Upgrade for my touring packing set up

[froze]

Don't forget to go to You Tube University, there are a lot of videos on the subject of lighter stuff.

Burley Panniers, are inexpensive and are lightweight.  Of course, being lightweight may not as last long, but they are a good brand, but according to reviews they are durable, so it they could be really good for the price.

[davidbonn]

I think small dry bags on fork cages are a better approach than front panniers.  A big reason is that they are much lighter, much less expensive, and have fewer parts that might break.  Fork bags are also much more waterproof than even the most waterproof pannier, again mostly because of simpler construction.

Another reason is that at lower cost than even a single set of panniers, you can purchase two sets of fork bags of different sizes for different trips.

Usually I run with a pair of small 2.5L fork bags that carry most of my clothes.  I also have a set of 7L Blackburn dry bags that I use for trips where I am carrying more stuff for some reason.

[davidbonn]

Oh, and what I'm carrying with in 2025, from front to rear.

• Swift Industries Rando Bag (10L), now discontinued but similar to https://www.backcountry.com/b/restrap-rando-bag?CMP_SKU=RTO000A
• Mountain Laurel Designs Ultra Fork Dry Bags (2.5L) https://mountainlaureldesigns.com/product/ultra-fork-dry-bags/
• Oveja Negra Chuckbucket https://www.ovejanegrabikepacking.com/collections/handlebar-bags/products/chuckbucket-handlebar-snack-bag-wack-pack
• Oveja Negra 1/2 Pack Frame Bag https://www.ovejanegrabikepacking.com/collections/frame-bags/products/copy-of-1-2-pack-2-0-frame-bag-wack-pack
• North Street Adventure Micro Pannier 14L (more like 10L) https://northstbags.com/collections/bikepacking-bags/products/adventure-micro-pannier-14l
• Sim Works EX Loader (10L) https://www.sim.works/collections/bags-apparel-accessories/products/ral-ex-loader-2
• Ride Forward Designs J-Bag XL (11L) https://www.jaypetervary.com/product-page/ride-forward-designs-j-bag-xl

A couple of comments on the above:  I sometimes use larger Blackburn (7L) fork bags when I need to carry more stuff.  I also have an REI Link II Pannier that sometimes replaces the Sim Works EX Loader.  The Ride Forward bag is new and very nice but wildly expensive, I have a Mountain Laurel Designs 12L dry bag that I used previously and it works fine.  But the Ride Forward bag is a much larger 12L than the MLD bag.  The Ride Forward Bag is only used as an overflow bag to carry additional food and water and normally lives in the RX Works Pannier when not in use.

Normally without food and water with all of the bags I am carrying 20 to 25 pounds of stuff.  For a fast and light overnight I might carry 15.  I get the impression that is quite a bit less than most bicycle travelers carry, but I've rarely stopped and weighed other folk's stuff so I really do not know for sure.

[ray b]

• Ride Forward Designs J-Bag XL (11L) https://www.jaypetervary.com/product-page/ride-forward-designs-j-bag-xl

  ...But the Ride Forward bag is a much larger 12L than the MLD bag.  The Ride Forward Bag is only used as an overflow bag to carry additional food and water and normally lives in the RX Works Pannier when not in use.

(Right - a bit of an aside for Jay Petervary philosophy. He likes oversized bags (and not much luggage - notoriously omitting things like sleeping bags and pads for multi-day races), because he doesn't like to spend time packing. Just jam and go. ) 

[davidbonn]

...
(Right - a bit of an aside for Jay Petervary philosophy. He likes oversized bags (and not much luggage - notoriously omitting things like sleeping bags and pads for multi-day races), because he doesn't like to spend time packing. Just jam and go. ) 

I'm guessing the 11L Ride Forward Bag is about as large as a 15L+ bag from Mountain Laurel Designs.

I really like the Ride Forward Bag, the build quality is superb, and the little shock cord thing on top is a nice feature.  But I'm not sure I will actually want to use it that much.  It is quite a bit heavier and bulkier than the 12L Mountain Laurel Designs dry bag it replaces, and since it also doubles as a bag to hang food in I am not super comfortable using such an expensive bag in a situation where it is likely to get gnawed on by wee varmints and brazen snafflehounds.

[froze]

I forgot to mention that the panniers I have are Axiom Monsoon Oceanweave 45s; they have gone through torrential down pours and not even moisture got in.

Having said that, no bag is 100 waterproof 100 percent of the time, though it could be but you shouldn't leave it to chance.  I line all my bags with white trash compactor bags, these are far tougher than trash bags, then I simply roll the bag close and close the pannier.  The white bag also allows you to see into your bag better as well.  The other thing about the using the compactor bags is that should something spill inside the pannier it won't mess up the pannier.

Of course you should to go a step further, I put everything I don't want to get wet into ziplock bags, and I put stuff that could leak out into ziplock bags, for example clothes go into ziplock bags, cooking oil goes into a ziplock bag, etc.

With the Axiom you can buy an optional rain fly, it's not necessary to keep rain out as I found out, but I bought them because the panniers are a dark gray, the fly is a bright yellow, plus the fly will protect the pannier from abrasion damage.

[sjlannoo]

Wow thank you for this great info!  I have heard some folks are leery of fork bags, having seen a rider go head over bars after one of the bags got loose and jammed into the spokes.  Yikes.  But I do like the lightweight option they provide, along with good place to stash stuff.  Thanks so much!

[davidbonn]

... having seen a rider go head over bars after one of the bags got loose and jammed into the spokes.  Yikes. 

I find it hard to imagine how that could even happen with a fork bag.  It is imaginable if you had a nalgene bottle or a two-liter soda bottle in the fork cages.  It is also somewhat imaginable if you had a regular stuff sack in the fork cage rather than a bag with a daisy chain to thread the straps through.

For my use case, I keep clothes or a sleeping mat in those fork bags so they are somewhat squishy and the Voile straps have a good "bite" onto the bag to keep it securely in place.  20 inch Voile straps seem about the right size, and I'm super careful to tuck away the ends of the straps so they aren't flopping around.  I've done some experiments and those bags are pretty secure even if one of the Voile straps fails (which has never happened in the last 2000-odd miles I've toured with this setup).

24 inch Voile straps seem to be about the right size for a somewhat larger bag on the top of the rear rack.  The 15 inch straps are just barely too short for the 2.5L dry bags.

[sjlannoo]

Good info; thanks! 

[froze]

I don't even use panniers on the front.  I have a Blackburn Bootlegger Porteur rack on the front, my sleeping bag and camping chair in two dry bags, one dry bag on each fork blade, each bag uses 2 Voile straps holding each one against the Porteur rack.

I had a Tubus pannier rack on the front but I didn't serve my purpose so I replaced it with the Blackburn Bootlegger, a rack that is no longer made, but it is a darn good rack.

[sjlannoo]

I love this!  Getting info from folks who have used stuff.  Just what I need.  Thanks!

[David W Pratt]

For the OP:
I have Beckman panniers fore and aft on my Bruce Gordon.  The waterproofing is pretty much gone, but I got a canvas worker to copy the original rain covers in modern lightweight stuff and saved a pound.  If I were really into it, I would cut a lot of the outer straps off, I don't really use them, but I kind of like keeping the set up original.  Agree that the mounting system is superb, simple, light, secure.

[froze]

I love this!  Getting info from folks who have used stuff.  Just what I need.  Thanks!

While I have used panner bags and still do, I can't use every single bag there is, so I found a pair of Axiom Monsoon Oceanweave 45 liter bags I got for half price some years back, and they've been great and completely water proof.  The only reason I bought those instead of Ortlieb or some other brand was the sale price. 

Over the years I ran into people using all sorts of brands, and they told me the same thing I realized with my own, as long as they are waterproof and are large enough to hold what you want a pannier to hold you're good.

Mine have held up extremely well, they still look like new.  I got caught in a 2 hour downpour and there wasn't any moisture inside, which was to be expected due to their roll down design, but I decided to add a rainfly to my bags, but I did that more to protect the outside of the bag from abrasion and not for water getting in. 

I also installed a white trash compactor bag into my panniers as a liner.  Trash compactor bags are a lot tougher than any trash bag you can find, and by using white you can see into your pannier better.  But that was more to contain spills and to keep the bag itself from stinking.  These tips were given to me by other bikers as well as backpackers that line their backpacks with those same bags. 

[sjlannoo]

Thank you; GREAT advice on the trash compactor bags.  I've been scouring for used gear also- I have to quit procrastinating and pounce on a good buy when I see it.  I'm curious about frame bags and some of the handlebar harnesses I've seen.  I plan to use my rear panniers and maybe a combo of other bags instead of the Beckman front panniers, which sit low.  But maybe the fronts won't hinder riding when going on gravel and more wooded, off road routes?  Guess I just need to try it and find out! 
Thanks again, all, for your comments.

[davidbonn]

The big challenge with frame bags is finding one that fits your bike.  There isn't like standardized dimensions for either bicycle frames or frame bag.  So you need to measure your frame and carefully read the specs for the bag.  Or go to a bike shop with lots of frame bag models and sizes available and hopefully they will let you try them on for size.

There are good sources online that can walk you through sewing your own frame bag, which is a reasonable beginner/intermediate DIY sewing project.  There are also a few companies that will build a custom frame bag for your frame, but of course that will be more expensive and probably has a substantial lead time.  But if your frame has unusual dimensions and you can't find what you need or want that is a decent option.  Sometimes you can find people who will make custom bike bags on etsy or pinterest at reasonable cost.

For me I find partial frame bags are a good solution because I can still stash bottles in cages on the lower triangle.