Plan is to ride the 120 miles from Eric Morcambes statue in, err, Morcambe to Ernie Wise’s in Morley. Obviously I’m going to have to take enough kit to launch a space shuttle and enough food to feed a rugby team to get though it.

The question is what do I carry it all in? I have a backpack big enough, but I don’t really want to have the weight on my back the whole time. Is there any advantage to having a frame bag over a large seat bag? Guess it keeps the weight more central, but it’s not a massive issue as he route isn’t much more than canal towpaths

Plan on have a small pouch for snacks etc behind the stem too

What do you need to take? Not what you’d like, what you *need*. I’d have a pair of arm warmers in one shirt pocket, a lightweight waterproof in another, the last pocket would be for phone and wallet. Water bottle on frame, tools & spares in small saddle bag. Food in top tube bag.

You only need enough food to get you between shops, assuming you aren’t riding through the night.

Its summer, even british summers dont need much stuff unless you are in the hills alone.

Small sleeping bag and bivy in saddle bag with spare tube and multi-tool. Straps for jacket if youre not wearing it.
Handlebar bag for snacks, wallet, camera, somewhere to store gloves and sunglasses when not needed.

I think i even took a spare pair of socks and base layer, how frivolous.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/M1MVPW]Untitled[/url] by Richard Elsdon, on Flickr

Frame bag technically better weight balance than a seat bag but in truth it ain’t gonna matter that much. In there end of the day it’s just multiple places to store relatively small amount of stuff that just add up to a fair amount of ultimate storage – bar bag, frame bag, seat pack etc.

It’s not really the amount of stuff to be honest, it’s more that I dont want it on my back as I find that’s the first thing to ache on longer rides I’ve done (starts to ache at 30 miles, I’ve never done more than 50 in one go) so if I could ditch the bag altogether that would be go, just wondering if folk have a preference for the alternatives

Chinese Revelate seat pack copy?

£16 to your door

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/232363179522

For road (or canal) i prefer my carradice. Dont really notice its there, access to contents is easy, side pockets for tools or jacket, frame kept empty for bottles. If you have space to still keep waterbottles a half-frame-bag under the top tube are good as can be accessed on the move for more common items like wallet, camera, snacks, etc.

Bikepacking saddlebag on the back is fine for sleeping kit, but a pain if you want to use it to store day stuff like arm warmers, gillet, jacket etc.

It *is* about the amount of stuff, honest!

120 miles could be a day ride, an overnighter or multi-day. Once you take bivy kit then there’s no real difference between one night and several.

200Km in the Yorkshire Dales in summer. Emergency bivy kit in seat bag, food, spares and the like in the partial frame bag.

100 miles in Wales in March. Bivy kit in front harness, spare clothes in seat bag, food in stem cells, spares in top tube bag.

Highland Trail 550, Scotland in summer. Bivy kit in front harness, spare clothes in seat bag, food in stem cells (a little bit smaller than the Alpkit ones in the previous setup), spares in downtube bag, bits and pieces in top tube bag.

Next week’s YD300 will use the seat bag, two stem cells, the top tube bag and the downtube bag.

120 miles?

If you can’t fit it in some jersey pockets you don’t need it, maybe put your tools in a saddle bag if you must.

Cheapest option would be something like an 8L or 13L Alpkit Xtra strapped to your handlebars – you can stuff a surprising amount in one. Soft seatpacks are fine provided you’ve got enough clearance.

OP. More info is needed. As a start:

What do you want to carry?

One day or two?

If two days, do you intend to bivy or use B&B?

for those saying you can fit it all in pockets — hm, maybe your 120 mile trips are different, I’d feel mentally uncomfortable with the amount of bits I could get in jersey pockets, and nothing else..

whitestone has better (or more in tune) handle on it 🙂

To add to the list of basic details: road or off-road?

those saying you can fit it all in pockets — hm, maybe your 120 mile trips are different

120 miles on the road in good weather is pockets, 120 miles off-road over three days bivvying in rock-strewn wilderness isn’t, problem is we just don’t know what we’re looking at here 😉

Whitestone, nice trail that.
I like the plaque on the bench looking toward Hawes, in memoriam to the TRF chap – ‘Found neutral at last’.
🙂

I have done a few 200km audaxs with just pockets but i find a small frame bag useful. It depends how much food you are carrying at the start.

Have a wildcat ocelot, which is probably overkill but you don’t have to fill it, also a jandd partial bag which is probably the right size (it’s also for sale in classifieds).

seat bag for tools, pump on frame, food/ clothes/ cafe lock in frame bag, food/ phone/ wallet in jersey pockets.

carradice bag is also suitable.

FWIW for a big 1-2 day road ride I use an Altura Arran expanding post pack, which is excellent and versatile.

Yep more info required… On road or off and how long are you going to take?

My view….
120 miles offroad MAY end up being an overnighter, which is vastly different to..
120 miles on-road can be bashed out in daylight hours. I’d take a frame bag for that – I just like teh central nature, and can grab from it as riding along. I’ve a wildcat gear one on teh tripster – it’s ace!

DrP

If it’s all tow paths, why not just do the obvious thing and fit a rack and a pair of £20 Halfords panniers? Small rucksack for bits and bobs if you really need it.

I well remember my first proper cycling tour – borrowed a massive three man tent which weighed more than my bike, took three pairs of shoes and a pair of white jeans (early ’90s, judge away). Got dropped off in Fort William and the back tyre was flat before I reached the campsite 😀

Anyway, keep it minimal, fit a rack and have a grand time.

By the time you’ve bought the bags, you might as well have had spent the money on a night in a nice hotel halfway along the route instead 😀

^^
Give a man a fish…teach a man to fish…and all that!!

DrP

Are you carrying stuff for use during the ride, or when you reach the end?

For the ride itself, on road this could involve little more than a normal ride – a simple saddlebag for tube, levers, tool & phone etc, maybe some clothes stuffed in pockets – this was what I did for a recent on-road 130 mile ride.

It was a point-to-point ride and I posted a package of clothes etc to the other end – it was really nice to ride with no extra weight but still be able to get showered and changed into nice civilized clothes afterwards.

A pack of clothes including shoes and a bike lock cost less than £8 to post – well worth it vs carrying IMO.

BTW – in case it helps – the middle pocket on the back of Altura cycling tops is EXACTLY bacon butty sized 😉

Canal towpath mostly, with a couple of rougher bits, doing it it in a day, on a grrravel bike.

Knowing how much I eat, I won’t be able to fit it all in jersey pockets…

My luggage of choice for that sort of application is the Agu Yamaska 475 (this isn’t mine, but it’s a good demonstration of it):

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/agu-yamaska-rack-pack-review.46012/

Aside from being stable on the bumpy stuff, its extensive expanding talents are ideal for handling not just the basics like changes of clothing, but also purchases made (and subsequently eaten) along your route:

Earning Cake

There are establishments called “shops”. They have a selection of goods which in return for payment you may take with you on your journey.

Sorry for the sarcasm, 🙂 but you don’t have to take everything with you from the start. Look on maps at your intended route and you’ll see if there are any resupply points. Check online for opening times. There’ll be pubs and cafes as well. You only need to carry enough to get you between them plus a little bit for contingencies. You aren’t going to starve in one day.

120 miles on the road in good weather is pockets, 120 miles off-road over three days bivvying in rock-strewn wilderness isn’t, problem is we just don’t know what we’re looking at her

This.
120 miles in the road I can easily get everything I need in a combination of jersey pockets, a small saddle bag and a couple of bottles. Take a bit of cash, your mobile and a credit card and you’re good.

Even off road, you’ve got the light and fast option – Similar to the above, but more water and food as you can’t buy en-route but still no provision for overnight as you’re doing it in a day.

Or the slow and steady option meaning you need bivvy kit, more food and water, so you enter the area of either backpacks, panniers or frame bags.

So yes, details please!

Edit, details have now arrived.

I would say similar to the road option I’ve mentioned. Before you leave find out where there are a couple of shops close to the canal and you can stock up as you go along. You can fit a lot in jersey pockets with a bit of planned, maybe get a tri-style bag that sits next to your stem on the top tube for additional food supplies.

I’m familiar with the concept of shops, I’m almost proficient in their use, however I’d kinda like to do this in a sort of unsupported fashion, only using these fabled ‘shops’ in cases of grave (is there any other kind?) danger

I often carry all my stuff including food as it saves the risk of leaving the bike and saves money in buying food.

It the route is mostly road/lane/gravel based then it makes no odds how the bike is packed. I like panniers because they are easy to access and make me feel like an old school tourer 😀

If I am doing any kind of proper off-road then I preferentially pack with the weight low and toward the front. I run a frame back with tools and cook kit, plus the camelbak bladder sits in there and I run the tube to the bars. If I am staying out I put sleep kit on the bars. The saddle bag gets filled last and with the light stuff like clothes.

A row of Snickers masking tape to top tube. Twist to remove.

Packof fags for the top of a climb

Bottle cage for the bottle of wine.

Baguet picked up on way stuffed into pocket.

Jacket toestrapped to handbars.

Spare tube figure of eighted round your shoulders.

Pump on frame pegs.

Everything else is needless fluff

As an aside you mention your back hurting after 30 miles or so.

2 remedies for this. Short term soon spin an easier gear – don’t grind it out and longer term core strength training.

My lower back use to give me hell. I did a good for program and could cycle all day without trouble. I’ve since been lazy and stopped doing the core training and got back on the bike the other day and sure enough the lower back pain returned.

Planks are particularly good as are squats for quick all over core exercises.

I like to have some kind of top frame back for food on longer rides. Saves cramming sandwiches into a hot and sweaty jersey pocket… All my grub goes in there. Tools in saddle bag. Clothing, phone and keys in jersey pockets.

‘Ere.. take one of these.

And a list..

http://www.fawkes-cycles.co.uk/2485824/products/lotus-explorer-frame-bag.aspx?origin=pla&kwd=&currency=GBP&gclid=CN66-avq1NQCFUOVGwodBZ8IdA

£15 frame bag, can’t fault mine so far.

Topeak mtx beam rack is good off road. Used mine around Swinley with the kids stuff.

Trouble is predicting the weather, I did the Way of The Roses in spring a couple of years ago, weather forecast was for cold and rain, which promptly changed it’s mind during the day I travelled over to the coast, so I was carrying enough layers for three days of cold, and a stove for a warm brew, in the end by lunchtime on the first day I was down to my nicest lycra and carrying tons more than I needed.

If you’re heading down to Morley don’t forget to say hello to Beryl too.

Cheers midlifecrashes, I’m familiar with Beryl, I live in Morley (well, 2 miles away)

Cheers all, small under top tube bag and smaller one above for treats ordered, will report back on the ride once ive recovered.