Yagi, if I'm not mistaken, that's simply a variation on the old-skool post-mount rack (prone to breakage due to the heavily cantilevered design, hence the 5lb weight limit), and not really at all like the Mr. Fusion in fundamental concept or use.

Mark, to be fair to the less "hard" of us, weather can make things nearly- or completely-deadly for absolutely anyone... wrong place at the wrong time, even with solid gear, can kill ya.  Mother Nature always wins in the end. 

My personal preference (not for everyone) has typically been to weight those odds in my favor by taking more than is absolutely bare-minimum necessary, just to account for those unpredictable bad weather scenarios.  I carry more weight than some, but if I break a leg out there on a rainy, cold night, I can hole up and not shiver to death.

Just noting this for newer bikepackers who might read these forums and, as Scott alluded to above, feel like one's not bikepacking (or bikepack racing) without going ultra-gonzo-light and taking on the connected risks.

Hi Mike, thank you as well for the kind words!  You guys are all making me blush over here with the accolades, more than taking my intestines to the semi-public in desperation has.  Seriously. 

Thank you for your generous offer of medical advice as well!  I may take you up on that, but first I want to pursue a lead that just happened yesterday afternoon, thanks to a fortuitous conversation with a customer.  For the first time in the 2+ months of this problem, I have a real, physical, potential condition that matches all my symptoms, and is apparently WAY under-diagnosed by the typical doc.  Best of all, after some research, treatable at home through temporary diet restrictions and some massage.  I will give this a try for the next week or so - and if it works like I hope, I will disclose the cause, for future reference by others.

Elmar, Dave, thanks!  I really appreciate the compliments.  Sometimes it feels like I'm beating my head against the wall of big corporate competition, but then someone like you guys comes along and says something really nice.  You made my day.  Only thing that would make it better is if my abdomen suddenly quit buggin' me...

Kurt, thanks for the reply - been thinking about possible parasites.  Along with about a million other ideas... I've learned that all the tests to see about these sorts of things are wicked expensive.  Come on, January 1st (insurance effective date)!

[sway]

Not trying to sway people's opinions...

I see what you did there, Adam... clever, clever.  Or is it just me? 

Personally, the farther off the beaten track I am, the more I try to minimize mechanical complexity.

+1  I confess to having some trouble making one of the least complicated and failure-prone components on the bike (the seatpost) one of the most.  But that's just me, and, I guess, Smithhammer. 

Thanks for all the responses, guys.  Yup, been taking some awesome probiotics.  No change.  Not super down in the dumps about it, don't think it's stress/mental in nature.  Guess I'll just keep on trying to isolate potential causes, try to ride more, and hope like hell it's not something more sinister.

Yeah, Mark, I hear you.  I've been working on a rails-only concept too, with droppers in mind.  I don't ride with one - although I'll be (somewhat reluctantly) spec'ing one on my next build, just to see what all the hubbub is about - but I can see their place.  I just don't think that place is on all bikes, although since they are hot right now that's what is probably going to happen...

Posting this here because this is the category where the long-loooooong-miles freaks hang out. 

As some of you know, I generally ride a lot - big day rides (10-15 hours), races (100+ milers, 12-24 hours, multi-day), and tours, plus all the normal back and forth when you tend to live on your bike.  However, that hasn't been the case this year - much too busy at the shop, and no help for much of the year.  Riding, unfortunately, took a major back seat after the AZT300 this spring.

For the last two months or so, I have had some sort of un-diagnosed chronic health issue related to my gut.  No change in diet (smaller portions since I'm not going gonzo), or anything at all, other than the fact that I haven't really been riding much.  After 15+ years of not needing to see a doctor, I've seen three in the last two months; and they all say I'm perfectly healthy.  I don't feel very healthy.

My question is:  Have any of you long-mileage folks ever taken a long break from riding and noticed that perhaps you don't process food the way you used to?  I'm wondering if my metabolism just reached a point of inactivity where it decided it didn't need to run at as high a level any longer, and slowed down, leading to my weird gut issues - maybe nothing's wrong with me per se, but I certainly don't feel normal.  Or has anyone noticed any other sort of overall health issue that you could tie back to reduced riding?

I know, vague - but I don't need to share all the details, and this is a completely off-the-cuff hunch anyway.  Just curious if anyone has ever noticed adverse health effects as a result of suddenly not riding like a crazy person.  Thanks for any help!  (Oh, and before anyone gets all wise with me:  Yes, I'm staging a comeback to the bike soon.  Winter looms, and so does actual help at the shop!  I will be running an experiment to see if I get better once the miles start adding up...)

All 1st-gen seatbags do sway some, as noted above, but I've gotta say I see most seat bags swaying WAY more than is inherent in their systems.  In my experience it appears that most people either don't pack super well, or don't really tighten the straps down, or both.  I used a Revelate Viscacha for years with no genuine issues, although I always wished for that last little bit of movement on rough trails to go away - and that's why I dreamed up the RailWing idea on a tour in 2014.  Once Andrew and I went through several prototypes, the final version ended up super-bomber, and you can't break it in a crash.

Still, OP, until you can get a Coconino w/ RailWing later this year, you can pack so that your current bag is nice and filled out (no empty space that creates big wrinkles when compressed), roll as short as possible, and don't be afraid to really crank on those compression straps (all four!).  The seatpost strap really doesn't do as much as people think, it's mostly in the seat rail compression straps (although the post strap does have to be tight).

Re: Porcelain Rocket vs. PDW, I think we're going to see more of this in the near future.  I'm already waiting for someone to rip off the RailWing idea.  As I've mentioned before, it's one thing when everyone builds on the work of others, that's how creative processes work.  CDW begat Revelate begat PR and Bedrock and so on... but that's different from simply copying a crucial design parameter (or wholesale copying an entire bag design, which has happened to us multiple times at Bedrock) because one doesn't care to truly innovate.  I figure with all the big companies jumping on the bandwagon, they're not gonna spend the money or time to prototype and develop unique systems - they're just going to send some bags to Asia and say, "make this, but cheaper".  Kinda, you know, like how Sinyard took some Ritchey frames and sent them to Japan for the first batch of Stumpjumpers.  But I guess next year or whenever Specialized will claim to have invented bikepacking, just like they did MTBs, 29ers, short chainstays, and fatbikes.  Sheesh...

Oh, what?  Sorry, my bad, got a nerve there.  I'll stop. 

I am a Surly fan (and Salsa / Surly dealer) as well, but my personal opinion on the Instigator 2.0 is that damn, that bike is heavy!  I am no weight weenie - I like steel, and ti, and parts that value durability over weight - but I've ridden that Instigator and it is a beast.  Some bikes ride lighter than their actual weight would suggest.  I think that bike actually rides heavier than it's scale weight would suggest!

Personally I think Salsa's El Mariachi is the best complete steel hardtail going right now if you're not in the market for a custom-built frame.  Better parts, better geo, better grade of steel, better dropouts, better value for the dollar when compared to the KM, etc.

Start one! 

Oh yeah, my fat bike is primed to roll! 

If we get the huge winter I'm expecting down this way, I wouldn't count on riding high country until at least the middle of July, in some places...

Why hello Mr. Reeves! Long time no talk!

I certainly haven't tried the RailWing on one of the older Revelate bags - we do sell them separately to retrofit to the newer Viscachas and Pikas with the removable rail straps, but obviously that's not an option for you.  I think that once you run the RW over the sewn-on straps, you'll have enough junk in the way to make it a no-benefit situation, and it might even be worse.  The RW with the newer Revelate bags does help, but it's not as solid as with the Coconino - the Coco has extra features sewn into the bag itself to interface with the RW.

Long story short:  Either keep your Viscacha as is, or upgrade to the Coco as a complete system.  Hope that helps!

Aha.  I should have known: A) to include you in the shout-out, B) to check the Ramble.  I did not know about Chad's ride, though.  I've always wondered if there was any trail that tied into the 24HITOP course... a thought that's kept my mind busy in the wee hours of the morning while riding around that 24-hour hamster cage a few times in years past.

Thanks for the tips!  I will pursue those leads.

Hey Joel, it is a small world indeed.  Glad to hear we introduced you to bikepacking bags, that's awesome to hear.

I completely understand the budget factor.  I've been there, and in non-bike areas, still am.  All the prices for the gear in our store are the same as anywhere else (there's no Durango upcharge), but yeah, bikepacking gear can be expensive, and the better the gear (as in Bedrock's case), the more expensive, as that generally means more expensive materials and a more labor-intensive build process.  I made my own for years, that's a great way to keep cost down - although you'll spend a lot of time instead and end up with a more basic product.

Basic seat bags are, simply, an oxymoron.  Seat bags are difficult to do well.  The cheapest nice one, in my opinion, is the Revelate Pika.  As for handlebar rolls, they are a little easier to set up on a budget - you can certainly just strap a dry bag to your handlebars.  You'll lose some ease of functionality, but it will work.  The Revelate Harness with a dry bag is a relatively cheap option.  Using either the Revelate or Bedrock pockets, as suggested above, with your own dry bag can work well too.

Let me know next time you're in the States, and if you're passing through Durango, we'll see if we can work out a package deal for a family's worth of bags!    Cheers and enjoy the REALLY big mountains over there!

I tend to view the ups and downs of trips as an enjoyable part of the experience.  Experiencing the extreme highs and lows, often so close to one another, is a great way to explore your inner wildlands.  At least, it is for me.  1 part outdoor exploration, 1 part personal psychology lesson...

My personal fav is the Bedrock Coconino.  Of course, I am a little biased.    I thought up the RailWing idea while touring down a long, dusty, boring-as-hell stretch of gravel, when for lack of anything better to do, I began pondering how to keep all those swaying seat bags I see in the videos a little more stable.  I also wanted something that I couldn't break if I crashed on it.  In 2011 I made and used a semi-rack system similar to the PR Mr. Fusion, but after the CTR I scrapped it because of the potential crash-breakage factor, although first I did have Ron at King Cage make a super-sweet titanium prototype semi-rack.  From 2012-2014 I used a Revelate Viscacha, and if packed well they work well, although I was always trying to get that last little wiggle out of it.  Finally I got my friend Andrew at Bedrock interested in the RailWing (he named it) idea and we got that system rolling.  It's now one of his most popular bags!  So if you haven't gotten anything yet, and the current 5 week wait list doesn't bother you, call up the shop and we'll get you on the list...

Zero impact to CT users.  All water sources along the CT in our area are well away from the Animas, for one thing, unless you filter from the river itself in Silverton.  Even then all you'd have to do is filter from the Animas northeast of where Cement Creek comes in (right in Silverton proper), although there are plenty of mine adits upstream of that confluence as well.  I personally just don't filter from Hermosa, the Animas, or anything near Silverton unless it's coming off a snowfield, ever.

More importantly, the recent spill is just a nice, orange-colored reminder of a problem we've had for over a century.  I did some math - based on the 200 gallons/minute that the Gold King mine was leaking for at least the last few years (if not longer, as it began leaking shortly after Sunnyside Mining Corp plugged the American Tunnel and walked away in 2003, raising the water table inside the mountain so that the Red, Bonita, and Gold King began spewing waste).  Turns out we've had 105 MILLION gallons of that exact same stuff coming down Cement Creek and the Animas annually.  And mining waste has been an issue here ever since mining began in the Silverton caldera in the 1870's.  So while it was heartbreaking to walk down to the river on Friday morning and see it running orange, I'm hoping it serves to raise awareness of the fact that we need cleanup of these sites, and have for way longer than any of us have been alive.

Long story short:  If you were okay with drinking the Animas before, you'd be okay drinking it as of today.  During the next few high-water events we may get a little orange tint from the deposits left by this latest big flush.  But it's not been a "clean" river for decades.