Looking for any suggestions for a bike to use specifically for bike packing. I won’t be purchasing until next year, unless something comes up that’s too good to miss. Some requirements ………
Hardtail 29ner
straight handle bars (i.e. not drops)
Front suspension (doesn’t have to be a lot)
Plenty of bosses for fitting cages (does anyone put these on suspension forks?)
Able to take a rear luggage rack
Dropper post or ability to fit one
1×12 drive chain
None of these are deal breakers, just what I think I would like.

Suspension or not depends on where you’re riding, I’ve done trips fully rigid with Anything cage’s which worked well and recently with a 140mm fork with them attached via SKS mounts. Personally I’m not a fan of combining the 2 so if you do need to carry stuff on the forks, rigid is better.

Lots of options with Surly or Salsa (if you can get hold of one) but they are pricey, I’m sure there’s others like Brother cycles…

Stealth ad (I happen to have a 2021 Kona Unit X frame and fork with all the mounts in the garage which I can’t decide what to do with after moving to a custom hardtail)

Sonder broken road? (Though not sure about the rear rack part).

I bought a Vagabond for exactly this purpose. It was great for bike packing, but I found it too compromised for everything else so replaced it with a 29er HT much as the OP describes. I got a nice short travel light Sensa Merano from Merlin back in the Spring, 12 speed slx/deore and quite sprightly after I changed the wheelset to tubeless Fulcrum. Unfortunately not had a chance to use other that a few short local rides so also selling that now, I hope !

Plenty of bosses for fitting cages

Sonder Frontier? Think that ticks most items in the list (incl. rear rack and cable/hose routing for a dropper). Available as a rigid with triple bosses on the fork legs, or hardtail with front suspension.

On-one big dog / scandal / vandal

This is my big dog and covers your wish list I think.

My bike packing bike is a Big Dog, so +1 to that. Bought some surly forks so can mix and match rigid/bouncy depending on trip.

@trailwagger – that’s a lot of bosses! What bike is that.

@hopkinsgm – the Sonder Frontier ticks the boxes and under a grand even with some front suss

Plenty of bosses for fitting cages (does anyone put these on suspension forks?)

You can attach cages quite easily without bosses on suspension forks, so don’t limit yourself too much.

There are options for rear racks that don’t need mounting points etc, such as tailfin.

that’s a lot of bosses! What bike is that.

@gazzab1955 – Marin Pine Mountain

What’s the budget?

Mr Harry’s flatmate – Smokestone bikes

Ignore me – got my Sonders in a muddle. Frontier for 29er.

Whats your budget? shand bahookie if you are feeling rich Mine is coming with a rigid fork with bosses and a suspension fork to swap to when I need

As the frame is custom built you can have as many bottle bosses as you want – mine is coming with 3. It also has rack mounts.

You can spec whatever gear train you prefer.

£+++++++ tho 🙂

I bought a Genesis Longitude for bikepacking, not suspension corrected but it has all the stuff and rides very well, ie stable and carries even silly weights with ease. With Hope Enduro tech wheels (not the lightest) and 2×10 Deore it weighs around 29lb including a rear rack.

I like how long it is so that even the medium (17.5”) frame has plenty of room for portering luggage without interfering with me.

If I was looking for a suspension-corrected bike-packing bike (I wouldn’t, prefer rigid and let tyres do the work) I’d possibly be looking at Bombtrack Beyond+ or Bombtrack Beyond+ ADV

I used my Pipedream ALICE for this with Jones bars. Fantastic bike, and can run 27.5×2.8 as well as 29×2.25, loadsa mounts on the frame and forks for racks/cages/mudguards. A.L.I.C.E. (pipedreamcycles.com)

I use a Genesis Longitude for bikepacking too, very versatile and lots of mounts. Run mine as a 29 plus with loads of clearance, enough for mudguards.

Really stable fully loaded with bikepacking kit.

They are also reasonably well priced, aside from the usual stock issues.

Looking at the Sonder Frontier Deore (seems to check all OP boxes?) for the money I must say it seems hard to beat as a full build. Deliveries ‘From 2nd December’. Earliest deliveries listed are from 7th Nov for the SLX?

Thanks for all the advice boys and girls, extremely helpful. The Sonder Frontier looks favourite at the moment, ticks all the boxes and looks good value at under a grand, even with sus forks. I had meant to say in the original post that my budget was around £1k. There are some quality bikes mentioned like A.L.I.C.E., Salsa and Surly etc, but they are a lot more expensive and currently very difficult to get hold of. Need to get my name on the waiting list, make some space in the garage by selling my 2005 Scott Genius (anyone interested?) and maybe get the wife to make a Sonder my Christmas present this year!

Another Genesis Longitude user here, luckily the Mk1 so plenty of room for 29er+. The new ones do look good though and can run 27.5+ and normal 29er wheels. Absolutely love mine.

Ooh, a fish on a bike.

Also a genesis longitude here. Used it on a 6 day trip from Southampton to Prestwick taking in lots of the penine bridleway and other off road sections. Great for lugging kit and very comfortable with 29er 2.25 but it eventually got painful off road and I dreamed of front suspension at some points. It’s now been relegated to pub/winter trainer/commuter because…….

Shand bahookie ordered. Specced exactly how I wanted with front forks etc. Its my 40th birthday treat.

I did like the look of the marin and the sonder but I’ve always wanted a shand and I’ve used my 40th as the excuse to get it.

+1 for Frontier.
I went for the rigid 29er when they had 10% off. So an absolute bargain of a bike. Like other have said, lots of points to secure cages etc. I carry a couple of the passenger cages on the front. I don’t really miss the suspension, I just change my style of riding to suit.

Only thing I’ve changed since buying has been the stock tyres. The Rangers they came with aren’t tubeless ready.

Their customer service is also great. I had an issue with a hub and they replaced really quickly and zero fuss.

I also use it as my local hack bike. The trails are very tame but it’s fun to ride too.

I think in terms of bang for your buck you cannot really beat the value of it.

Sonder Frontier or Broken Road, depending on budget.

I got a Broken Road earlier this year and have used it for a few bike packing trips, with and without a rear rack and it has been great. I also bought a set of rigid Frontier forks with rack mounts that I can swap in for longer, more road-biased trips.

Niner Sir 9 is worth looking at. Great bikepacking Reynolds 853 bike