Bikepacking bag stabiliser. Where can I buy or how to make one?

I have one of those large 14l under mount seat packs for bikepacking and am trying to come up with a stabiliser option to stop the sway. Specialized now do a bag with a stabiliser, but it is only 10 litres.

Sort of thing I need it shown below.

I can then sew a sleeve onto my existing bag to accept the stabiliser and hopefully, stop the sway.

Seat post rack?

Some bags are certainly worse than others. My Viscacha is fine fully loaded. I’ve seen Wildcat bags similarly stable but heard of issues with Alpkit.

How about a PDW Bindle Rack?

Bindle Rack

Seat post rack?

Too chunky and angle is fixed.

How about a PDW Bindle Rack?

Considered it, but £70 and again it seems overkill. A top mounted option is preferable.

Wish I could get my hands on a specialized one, but I suspect they will not be aftermarket.

Do you definitely have a waggle problem?

Do you definitely have a waggle problem?

I have one of the bikepack.pl bags. Depends on your definition of ‘waggle’ I hate any lateral movement and even managed to break one of the plastic fasteners trying to pull the bag tight up under the saddle to stop sideways movement.

Pack the bag smarter, heavy stuff nearer the seat post, lighter stuff to the back.

I’ve run a few options but haven’t had that bad wagging that I’d notice.

The problem you’ll have is your want to go over 10 litres.
The bigger the load, the more it’s going to want to move.

Either take less stuff, or move it elsewhere, or get a seat pack that works.

Had one from Poland that did wag, but used both Wildcat and Apidura which not move at all.

Neatest design I saw was the Mr Fusion thingummy. Although seems no longer available and was not a snip at nearly $200.

Inspiration for cutting up an old Camelback and rear rack to fashion something similar?

My Alpkit bag really does wag a lot when I’m riding – although I can’t actually feel it on the bike when there is less than ~10l in there, I’ve have had comments from riding buddies. If I put more that 10l it wags so much that it touches my legs as I pedal (but still not to bad to effect the bikes handling)

I’m looking at 3d printing a cradle/bracket type design to stiffen up the front of the bag, as reckon that would allow me to fit 13l plus some stuff strapped to it, but haven’t yet decided whether to attach it to the bike or the bag as each way had it’s merrits

Great thread, have been deliberating over a rack and panniers for my cdf now that pdw rack looks a great design and solution to cumbersome panniers

Specialized also do a 20l.

If you google seat clamp rack fixing, you’ll get a starter for ten to fabricate something. This kinda thing.

Specialized also do a 20l.

Be careful. That was my conclusion based on how the shops are advertising them. They are actually 8.5 and 10 litres.

Specialized make no mention of the actual capacity. I only found out as I found an article on google clearing up the confusion.

Had one from Poland that did wag, but used both Wildcat and Apidura which not move at all.

Was that from bikepack.pl?

I haven’t considered any other packs without an associated stabiliser.

I have an old mudguard the fits on with an orange strap cam thing. It pivots by the join too.

Does a nice job if placed along side the bottom of the bag.

And prdvents it getting tooo muddy.

One of the bag companies, Revelate maybe, has a u shaped seat post stabilsier.

But now I’ve seen JoshVs post I’m digging out that shit crud-catcher and some bungees

As others have pointed out, what and how you pack can have as much or greater effect on movement as the actual mounting mechanism. In summer I’ll have maybe 5 litres of kit weighing between 1kg & 2Kg in the seat post bag. In winter things are a bit bulkier and I’ll have maybe 10 litres volume but the weight won’t go up that much, maybe to 2.5Kg *max*. (usually it’s a down duvet that’s extra so it’s light but bulky). Going the other way when in race mode on an ITT I’ll have under 1Kg of kit in there.

I’ve the Wildcat Tiger harness and while it’s not rigid there’s very little movement. The means of mounting to the saddle rails is much better on the Tiger than that on either the alpkit or the bikepack.pl models. The latter have a single loop that goes from one side of the pack through the rails to the other so the pack has a loop it can slide around in. The Tiger has two straps that are fixed to the centre of the harness each is looped twice over just one of the rails before attaching to the side. The resulting “loops” that the saddle rails can move in is much smaller. I don’t know how the Revelate bags attach.

There are plenty of reviews on sites like http://bikepacker.com/category/reviews/ but note that the reviewer there mounts the Wildcat Tiger incorrectly.

I don’t know how the Revelate bags attach.

Same as the Alpkit and Apidura bags, just that the Revelate uses better materials and a good layout to minimise movement. I rate the Wildcat over all the other options but it’s optimised for light packers.

tbh if you need stability and almost 15l capacity, I’d consider a rack and a kayak bag to go on top. The weight will be lower and you’ll have an easier time moving the bike around.

Not overly fashionable in the ‘Bikepacking world’ but the SQR system from Carradice is pretty stable even with heavy loads:

http://www.carradice.co.uk/bags/saddle-packs-sqr-bags/super-c-sqr-slim

And they also do a variety of saddlebag fixing systems:

http://www.carradice.co.uk/products/saddle-fixing-systems

Ahhh soon the wheel will have turned full circle and my panniers and rack will be the new thing again 😉

I would love something to stabilise my airlock taper but it has to be cheap…

I like the look of the porcelain rocket thing but it ain’t cheap…

Any DIY stuff been attempted?

MYOG

Or Nitto, £80

I have a copy of the Moots Tailgator bag support somewhere. No idea if aliexpress etc have them but it’s a handy bit of kit – perfect size for a bottle of wine, one made it most of the way along the Ridgeway on it last summer.

On bikepacking.net someone posted this option.

http://www.bedrockbags.com/gear/railwing-seat-bag-stabilizer

I reckon that will be easy to make yourself so that it fits the rails of your saddle perfectly.

wicki – Member
Ahhh soon the wheel will have turned full circle and my panniers and rack will be the new thing again

For carrying A LOT of kit and on the right surfaces a rack can still be the right solution.

If anything differentiates Bikepacking and traditional Touring then it’s the emphasis on less, and lighter, gear.

I just use a compression strap between the seat rails and tighten it up, loads better than the supplied cheap and nasty clips on my Altura seat pack which has broke yet again….

Cheers, Steve

On bikepacking.net someone posted this option.

http://www.bedrockbags.com/gear/railwing-seat-bag-stabilizer

I reckon that will be easy to make yourself so that it fits the rails of your saddle perfectly.

This is where it is at!!

They seem to work perfectly, but i emailed bedrock and they had no issues on postage to the UK but it was $35 for a $30 product and then you have VAT and probably a £13 charge from parcelforce. It just wasn’t worth it.

I’d buy a UK made version.

I’d buy a bag that didn’t need one.

This is where it is at!!

They seem to work perfectly, but i emailed bedrock and they had no issues on postage to the UK but it was $35 for a $30 product and then you have VAT and probably a £13 charge from parcelforce. It just wasn’t worth it.

I’d buy a UK made version.

Isn’t it just a bit of bent aluminium with some velcro and straps stuck to it?

A rectangle of Alu with 2 slots cut by a dremmel or similar so you can feed a strap through, bend the ends in then put velcro on top, job done.

Cheers, Steve

I’d buy a bag that didn’t need one.

Like you I like Revelate, my original bag is awesome with the seat rail straps sewn into the bag, but my most recent one where the seat rail straps are floating is pants in comparison. Nowhere near as stable from wag!

Hence the need for the Railwing or similar

cookeaa – Member
I would love something to stabilise my airlock taper but it has to be cheap…

I like the look of the porcelain rocket thing but it ain’t cheap…

Any DIY stuff been attempted?

Mine is totally stable, with the aid of a simple bootlace. I also fixed an ass saver mudguard on the underside to protect it a bit.

Strap must go opening, round seatpost, back to opening. Bootlace central through the sewn in loops at the end of the webbing, to take the strain in the middle of the opening. Tie as a bow, tucking ends into opening flap.

You can now really cinch up both the round-seatpost and under saddle rail mount straps right up tight. In this pic from TNR I had a second strap around the saddle rails but didn’t really need it.

Interesting thread! I’ve not enough experience with seat packs, but have been thinking lots about other options that won’t sway and I keep coming back to Jenn’s TD rig with a lightweight rack and a decent sized dry bag cinched down nicely. As Jameso mentioned above really. Would seem to be pretty solid and nice to keep lower down, and as long as it is still used for light and bulky stuff, will not feel too bad.

Also have the same thoughts with front harnesses and the way they seem to rely on rubbing the head tube/fork crown to remain stable. That’s probably for another thread..!

richardthird: on the smaller cols just before Limone Piemonte? 8)

The stabiliser idea does appeal. I’ve had my Alpkit wag from time to time, but it’s generally been stable. Seems to be dependant on how it’s packed. I haven’t used it enough to get that bit sorted yet

Yes Dan 😉 Looking at that pic again reminds me of the incredible weather we had. Recovery going ok I hope.

Faustus, Wildcat have it all figured out, trust me : ) Neither bar or seat bag move by more than what I’d call strap flex amount and neither rub. If you’re packing less than 5 or 6kg between the 2, and really you should be or at least could do with ease, I’ve never seen much need for supporting metalwork. Even a Tubus Fly alone weights more than my three Wildcat bags. I’m no weenie but I don’t see the point in 700g plus of rack and bag at each end to carry 1.5-2kg each. If I was doing a leisurely tour and wanted easy access then maybe a rack and rack pack, used that combo and liked it but the weight all adds up.

Alpkit bar system looks to have stability and lack of rub designed in also.

I must admit, it isn’t pretty, but i rigged up a support using one of these anda wire coathanger when i had too much in Apidura bag

http://www.sigmasport.co.uk/item/Salsa/Flip-Lock-Non-Quick-Release-Seatpost-Clamp/USM?utm_source=google&utm_medium=base&utm_campaign=base&co=GBR&cu=GBP&gclid=CIuYhZ7-3NACFS677Qod9Z8Hqg&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thanks Jameso, I see your point about the extra weight to hold little weight. I’ll certainly look at wildcat again more closely. Probably just need to try out a few things and see what I like.

I bought a cheap KTM bag and modified the strap arrangement to eliminate the inherent failure point and sway, replacing the buckles with camlock QR jobs. Been ridden round Llandegla, CyB etc, works fine. Cost me the price of the buckles, webbing and a couple of quid to a local seamstress.