What Bike-packing Bag Brands?

[PaulSB]

I imagine pannier racks are a bit to heavy for the setup i'm going for - averaging around 2000m elevation for every 100km, so i am really trying to go for as light of a set up as i can get away with. Having said that I don't want to go underprepared, so striking that balance is key.

That's what I know as the Golden Ratio, though I work in miles. 1000 feet climbed for every ten miles ridden. That is hilly!

The rack would definitely add weight but the small panniers I use wouldn't add much. I think you have to go with what gives you confidence. If you feel comfortable and confident in your setup the whole trip will be greatly enhanced.

Back to your original question. Do take a look at Restrap. The quality is excellent and the company specialises in bikepacking gear.

 

[Ajax Bay]

I imagine pannier racks are a bit to heavy for the setup i'm going for

Has your TCR got suitable fittings for a rack? There are workarounds. But KISS is a good principle (frame bag and behind the seat bag).

 

[chriswoody]

Personally I wouldn't get too hung up on weight, for road touring as long as your sensible about what you pack then the extra kilo of a rack/panniers vs soft bags really won't matter at all. The more pertinent question is above, can you actually fit a rack to a TCR? if so, then will it be cheaper to buy a rack/pannier combo or soft bags? Like I mentioned in my first post as well the shape/size of your frame will also dictate what bags will ultimately fit as well.

Another thing that's come through this thread is how many good manufacturers there are in the UK, all the brands mentioned, Apidura, Alpkit and Restrap all make really good gear and I have stuff from all of those brands.

Lastly that route sounds really interesting, can I just add a thought in? Your planning on diverting down to Lake Bled, which is a lovely place and it does have a really good campsite as well. You will be in the middle of tourist season though and Bled can be dreadfully busy and the roads around are not too much fun. Have you looked into the Sôca Valley as an alternative? Turn South a little earlier go through kranjska Gora and then over the Vršič pass. From there you can head into Bovec and then down to Kobarid and onwards to Nova Gorcia. A stunning ride through one of the most beautiful parts of Slovenia. It will also be busy, but there's lots of really good campsites and if the weather is hot you can cool off in the Sôca river itself. I'm planning to pass this way myself, but over the mountains themselves rather than the road. Just a thought any way, no matter what you do you can't go far wrong in Slovenia.

Here's a link to when I rode through Slovenia on one of my first ever Bikepacking trips back in 2020 when I carried far too much kit on a bike that was hopelessly undergeared. A Fantastic learning experience though in an amazing country which is why I'm quite keen to go back next year.

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/slovenia-bikepacking-trip-2020.264075/

 

[Ridgeway]

Also have an Apidura frame bag, mines the older type and it’s tight with water bottles, i think now they are more shaped to help with bottle access. Just a really well made bag that i used this year on my day rides, here in Norway:

If i want mine to look all nice and neat it needs a bit of tweaking, here I’d just take the camera out and as usual and being a lazy sod, it is what it is 😂 actually on my frame it’s perhaps slightly too long (frame size small).

So so nearly bought a top tube bag yesterday in the Black Friday sale…… ooh i might have to go back for it🫢

 

[matticus]

Oh dear. Are people still thinking rack setups must weigh more? Do they think a seat- bag that can reliably carry all your camping stuff will weigh 8g?!

Read this if you want to look outside your blinkers https://bikepacking.com/index/rear-bike-racks-bikepacking/

And here's a pic that shows why bag on top of strut is clearly a better (and more flexible) engineering solution:

 

[chriswoody]

Oh dear. Are people still thinking rack setups must weigh more? Do they think a seat- bag that can reliably carry all your camping stuff will weigh 8g?!

Read this if you want to look outside your blinkers https://bikepacking.com/index/rear-bike-racks-bikepacking/

And here's a pic that shows why bag on top of strut is clearly a better (and more flexible) engineering solution:

If you go through that list you'll see the vast majority weigh around 700 grams and that's for the rack alone, a bag to pack your kit in will then add a few hundred more. In contrast my Restrap saddle bag is one of the heavier ones out there and that weighs 535 grams complete with drybag. So yes racks and bags are heavier than saddlebags.

Now lets take my pedantic and argumentative head off! I actually agree with you, the difference is minimal between systems and really not worth worrying about.

Where I think racks fall down is that not all bikes have eyelets for taking racks and with modern shaped frame tubes it's often difficult to bodge a rack on with P clips etc.. Also looking at that list have you seen the cost of many of those racks, especially the really lightweight ones? My restrap bag cost me €100, significantly cheaper than many of the racks there.

If I was to go down the rack route I would seriously look at the Ortlieb quick rack, it only weighs around 540 grams, doesn't require the bike to have rack mounting points and best of all is around €70.

 

[hobo]

I use a backpack with 3lt bladder to carry water, works well

 

[PaulSB]

@matticus that's a very useful article. Thanks.