I'm in the business of getting an Alpkit custom framebag for my bike (Surly Karate Monkey Ops) but I'm unsure about what width to go for.

Perhaps its a bit of a subjective thing to ask, but does anyone have any advice on the matter. If not which size to go for, then how to choose which size to go for?

They come in 4, 5 and 6 cm widths.


Will having (or lack of) horizontal or vertical dividers influence the decision? I can see these affecting the bulge of the bag.


Thanks! (and also hello, I've been lurking for a while)

Full frame bag or partial? That will make a big difference.

I have a partial frame bag that Beth made for me which is 65mm wide, and am just having another half abg made (for a different bike) which is 95mm wide - still only bout the same width as a bottle cage.

For a full frame bag I'd personally go as wide as possible but with a divider, even a narrow bag can bulge a fair bit.

I've one of the first Alpkit frame bags. It's 5cm, doesn't bulge to the point where it interferes with anything even if I pack in badly. However, it's not the biggest bag in the world (16" frame), on a larger frame I'd probably be inclined to add a divider.

ianfitz wrote:Full frame bag or partial? That will make a big difference.

I have a partial frame bag that Beth made for me which is 65mm wide, and am just having another half abg made (for a different bike) which is 95mm wide - still only bout the same width as a bottle cage.

For a full frame bag I'd personally go as wide as possible but with a divider, even a narrow bag can bulge a fair bit.

I was planning on a full bag, since the traingle in this bike is pretty small anyway due to a sloping top tube.

I guess a second question then would be are vertical or horizontal dividers better?

rowlandpg wrote:

ianfitz wrote:Full frame bag or partial? That will make a big difference.

I have a partial frame bag that Beth made for me which is 65mm wide, and am just having another half abg made (for a different bike) which is 95mm wide - still only bout the same width as a bottle cage.

For a full frame bag I'd personally go as wide as possible but with a divider, even a narrow bag can bulge a fair bit.

I was planning on a full bag, since the traingle in this bike is pretty small anyway due to a sloping top tube.

I guess a second question then would be are vertical or horizontal dividers better?

for 'bulge management' I'd think that horizontal would work better, I've one full frame bag with one in which contains the bulge pretty well.

I was planning on a full bag, since the traingle in this bike is pretty small anyway due to a sloping top tube.

If it's a small triangle, I wouldn't use a divider. In fact, I can generally fit more in a Wildcat Ocelot than I can in a full frame bag on the same bike ... and still use a bottle.

Bearbonesnorm wrote:

I was planning on a full bag, since the traingle in this bike is pretty small anyway due to a sloping top tube.

If it's a small triangle, I wouldn't use a divider. In fact, I can generally fit more in a Wildcat Ocelot than I can in a full frame bag on the same bike ... and still use a bottle.

Why do you think that is? Because it's wider? Or because it's short enough that it doesn't bulge so much if you stuff a lot in it?

My plan was to hose clamp my bottles to my forks or use a bladder in the frame bag. Perhaps i'd be better off with a partial frame bag and leave the two bottle cages... I wish I could test this stuff out before buying.

Why do you think that is? Because it's wider? Or because it's short enough that it doesn't bulge so much if you stuff a lot in it?

It probably is the width, although I wouldn't want a full frame bag as wide. In reality, unless your frame's a whopper the bottom half / third of a full frame bag really isn't very big.

I've got a custom Alpkit frame bag and had the same thoughts on the width. In the end I went for 6cm, no divider, surgeon opening.

6cm - because some of my frame tubes are about that width anyway and I wanted maximum space from the fairly small frame triangle.
No divider - because I didn't want to restrict the size of object I might put in there.
Surgeon opening - again, I didn't want to restrict how I use it.
I asked for the opening to be on the right hand side (drive side) so that when I laid my bike on the ground with the dérailleur uppermost then I had access to the frame bag contents. I'm not sure how useful or important this is but it works OK.

I have not had a problem with bulging so far. I figured I would control it by not stuffing the frame bag with things that would bulge and/or by putting some of the contents in smaller dry bags, which can restrict their width and may be required anyway. I also thought that I could make some custom shaped bags too to maximise the space but I haven't the need to do that yet. Even with it bulging seemingly quite a bit it doesn't catch my legs anyway.

Having used it quite a bit now I am very happy with my decisions. Happy to take some photos if you'd like.

Bryan

Some comments on horizontal/vertical dividers.
http://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpBB ... cal#p69039