[Closed] Sick as a dog so, show me you Bivi / Bikepacking / Adventure racing gear.....

Vegan sausage?

Sausage is optional 😀

Right ho.... I am now the proud owner of a bag of Alpkit stuff; MTM frame bag, seat pack and s&m style handlebar harness for an existing 12l dry bag.

What do people pack where and do you camelback as usual? Any tips n tricks gratefully received.

I'm a died in the wool pannier man so this is all a bit weird. Best leave in the dark for my first foray lest anyone spots the weirdness 🙂

I tend to pack related bits and pieces together, so sleeping bag, mat, bivy and tarp on the bars, spare clothes in seat pack, food and cooking kit in frame bag and tools and snacks in a small top tube bag. I like to ride without a rucksack but have used a Camelback bumbag to carry water and a waterproof.

I like to have plenty of dry bags in varying sizes to organise stuff so it's easy to find. This also helps to keep wet stuff separate from dry stuff. Packing a couple of supermarket carrier bags is always a good idea.

After a couple of trips, I have sorted what I need now, and what I don't, you'll be the same. As for camelbak, no, I try not to use it as often as I can, I cable tie a bottle holder on the top tube and plan on getting one of those ones that CTBM sells that go on the top cap. 2 bottles is fine, I have no qualms about drinking from a burn when in the sticks.

Pretty new to this but had a great couple of weekends away so far - one of them at the Welsh Ride Thing.

I've got a Wildcat seat and bar harness and a Revelate small framebag. "Modular sleeping system" TM 🙂 (bivvy bag, sleeping bag and liner) plus poles goes on the bars. Shelter and some stove bits go in the seat pack. Tools, tubes, miscellaneous heavy bits go in the framebag. Clothes go in a rucsac along with a bladder and snacks.

Tried an Alpkit bar harness but didn't work on my bike (soon to appear on the classifieds ) - would be fine with a taller front end. Bit more on this thread .... http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/bikepacking-colour-choice-poll-help-me-decide

Improvements? I'm going for a bigger bag on the bars (up from 8l to 13l). Looking for a secure side entry bottle cage so I can get a bit more weight off my back. Later on will probably look for a full frame bag but that can wait.

Now the obligatory photos:

Bike and bags:
[url= https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7311/14148200961_5093857f09.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7311/14148200961_5093857f09.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/simon_r/14148200961/ ]21-P5042197[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/simon_r/ ]Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

Bike and bags again ...
[url= https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2939/14148703742_bc8d2865d5.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2939/14148703742_bc8d2865d5.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/simon_r/14148703742/ ]30-P5042206[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/simon_r/ ]Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

Welsh Ride thing bivvy site (slightly dodgy tarp set up!)
[url= https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5487/14148660572_2938649789.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5487/14148660572_2938649789.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/simon_r/14148660572/ ]15-P5042191[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/simon_r/ ]Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

Big skies
[url= https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7425/14148695102_7b2bfd7309.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7425/14148695102_7b2bfd7309.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/simon_r/14148695102/ ]27-P5042205[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/simon_r/ ]Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

Room with a view:
[url= https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3670/14096793818_db46fc05a3.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3670/14096793818_db46fc05a3.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/simon_r/14096793818/ ]09-P5252277[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/simon_r/ ]Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

Great spot ....
[url= https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2895/14283889155_493d865796.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2895/14283889155_493d865796.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/simon_r/14283889155/ ]14-IMG_1863[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/simon_r/ ]Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

Stuck with a couple of problems.

1) I've got my sleeping bag in a bar mouted bag with a DIY made harness, but the tyre buzzes when the fork compresses. Would paying for one solve this or is it just a problem for 29er's? I can mount it on top but it's not too stable (but didn't fall off on a short ride, just wobbles a lot).

2) Those of you just strapping the drybag to the saddle/seatpost, what are you packing in it, I've ended up with all the loose stuff in there (sleeping bag on bars as it's lightest, tent in frame bag as it's heaviest). So that leaves clothes, food, cooking stuff, and sleeping mat. The mat gives some shape, but not enough to stop it rattling and setling down and falling off.

Lets talk sleeping bags, I have an alpkit 800orsomethinglikethat which is lovely and warm but I am paranoid about getting it wet so unless its freezing or I have a tent it gets left behind, I also have DD hammocks sleeping bag purchased on a whim, its heavy and bulky when packed but I like the top opening zip because I am always to warm and I like the waterproof footbox because J canstand up in it and get into the hammock or wriggle into the bivvy without bothering about getting it muddy.

Neither of them are particularly great in summer as I get to hot and end up sleeping on them rather than in them, they are also not tiny packed.

I was thinking 2 season bag as I will have a down jacket with me anyway but also wondering about quilts and even consider just sewing some pertex to a very fluffy blanket and using that.

Thoughts.

tyre buzzes when the fork compresses

Both are podsacs bags. The 10l one takes the bag with room for a bivi bag or jacket too, the 7l bag barely holds the sleeping bag, has to be sat on to compress it enough to roll the top over, but it is the compression type so once rolled there's another splashproof layer keeping water out.

I might try an alpkit one on that basis if they're longer and thinner. Or do you mean sausage roll like this:
[img] [/img]
rather than a footlong of gregs finest reconstituted pork and pastry?

The sleeping bag itsef I've no idea how warm it's supposed to be, it's pretty old, but it is down so replacing like for like would be expensive, but buying a less bulky bag might be the nuclear option, I'm rarely cold in it, but then I rarely use it outside of summer.

I was thinking 2 season bag as I will have a down jacket with me anyway but also wondering about quilts and even consider just sewing some pertex to a very fluffy blanket and using that.

More like this:[img] [/img]
Not round, but long a thin in the profile. I always find they rotate and point down through use, which may make things worse for you.

Ahh, I see what you mean.

Might work, the strap guide thingies on the alpkit bags might hold them up.

Got the smaller podsack bag to try first, just means transfering even more stuff to a seatpack.

Turned up today, not just stories but advice and ideas
10/10 from me

[img] [/img]

I saw him talk at the mountainfilm film festival in edinburgh I liked his attitude!

Given up trying to DIY a saddle bag harness, seems to alternate between prototypes that either settle down and loosen or are too wobbly to start with, is there anything comparable to the Alpkit Koala bag (on price and size), but in stock?

Seeing as I can only just squeeze a sleeping bag under the bars it needs to be big-ish to take

Alpkit 3/4 mat,
myti mug and stove
food
clothes (spare riding kit + down jacket)

The revelate one would fit the bill, but a few £ too many.

is there anything comparable to the Alpkit Koala bag (on price and size), but in stock?

Ive got a Wildcat Gear seat harness that holds a drybag. Ive used it with a 13l drybag though not sure if you'd get all that kit into it, especially the mat. Have you tried rolling your sleeping bag in the sleeping mat? Lot of us do that as it helps make compacting the bag easier.

Anyhoos - linky below for the Wildcat harness.

http://www.wildcatgear.co.uk/shop/seat-systems/wildcat-gear-tiger/

but the tyre buzzes when the fork compresses.

This is less likely to be 29er related, and more likely to be stack height related. The maximum size bag is clearly going to be a function of the stack height, bikes with a really low stack will buzz when the forks compress. The bloke I rode the WRThing with had this very issue with a wildcat harness - not Wildcats fault, it strapped everything up perfectly, but the distance from handlebars to crown wasn't big enough for a dry bag.

Those of you just strapping the drybag to the saddle/seatpost, what are you packing in it,

I tend to roll stuff up in my sleeping bag or in my mat - out front is the sleeping bag, with stuff for the night rolled into it (spare socks, food etc. out back is the sleeping mat, with suff for the night in it (more food, bivvi bag), in the frame bag is stuff I might want in the day plus cooking kit and repair stuff.

Last weekend, I set off with a mate up to Edinburgh to cycle Sustrans Coast & Castles north route from Edinburgh to Aberdeen.

The route itself is pretty flat, bar a few hills and steady drags. It's a nice route, mainly tarmac with the odd gravel section (Kinross and along from Montrose). It's a nice scenic route with plenty of towns along the way to stop off at. A cross bike or road bike with sturdy tyres is ideal for the route. My mate had 25mm road tyres and had a couple of punctures.

Kit wise, I travelled my lightest yet - SMD Lunar Solo, Neoair Xlite, Exped pillow, Lifeventure Downlight 660 bag, 1 pair riding kit, shorts, T shirt and socks for off the bike (forgot to pack undies so went commando!) Montane Fireball smock and Montane single track jacket, tools etc on bike. All carried in 2 dry bags, deter frame bag and a montane bat pack.

We camped at campsites to make things slightly less daunting for my mate who's first trip it was. This worked well as we were able to leave the bikes locked up at the site and head into town for dinner and drinks. Train connections were great (they run the length of the route). On the Sunday night, we grabbed a train back into Edinburgh and stayed in a hostel by the station which meant that we could do some sightseeing on the Monday before returning home.

Day 1 we rode from Edinburgh to Kinross (approx 35 miles), day 2 was 80 miles from Kinross to Montrose and day 3 around 45 miles into Aberdeen:

[url= https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2925/14503105954_2f7b70a084_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2925/14503105954_2f7b70a084_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/o6Ad7W ]IMAG0312[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people// ]DKNWHY[/url], on Flickr

[url= https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2922/14501055381_672fa581f8_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2922/14501055381_672fa581f8_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/o6pGye ]IMG_1192[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people// ]DKNWHY[/url], on Flickr

[url= https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3874/14317843898_fa54b9dba5_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3874/14317843898_fa54b9dba5_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/nPdGay ]IMG_1206[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people// ]DKNWHY[/url], on Flickr

[url= https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5569/14504446885_250e29551c_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5569/14504446885_250e29551c_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/o6H5Jr ]IMG_1190[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people// ]DKNWHY[/url], on Flickr

[url= https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2928/14317838749_b09e3e7711_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2928/14317838749_b09e3e7711_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/nPdECM ]IMG_1213[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people// ]DKNWHY[/url], on Flickr

[url= https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3864/14317785510_fa5e729b0f_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3864/14317785510_fa5e729b0f_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/nPdoNS ]IMG_1195[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people// ]DKNWHY[/url], on Flickr

[url= https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5581/14504431725_6cb0b7e96a_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5581/14504431725_6cb0b7e96a_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/o6H1e4 ]IMAG0317[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people// ]DKNWHY[/url], on Flickr

More pictures on my flickr stream:

[url] https://flic.kr/s/aHsjYxzauP [/url]

It was (just gone) the solstice so I took time out for a wee loop around bits of the Cairngorms.

[img] [/img]

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http://www.blog.scotroutes.com/2014/06/twa-lairigs.html

Can't say I really recommend the Lairig Ghru with a bike (though everyone should do it once)

Has anyone tried the Karrimor bivvy bag?
Looking for a cheap, summer, dry weather only option but something that will keep my down bag dry.

Mountain Warehouse are doing cheap bivvy bags. I got one as a bit of a spare/back-up option. Much lighter and smaller packed than my expensive RAb Event one - but I'm betting a lot less breathable too.

Is anyone bikepacking/bivvying in or around the North East? If so, fancy letting me tag along? I'm not a dick, honest.

Suffering huge mojo losses at the minute, hoping company will resurrect it.

put up a post on the BearBones forum

Can't remember my login details!

Can't remember my login details!

An email in the right direction could sort that out: stuart@bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk

Have read this entire thread over the last week - inspiring stuff from everyone who's contributed. Intend to set off down the Celtic Route West in October. Currently working out just how much of my kit should be waterproof!

...is there anything comparable to the Alpkit Koala bag (on price and size), but in stock?

I'm still working my way through this thread from the beginning, so apologies if this has been covered already and I haven't got to it yet, but can you get patterns for making seat packs etc.?
I know a few people make their own gear, so is it done by trial and error, or are you making copies of someone else's design?

I was wondering this myself, is it just Alpkit or Wildcat? Nobody else makes anything similar?

Plenty of people do make there own, but its generally from scratch and having to make it up as you go along.

Depends if you have the skills/patience/spare fabric as otherwise it could just be as easy/expensive to buy one

I've got one of the Apidura seat packs, a little bit more than the Alpkit & Wildcat ones but very nicely put together and works really well.

[url= https://www.apidura.com/product/saddle-pack-compact/ ]https://www.apidura.com/product/saddle-pack-compact/[/url]

I emailed Tori (the owner) and she was really quick at getting back to me about stock levels, etc.

...it could just be as easy/expensive to buy one

However, frame bags are a different matter.
Eventually, I want to make four for the tandem. With the extra down tube, there's a lot of spaces to fill.
I'll start with making one for a solo first though.
If you buy a catalogue for £1.50 from Pennine Outdoors, you get 5 free samples, so which would be best to choose from this lot.
http://www.pennineoutdoor.co.uk/fabrics/medium-and-heavy-weight-weather-resistant-fabrics
There's 10 there that look likely to me, so I'm tempted to get two catalogues and try them all, unless someone can say that some are definitely better than others.

daleftw, I'm in Durham and wanting to get out more. So far only done campsite camping as it's all the missus will try, and it's been a while since we last went anyway. But I'd be up for some adventures

I've ordered this lot of samples.
http://www.profabrics.co.uk/products/outdoor-/coated-nylon-fabrics/0000867.html
Mary's got an old Singer treadle machine that she reckons will handle the thicker fabric and webbing, so I just need to learn how to use it.

Sewing; how hard can that be? 😛

I was wondering this myself, is it just Alpkit or Wildcat? Nobody else makes anything similar?

I priced all of the fabric and strapping etc and opted on buying a saddle pack and I'm very glad i did! Get in touch with Pawel at http://www.bikepack.eu/ and he can sort you out for a saddle bag. I got the 8-12 litre and it is MINT and BOMBER. There might be a bit of lead time as it is tough to get the polyant fabric. It's worth any wait though, and I can vouch for the quality and attention to detail. Pawel is great to deal with as well, a true gent. I can post photo's if you like, but you can get a pretty good idea from the photos on his website.

I could be wrong (as per), but Alpkit seem to be in stock for their Kanga bar harness thingy - at least it's the first time I've ordered and it's worked. they look to be making them to order. Please tell me I've not just blown £45 on something that doesn't work.......

It works. I wouldn't bother with the Roo effort though, its pants. I use an Ortleib heavy duty dry bag (the pvc one like their panniers) with mine with about 15l of gear. It doesn't move or slip. I've done undredz of miles with zero problems.

Ta - thats what I hoped. No Roo for me either.

Ohh, a cheaper version of their Koala bag has appeared, a tapered and narrow looking Airlok extra 13l with strappage for £15. That'll do me.

A little bump for this thread. Anybody out for some autumnal bikepacking?
I've just got a new Hunka bag so I'm taking it for a test bivi tonight. Microadventure.

A cold and wet November night is a good opportunity to test how warm and waterproof the gear is!

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I was a long time lurker on this thread wondering where the appeal in Bikepacking lay.

Boblo came up with a route that would be much easier with bikepacking gear. I took the plunge, bought some kit and loved it.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/BikepackingfromStBeestoWhitby

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/MCandBoblogoHotSpringingaroundIdaho

Go on then, I’ll bite! (Like the mozzies). Nosing around for tarp info and found you lot, I’ve obv not been looking hard enough previously, either that or I’m an antisocial old fart. Oh yes, it’s the latter isn’t it.

If you can bear with my ramblings I’ve been MTB tourer for yonks. Dawes Cougar bought in 1985 – loved steampunk MTBing round old steelworks, industrial areas etc, oh and the odd mountain top. First big outing was hardly bikepacking lite! One month circumnavigation of Iceland, after a sea voyage, with far too much junk although in mitigation there was almost nowhere to stock up on the way.

[img] [/img]

Picked up my faithful Orange P7 a while ago. Have hated panniers for ages. Tried a seatpost pannier rack a while ago – hopeless, I valued my rear wheel too much. Then invested in what I still think is the superb Extrawheel with 2 panniers. I know, still not “professional bikepacking” but it’s all I knew at the time. Far superior to a Bob Yak etc, because it just tracks your bike over ANYTHING. And the best bit is you can unhook it in 5 seconds, bung it in the long grass, then hammer off on a supertech trail ride for a couple of hours (if such perversions are indeed your bag). Quick cuppa, 5 secs Extrawheel back on, and off to the next spot. Brilliant. It even works with a full sus (I know, heresy! But I get the best of all worlds then), and has survived up/down Foel Fadian and Helvellyn for example.

[img] [/img]

You can also set up lots of amusing bike-train type configurations to amuse the normals, like this. Note the “emergency” Brompton in the trailer ;-).

[img] [/img]

Up to now I’ve sported Macpac Microlight (bombproof, dyneema/titanium), Drishell PHD bag, Exped UL7 and pillow, Coleman F1, MSR Miniworks filter, etc etc. Time for the next step, egged on by the rest of the inmates in here! Need a bit of luxury in my grand old elder statesman 56-yr-old position ( a position usually horizontal in the nearest boozer), so not prepared to abandon the mat; but am thinking of Rig 7 with 2mm dyneema and titanium (or maybe splash out on cuben but can’t find one big enough), Hunka or TN Moonlite or RAB Survival Zone, etc. Also looking at Steripen (Traveller at 150g rather than Mini at 105g, cos want easy AAA rechargeables not CR123s). But dunno whether to get Hunka XL so can fit mat inside it and then not need groundsheet. Once you’ve got the tarp, mat, groundsheet, bivi etc you’re almost up to tent weight otherwise. And yes obv by now I know the tarp game is really about “out in the open” rather than necessarily the weight. Then again a tyvek groundsheet from BPL is only 95g. And how often will I really need the bivi with the Drishell bag? ARG! Might visit Alpkit in Ripley and try out various combos.

Did Trans Wales last year, and Snowdon/Llanberis/Penmachno plus Carmarthen-Aberystwyth this year, so looking at Wales North/South C2C next year along with many other “quickies” (ooerrr missus).

Glad to see rail travel favoured by many of you. Bike n train is the only way to travel even without proper restaurant cars (remember them eh??). If I can do Milton Keynes – Aber, changing at Wolverhampton with a bike and Extrawheel it can’t be that hard. Book ahead and it’s wayyyyy cheaper than motors too, drink yourself stupid, stare out the windows, talk to nutters opposite (the nutter opposite will be me) etc.

Thanks for listening to my ravings!

One day I’ll die, and on my grave it will say: “Here lies Reginald Iolanthe Perrin. He didn’t know the names of the trees and the flowers, but he knew the rhubarb crumble sales figures for Schleswig Holstein”. But then bikepacking is the perfect antidote to that disease of course, as you already know!

All the be(a)st, Reg

This might interest somebody on here. I'm selling my tarp set up:

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/bikepacking-tarp-complete-set-up

Then invested in what I still think is the superb Extrawheel with 2 panniers. I know, still not “professional bikepacking” but it’s all I knew at the time. Far superior to a Bob Yak etc, because it just tracks your bike over ANYTHING. And the best bit is you can unhook it in 5 seconds, bung it in the long grass, then hammer off on a supertech trail ride for a couple of hours (if such perversions are indeed your bag). Quick cuppa, 5 secs Extrawheel back on, and off to the next spot. Brilliant. It even works with a full sus (I know, heresy! But I get the best of all worlds then), and has survived up/down Foel Fadian and Helvellyn for example.

This is great and might be the solution I've been looking for for a long time! What's your rear axle configuration? 10mm thru axle? do you ever hit those nuts to trail obstacles while doing the "supertech trail ride"?

I have an Extrawheel that I don't use anymore if somebody fancies buying it....... 😀