Bikepacking - a viable alternative to racks & panniers

That’s basically what I’ve tried but the rubbing either on my legs or carbon frame concerns me a bit

Ha. I mean, they’re light but they don’t exactly pack down do they? Also, I did say I’m travelling for social purposes...

Some of the vivo barefoot stuff will squash flat but is on the pricey end of the spectrum. I might still have a referral code if you are interested.

The EVA Birkenstock’s are about 250gms a pair, If you get on with sandals... pack smaller than crocs..

I've heard some people use these water shoes because they weight about the same as flip flops and squish down nicely:
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/snk-100-ad-aquashoes-coral-id_8545420.html

But my preferred touring option right now is these trainers because they weigh absolutely naff all and look and feel like normal shoes:
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/run-100-shoes-id_8351755.html

The body is pretty soft so if you strap them together they don't take up too much space.

https://xeroshoes.com/shop/product-category/sandals/sportsandals/

https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/xero-terraflex

I looked into this kind of thing when TCR started introducing gravel/walking sections but never committed to a pair of anything and just ended up trashing my cycling shoes. :S

Or just search for "foldable hiking shoes" there's a few options out there. They obviously tend to be lighter and more compact that any normal shoe.

Ah yeah I think I remember following that storyline on the TCR thread!

Cheers everyone, I think xero/vivo might be the thing. I had been starting to turn towards the Vivo things aesthetically but I do wish they’d stop all the honeycomb business and make something nondescript

Haven’t racked up enough lifetime mileage to qualify for sandals I don’t think

Nike Flyknit racers weigh virtually nothing and flatten pretty well

Could do with some insight on carrying a bladder in a frame bag. I see two options, either keeping it as low as possible but not having practical space around it or putting in a horizontal divider but having it higher up. I'm inclined to go for the latter as I think it would be easier to take it out for filling and the lower compartment could be used for tools and the like, but not sure if I'm missing a glaring downside to keeping it there. This is a 2 liter bladder from Decathlon, doesn't seem great but should do the trick until it springs a leak (an argument for not having stuff below the bladder?).

This framebag will go in my Kona Unit, so it's going to see off-road use too if that makes any difference.

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YMMV but I found it easier having a bigger bladder that was half full.

Reason being when smaller bladder was full it wasn't that flexible but a half full bigger one could be bent and squished.

Makes a lot of sense, looking at other bladders I'm also not a fan of the rigid closure of the Decathlon bag. Can't return it anymore and not going to chuck it, so it'll have to do for now. Any thoughts on the high or low position?

I tried both positions ended up with horizontal divider and bag lower.

That was basically my set up when I did Pacific North West. It was fine but you do need to make sure you get the saddle bag on really tight so the dry bag on top doesn’t push the saddle bag into the wheel / mudguard. It can feel a bit wobbly until you get the knack, but so much more aero than panniers

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Alright cheers, will go for the divider and keep it in the upper department until I get a different bladder then.

On the other shoes angle I took a pair of old fly knits took off the big rubbery sole and put on a thinner sole for when I went on a week tour. Mine were a bit of a bodge but could be done quite nicely if you had the time.

Good work!

Doing a little prep for badger / second city divide trip next month.

Managed to get 2man tent, pad and quilt into front holster for the first time. Usually I would pack them all up separately and end up in varying places around the bike.

Rolled them up with the tent and compressed together. Not sure how realistic a solution this would be this would be outside the confines of my garden and perfect weather were having atm.

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Just the balance of how the bike rides will be the issue

Generally best to keep dry (bag, mat) and potentially wet (tent) kit separate. If you keep them all together like that, make sure you have some form of waterproof barrier around the tent. Another of those blue plastic bags should do the trick.

Ideally I'd like to mount stuff on the forks but unable to. It is rather heavy on the front end, I've had all of this stuff on the front before just not compressed together so sure it wont handle too differently.

I'm sure i'll feel much less inclined to pack it all together when it's pissing down. Will try and wrap pad and quilt together as you suggest and keep separate.

On the topic of shoes: these adidas / five ten slip ons have a collapsible heel, would imagine they pack down pretty flat.

These look great, have ordered a pair. £42 on wiggle

Decathlon seems to have stopped selling their £5 special stem bag :(

they've got a full fat bikepacking range coming ou sometime in the future so maybe that's why.

Shame though. Was worth it for the rubberised straps alone.