See the gear on Velo Orange

[bogiesan]

http://www.velo-orange.blogspot.com/2013/10/testing-camargue.html

No panniers. Full load. Not a road bike. Not really a tourer. 

[Old Guy New Hobby]

All that weight so high up. No fenders -- muddy gear when it rains. Doesn't look like a lot of fun to me. Of course, this is from somebody who plays in the street for fun.

[DaveB]

This is one of those things that shows it can be done but to what benefit?  The rig looks top heavy and awkward.   Racks and panniers were developed for a reason. 

[RussSeaton]

I understand why they did it.  For mountain bike touring on single track, gulleys, ditches, boulders, mountains; racks and panniers can get caught onto objects like rocks.  So you put everything inside the frame tubes or up high to avoid the rocks.  OK.  But I agree with the others that there is a reason racks and panniers exist.  This bike has a fork with a low rider pannier hole through the fork.  So it can take a low rider rack and panniers easily.  The bags shown in the photo are all sold by Adventure Cycling.  Revelate is the company.  I think they promote them for mountain bikes.

[indyfabz]

Anyone know if "Casey" is Casey Greene?

[bogiesan]

This is one of those things that shows it can be done but to what benefit?  The rig looks top heavy and awkward.   Racks and panniers were developed for a reason.

You would, of course, need to read the whole article to get to the point where they discuss the direct applications and modes.

I thought the photo of the gear, all spread out like a disemboweled grasshopper, would be of more interest than deconstructing or positing an argument of long distance gear swaddling on a mountain bike versus the more conventional application of gear to a road bike for touring.

[DaveB]

You would, of course, need to read the whole article to get to the point where they discuss the direct applications and modes.

I thought the photo of the gear, all spread out like a disemboweled grasshopper, would be of more interest than deconstructing or positing an argument of long distance gear swaddling on a mountain bike versus the more conventional application of gear to a road bike for touring.

Oh, I did read the entire article and I still think it's an awkward way to pack, even for MTB use.

[jrswenberger]

As with many gear choices, i.e. panniers vs trailer, helmet vs none, rim vs disk brakes, etc, this is just another bike touring option, depending on ones preferences.

None of these choices are inherently right or wrong, good or bad. They're just different ways available to us to enjoy the activity of our choosing. Unfortunately, it seems that having options just lead to internet pundits pointing out "apparent flaws" in options they often haven't tried.

Personally, I like having so many options being developed for bike touring. Not that long ago, adapting backpacking and car camping gear was the norm.

Enjoy the ride,
Jay

Edit: Here's a video link showing an incredible trip with this style of gear, not necessarily everyone's cup of tea!

[RussSeaton]

None of these choices are inherently right or wrong, good or bad.

There are definitely wrong and bad choices.  Putting the weight high and in front worsens the handling of the bike.  The bike shown in this thread handles terrible compared to a normal touring bike with four equally loaded panniers.  Rear rack and lowriders.  Now there are valid reasons for distributing the weight like this.  Even though it worsens the handling of the bike.  Having the weight and gear high and in front lessens the chances of hitting the gear on rocks or trees.  So you live with the handling disadvantages to get this benefit.

[jsieber]

Anyone know if "Casey" is Casey Greene?

I don't think that it is. Will pass this post along to him in case I'm wrong.

[NDFenchak]

I've done a multi-day trip with just rear panniers and a handlebar bag, some overnighters with bikepacking bags, and others with just front panniers/saddlebag.  I'm an oddball, I suppose, because I found the rear panniers to be annoying.

The idea behind the bikepacking setup is that you put your heavy stuff in the frame bag, keeping the weight centered on the bike, and it actually keeps the bike handling pretty normally.  The stuff on his mini front rack is a sleeping kit and a tent.  It's mostly just bulky, and probably weighs less than a conventional bracket mounted handlebar bag and the hardware for it, plus all of the junk, camera, and granola bars that you'll inevitably shove into that handlebar bag.
For lightweight offroad travel, which is what was intended on the trip that that photo is from, having that rackless setup makes your bike a lot easier to throw around or over obstacles, and push up bad sections of road or trail, and in my personal experience with this sort of setup, carry through hotel lobbies, and up or down stairs. 
I think of the weight as a bit of a percentage thing.  If you've carrying 50 pounds of gear, 4 pounds of racks and pannier hardware doesn't make a difference.  But if you're going lightweight enough to fit in a bikepacking sort of setup, then 4 pounds of rack and pannier hardware is a much greater portion of your load.

[bikerboy92036]

For those that think this setup is unstable or will yield bad handling, then they obviously have never tried it!
Tour divide racers have been using this setup for years. I did the TD with a similar setup and would blow by the pannier crowds on the downhills. The bike handled great. Of course the downside is lack of space but if you like things light and fast this is a good option.  I did a 650 mile road tour with a similar setup and it worked great. I would bet the inaugural Trans Am race set for June 7th 2014 will see similar setups albeit with road tires.