How best to pack...

[rivers]

I'm a shorter rider- 5'2", 46cm bike (Orro Terra C), and I'm just wondering if there is a better way to pack. My bags are the following: 5 litre altura vortex handlebar bag, 4ish litre (I think) custom full frame bag, 15 litre topeak backloader (I have the luxury of a 31" inseam so have a decent amount of seat post showing), and a small (2ish litre) BTR accessory bag that I can attach to my handlebar bag (I normally use it for commuting, holds my lunch, battery pack, and keys with room to spare). My handlebar bag just about fits my sleeping bag, mat, and alpkit elan (not including poles) with no room to spare. The BTR accessory bag will have snacks, battery pack, toiletries and probably charging cables and a plug. My frame bag will have elan poles, an apidura hydration bladder (3 litre, but I doubt I will fill it to capacity most of the time), stove, food, and items I may need quick access to such as a rain jacket, arm warmers. In my saddle bag I have a set of bamboo base layers (mostly for sleeping), packable warm jacket, spare bibs and jersey, spare socks, off the bike shorts/tshirt, microfibre towel, and cookset (planet x 750ml titanium pot, gas, coffee mug and cutlery). I might be able to squeeze my low top converse in either the saddle bag or frame bag. My trips are never more than a week, and I am usually meeting my wife (and now baby) somewhere at the end of it. I'm also never too remote, so am able to restock food supplies daily.
Is there a better way to pack what I bring? Is there anything I might be missing?

Edited to add: Tools, repair kit, spare tube, etc are on the underneath side of the downtube in a little waterproof case

[Bearbonesnorm]

Is there anything I might be missing?

Maybe or maybe not - we're all different but I always pack those items which MUST remain dry separately from anything else. That means that anything I need for sleeping (quilt, jacket, socks, etc) will be packed on their own which in my case is usually in / on a bar harness. That bag won't be touched at all until I stop for the night and my shelter is up. Things which may get wet or at least damp (tarp, groundsheet, bivvy bag) etc are somewhere else.

[whitestone]

Being short doesn't help with a lot of things. My wife's the same height as you and the main problem for her is clearance over the rear wheel, she uses a Stooge which is in the background of this shot of my bike. This was for a overnighter last week on The Deeside Trail, fine weather but getting quite nippy at night.



We both have Exped 8L dry bags on the front. In mine are:

• Exped inflatable sleeping mat + Schnozzle inflator bag.
• Cumulus 150 quilt
• PHD Minim 200 sleeping bag
• tent outer (Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2)

Tent poles are also held in the Wildcat Lion harness. That lot's somewhere between 1500g & 2000g and is at the upper limit of what you want on the bars. The tent outer is in its own stuff sack just to keep wet and dry things separate (but see lower down).

Cath's front bar bag has similar but with just a Cumulus 350 quilt.

The Revelate Feed Bags have trail food in one and camera, phone, first aid kit, travel glasses, foldable spoon in the other.

The Wildcat Cheetah top tube bag has tools and spares plus CO2 cartridge and adaptor, sewing kit, toothbrush and paste, midge hood.

On the saddle I've a Wildcat Tiger harness with their larger (10L?) tapered bag but it's nowhere near full.

• inflatable pillow
• PHD lightweight duvet jacket
• Alpkit 650ml mug with gas canister and whatever else I can fit inside.
• Alpkit merino long johns and long sleeved top
• Food
• A couple of eating bowls
• 2 small bottles of wine

No rucksack/backpack but in my jersey pockets are lightweight waterproof and arm warmers.

Once you get to multi-day trips, especially ones with little chance of resupply, then the only extras are more food and fuel.

Something that Stuart didn't mention but has done in the past is: don't pack things in their stuff sacks as they take extra room that way. Just shove soft things in and around the hard items like mugs and pans.

The only things out of your list that I'd consider leaving behind (personal opinion here) are the spare bibs & jersey, spare socks, off the bike shorts/t-shirt. But a lot does depend on where your contact with civilisation is. If just mooching around camp then if it's wet I'll keep my cycling kit on until it's time to turn in, if it's dry I'll put the merino sleepwear on and wander round in that looking like Lee Marvin in Paint Your Wagon Cycling stuff can usually dry out overnight but if it's wet then you'll just end up with two sets of wet kit, one on your person and one in your bags.

[fatbikephil]

I also tend to have my dry kit in one place but usually in the seat pack as I've a one with a removable dry bag. Bar roll carries waterproofs and shelter (flat tarp or deschutes) so I can get them in and out quickly without having to take out a dry bag, unroll it etc.



From last week - medium light load out! Quilt, mat and pillow already in lightweight bivvy bag rolled into seat pack dry bag. Separate dry bag with merino t shirt and boxers for sleeping in and a light fleece for riding or sleeping in depending on temps. I also packed a pair of lightweight shorts so I could lounge around my mates house. If the bivvy bag got wet, it would get rolled up separately and the quilt and mat would be kept in the dry bag. Loads of additional space in this seat pack for extra clothing / bigger quilt. I'm tall but the Jones odd geo does reduce the seat height effectively so not much bag clearance. There is space for a huge frame bag however.

Front roll has flat tarp and poles / pegs, waterproof jacket and trousers, gaiters and S2S nano mesh mozzy tent thing (tiny and only 60'gs but a sanity saver) There is plenty of space in this for extra food, beers and clothing if I need it.

Frame bag has BB meths stove based cooking kit, spork, bowl and cup, a dried meal and breakfast plus other food, water bladder, inner tube and pump, toilet kit (trowel and bog roll)

Front pouch is waterproof so has phone, camera, head torch, specs, bit of toothbrush and toothpaste tabs and could also carry snacks for eating on the hoof. Tools, puncture kit and spare batteries in the gas tank.

When its to be midgy or crap weather. I would use the Deschutes and mesh inner which would go in the front roll with pole and pegs. The seat pack then only has dry stuff which can get chucked under the tarp and emptied in the dry.

Like this from last year....



As Bob says don't bother with spare cycling kit just use what you are wearing and throw in an extra layer for chilly weather. Using merino or bamboo based stuff reduces smells.... I used Bamboo boxers under my riding shorts for this trip which worked very well. Much less smelly than 4 day old cycling shorts and comfy too.

[rivers]

Thanks for the viewpoints all. As I said, I may be short, but I do not struggle with available seatpost and can easily fit a 15 litre saddlebag, which helps a bit. But it's everywhere else where space is in issue.
I've been home from work with covid for the past few days, so I've been playing around with my set-up. There's still a bit of work to do, and I have a few new bits that are currently making theirselves at home in the post room at work.
Current iteration of my bike, with a very poorly packed saddle bag


Trip last year

[rivers]

Also, the reason for an extra pair of bibs and jersey is usually meet my wife for a few days r&r post trip. Amd I have been told that I(and this is a direct quote) "better not smell as bad as last time". So fresh clothes should help with that.

[ScotRoutes]

Also, the reason for an extra pair of bibs and jersey is usually meet my wife for a few days r&r post trip. Amd I have been told that I(and this is a direct quote) "better not smell as bad as last time". So fresh clothes should help with that.

Send clean clothes to her and she can bring them along then!

FWIW that packing looks pretty good to me.

[Lazarus]

Will you think this through FFS. Send her some dirty cycle clothes ,whilst riding, and she can wash them for you and then bring them

[boxelder]

Also, the reason for an extra pair of bibs and jersey is usually meet my wife for a few days r&r post trip. Amd I have been told that I(and this is a direct quote) "better not smell as bad as last time". So fresh clothes should help with that.

Can she not bring fresh kit in the vehicle?

I’ve recently started using cages on the forks (monkey/gorilla cages from BB shop). They’ll take water bottle, tools/spares canister, exped sleep mat, stove, etc (not all at the same time obviously). Weight is kept low and I find I drink more often as it’s always visible.

[TheBrownDog]

As an aside, nice to see a https://www.bike-bag.co.uk/ frame bag out there. They made my very first frame bag for a Condor Heritage tourer (I think) about 12 years back. I must have pulled it apart and stitched it back together three or four times to fit different bikes until it was retired.

[whitestone]

Will you think this through FFS. Send her some dirty cycle clothes ,whilst riding, and she can wash them for you and then bring them

This reminds me of a thread over on STW. The OP was wondering how to get his pack size down (he happened to be hiking rather than biking). It turned out that he was taking spare clothing and food for ten days without resupply. In the UK! Now you really have to work at not visiting anywhere where you can resupply for more than a few days. To me (and most of the other participants in the thread) it was just being obdurate for no real gain.

If you (the OP) are meeting up with your wife then there's no need to take spare clothes, just pack a bag with fresh clothes and ask her to bring it along.