CyclingUK mag article

[RIP]

Front page banner: "baggage check: bikepacking bags versus panniers". 3 page article, just skimmed it, last sentence is ".... but not as much as simply leaving at home anything you really, really don't need". I'd leave those two "really really"'s at home as well . Or maybe just bin the whole last 5 words and have done with it .

As TBD would say - discuss. Yes I know we've done it all ad infinitum....

[psling]

Yes, I read that article. It seems to come down firmly in favour of racks and panniers over soft bikepacking bags.

[Bearbonesnorm]

It seems to come down firmly in favour of racks and panniers over soft bikepacking bags.

Really? Who'd have guessed it?

[Alpinum]

Without having read the article from CyclingUK, a few times a year German bike mags (mountainbiking stuff) have an article about bikepacking and it's not even discussed if panniers are better for obvious reasons.

If I where a roadie (tarmac and gravel) touring, I'd not give bikepacking bags a second thought and would go for panniers. Much easier to pack.
Soo much easier.
Think about practicability during commuting and shopping. I'd not wan't to do that stuff with bikepacking bags.

I completely understand why (road) cycling mags would not fall for the soft solution easily.

Having that said, 80 % of cycletourers I met in Iceland had to bail. Mostly the reason was too much/heavy gear. Every setup up has it's place.
I think it's good to give the soft bags a critical view, no matter how much easier it was for me to cover the soft sandy and notorious bits in Iceland (with a light bikepacking setup).

[Dave Barter]

Richard Hallet wrote it. He’s pretty old school so no surprise on the outcome. Note well he packed shoes .... so just doesn’t get it in my view.

Finally he builds touring bike frames for a living. Something that should really have been disclosed in the piece.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Richard Hallet wrote it. He’s pretty old school so no surprise on the outcome. Note well he packed shoes .... so just doesn’t get it in my view.

and that's the point really I suppose - people either get it or they don't. Some of the old guard seem to think that 'bikepacking' is somehow eroding what they do and appear to see it as a kind of threat ... if only they knew a bit more about the early years, they might appreciate that far from trying to reinvent the wheel, 'bikepackers' have simply rediscovered it.

If I were soft enough to pack shoes, I'd take panniers

[Asposium]

Front page banner: "baggage check: bikepacking bags versus panniers". 3 page article, just skimmed it, last sentence is ".... but not as much as simply leaving at home anything you really, really don't need".

I do get the "really, really don't need" statement.

I am a member of facebook touring and bikepacking group.
many people post photos of their kit, there is a certain mentality amongst some tourers.....
Some classics are:
cycling shoes AND non-riding trainers .....take cycling shoes that can be walked in
Laptop AND tablet .....take one or the other, ideally take neither
Jeans for evening …...really!!!

[whitestone]

The one time I took a spare pair of shoes I just had a saddle bag.

[Hamish]

I thought it was a weak article. It didn't really explain that you can get custom frame bags made to measure, it didn't discuss that you can mix and match frame bags and racks (as I often do) and didn't explain which system is better for which uses.

Mind you, it doesn't really matter what you use as long as you are happy with it!?

[ctznsmith]

If I where a roadie (tarmac and gravel) touring, I'd not give bikepacking bags a second thought and would go for panniers. Much easier to pack.
Soo much easier.

Having used both quite a lot, invariably the thing you want out of the pannier has gravitated to the bottom so you have to take everything out to get it. So I'd argue not that much easier and much more annoying when eventually you reach an A frame/kissing gate/etc.

They are marginally easier to remove from the bike and carry around with you if you stop somewhere (but not if you take 4, and a bar bag and a rack top bag and a... ).