The article that Jerry posted is good. The other thing that's easy to do when you first start riding with "stuff" is to use to big of a gear and mash. Dropping a gear or two and spinning easier will be easier on your knees as well.

Hand raised for a shirt and stickers of some sort. Sew on patches for all of the frame bags we own?

MUCH less likely to break than any manufacturer's GPS handlebar mount.

David,

Yeah they are really nice. The Mukluk one has gotten a good workout so far. I'm amazed at how much stuff one of these frame bags holds without even giving any thought to how stuff is packed in. A quart thermos of hot chai was a welcome treat on a cold ride a few weeks ago.

Looks like a good list. A spoke nipple or two to go with the spokes wouldn't be a bad idea either.

Just received my Porcelain Rocket frame bags from Scott this week. I'm completely blown away by the quality of Scott's work. He was extremely easy to work with and communicated back and forth quickly. Some photos of my bags are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/zenbiking/sets/72157628104075749/

I'm happy to take some more if you want detail shots of anything.

Steve

I went with the Jones Loop bars on my Big Dummy. I'm still working on getting the bar angle and position dialed in, but I've been very happy with them so far. Now that I have figured out where my lights and other stuff are going to mount, I'll get to work on wrapping the area where the bars join each other as I use that area a lot for a cruising position on the local trails. I'm thinking about putting on some regular grips like others have done, but I'm not sure about that yet.


Cockpit II by S.Fuller, on Flickr

I just received a full kit from Scott. These bags are awesome.

Is that a custom seat bag, a Booster Rocket or a Sally Ride?

On longer trips, I've tried to keep it lighter (10 lbs or so with water), using the space for bulkier items. Usually a 100 oz hydration bladder, clothes, some food, etc in it. For day trips around the area or single track, I've had a twelve pack of beer plus other stuff in it.

I know you didn't want specific recommendations, but I've had good luck with my Ergon BC3. It's about 25L in capacity. The hip belt really helps keep the weight off the top of the shoulders. It doesn't have a lot of small pockets, but it's easy to organize things inside. They have rated it at about 22 lbs of capacity.

NLooks like Home Depot sells it, but holy crap that's a lot of Tyvec to only need a little bit of it.

I found my sheet of tyvek at a local home construction site. It's used as a vapor barrier/wrap for new houses. A bit of dumpster scouring and I had a piece that was more than large enough to make a ground cloth out of for a cost of $0.

A) Drive side up when the bike is laying down and the bag is open.
B) Most people are right handed
C) Still able to have most of your braking available via the left hand when using the right hand to get into bag

I have one or two of those bar extenders around and not once did I ever think of attaching it to the fork in that manner. Great idea! 

If anyone else is looking for one of these, in this same size, I know of one local to me at a shop in Iowa.

I've been in contact with Scott over the last couple of weeks wrt some bags for various bikes. Based on what I've seen and heard from others, I am expecting a quality product. He's been really good to work with so far.

I am impressed enough with my SON hubs that I am figuring out how to afford one on all my wheelsets.

I have a Schmidt (SON) built up for my Fargo. I love the freedom of having a light available all the time that I am going to build a dyno wheel for my Big Dummy as well. I think in the case of the BD, I'm going to use one of the Alfine hubs for the BD just to keep the cost down. Sure the Alfine's have more drag, but I'd rather save the money than worry about another 6W of power output from my legs when the light isn't on.

Love the look of that Ti Fargo loaded up.

Agreed. Sharp sharp looking bike.

Porcelain Rocket out of Canada has a handlebar setup that is similar to the Revelate Harness.

I went through some of this on my Fargo. I too was more interested in a comfortable 3rd hand position that took some weight off my hands. I ended up with the Profile T1+. My decision points:
- I wanted my wrists in a comfortable position. The ski bend in some brands/models didn't really lend themselves to that for my wrists.
- Inexpensive.
- Able to take some abuse

As others have said, bar shape and clamp size will play a role in what works on your bike. I wouldn't suggest putting them on a carbon bar. I've had them on the Fargo for about two months now and I find myseif riding on them a lot more than I thought I would, even commuting around town. I also figure they will make a nice spot to hang a bed roll.

That is a cool little lip protector on your cup.  I have the same cup but I haven't seen one of those.  Where did you get it?

Snowpeak makes these for their mugs.

http://www.rei.com/product/800044/snow-peak-hotlips-package-of-2