Lightweight Bike Packs and Resources?

Maybe here:
http://roguepanda.com/

I am not affiliated nor have I bought anyyhing from them.just recalled an old post.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=98886.

Bike packing bags:

http://www.revelatedesigns.com/index.cfm

Here are some general bikepacking/touring sites:

http://www.bikepacking.net/

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/

http://bikepackersmagazine.com/

I did a series on the subject here several years ago. Not much has changed aside from even more bike bag makers and better OEM bike options and components (29+, 38 and 42 tooth cogs).

I know there are threads in this forum, incl. MYOG projects:

http://forums.mtbr.com/bike-frame-discussion/

I’ll try to post some of my bookmarked posts/threads when I get more time.

I'm mainly interested in light to ultralight (also cuben) packs – most of the packs are unnecessarily heavy..

The only one I found so far that have a variety of material is http://www.porcelainrocket.com/ – not too much details though

New Zimmerific gear! , Chris Zimmer will make what ever you want,here is his website ZIMMERBUILT

I really like this dudes stuff. Custom Frame, bar, and seat bags.
he also often has blems, etc

http://www.nukesunrise.com/

Some MYOG-specific links:

http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/diy-make-your-own-gear-(myog)/full-diy-bikepacking-kit/

http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/diy-make-your-own-gear-(myog)/my-take-on-a-seatbag-holster/

http://jdfinley.com/bike-frame-bag-construction/

And a couple of vendor sites:

Alpkit

Revelate Designs

…and better OEM bike options and components (29+, 38 and 42 tooth cogs).

Wide 27.5 rims with 27.5+ tires on a 29" frame is how I'm leaning at the moment.

Never been more/better backcountry suited components than we have right now. Good stuff.

And remember you don't have to buy any expensive bag or rack. You can rig up perfectly good drybags to your handlebars and seatpost or buy a less costly rack that will do just fine.

I had a second look, and I think drybags are the way to go.

The only question is how to mount them, I noticed that Alpkit has some with nice loops: https://www.alpkit.com/products/airlok-xtra-dual-13-litre

Does someone drybags that are suitable for this but are lightweight? The loops are the most important part I guess.

This is good on touring, lots of brains to pick:

http://www.bikeforums.net/touring/

Thanks for the suggestion! Will have a look.

Can't believe I missed this thread.

Love these bike bag manufacturers:

Rogue Panda (BPL Friendly)
Oveja Negra (Good Cost)
Revelate Designs (Loads of happy customers)
Porcelain Rocket (Pricy, but top quality)

I can give you a literal WEALTH of resources for bike maintenance, packing tips, trip reports, bike-specific gear, tools, tires, components, etc. Just PM me.

Bikepacker's Magazine (online site) has a ton of great reading material.

Some awesome bikepacking-heavy, but somewhat general cycling/MTB blogs:

Pedaling Nowhere
Bike Grease and Coffee
The Radavist

You can also check out my site: MaxTheCyclist.com

For Drybag mounting, I would mount a 15-25L drybag to your handlebars using Oveja Negra's Front End Loader, and mount a 10-15L drybag to your seat/seatpost using Revelate Design's Terrapin.

Revelate makes drybags specifically for the Terrapin and their own proprietary handlebar mount. I think the Terrapon works better with any old drybag, doesn't have to be the more expensive Revelate one. I prefer Oveja Negra's drybag mount and my own drybag to the Revelate roll.

I use Cascade Designs eVent bottomed sil-drybags. Hundreds of days of touring and I never had a strap wear a hole in one.

Here's that drybag mount with a 15 degree winter sleeping bag AND a down jacket:

I've bought these two bags now:

https://www.apidura.com/product/mountain-frame-pack-medium/
https://www.apidura.com/product/saddle-pack-mid-size/

This seems to be the only company sold close to Austria so it was the fastest option – not the lightest though.
However, I noticed that they are a bit too small for my bike, so I will return them and get the larger version.

I will do a first tour now with backpack (Nigor Mojo fits all I need), Tripod and Camera are mounted to the bike.

It made me think though whether or not the bike-mounted bags are worth it over a very lightweight backpack. Not sure how much I will feel the weight on my back if I have water, camera, tripod on the bike it's rather lightweight.

I think it's more comfortable, especially on hot days, if you have the weight on your bike.

There is a biking forum here too :)

Try searching WordPress blogs for bikepacking and you'll see lots of entries. Our own Max Dilthey has made many contributions and he speaks UL hiking too.

That aside, most of the bikepacking rigs I have seen are on the heavy side compared to out UL hiking kits. There are many who do a good job with the contents, but the actual "luggage" is heavy. It's odd in a sporting category where folk will spend big dollars to lightweight components and then pile on the stuff. There are touring rigs that are every bit as heavy as the worst heavy backpacking kits— or more. IMHO, the only difference between your hiking list and a bikepacking list should be a very few tools and tire repair items.

I follow a lot of bikepacking blogs and most go for the seat bag/frame bag/handlebar bag combo. This makes sense to me if you are riding single track with brush, trees and rocks that would catch on panniers. But most of the riders are on dirt and gravel roads and for that use, the seat bag/frame bag/handlebar bag combo makes no sense to me at all. They cost like blazes too. The only reason I can see for a seat pack is for full suspension bikes and you don't see them used for bikepacking very much at all.

I also see people using large cages like the Salsa Anything cage on the sides of the front forks, which I don't like at all. If you are riding narrow stuff, the front fork is the first thing to hang up and you are messing with the control of the bike at the same time.

If you have a rear rack, you can strap UL stuff sacks on. The Arkel Dry-Lites pannier set looks good too. For my UL setup, I have a 25 liter waterproof OR pack to strap to the rear rack and can carry a waterproof stuff sack with sleeping gear on the front. That still leaves me with a very narrow profile.

It would be cool to see someone like Zpacks build a pannier set in Cuben.

I don't have a rear rack, my concerns are also mainly weight as I'm mostly driving uphill into the mountains. This, as mentioned before, includes a DSLR plus tripod on the bike, so that's already a lot of weight to carry.
On the bike I only have space for a frame bag and a seat bag, as I have the camera at the front.

I now packed my normal backpacking gear (x-lite pad, gatewood cape, sleeping bag, etc) into a Nigor Moyo (3xx grams, 27L).

And as said, this makes me think twice about bike-mounted bags, it would be at least twice the weight for the bags alone, and less space. On the other hand, I think it's more comfortable and less exhausting if you have nothing on your body.

I think the best choice would be Porcelain Rocket, they seem to make the lightest stuff. However, their seat bags are pretty small, you could use much more space there.
Unfortunately they don't really have too much info on the specs.

"It would be cool to see someone like Zpacks build a pannier set in Cuben."

Or Chris Zimmer…. :-)

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=50709

Edit to add: Oops, I see Link already linked to this!

For example, a Toba Robin rack with a top deck weighs 28oz and you can buy lighter. If you can mount it just using the center strut, it drops to 23oz. Cost is $50 or better. That allows strapping your existing UL gear to the top and your tripod can ride on the side– all stable and secure. Once a rear rack is fitted, it can come on and off in a few minutes.

The Arkel Dry-Lites panniers are rather small at 28 liters, and weigh just 16oz. And you still have the top deck than can handle a fat waterproof stuff sack or 30-35 liter backpack with no problem.

I use a Sunlite Gold Tec front rack that is under a pound and you can buy them on eBay for $16. It is just the right size for my sleep system in an UL waterproof stuff sack.

Do the math for cost/weight/capacity on the bikepacking style bags and you'll see.

This my latest config with the Sunlite front rack and a Topeak rear rack with a trunk bag that as integral panniers.