Rack pack or saddlebag

[middleagecyclist]

Have decided to do London-Edinburgh-London 2013. Never done an audax before and will be looking to start with a 200 km before the end of 2011.

I have a lovely touring bike which I plan to use. It's comfortable and reliable. It normally has front and rear carriers with 4 x panniers + a bar bag on multi day touring trips. On the audax I intend to use a bar bag with map holder and remove the front carrier. I am not sure though if I should remove the rear carrier (heavy duty Tubus Logo) and use a saddle bag, keep the carrier on, or change it for a lighter one, and use a rack pack.

Wondered if the weight reduction balanced against the reduced load carrying ability is worth it? How much stuff do you actually need to take?

Thanks for any help.

 

[PpPete]

I started my audax career on a tourer, and used a cheapo bar bag - about 5 litres, and a Topeak medium wedgebag.
Could probably have got away with just the barbag if i'd been more careful about cutting down what I take.

On the new bike, I use a "tool-bottle" and a 4 litre R&K Contour bag, which has proved adequate up to 300km rides. For shorter rides the Contour bag has been ditched in favour of a Topeak Large wedgebag.

I find if i have a large bag I tend to fill it with the "just in case " stuff - and weigh myself down as a result, however I have just ordered a Carradice Barley - which is almost the "uniform" of the Audax community, as I think that and the bar bag together "should" be sufficient for LEL

There are some interesting kit lists here.

 

[Greenbank]

Drop bags on LEL'09 meant that I didn't need to carry that much stuff. Everyone got a bag drop at the halfway point (Dalkeith), I bought an extra one at Thorne 320km/1100km. This meant I was only ~400km from a bag drop at any point in time, so no need to carry spare clothes/etc. I showered/changed whenever I got to my bag drop point.

Because of this I could easily have done with just my Carradice Barley (7L capacity) for LEL'09 but I used my Creek2Peak rackpack instead (16L expanding to 22L). Doing so meant my bag wasn't packed to bursting point, so if I needed something from it it was easy to get to, rather than having to unpack half the stuff just to get to something. I could store spare food in there to eat on the road.

For PBP 2011 (with no bag drops) I used the Creek2Peak rackpack as I had to carry more stuff including 2 complete changes of clothes:-

http://www.greenbank.org/audax/pbp_02.jpg

Rack is a Tortec Ultralite, only 400g and carries up to 25kg.

 

[Nuncio]

Have decided to do London-Edinburgh-London 2013. Never done an audax before and will be looking to start with a 200 km before the end of 2011.

That's the way: a declaration to the world. I like your style. You can't get out of it now.

Comfortable and reliable is just what you want for an Audaxing bike. I wouldn't worry too much about weight.

Like most things, luggage is a personal choice and you'll come to the solution that suits you best through your experiences on the road. I swopped some years ago from rack and pack to Carradice Barley saddlebag and it worked out fine for LEL and PBP (though I admit to supplementary change of clothes at bag drops). The advantage of the Carradice, with a Bagman support or SQR block, is the quick release: easier than fiddling with velcro straps. At some controls it's handy to take the whole bag with you.

Judging by PBP, the British (and to a lesser extent, American) prediliction for Carradices is spreading to continental Europe.

 

[Greenbank]

Note that the Creek2Peak rackpack isn't available any more.

If I was buying for Audax use again I'd definitely be tempted by the Lezyne Trunk Caddy (Expandable version):-

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/lezyne-trunk-caddy-expandable-rack-bag/

The two side pockets for the bulky but light change of clothes leaving the central bag bit for heavy stuff like tools/tubes/etc.

The bigger the bag the more stuff you'll take. The hard bit is only half using what you've got.

 

[frank9755]

The Tortec Ultralight rack is a great piece of kit, weighing no more than a half-empty water bottle.

On PBP I used mine to support my saddlebag. I could have used my Bagman but I cycled out with panniers so it would have been an extra bit of metal to transport. A rack is just as good for supporting a saddlebag and the Ultralight weighs no more than a Bagman, while giving much more flexibility.

I'd recommend a saddlebag rather than a rackpack for three reasons:

- Bike handling. By putting the weight right where it is supposed to be, a saddlebag is the best way to carry luggage on a bike without impacting handling. A rackpack or panniers put it further back, giving you a tail-wagging-dog feeling. You won't carry that much on LEL but you will carry it a long way so you want the bike to feel as good as possible

- Accessibility. It's very easy to get things in and out of the saddlebag while on the go. I tend to use the side pockets for food. Stuff doesn't tend to fall out even if they are not done up (and with practice you can fairly easily do and undo the buckles on the go). Also it is easy to tuck things like arm warmers or cap into the top of the main compartment while on the go. Being able to do this sort of thing without having to stop can save you precious time and momentum, which might enable you to, say, both eat and stay with a group.

- Style. They just look the part! They've been out of fashion for a long time but are coming back. Seeing them all on PBP, with lots of Americans and even a few Italians now using them was great. You even see a few commuting in London nowadays.

 

[zigzag]

i've got carradice barley, but i find it inconvenient to use, and for me - it's just too big for audaxes with all weight being in one place (hence affecting bike handling). my preference is small handlebar bag (can be found in decathlon), topeak medium wedge bag under the seat and medium sized (about 2l) waist bag. that's all i need for very long audaxes. for shorter - even less. but then i sweat very little and my clothes can stay clean for few days with no real need to change..

 

[frank9755]

Agree a barbag is handy, especially for food. But there's a trade-off between more bags and weight. I used a little Topeak (?) triathlon bag which fits on the crossbar behind the stem and can carry a whole pack of fig rolls!
ZZ, you manage to avoid carrying much stuff so I can see a saddlebag would be overkill for you, but the best thing about them is that they put all the weight in the one place where it doesn't affect bike handling - the saddle!

 

[zigzag]

it still affects handling, more noticeable when riding out of saddle. the best place for luggage would be near bottom bracket or in the main triangle, unfortunately there's very limited space there. one positive "side effect" of a bar bag is when it's mounted on a racing bike, it makes steering a bit slower which is what you want on very long rides.

 

[vorsprung]

The weight of the bags isn't the issue. It's an audax bike. The issue is the size of the bags. The bigger the bag the more junk you will take with you.

For LEL 2005 I used a Super C saddle bag- 23 litres
For most uk rides up to 600 I used a Super C or a smaller SQR Tour 16 litres. One Bryan Chapman I used a Carradice Barley, which is smaller still.

For the PBP in 2007 I had a bag drop and used the SQR Tour. For PBP2011 I had no bag drop and so added a 5 litre bar bag

The bags I use seem large to most other riders. Mostly they use Barleys or smaller. Some of course have panniers

Clothes seem to take up the most room. If you can ride (for example) summer night rides without leg warmers or other extra clothes then that's a big saving

Next year I plan to get a "micro" sized pump, try and reduce my kit and ride some longer rides with just the bar bag.

 

[middleagecyclist]

Thank you all for your answers.

I think I will be fine with the bike I have for the 200 - 400km rides. I'll strip her down to the bare minimum and use a bar bag and likely a Carradice SQR Tour. Of course for longer rides I now realise I will just have to get a dedicated Audax bike. Now what colour do i want it to be....