[Closed] Bikepacking setups

There's a mega thread here:

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/sick-as-a-dog-so-show-me-you-bivi-bikepacking-adventure-racing-gear/

My #1 tip would be to join the Bearbones Bikepacking forum and spend a couple of hours/days going through some of the posts.

http://www.bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/

Don't rush to acquire kit. Strapping on some cheap bags and using a small rucksack will get you a long way.

Also try with what you’ve got and you’ll work out what you do and don’t need as you go on.

The temptation is to buy lots of stuff and take it all with you. That’s fine but once over the novelty you’ll likely find it’s all about trying to take less.

Planet X had a very cheap bar harness/bag combo that looked like it would be OK for starters. This: https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CCPODHBB/podsacs-waterproof-handlebar-barrel-bag

I have the podsacs kit. Its a bit heavy and maybe wouldnt last a round the world trip but for my couple of times a year use its been great. Solo bike packing with a tent will be tricky to make it fit I imagine.

I use apidura stuff. Brilliant quality and the seatpack and bar roll are drybags so great for clothing.

Biggest hurdle for me was a sleeping bag small and light enough, its where i spent the most cash.

Other challenge is water, i usually wear a backpack and it has mainly water in it! Got a saywer water filter for chrimbo so hopefully that can help.

You cam go crazy but i have been out with mates who just use a big cheap rucksack and get all the kit in there.

As Colin says, head over to the Bearbones site and forums - the "reviews" section of the site is a mixture of kit reviews, techniques and general thoughts.

Your two main enemies are weight and bulk. The easiest way to combat them is not to take stuff AKA TLS (Take Less Shi*). After that it's a case of picking your gear wisely which invariably involves spending much more for a lot less 😉 A case in point: an Alpkit Rig3.5 tarp weighs 300g and costs £50 (may be more now). A Trekkertent cuben fibre tarp of the same size weighs 125g and costs £140.

One easy tip is when you get back from a trip, put all the items you used in one pile and all those you didn't in another (ignore things like tools, spares, first aid kit). Next time don't bother taking anything from the second pile.

Bags: some people like the all in one style of saddle bag and handlebar bags, others prefer harness and dry bag. I'm in the latter as it's more flexible IMO. Here's my bike from a three day trip around Kielder Forest last week.

In the front (Revelate Saltyroll in a Wildcat Lion harness) is 2 man tarp, pole for tarp, bivy bag, inflatable sleeping mat, sleeping bag and quilt*, a day's food and a pan). Stem cells have mug with stove inside that and trail food. Downtube bag is tools, spares and fuel for stove. Bag inside frame is an Alpkit top tube bag, it has pegs for tarp, electricals, wallet and phone. Seat bag (Wildcat Tiger harness and tapered dry bag) is spare clothes, towel and a bit of food.

Water is easily dealt with: take one water bottle and a water filter like the MSR Trailshot.

* Both sleeping bag and quilt are rated to around 5C, together they are good to -6C which is more than enough for most UK conditions throughout the year.

@whitestone set up shoes the difference between someone who has done this a lot vs my set up. Someone who has only done it a few times. I love the minimalist set up going on up there.
This is my set up which I’ve used for 2/3 days around the Cairngorms

[url= https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4190/33907640504_50448de420_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4190/33907640504_50448de420_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/TEiwcs ]IMG_3755[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/66452821@N00/ ]ritcheyp20[/url], on Flickr

Bars: Alpkit harness with dry bag. Carries sleeping bag (where I could make the biggest saving in bulk) and clothing.
Framebag: Blackburn carrying Terra Nova Solar Photon 2. It’s actually smaller and lighter than two alpkit bivvy bags and alpkit tarp. Putting it into dry bags does however make it more bulky.
Seat bag: Alpkit carrying stove, food, some more clothing.
Plus camelbak with the usual bits in it using an inline filter.

Not sure if relevant to the op, but the two set ups above show how much more you can get on flat bars rather than drops.

Yeah - good point. One of the reasons I like my Revelate Harness rather than the all-in-one type harness/bag is that I can vary the size of the drybag I'm carrying. An Alpkit 13L bag works pretty well with drops, especially if you orient it so the load is projecting out the front.

[url= https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5596/14870782167_c43bddeffb_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5596/14870782167_c43bddeffb_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/oE5DrZ ]DSC_0143[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/druidh2000/ ]Colin Cadden[/url], on Flickr

[url= https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5587/14870568590_8702ca0483_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5587/14870568590_8702ca0483_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/oE4xXC ]P1010496[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/druidh2000/ ]Colin Cadden[/url], on Flickr

I posted shots of some of my various setups on this thread http://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=13712

Three reasons I prefer separate harnesses and bags:

1) If the dry bag gets damaged you can just replace it without throwing away the harness.
2) As Colin notes you can use a variety of bag sizes depending on your needs.
3) Packing and unpacking is much easier off the bike when under a tarp or in a bothy.

Well, tips you say...

A couple years ago I was in a similar situation and I posted this thread: https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/joining-the-bandwagon-275-bike-packing/

It shows my first years progress wrestling with the issues as we all do... and experimentation with tent, bivvy/tarp and single skin tent...

My more recent thoughts are already added to the bearbones thread that Whitestone linked to. But I’ll reiterate, I started off with the ortlieb seatpack/handlebar pack/accessory pack and I’ve replaced the front with a Revelate harness and salty rolls (for all the reasons stated by Whitestone). In my thread (above) I even state that I think harness would be the way to go.... 🤦🏻‍♀️

I will be replacing seatpack with the updated Revelate when Backcountry.scot gets them in stock. In addition to the reasons stated for the front the back has attendance to droop as it’s not that easy, for me at any rate, to get the thing packed up again tight enough when it’s on the bike (and I cba taking it off). The front harness also holds the bag off the frame better I find.

I was advised to join bearbones and that’s what I did.

Lots of helpful people on there and here (mostly the same people...).

I’ve done a fair few trips now and I find that TLS happens with experience. And you replace things when you find which way you lean. It’s not a cheap exercise if you get sucked into it. I have 3 tents, 2 bivvy bags, 2sleeping bags, 2 inflatable mats, 2 stoves, a Ti kettle and cookset, 3 Ti mugs....

Here’s my current set up (from last but one bivvy):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/77564901@N06/45569661195/sizes/c/

I should add that there’s nothing wrong with the ortlieb stuff, it’s all worked as it should (and still does).

Might be of use http://www.bikepacking.com/bikepacking-101/

Cheers, lots of great stuff posted here and the links I’m sure will help too once I’ve had chance to read them. Registered with bearbones forum earlier so will have a look there too.

I’ll definitely be using a flat bar bike. Currently only have a full suss mtb (Orbea Occam) and a roadie. The shock is nicely tucked up under the top tube on the Occam which does give reasonable space in the triangle if you had a suitable bag but I probably won’t end up using this bike. I’m eyeing up a hardtail when the cycle to work opens in March (not just for bikepacking). Current favourite is the Sonder Transmitter. I know the frontier is more suited to bikepacking but this bike will be used for a bit of everything, including local trail rides etc so happy to compromise a bit to have something that will be fun around the trails but can still cope with bikepacking and ive seen some pics online of people bikepacking with the transmitter.

Interesting debate about the harness vs bar bag. Will have to look into that a bit more and work out what will go where. I guess ideally I’d like the tent in a frame bag as it’s about 1.9kg and 40 x 15cm packed so be good to get that weight central, so then the mat and sleeping bag probably on the bars - I guess similar to P20’s setup, up there.

Anyway, lots to ponder, but this is great to get me going for now.

The shock is nicely tucked up under the top tube on the Occam which does give reasonable space in the triangle if you had a suitable bag but I probably won’t end up using this bike.

For a reasonably cheap bag in that space...
https://www.lomo.co.uk/acatalog/bike-frame-dry-bag.html

Great, thanks. I recall now you’ve got an Occam? That looks great if it fits and the hardtail option doesn’t happen. £23 seems great value.

Yes - it's a tight fit on my medium but definitely makes full use of the available space. I plan to use it for a bit of Enduropacking™ this year.

https://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/stu-taylors-highland-trail-550-ready-get-set/

Orbea bikepacking set up. Granted different frame, but another idea

Already ordered one thing after reading this thread,damn it!

Also just bookmarking to read the rest later.👍

+1 for Alkit and the Lomo bags. Not sure I agree with the comment above on getting more on a flatbar vs drop, there's still plenty of room.

My setup for a 3500km / 20 day trip on a MTB:

Vs a 300km / 3 day trip:

Not sure I agree with the comment above on getting more on a flatbar vs drop

Flat bars are longer so have more space for bulkier items, seems pretty obvious to me. You also have to be able to move the brakes in and out to change gear.
Could you run through the kit you had on the roadbike? As getting a tarp/bivvy bag and a sleeping bag on the bars seems good going, I presume you didnt take cooking kit?

Those cheap Podsacs barbags work fine once you've rejigged the straps. I've had one on the go since April, typically holding my cooking set-up, washkit and tent/pegs (but not pole), with flip-flops under the straps.
[img] [/img]
Mudguards make a big difference in terms of comfort and faff at the end of a long, cold or wet day.
[img] [/img]
It's worth pointing out, as others have, that there isn't necessarily a right or wrong way. Personally, I don't like lots of little bags hanging off a bike, and I'm used to carrying a small (20ish litre) rucsac on long day rides, so that's how I tend to do it - putting lighter bulk and stuff I need to hand in the rucsac, perhaps putting less weight over the front wheel than some.

Pretty well any bike can be used for bikepacking, some are more suitable but it's possible on what you already have. The bags/harnesses are transferable between bikes but obviously bespoke frame bags tend not to be. The Alpkit bikes are perfectly capable, either would be suitable.

Given similar conditions you don't need much more kit for a two week ride than for an overnighter but depending on restocking options along the route you may need more space for food and water. This is my setup for last year's HT550 which I'd hoped to do in under five days. I had an Alpkit Gnaro 3 litre bag on the front with all my bivy kit apart from the quilt which was in the seat pack.

When packing don't use the supplied stuff bags for soft items like sleeping bags as they take their own shape and cause gaps in the main bag, just shove stuff in. Similarly use the space in things like mugs rather than leave it empty. You don't have put all the parts of the tent in the same place, the poles can go across the handlebars whilst the fabric goes in a frame bag for example. I'll pack stuff that has to be kept dry like my quilt away from kit that can get wet - my listing above has the tarp in with the bag and quilt but it was there as insurance in case we couldn't get space in the bothies. If we had used it I'd have repacked differently afterwards.

@p20 - it's worth looking at backpacking for ideas in reducing kit (apart from the means of motion the two activities are very similar) and there's talk of "3 for 3", that is the big three items (rucksack, tent/shelter, sleeping bag) to weigh less than 3kg. For bikepacking maybe "2 for 2"? The problem for most is that unless you find a second hand bargain to get the light and compact kit you are spending quite a bit of money for something you might not use very much. Consequently most start out by getting something cheap or use what they already have - our first tarp was the Alpkit Rig3.5 and I made up some poles out of poles from an old tent cut down so that they'd fit into my partial frame bag.

Not everyone gets on with quilts, you also need a decent sleeping mat to use with them, but they are lighter and less bulky than an equivalently rated sleeping bag. For summer use I've a Cumulus 150, weighs just 370g. It just happens to cost £150 at the moment which looks like a lot of money but I've used it over 80 nights in the three years I've had it so actually a cheap per night cost. That quilt together with the Rig3.5, pegs, poles and an Exped sleeping mat come in under 1300g.

Quite a few manufacturers have jumped on the bandwagon in the last couple of years, one is On-One/PoD Sacs - http://bearbonesbikepacking.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-budget-bikepacker-pod-sacs-barrel.html For £20 it's worth a punt (sic) to help you work out what works best for you.

Could you run through the kit you had on the roadbike? As getting a tarp/bivvy bag and a sleeping bag on the bars seems good going, I presume you didnt take cooking kit?

Yep, on the roadie/cross bike I had, on the bars:
- Alpkit Airlock Dual 13 litre (just strapped straight to the bars)
- Alpkit Cloudbase camping mat
- 20 quid mountain warehouse bivy bag
- Some spare clothes

On the MTB, on the bars:
- Exactly the same Alpkit Airlock 13 litre bag but with the Kanga harness as over 20 days I just want to unclip and setup camp with minimum faff each night and riding singletrack the harness gave it a lot more stability
- Alpkit Pipedream 200 sleeping bag
- Alpkit Cloudbase camping mat
- Tent
- Spare clothes

I didn't take brew kit on the roadie, I did on the MTB but it was in the tail pack. (Again, Alpkit brewkit)

nobody using dropper posts? 🙁

nobody using dropper posts?

There's not many seatpacks/harnesses (yet) that work well with droppers. Of those I've seen, they are all Stateside manufacturers and I haven't seen anyone importing them so postage, import duties, etc. make the price quite high. Alpkit do a saddlerail extension (the Exo-rail) that is dropper compatible but I've not used it.

With a FS bike you've got two elements reducing the distance between tyre and saddle: the rear compression and the dropped saddle. Depending on frame size there might not be room for a bag in there. Hard to tell really. Of course you could set the dropper so it didn't fully compress so you'd get some of the advantages.

https://backcountry.scot/product/revelate-designs-vole/

As Bob says - there can be a serious restriction on luggage space once you take into account seat drop/wheel height and then possibly add-in (actually subtract) suspension travel. Might work if you are 6ft or so.

6'2 running on a Ti Soda, so no rear suspension to worry about.

Saw the vole, which is interesting if a little small. And not convinced by the alpkit thang.

I was pondering an exo rail with a collar on the dropper to restrict the drop. Any real world experience of the rail? I'd be more comfortable with a bit of drop.

I've used an exorail but only the once, it does make the bag very stable and would work fine with a dropper if you've got the clearance. I do intend to try it on the hardtail but on the full sus bike there is only approx. 100mm of clearance from the bag (seatpost fully extended) to the tyre, and my bike has 100mm of rear travel so its not going to work. On the hardtail however I'm going to try it with a collar to restrict the seatpost travel which should be fine.

metalheart said:

I will be replacing seatpack with the updated Revelate when Backcountry.scot gets them in stock.

I'm thinking of getting a Revelate Terrapin System 8l from backcountry.scot - is there an updated version of that imminent..? (For me this is for a B&B JOGLE on a road bike, so won't be carrying much at all.)

Saw the vole, which is interesting if a little small.

From the specs it's 7 litres, the yellow dry bag on my bikes above is 6 litres and is plenty big enough. I've a 10 litre bag as well and it's massive. On the HT550 I got this lot in the 6 litre bag:

• Spare cycling bib shorts
• Spare cycling top
• 2 pairs spare woollen socks
• 2 pairs spare gloves
• buff
• Microfibre towel
• Long sleeved thermal top for sleeping
• Thermal shorts for sleeping
• 20,000mAh Battery to recharge devices


 

I’m thinking of getting a Revelate Terrapin System 8l from backcountry.scot – is there an updated version of that imminent..? (For me this is for a B&B JOGLE on a road bike, so won’t be carrying much at all.)

The photos at backcountry.scot are of the new design. I assume that Andy has them in now.

Cool, thanks.

@gray: the 8L has been updated, the 14L hasn’t (yet). Or maybe Andy hasn’t been given stock of it yet. One of the two. I’m awaiting the larger version...

Whatever, the 8L is the new & improved version.... and Andy has in stock (I was looking at them the start of last month).

Ace, thanks. Looks like a nice piece of kit - think I'll order one. Eight litres seems sensibly small to stop me packing stuff that I don't need. Can always supplement with other bags if absolutely necessary, I'm not convinced that I'd want too much hanging off the back of my road bike anyway...