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all the bivi talk on the forum has wet my appetite, I've got most of the kit (tarp, bivi bag, sleeping bag and mat etc.) but was wondering on how to carry it on the bike?
Don’t’ want to use panniers (my current rack won’t fit on my mtb bike anyway) so I was thinking of a rack that attaches to the seat post without actually connecting to the frame, any recommendations please?
My mate Mike, whe's on the Tour Divide, is using military-style pouches and drybags strapped onto handlebar and saddle/seatpost, seems neat, light, stable and unobtrusive, though you need light and compact kit to do that effectively.
Two on the bars, one on the post.
The only comments I heard about post mounted racks after this years WRT were along the lines of ... I won't be using one of those 'F' ing things again.
My own experiences are along the same lines. As BWD says, much better to strap things to the bike in drybags, etc.
There are a number of seatpost mounted racks, friend of mine used the topeak one on the Welsh Ride Thing, you need to do the clamp up really tight to stop it moving/swinging about. Worked fine, no issues at any point with it.
Or there are a number of designs for large seat packs around
https://www.revelatedesigns.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=store.catalog&CategoryID=4&ProductID=1
Then a dry bag strapped to the bars, can use basic straps or something a little more refined like the excellent harness from Wildcat
Have a look at www.bikepacking.net for some ideas etc....
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Sleeping bag strapped to bars, sleeping mat along toptube, sleeping bag liner in bottle cage. My bivvy bag screws up to a fist-size so goes in my backpack with clothes and food etc.
I use a proper rack and panniers for bigger trips so that I can take more food and clothing.
I used an Ortlieb dry-bag attached to the handlebars with a couple of straps and it worked perfectly. Also a large Ortlieb saddlebag and a rucksack. Cheap and cheerful worked for me!
Check my previous posts for some photos.
Seat post racks are heavy, a poor design and weak. No point to them when you can just strap small dry bag under your sadlle or get a large seat pack. Just have a hunt though the bivi thread on here for photos and the links above.
Sorry ... obviously I'd not spoken to Nicks mate at the WRT 😉
There was a post on here about buggybags recently, making a frame bag for £50.
Stuart, my mistake he didn't use it this year, was last year (on a Specialzed Enduro), this year he had a proper rack.
Beam racks clamping to seat posts are complete waste of time unless you''re just bimbling out with the family for a picnic. I bought the topeak mtb one and it almost runined a trip around the Cairngorms.
Whereas the revelate frame bag is superb, i'll be getting more of their stuff for my next trip.
in my experience a seatpost mountain rack will work fine for road touring if you're careful with the weight (and weight distribution) on it - but any bouncing about off-road is not going to be good at all..
there's a few bar-mounted ideas in that massive bivi thread that i like the look of (for bigger items) - a bracket coming off the steerer etc..
While I've not had a problem with a seatpost rack for backroads touring. I'll be ordering Revelate gear when the dude is back in the office. Borrowed a mates & it is the business.