Front Harness load and front tire seperation [clearance]

[bicyclehobo]

I am experimenting with my Revelate harness packing things up and looking at how things fit. I am wondering what the minimum tire clearance between my dry bag and my front tire should be. I have about 2 inches right now with a fairly large load and that looks tight to me.

How much clearance do you have and what is not enough?

[BadA]

You are right... it is tight. In my limited experience I would consider 2" a bare minimum, because the load will sag a little once you start rolling and bouncing. It's a drag having to stop to cinch everything down tighter. I am going to purchase a smaller diameter dry bag to address that very issue. You may be able to pack something else under the harness to swing it forward and up to create more clearance(?)

Good luck!

[honkonbobo]

I am experimenting with my Revelate harness packing things up and looking at how things fit. I am wondering what the minimum tire clearance between my dry bag and my front tire should be. I have about 2 inches right now with a fairly large load and that looks tight to me.

How much clearance do you have and what is not enough?

i don't know if you are running a suspension fork or not but if you are 2" won't do and if you are not then its still tight based on my experience.  unless your load doesn't sag or bounce at all as BadA suggested.

you could slide a thin piece of plastic like a cheap cutting board under the straps of the harness to protect the dry bag where the tire would contact in case you do get the odd rub.  i am dealing with this issue on a size small 29er with a negative rise stem.  its a challenge getting clearance with even a smallish handlebar roll.

[bicyclehobo]

I am running a suspension fork but I ride it locked out most of the time. It's an old '94 fork and has at most 1 inch of travel. I'm more of a bicycle tourist than an off roader; however, my next tour will see a good deal of fire roads. I was considering a fender to help prevent rubbing a hole through my dry bag.

Currently I have everything in one drybag that is stuffed into a large dry bag. Is there any benefit to having things staggered or stacked separately and not in the one dry bag?

I have tried several configurations and will continue trying.

[mtnbound]

The only benefits to spreading your stuff into separate bags around the bike I can think of are:

1) Organization.  Having everything in one bag makes it harder to find what you need and means you may have to pull everything out to find the one thing you need (and then repack it all).  Quicker and easier to have stuff organized in a few different bags.   For example, I think it is easier if all tent/bivy/sleeping stuff is in one bag, camping/cooking stuff in another, bike stuff (maintenance and repair stuff) in another, food/batteries/maps and misc. stuff in another and then clothes (of course, each person will vary it as fits them and their trip).

2) Weight distribution on bike.  While this will vary from person to person, loading the front, back and middle of the bike somewhat evenly should help you control the bike.  If all the weight is up front, it makes turning harder, easier to flip if you hit/run over an object and may also affect hike a bike.

[bicyclehobo]

MTNbound in this instance I am only talking about the harness. 1 large waterproof bag or 3 smaller waterproof bags in the harness.

Is there an advantage to one big bag or several smaller bags when placed in the harness.

[bmike-vt]

IMG_3809 by mbeganyi, on Flickr

fargo at GMNF gate by mbeganyi, on Flickr

Fargo on Chandler Ridge by mbeganyi, on Flickr

IMG_2255 by mbeganyi, on Flickr

IMG_9474a by mbeganyi, on Flickr

Hard to tell, but I'd guess in some cases I've had 2-3" of clearance, more in most cases. How big a dry sack you using?
Ride it on some rough stuff. You'll know soon enough.

Are you using the Revelate spacer blocks? Might be able to order some of the foam pads, and cut down on how far it hangs from the bars.

Sea to Summit (maybe others) makes some oval shaped bags, you might be able to use the same volume bag, but orient it more horizontal, so that you cut down on the vertical distance.

http://www.seatosummit.com/products/display/63

Pics from you would help.

[bicyclehobo]

First off thanks! That was a brilliant effort. I will post some pics this weekend of some of the things I am trying.

[bicyclehobo]

I have an outdoor products dry bag that is a bit smaller and managed to fit everything in it. Looking at the photos you can see that the bottom of the harness is only two inches above the tire. The frame size and stack height of the stem basically dictate that I cannot change the clearance. I will wrap the bag in some type of shell and run a front fender to protect my gear. Unless there are any other suggestions.

[bmike-vt]

Take a piece of silver bubble insulation from the home store. Cut it 12" square. Put it on the bottom of the harness / drybag. Use it to sit on in camp.

Or get a flexy cutting board and do similar. You shouldn't need to add a fender unless you want it for other reasons.

[bicyclehobo]

Great advice... I added a link from my site your site...lots of good stuff there. Thanks for the suggestions.