Hello, and help me choose luggage!

[dgowenlock]

Hi everyone,

Really happy to find this community. I have been doing some wild camping in the last year and now ready to explore further on the bike. Up until now I've been using panniers on the gravel bike but they keep popping off on the technical bits and won't transfer to my MTB.

I can't choose between the following to use on both bikes? Can someone help cast the final vote?

Handlebar pack
G-Funk bar clamps, strapdeck and straps - £50
Straightcut harness - £60
Topeak frontloader - £45

Frame Pack
Topeak midloader 6l - £37
Restrap large frame bag 4.5l - £70

Seatpack
Topeak backloader 15l - £45 (seems to be very floppy without much support)
Restrap saddle bag 14l - £100!

I think I'll need as much luggage as possible because whilst I like to travel light, you can't beat the odd bit of comfort!:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/kJN3861dShSZsb3x7

Couple of photos attached to show the cable layout I'm dealing with.

Massive thank you to anyone who can help sway me into buying the right luggage.
Dave

[Lazarus]

I dont have any familiarity with any of those bags and would end up giving advice on what I do have

You dont seem to have a lot of space between those brakes [MTB]so you are not going to fit a large back there unless you get one that is proud /sticks out - the funk may be large enough with cradle but not certain - he posts on here so should know though!
This for example
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/blackburn-outp ... ar-roll-1/
No exprience of that its just the only one i know like that


As for everything else it largely depends on how much you want to take for the frame bags - be aware a fulll frame bag means no space for water bottles.

Seatpacks we are almost all going to say get something smaller - TLS take less stuff- I have an 11 litre one and its never full so I bought a smaller dry bag for it and use 8 litres and could go smaller.
The cradlede in the more expensive seatt pack one is going to be much easier/practical to use because if you have filled the inner bag and then have to fit it into a bag the same size its going to be a pain with the cradle its just retighten the straps - it also means you can probably use different sized dry bags. Never used it though

[trob6]

Hello Dave
I also am not familiar with that luggage but a friend of mine who is a sail maker in Portland has started making bike bags, all of mine are from him and they are excellent, his name is Steven Moatt of Moatt Sails, the bike bag web site is not quite up and running yet but he is on instagram and I can sent you his mobile number if you want.
Tim.

[redefined_cycles]

Hello Dave
I also am not familiar with that luggage but a friend of mine who is a sail maker in Portland has started making bike bags, all of mine are from him and they are excellent, his name is Steven Moatt of Moatt Sails, the bike bag web site is not quite up and running yet but he is on instagram and I can sent you his mobile number if you want.
Tim.

Tim... You got some pics of the Moatts bags please?? What kinda prices are we talking from him aswell ?

[Boab]

This was me setting out on my first bivvy with my current Restrap setup:



That's the medium Restrap frame bag.

Two things to note, make sure your gravel bike has enough clearance between the bars and the tyre, whichever setup you end up going with. Restrap claim you need 20cm, which is what I have from tyre to centre of the bars. you need more though, as my handlebar bag buzzes off the tyre on bumps in the tarmac, let alone off-road.

Also, those drop bars look quite narrow. If I was building my bike again, I'd have gone with slightly wider bars, as they really compromise what you can fit in the dry bag and still work your gears.

[techno]

Tim... You got some pics of the Moatts bags please?? What kinda prices are we talking from him aswell ?

I did a wee bit of digging:
https://www.moattsails.co.uk/
https://mailchi.mp/6edca347c952/my-tour ... -adventure
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBRJb6 ... Up6ToF_-Ow

[techno]

Hi everyone,

Really happy to find this community. I have been doing some wild camping in the last year and now ready to explore further on the bike. Up until now I've been using panniers on the gravel bike but they keep popping off on the technical bits and won't transfer to my MTB.

I can't choose between the following to use on both bikes? Can someone help cast the final vote?

Handlebar pack
G-Funk bar clamps, strapdeck and straps - £50
Straightcut harness - £60
Topeak frontloader - £45

Frame Pack
Topeak midloader 6l - £37
Restrap large frame bag 4.5l - £70

Seatpack
Topeak backloader 15l - £45 (seems to be very floppy without much support)
Restrap saddle bag 14l - £100!

I think I'll need as much luggage as possible because whilst I like to travel light, you can't beat the odd bit of comfort!:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/kJN3861dShSZsb3x7

My thoughts

I've no experience of the handlebar harnesses you mention. One thing o bear in mind is the gfunk has a fairly low weight limit "The intended use of the G-funk set up is ‘ultralight’ bikepacking and for extended rides. As such, the weight limit is 1.7kg. Ideally, I would suggest less"
From: https://drj0nswanderings.wordpress.com/

My handlebar harnesses (revelate £40 2nd hand: https://www.revelatedesigns.com/index.c ... roductID=4 )
Can cary far more which may not be ideal from a handling perspective but is practical if you don't have an ultralight setup.

Frame bag, I have a Blackburn mid loader and can't really recommend it. Leaky, zip is hard work, heavy but it was cheap.

Seatpack, again I've no experience of the ones mentioned but I would recommend the alpkit koala I have.
Also everyone who has one of these seems to love them: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/383542986672
There's a restrap on eBay too: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124185016285

[whitestone]

Remember to budget for 3m helicopter tape to protect your frames, particularly from the frame bag.

I've fitted the G-Funk/Strapdeck to my Spearfish but not used it in anger yet. As @techno says, there's a weight limit on it so may not be the best for general usage.

My preference is to go with a harness and dry bag for handlebars and seat pack. Three main reasons:

1. You can pack/unpack away from the bike (and any bad weather) then quickly fix to the harness.
2. If the dry bag gets punctured you just have to replace the bag not the whole system.
3. You can use different sized dry bags depending on what you need to carry. I've used the same harness (Wildcat Lion) for bags from 5L to 20L.

As mentioned earlier having a large volume/weight seat pack isn't ideal. I mostly pack between 5L & 8L of light kit (sleeping quilt, thermals and the like) in there.

Frame bag - consider a half-frame bag, it will let you use your water bottle cages for, well, water bottles. If you need to fill the lower half as well then something like the Alpkit top tube bag will fit in there.

For the awkward stuff and trail food/snacks consider stem cells.

Bulk rather than weight tends to be your enemy on a bike so figure out where you can cut back on things so you can take your "essentials". We've all been through the process of "I have to take X (& Y & Z)" only to find that we never actually used them. After a trip sort your kit into three piles. The first is stuff you'll always take, First Aid kit, tools, spares, that sort of thing. The next pile is stuff you used. The final pile is stuff you took but didn't use. Next time consider leaving the kit in that pile at home. A couple of trips and you'll be in lightweight nirvana!

[ScotRoutes]

As regards fitting a bag between the drops and the potential lack of space betwixt bar and wheel, I use a Revelate Harness ans a 13L Alpkit drybag on my #gradventourer. With a couple of rolls to seal it, the bar fits between the shifters on my Woodchipper bars. I "stretch" the capacity by filling/fitting the bag so it does not have a circular cross-section, it has an oval. The wider part of the oval is mounted fore-and-aft, jutting out from the front of the bike rather than up-and down.

For the MTB, accept that you made need to fit longer cables and hoses in order to get the minimum interference with any handlebar mounted luggage.

As Bobs suggests, I've found the separate holster/drybag systems the best. Not only can the drybag be replaced if damaged, but it's quick and simple to remove and refit the bag to take it indoors/under cover etc. very useful if you are packing up in the ran as you can get all of your essential kit packed dry.

[trob6]

Hello Dave
I also am not familiar with that luggage but a friend of mine who is a sail maker in Portland has started making bike bags, all of mine are from him and they are excellent, his name is Steven Moatt of Moatt Sails, the bike bag web site is not quite up and running yet but he is on instagram and I can sent you his mobile number if you want.
Tim.

Tim... You got some pics of the Moatts bags please?? What kinda prices are we talking from him aswell ?

Hello Shaf
Yes I have some pictures on my phone, I will have a go at putting them up tomorrow, every time I put pictures on here I think I will remember how to do it then I don't
That link above to Steve's you tube chanel has a series of Tour Divide videos with lots of shots of the bags and of my bike too, I'm the one with white arm and leg covers on you cant miss them.
Not sure on prices as they have been a work in process up till now , you will have to contact Steve.

[redefined_cycles]

Thanks Tim... Yes I saw the framebag on the TD ride. Will go back and find you and some more shots of the bag. If you need help putting up pictures then good luck

Just messing... get IMgur app. Put the pic inti there. There hard click it and find the url option...

Drag that little nugget of info inti here with after it... simples... Only took me 3 years (or 2)

[trob6]

[trob6]

Shaf
Just testing I've done it right before a add a few more pictures?

[dgowenlock]

My handlebar harnesses (revelate £40 2nd hand: https://www.revelatedesigns.com/index.c ... roductID=4 )
Can cary far more which may not be ideal from a handling perspective but is practical if you don't have an ultralight setup.

Frame bag, I have a Blackburn mid loader and can't really recommend it. Leaky, zip is hard work, heavy but it was cheap.

Thank you! I'll stay away from the midloader :)

As Bobs suggests, I've found the separate holster/drybag systems the best. Not only can the drybag be replaced if damaged, but it's quick and simple to remove and refit the bag to take it indoors/under cover etc. very useful if you are packing up in the ran as you can get all of your essential kit packed dry.

Thank you, looking out for one of these. The BBB Front Fellow seems to fit the bill, is narrow enough, cheap and light yet also has spacers.

Remember to budget for 3m helicopter tape to protect your frames, particularly from the frame bag.

My preference is to go with a harness and dry bag for handlebars and seat pack. Three main reasons:

As mentioned earlier having a large volume/weight seat pack isn't ideal. I mostly pack between 5L & 8L of light kit (sleeping quilt, thermals and the like) in there.

Thank you

I also am not familiar with that luggage but a friend of mine who is a sail maker in Portland has started making bike bags, all of mine are from him and they are excellent, his name is Steven Moatt of Moatt Sails, the bike bag web site is not quite up and running yet but he is on instagram and I can sent you his mobile number if you want.

Thank you Tim, they look great bags but I have a feeling custom bags from a sailmaker might be out of my budget for now

The cradlede in the more expensive seatt pack one is going to be much easier/practical to use because if you have filled the inner bag and then have to fit it into a bag the same size its going to be a pain with the cradle its just retighten the straps - it also means you can probably use different sized dry bags. Never used it though

Thank you, I ended up going with a Blackburn Outpost Seat Pack for this reason you raised

[Lazarus]

that is what i use bomb proof and stable if not the lightest