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CCPDWSB/podsacs-waterproof-saddle-pack#reviewstab

for £30 it seems like good value compared to others I've looked at. It's initially more just to use on very long rides rather than actual overnight bike packing.
Aiming to break my self in gently to some overnight bike packing soon. So I'll eventually be looking at bags for the bars and frame too.

Does buy cheap buy twice apply here?
Are there better value alternatives to look at? I wont be doing overnight bike packing a whole lot. probably two or three times a year if i'm lucky.

My friend has one. It'll work, but it will sag and sway and be hard to pack perfectly. I have a smaller podsacs seat pack and it's pretty crap.

The more expensive stuff is better. But it's more expensive. They will both carry your gear.

Tbh I'm in the same boat as you, mostly riding hardly touring etc. But I wanted to support my local so when I went out j bought the bike bags they had in (miss grape, who you never hear anything about but I find fine) and I don't regret it.

If you feel like you can't put up with the low quality of podsacs (which is very real) then your best bet might be cruising the bay and the buy and sell. That said they aren't many huge bargains on the second hand market right now due to demand.

My opinion is that seat packs like that are actually pretty crap for long rides and that will be exacerbated by the low quality. If your use case is long rides with a bit of touring, rather than tours with a bit of long rides then get a second hand carradice (or even a new one, they aren't very dear and don't lose much value). It will be better for your use case unless you're truly shredding the single track. I have used my super c lightweight audax on credit card type tours and it has much much better access than my bike packing roll bag which is basically designed to be accessed once in the morning when you pack up and once in the evening when you unload rather than throughout the day.

It's decent for the money. It does sway quite a bit so you need to pack and attach it carefully. A friend of mine hadn't done either with his and his seatpost got damaged. I had to redo the tacking on some of the loops because it started to separate.

I've only used mine twice and then got a used carradice saddlebag.

is there a consensus on the best way to mount or strap anything to carbon forks that don't have mounts? Was going to use these and attach some sort of cage to attach lightweight items but not sure if it's a workable / sensible option. They don't look they'd sit properly on a bladed fork.

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/bottles-cages/sks-anywhere-bottle-cage-adapter/

If there are no cage mounts, don’t strap anything on it. End of.

If you are only going out three times a year just buy whatever is cheapest.

Yeah I think I've realised the linked planet x one probably isn't really going be ideal for the majority the riding I do. I've got zero knowledge of bikepacking gear and hadn't realised the access issue. I need something that I can get in to easily to grab a snack etc.

My riding is as many solo rides as I can get in through the week usually all sub 40 miles. But I've recently started going on a weekly long ride with my pal who's recently got into cycling. We tend to aim for 100 miles plus on a Sunday. A Carradice bag looks like it would be the better option for my needs the long Sunday ride. Something that I can chuck all my stuff into and have easy access to a sandwich...

When it comes to actually doing a bit of overnight bike packing, I think what @platypus says is true.
I've got a young family so my options for doing any significant bikepacking are limited for a good while yet. The planet x stuff seems like good option to buy cheap if I potentially only get to use it once a year for the next few years.

Id Chuck my vote in for Carradice;

Used apidura, Blackburn and Mack workshop bike packing bags, while the frame bag I’ll be happy to use an ortlieb one the saddle bags I find to be unsuitable for me.

Carradice is boxy, means you can fit stuff in super easy, large stuff too. Also easy to strap stuff on top... like kids shoes they decide they no longer want to wear!

It’s a different style, yes, but the duck cotton is bombproof and just add some patches for uniqueness.

I won’t go back to a carrot saddlebag, just not for me! If your packing light, squishy things just for you, great. But if you want to carry food in a box, anything that you would prefer to stay flat, anything not squishy go Carradice. - also recommend the bagman qr for ease of use and stability.

Swaying saddlebags are no fun

Thanks, I think I've made my mind up with the Carradice. The boxy shape is definitely what I need and being able to strap other things on top of if would be great.
I really like the different look of the Carradice. Looks a bit 1950s

The swaying of a different bag and straps potentially damaging frames is a concern. Right now I do all my road miles on a caad10. It's my nice bike.

I've got an on-one Inbred frame that I've been meaning to build for ages. When the time comes for actually doing some bike packing I wouldn't be as upset if the Inbred got some wear marks from bags on the frame.

If you're just taking tools and a tube, lunch, and a jacket, a Barley/Super C Audax is great, and would be ideal for a century ride. I use mine on a Carradice Classic Rack (needs a saddle with bag loops) but have found it's ok without a support, especially if you put some correx or similar inside the bag to stiffen it up. If you don't travel particularly light/want to take a picnic blanket/might want to use it to pick up shopping/want to use it for credit card touring, get a Nelson or Nelson Longflap; marginally heavier, but much more useable volume.

I’ve tried various packing setups and ou of everything I’ve tried and used the Carradice super C (big one) with a QR Bagman support is my favourite. Easy to pack, works as a satchel type bag with shoulder strap, easy to fit and remove, useful side pockets, rock solid.

The big super C is better than the Nelson long flap and other classic looking Carradice imo as the leather straps and metal buckles are a pita compared to plastic clips/webbing.

Just recently bought a lightly used big Super C for a (future) tour. It's a very functional size. I did a test pack and dumped most of my stuff in it (sleep stuff, clothes, tools) without even thinking and it still has space. Can even strap tent to the outside if it's starting to look full. My only concern is the bagman support, which some people say isn't suitable for rough roads. Hoping they actually mean gnarly singletrack/very skinny tyres and that I'll be OK.

Without supports, I found the bagman to flex too much with a fully loaded Nelson longflap. But since I've mounted the supports, it has been really solid.

With 10kg or so, I have had the bike airborne with no issues to date.