If you are going bike touring you are going to need stuff and a way to carry it. There are all sorts of configurations folks use to carry gear on a bike ranging from simply taking a backpack to pulling a trailer and a myriad of options in between. I am taking a more traditional approach with a modern twist. Rear rack with small panniers and a trunk bag, handlebar bag, and adding a frame bag for good measure.
So why not a trailer? They are simple to load and there are some pretty light weight durable models to be had. To be honest I think they allow you to take too much stuff. It is accepted knowledge that if you have space you will fill it. By forcing a limit on volume you ensure you are only taking what you need. The other is they make you long and can be unwieldy to maneuver, especially when not pointed down the road. Think walking through a crowded down town, parking it in front of a store, or just turning it around. A trailer was never a real consideration for me.
I own many, many backpacks. Why not use one of those? The cheeky answer is if I wanted to backpack I would have gone for another hike. But seriously, if you have biked with a pack you know that the angle of your back when on a bike makes the pack flop around not really resting on your hips and shoulders correctly. One of the nice things about bike touring is not having weight on your body. Lastly, pack sweat!
What about an ultralight bike packing set up with a frame bag, small handlebar bag, and a big seat bag? I gave this one some serious thought. Since the Appalachian Trail I have had a fondness for ultra light. But these “Bike Packing” set ups are mostly for long weekends with perfect conditions where you know what you need and can make do with the bare minimum. More than that the minute I decided to bring golf clubs this sort of minimalist set up was a no go.
Then there is the traditional touring set up. I think most people have seen this at least once out on the road. Think two large panniers on a heavy rear rack. A large bag on top of the rack with a massive stuff sack bungied to that bag. A front rack to hold panniers on the front wheel and a handlebar bag the size of a carry on piece of luggage. The down side to this approach is similar to the trailer. Too, too, too much space and therefore weight. I have only seen a few people out on tour this trip but one guy had this going on and I have to imagine he had 80+ lbs of gear (and he did not have golf clubs).
So what do I have going on? Like I said a modern twist on the classic touring set up. My route will see me on all types of trail from paved roads, gravel forest service roads, and even some single track. I needed to be weight conscious, mindful of load stability, and have a way to carry golf clubs.
The rack – I knew I needed a rack to attached the clubs to. Most of what I looked at seemed ok but the traditional attachment mechanisms for bags left something to be desired. Rattling down the road with my panniers jingling the whole way did not appeal to me. Enter the Tailfin Rack. This British (I think there must be some Swiss or German influence too) has designed a carbon rack with robust camming bag attachments that lock your bags down tight. No movement, no rattle. It is light secure and is filling a niche for bike packers that want something a little more stable than a big seat pack or bike tour people that want something a bit more svelte. They also have a clever axel replacement that allows you to mount the rack if your frame does not have eyelets to directly mount it. It is almost as nice to look at as it is to use. Absurdly expensive but until the other manufacturers catch up with better tech it is worth it.
The rack is a system with available panniers of different sizes and a trunk bag all of which are proprietary in how they attach. If it did not work so well this would have had me looking elsewhere. It is like an Apple product. It is expensive, works flawlessly, and it does not play that well with others. Much like pasta and beer, you should only do it yourself if the reason is to make something better than you can buy. This is why my panniers and trunk are bought and not made. They are just that well done.
The pannier is their mini at 10 liter capacity. They make ones up to 22 liters. It is my kitchen. It carries my stove, pot, and food. The trunk carries my tent and spare clothes. I also have a second pannier that I will trade in place of the clubs when I send them forward while I am on the Great Divide Route. This will allow for more food/water storage between more spaced out resupply.
I bought spare pannier attachment hardware from Tailfin to make my golf bag work with this system. I feel the golf bag is a post on its own so we will wait to do a full page spread on that.
The bike frame I have was designed with maximizing the main triangle in mind. This is to allow you to tuck a frame bag with considerable storage inside it. This item I decided to sew myself. This allowed me to maximize the space further with a custom fit. As you can see it takes up every inch of the frame except a little space to run a bike lock through. Made with light weight, waterproof, but durable X-pac and Dyneema fabrics it is mounted with bolts to the numerous braze-ons Salsa put on this frame. I really like the clean look of not having straps everywhere holding it to the frame. The bag has a main compartment split in two by a Velcro shelf that divides them. This can be opened if the whole space is needed for a larger item. The Velcro shelf also keeps the bag width from squishing out that could cause clearance problems for my legs. The bottom compartment holds tools, spares, and chain oil. The top compartment holds my electronics (I will discuss that set up in a separate post), glass cases, hat, and bike lock. It has a map pocket on the non drive side for, well maps and other small thin items. All zipper are water proof but the bag is only water resistant due to the seams.
The handlebar bag I also made. Again with X-pac. When finished I thought I had made a mistake and that it was too big. This has been a good thing as there always seems to be something random looking for a home and it is the only bag that has any spare room. It is one large compartment with a roll top closure that allows you to customize the volume and compact the load into a tight package. I also added daisy chain webbing so I can strap items on if needed. So far I have not used this feature. It carries my sleeping bag, pad, inflatable pillow, flip flops, and jacket. I try to keep the load there light to minimize the impact on steering. The bear spray, chamois butter, and spare tubes have also found a home there.
I have a “gas tank” bag, also from Tailfin, on the top tube that carries quick access items like my sunscreen, wallet, lip balm, the days snacks, and headlamp. This bolts directly to braze-ons like the frame bag.
Since the frame bag takes up the place where you would normally store a water bottle I made two stem bags. They are pouches mounted on either side of the stem with Velcro wraps that hold water bottles. I call them my hydration holsters and frankly I like them better than bottle cages on the frame. I also stuff my gloves in them under a bottle when stopping at a store or at the end of the day. Nothing fancy but if purchased they would be $50 a piece. They were made with left over fabric from the other bags.
Lastly I carry two 1.5 liter water bottles on my fork. These strap into cages with Voile straps and have proven to be the only way I have survived this heat. I am currently getting 10 miles to the liter of water!
Every morning is a game of Tetris. Everything fits but only if it is placed in its designated spot. I am hoping this keeps me from forgetting anything.
At this point I am thrilled at how they are all working. The system is tight and tidy. Nothing moves around. Nothing but the Colorado flag on my clubs flaps in the wind. The weight distribution feels good and so far my stitches are holding well. For me it is the perfect balance of top of the line products that perform better than I could make and bespoke hand made items I can take pride in.
GEAR OF THE WEEK -Lezyne micro floor pump.
With all the flats, I have been hard at work inflating new tubes. This guy gets it done. Bigger than I would take on an afternoon ride but still small enough to carry 4000 miles. The little kick stand seems silly but it actually works and it inflates at twice the speed of the typical pumps you would carry. It also has a digital pressure gauge (hot tip: read the owners manual). When tested against my home pump and digital gauge it was just as accurate. Lezyne makes very refined products and the attention to detail is second to none. I made the bag to protect it while smashed up against the other items in the bag.
