One of my many plans for when this lockdown is over is some credit card touring... 100k of canal/greenaway pedalling, get to a hotel/B&B, a few beers and a meal, and home the next day. Don't expect to be massively loaded, will use my Vulture and the frame bag (Blackburn Outpost) I already have, but will need a bit more capacity for a change of clothes, so either a saddle or bar bag needed.
Like the look of a restrap saddle pack - but would a bar bag be better?
Before bar bags were strapped on I used a bar bag that clipped on and off. I still prefer these for road riding but maybe they aren't as fashionable these days.
Example here, £45 with Google code "Outdoor-20"
I usually run my map on the top and when I get to a cafe etc I click it off and take it with me. It has all my valuables in it.
You can get quite a lot of kit in them. One of the benefits is the lid is usually velcro, magnets, etc so you can open it while riding and grab stuff to eat without having to stop.
Yeah, the restrap saddle bag is similar, in that it's a drybag that slides out of a sleeve, so easy to take with you, that ease of use is important.
I guess my question is more about handling - given the choice, would you have a bag on the bars or the saddle?
I've ordered one of these from restrap for such duties:
https://restrap.com/collections/bar-bags/products/bar-pack.
Saddle pack is for stuff you don't want to mess about with all day - like camp clothes etc.
Once I've got it cinched down and not swaying I don't want to open it 🙂
I’d run a saddle bag before a bar bag.
Bar bags are great for being able to fish stuff out of while riding and taking with you and stuff, but they do affect handling much more. I really struggle to no-hand a bike with a bar bag.
Also, often have to compromise on lights with a bar bag.
I prefer a bar bag, but it does affect handling, and it does make front lights a little trickier compared to seat pack.
A mate has an ortleib bar bag which has a separate bracket, it can be unclipped in seconds.
That works really well.
Is a frame fit bag a possibility?
Even heavier loads have little effect on handling with one of those.
Edit: note to self, read OP thoroughly next time 😂😂
I'd go bar bag over saddle bag for said mentioned handling traits!
I suppose the question is what will you be carrying?
Frame bag for tools/spares/snacks/wallet? (Maybe an emergency waterproof?)
So the other bag is just going to be for your overnight clothing, a pair of lightweight trainers/shoes rolled up in trousers, undies & top maybe some spare socks?
That makes for a pretty oblong rolled and packed shape so might suit a bar bag a tad better?
Of course if you're not taking a 2nd pair of shoes and can pull of your riding shoes in the restaurant/pub then a smaller clothing pack might stuff into a tapered seat pack a little better perhaps?
I always go saddle bag over bar bag as its easier to install but the bigger the bag the bigger the movement and if its heavy it moves even more.
But I'd go frame bag first, then top tube bag, then saddle bag and if I need more space bar bag.
Alpkit joey and a sturdy drybag is a cheap and useful way to get reasonable capacity for clothes on the bars. I bought one as a ‘starter’ kit years ago and haven’t felt the need to change.
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My thinking was "cycling" kit in the frame bag (rain jacket, gilet, spares, pump, etc), phone/sunglasses/wallet in a top tube bag, and only remove saddle/bar bag for overnight (clothes, toothbrush, etc).
That’s how I’ve tended to do it when touring (I’d call it far too relaxed to be bikepacking, but I prefer that style of luggage and light packing). A dry bag on the bars is a really cheap way to get started, easy to remove and pack and you can change the bag to bigger/smaller as you get used to what you want pretty cheaply.
If you go for a seatpack, the holster style ones with a separate dry bag are a lot easier for what you’re talking about- my OH has a holster model and I get really jealous when she hop an have everything back up in two dry bags in the tent whereas half of my kit has to be packed into the seatpack while it’s on the bike.
Generally heavy and dense stuff in a frame bag, light and bulky in bar & saddle bags. That affects handling the least. Obviously sometimes you have to put heavier stuff (like food) somewhere other than the frame bag. Stuff you want, or may want, on the ride such as food, waterproof, tools should be easy to access.
Harness and bag setups are more versatile than the all-in-one type for the following reasons:
* can be packed/unpacked away from the bike as noted by @swanny853
* you can use different sized dry bags depending on what you need for the trip. 5-10L in the saddle harness; 5-20L on the bar harness as examples.
* if the dry bag gets damaged, you just need to replace that bit not everything.
Just did a bivy last night, had about 1200g in the bar bag and 800g in the saddle bag, The bar bag had all the bivy kit in there, clothes and mug/stove were in the saddle bag. Odds and sods were in the stem cells but they were only about half full.
Generally I have a couple of "systems" depending on time of year/what I'm taking/what I'm doing. I try and keep my bivy (or night) stuff in a separate bag that won't be accessed during the day.
For the OP's credit card touring a 5L saddle harness/bag should be fine for the summer months. Either go barefoot at the accommodation or get some cheap foot protectors that wild swimmers use. If you actually thought about what you were taking, you'd struggle to fill a 5L bag.
Saddle bag before bar bag for me. Especially if there are any decent rocky descents etc.
Btw the cheap pod sacs one from planet x is pretty good. I have the large version and use it on my gravel bike when taking a bit more stuff.
I've also got a wildcat one for smaller loads.
Lomo make a decent, cheap saddlebag.
Thanks all, some useful food for thought. I'll be on flat pedals, so unless soaked, I should be OK with the shoes I ride in. Overnight kit would be very light t-shirt/shorts, a packable insulated jacket, and a change of underwear/socks. I'm too old to start roughing it too much 😁
We did the king alfreds way in October to squeeze in some sort of adventure before winter/COVID shut everything down again. Two nights, very much in the spirit I think you’re describing- premier inn one night and staying with friends another. I had a frame bag and my normal backpack, OH had a dinky dry bag on the bars on top of that. I’d have thought you could get that kit list in a camelback? Heavy stuff in the frame bag to keep the weight off your back, lightweight but bulkier stuff squished in up top.
I originally started using a bar bag, but for the last 12 months or so I have swapped over to the Restrap smallish saddle bag. Its much better than the bar bag IMO.
