Bikepacking - a viable alternative to racks & panniers

Yeah!
+enNiclas, It's pretty good, mostly carries my everyday locks and I leave the bag on the bike, but works for lunch, or beers, or spares/repair kit/food on rides, also works as a crossbody bag off the bike and fits a small camera setup. I wasn't sure about the closure system but after using it it's easy enough to open and close with one hand while riding.

Not as cool looking as the outer shell or other more boutique bags but definitely does the job for the price👍

I rekon it might a bit smaller than the outer shell tho so depends on your needs, if it was only for my camera gear I would go for the outer shell with padding or some bigger one like this
https://dyedinthewool.eu/products/the-everywhere-bag
or even larger like this https://dyedinthewool.eu/products/camera-bag

Anybody here got a pro tip for packing / compressing down sleeping bags?

I have a pipedream 400 which allegedly will compress to 19x14cm, which volume-wise should mean it fits in an Apidura fork bag, but I have found this to be impossible

Get a stuff sack?

Just put one end it, start ramming it in, then roll the top closure a little, then put your weight on it and compress down while it vacumes the air inside.

This was basically my intention for the fork bag, since it’s really just a roll top bag, but it wasn’t happening. I tried the seatpack instead and the bag took up the entirety of the 7L so i think I’m just being shit.

Are tapered stuff sacks a thing?

Alpkit used to sell them with nifty compression sacks. I got an identical one from SnugPak (size small) after I lost the original.

I've found my blackburn drybag with a valve to be invaluable for packing. It's an extra point of failure but means you can really squeeze down a drybag/stuffsack while rolling up the closure and then close the valve, locking it in.

This might be a long shot but I'm setting off for an overnight (my first bikepacking endeavour) at the end of next week and before I start spending loads of money on kit (which with any new venture seems to the the habit/risk, and there are lots of good recommendations on here) I'm wondering if anyone on here has a saddle pack (I'm guessing around 11/13+ litres) that they think is good and would consider lending me for a couple of days so I can try it out before investing? I'm in Hackney, would take absolute care (and the weather looks good), and happy to pay rental in beer / pastries / whatever / leave a guarantee...drop me a PM if there's any chance. Cheers everyone.

Roswheel frame bags are v.cheap on Amazon; I think it's a price glitch. I got one for £16 last week, about £45 cheaper than everywhere else. It's gone up a bit now but it's still cheap. Seem good quality and medium fits a medium topstone perfectly.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08KCJPFFR

Borrow is always cheaper than buy.

A @hippy would recognise the benefits of collective ownership / shared resources. Ended up buying one, which I guess means that I too will have one mostly sat in a cupboard / until I can get away again, and that I'm quite but not totally satisfied with. Ha.

Last weekend’s leisurely overnight trip in the Chilterns, the cheap planetx saddlepack delivered.
Beer can stove + aeropress efforts by @coot

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bike touring and wild camping with hybrids, the best thing ever :~)

First trip of the year, 3 dayer with plenty of hiking in the Mendips. Awful pic of the Diamonback loaded up with extra kit expecting wet weather, only got wet the last mile back home to Bristol. Can't wait for the next one.

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Anyone have any knowledge of this? Appears London based and looks a neat solution to a drooping bar bag
JackTheBikeRack

Those bottles are brilliant 😂

Are you allowed to make campfires in the woods?

Some quick iPhone snaps from some camping in the Yorkshire dales last weekend. Definitely taking 33mm tired bikes where they shouldn’t go but that’s all the fun right? Even with a little hike a bike. An okay tarp set up with my limited 4 pegs and bungee as I forgot all the mounting equipment for mine. Comfortable 8 hours sleep but definitely needed that huge panic buy sleeping bag.

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no. you’re not allowed to wild camp either but I believe I have enough experience to do both sensibly / safely?

need a tarp - what is this one?

tired bikes

I've definitely been on some of these

I think it’s this
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/trekking-2-seasons-tarp-trek-900-grey/_/R-p-305779
It’s a couple years old so looks slightly different to the link. I’ve never used it with walking poles but it’s done me well a few times over the years and packs nice and small.

Also the decathlon sleeping mat shown gets my vote if anybody is interested. Often see people asking for opinions on here.

thanks! looks like it might be the ticket

cool pics @tom-g and @meneer

Yeah, it's my mate's company/project. He used to design hardware at Rapha and then designed a lot of the newer Roswheel stuff while working there (in Shanghai).

It fits with no tools at all, just clever design. Went for a bumpy off road ride with him in Epping recently while he was testing it and it was impressively solid.

Has anybody used any of the Jobsworth/Planet X stuff?

I’m after some cookware and a stove and this looks decent value. I know that doesn’t necessarily equate to it being good but as long as it gets me through a couple of trips, I’ll be happy enough.

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/BNGRANDDAY/a-grand-day-out-bundle