Companion forum thread to:

Rackless Carry Systems for Lightweight Bikepacking

Thanks a ton for posting this series. As someone who is an avid backpacker and occasional mountain biker (and I use my mountain bike for commuting to work). I feel like I have no excuses for not doing some bikepacking, I don't even have questions after reading the posts! Thru hiking the Colorado trail we observed the mountain bike race first hand, thought they were crazy, but I'd love to do it one day. You can cover so much more ground that it puts less of a dent into your vacation balance for the year.

Great series, David! Can you speak to how exactly you pack your seatpack and frame bag?

So far I've only really found Fixie Dave Nice make an attempt at that level of detail beyond just a raw gear list, and I doubt I'm the only one who's interested here.

Thanks again for these write-ups.

Obviously the packing strategy changes with each trip, but the following might be a generic 60% dirt road, 40% singletrack 3 day trip under typical Rocky Mountain summer conditions.

Seatpack: tubes and food for the next day(s) against the seatpost, tarp next, sleeping bag last (in trash compactor bag).

Frame bag: tools and pump in the bottom, food for the day, maps and clothing likely to be used through the day (arm and knee warmers, rain gear), and camera on top.

Pack: water bladder, thermarest, insulating clothing, stove, pot, odds and ends.

I'll often have a light and GPS on the bars, and perhaps an extra bottle in a cage under the downtube.

All this easily fits if you don't bring tons of extra stuff.

Thanks!

Another option I like is to just use a seat post rack. They are light weight and you can just strap down a sleeping bag and a few other things in a waterproof bag for the same result. I have used that method bike camping on the resurrection pass trail here in AK.

A seatpost rack is NOT lightweight. It is quite heavy at 690g/ 25oz for the rack alone, then a bag and straps need to be added to that weight.

Comparing that to 420g/15 oz for a seatbag, it can in no way be called lightweight.

The stability is also not as good as a seatbag, and there have been reports of them breaking.

If you have a full suspension bike and need to carry something big and awkward, it might be the best option, but for normal camping gear they don't offer much advantage.

I looked into rack setups recently and didn't find anything close to the low weight a seatbag/framebag/bar bag setup affords for bikepacking. I think I would be tempted to overload a rear rack had I gone that route.

I have a seatbag coming in next week from Cleaveland Mountaineering bags and am closer to being on my way.

Carrying a large amount of water is the one area that doesn't seem to be discussed much in bikepacking circles. Desert riding in NM offers almost zero water opportunities, especially down south where I'm at. So I will need to get creative.

Salsa Anything cages? Bladders? Alternative bottle cage locations?

I thought the standard setup for water was a bladder in a backpack. A small backpack is pretty standard equip for bikepackers. For extra capacity (desert riding) a large bladder in s large triangular frame bag would seem to work well.

One reason hydration bladders became popular for mtb riding (I think they where first marketed to mtb riders long before hiking, etc) is because when riding off road bottles mounted in cages in the frame get covered in mud. Obviously, it won't be that pleasant to drink from a muddy bottle spout.

Eugene, when I lived and rode in AZ standard equipment was a 6L Dromedary with hydro hose in a backpack. With a good pack I found this comfortable, even when full. Some people don't find packs as desirable. For them, a similar bladder in the bottom on the frame pack, with a hose long enough to tether to the bars, works well and keeps the weight low.