Cyclocross bike and touring.

[W I S N E R !]

Finally took the plunge and got rid of my road bike and MTB as trade ins for a cyclocross bike. I've always been a skinny tire guy, but 23Cs have gotten old…commuting through downtown Los Angeles in the dark- it might as well be offroading with all the potholes and cracks and steel plates. And MTB riding…No more. I'd rather hike or run if I'm on trails, no desire to tear through single track these days.

Seems like the cyclocross bike is the best of both worlds for me. Just finished a 30 mile commute to work and can still ride fire road and smooth trail to get to some trailheads I run. It's nice to be able to jump a curb but still have drop bars and some speed….

So I'm riding a modern setup with a carbon rear end and carbon fork, no eyelets for racks or anything of the sort, which I like.
But I'm thinking about how to do some touring on this bike, namely San Francisco to Los Angeles right now. Loads would be in the SUL/UL ballpark.

I can strap a sleeping bag and pad to the handlebars without anything fancy…done this before.
I'm thinking I'll sew a frame bag for it as well.
I don't mind wearing a small, light pack.
Leaving me with my rear end options. Does anyone know of a lightweight, clamp on style rear rack (the type that clamp on to the seat post)? Or perhaps I'm better off with something like a Revelate under seat bag?
Any good DIY links for a bag like this? Or tips for rear end cargo?
I'm not serious about touring so don't want to spend the $$$$.

[BlackHatGuy]

BPL member Nick Smolinkse makes bike bags (Rogue Panda). He's got an interesting under seat bag: http://roguepanda.com/2014/08/25/seatbags/

[Andrew F]

I've got one of these seatpost racks:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005ZIR8HA?ie=UTF8&at=&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links

It's strong, light and pretty cheap. Certainly cheap compared to the Revelate seatbags. I've done some gnarly downhill with 10 lbs strapped to it and it's still going strong. Highly recommended.

[Nathan Meyerson]

I just did a California Coast tour. From Leggett in Mendocino County to Santa Barbara over 8 days in January.

If your kit is light enough, you can get away easy on that ride.

I rode a cross bike (Gunnar Crosshairs) with a frame bag and two rear panniers. I honestly only needed a single pannier, but brought two to balance the weight on my bike.

With a light backpack and by strapping a pad and/or stuff sack to your handle bars, I am pretty sure you can get away without needing any rear rack or seat bag.

Try to set your bike up with the gear before you worry about the rear end and see if you can make it happen.

I definitely had a bulkier quilt than you would need this time of year, and many redundant layers when I did the ride in January.

I love bike touring because depending on the route, you can get away without carrying much food o ra cook kit, and water is generally abundant. There are good food stores every day or two on that ride. Lots of places to camp, BEAUTIFUL Coastline, and great riding. The stretch of the 1 from Big Sur to Ragged Point is GORGEOUS!

Hope you can make that trip happen, you'll enjoy it, I am sure.

[Dale Wambaugh]

A bikepacking style seat bag ssems like a good combo with a frame bag and a handlebar bedroll. I dont think much of the clamp on seatpost racks. If the clamp doesn't hold, you'll have a little disaster on your hands.

If you do need panniers, you can use a rack that mounts on the axle skewer and a seatpost clamp like the one below.

For UL panniers, check out the Arkrel Dry Lites:
http://www.arkel-od.com/en/dry-lites.html

Bon voyage!

[Nick Gatel]

Craig,

I have a seat post rack with a bag/pannier combo you can have. I am in between a couple trips killing an hour on my iPhone and checking in with the boss lady. I won't have cell phone access until Mon March 23rd. Call me then.

[Author]

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