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Post your Bikepacking Rig (and gear layout!)

674K views 980 replies 423 participants last post by  andrewfelix 
#1 ·
Post your riding rig and gear layouts for all to enjoy!

Descriptions of what you have got going (and how it works for you) are always a plus
 
#351 · (Edited)
I've done just under 50 days of bike touring (on-road) and several hundred days of backpacking. This was my first Bikepacking trip, combining the two other sports into one. I only did around 35 miles on an overnighter, but I had to carry my bike over or through so many downed trees, it felt like double the miles. I thought that carrying so much weight on my back would be bad, but if my bike were heavier from using a frame bag, I would have had a lot of trouble getting it over some of the trees blocking the trail. I also don't think I'll do anything with such aggressive downhills if I can't get behind my seat. I think I'll switch to a rear rack so I can achieve this. the giant seatbag was also a pain to pack and unpack and it would hit the tire it if I didn't understuff it and then use cinch straps to pull it out of the way.

My setup:



Day 2 of my first bikepacking trip: the climb! the top half is all gnarly singletrack. The descent down the other side is a ridiculous signletrack trail on a ridge/spur which hits four or 5 little peaks on the way down. It's really cool seeing where you're going from the top and how it stretches out across the landscape. didn't think to take that picture...
 
#355 ·
I've done just under 50 days of bike touring (on-road) and several hundred days of backpacking. This was my first Bikepacking trip, combining the two other sports into one. I only did around 35 miles on an overnighter, but I had to carry my bike over or through so many downed trees, it felt like double the miles. I thought that carrying so much weight on my back would be bad, but if my bike were heavier from using a frame bag, I would have had a lot of trouble getting it over some of the trees blocking the trail. I also don't think I'll do anything with such aggressive downhills if I can't get behind my seat. I think I'll switch to a rear rack so I can achieve this. the giant seatbag was also a pain to pack and unpack and it would hit the tire it if I didn't understuff it and then use cinch straps to pull it out of the way.

My setup:



Day 2 of my first bikepacking trip: the climb! the top half is all gnarly singletrack. The descent down the other side is a ridiculous signletrack trail on a ridge/spur which hits four or 5 little peaks on the way down. It's really cool seeing where you're going from the top and how it stretches out across the landscape. didn't think to take that picture...
Ya I would get a rack and top load it, that way you could get behind the seat if needed and wouldn't have to deal with panniers sticking out;)

Great bike by the way!
 
#377 ·
No problem! I'm biased of course, but I think the Troll / Ogre is the perfect (non fatbike) choice for bikepacking, considering how versatile they are. Krampus would get higher marks with me if it just had a few more cleverly placed braze-ons to give you more options.

After my first trip, here's what I'm changing for next time: First, I updated my Troll's fork for the new Troll fork, which will allow me to take advantage of Salsa Anything Cages for lighter, bulky gear that can be stowed on the fork blades (I'm just not a fan of zip-ties or hose clamps for this purpose). Secondly, I'm getting a full frame bag instead of the Tangle half-frame bag. This will allow me to store a 4L Dromedary bag along with all the other stuff I kept in the Tangle bag. I've found that I pretty much need 7L of water with me for an all-day ride, and coupled with the hydration pack, this should do the trick.
 
#370 ·
My bikepacking setup is finally complete. This is the setup for my next 2-month Kyrgyzstan trip.
The trip is going to be a offroad most of the time, including a lot of unrideable stuff. My intension is to carry a setup as light as possible. I need a hobo stove , and a lot of space to carry food for many days on that trip though. I also need a big sleeping bag, since temperatures at nights can be below 0 degree Celsius.



In the front are my jacket, the sleeping pad and the tarptent. They are mounted on my front bar rack.
On top, there is a light waterproof bag, originally made as a seatbag. It's this one.

On the frame is my waterbottle, the hobo stove, a framebag for my tools, and a tennis ball container. The container will carry my precooked food for the day. It might also carry additional water on the end of the day, since I always consume a lot over the night. On the rear rack, there is a light backpack, which I am going to carry on my back when descending on trails. Depending on the steepness, I will move the stuff from the front to the rear rack.


This is my front rack:

It weights about 250gram, is made some brake levers, aluminium and pvc pipes, fiberglass and resin. The joints of all pipes are filled with resin, to prevent the screws from getting loose.

I am not sure about the weight of the bike and the gear yet, but the combined weight it will be definitely under 20kg.
 
#373 ·
Nice job on that rack, Estate. Does it have a leg or something to hold it up? Doesn`t seem to me like the brake lever clamps by themselves would resist much torque with a load, but I might be wrong.
Thx. This is actually a valid concern. I have no doubt that it would resist the torque. I can put my whole body weight on the rack. However on long terms, it might fail because of the changing stress. I am not that concerned though, because the weight on the front is very low. (below 4lbs)
 
#374 ·
Qs for estate: What sort of bike and fork/travel is that? 26", yes?

And also, it looks to me as though the front bag arrangement might obscure vision of the front wheel - I find this disconcerting when trying to avoid holes or similar at low speed, or on rough descents.
 
#375 ·
Qs for estate: What sort of bike and fork/travel is that? 26", yes?
Manitou Black 85-120mm fork. The frame is a Chakha Pele frame which is not produced anymore. The frameshifting mounts and the lower bottlecage holders are brazed to the frame.
And also, it looks to me as though the front bag arrangement might obscure vision of the front wheel - I find this disconcerting when trying to avoid holes or similar at low speed, or on rough descents.
It does, and in fact barely rideable decents are my favourite. However, I don't ever look at my front wheel, because it would be to late anyway to take action. Also, depending on the trail and load, I will have my backpack on my back and the front luggage on the rear rack.
 
#385 ·
^ Useful info, thanks! Pity Surly haven't got around to mentioning it on their site, but I've noticed it ofetn takes them months to update things. I wonder if it's using the lighter tubing as per the Krampus fork and KM (according to vikb) or heavier as per the Ogre/Troll?
 
#387 ·
I like the idea of Anything Cages on the forks because there are a few lightweight, but bulky items that I'd rather not have taking up so much volume in my frame bags or backpack. I'm thinking of stuff like my sleeping pad, all of my stove/cookset gear... even my little backpacking coffee press. I'm guessing I'd barely feel the weight of these things on the fork, whereas when I strapped water bottles to my fork blades via zip ties, I definitely felt it, and the zip ties kept popping off due to the shifting weight in the bottles.
 
#388 ·


If you are going to mount bottle cages to your fork that doesn't have braze-ons use hose clamps. They are 100% solid.

Anything Cages are fragile and one of the reasons I decided to ditch my fork mounted cages was they ended up being banged up and got in the way when I laid the bike down or leaned it up against something or had to hike-a-bike through vegetation.

Salsa has said they'll be coming out with a more robust Anything Cage. Not sure when that will be.

It wasn't a total failure, but I didn't like it much.



I replaced them with a stem mounted bottle cage which I love. Makes getting water super easy and has stayed put even on rough high speed descents.

I'm trying out a 1.5L bottle/cage on the DT. That will give me over 2L of water which is plenty for my part of BC.

If I need a ton of water for a specific trip I'll throw 1-2L in my backpack and add fork mounted water bottles to the Krampus for that trip.
 
#391 ·
Troll v2.0

Got everything set for a S24O. I originally ran a Salsa Down Under rack on the front, and carried the excess on my back in an Osprey Talon. Now, with the frame bag, and the bungee held dry bag on the bars, I have nothing on my back. Not perfect, but works.
Tire Wheel Bicycle wheel rim Spoke Land vehicle
 
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