Outfitting new 29er with frame bags

[fred]

Hello,

I am a longtime lurker on this forum.  I do a lot of cyclotouring and hiking (try to keep my kit light).  After spending a few years designing a 29er with the intention of doing some bikepacking, I finally got the bike finished and am ready to outfit it with bags.  At the time I was starting into my research, there were only a couple of frame bag folks (Revelate and Carousel Design Works) but now I see there are others who have joined in the market… 

My frame is a 29er with S&S couplers.  A hard-tail with Paragon Rockers, a short travel Thudbuster, and a Fox F29 80mm travel front fork. 

Can folks help me out with the basic assumptions? 

Do folks typically get the following bags?

-Frame bag
-Seat bag
-Handlebar bag
-Gas tank

Also, what is the basic strategy for packing?  Heaviest items in the frame bag due to lowest center of gravity?

Feel free to ask me some questions if I have omitted anything…  My vision was and still is to have a bike for the GDR (not interested in racing), Camino Santiago, some of the moderate Grande Randonnee routes in France (just did a brilliant section of the GR65).  Double track is fine, but basically as much buff single track as possible.

Any high level oversight into what each bag manufacturer excels at would be helpful.  I know a lot of them do custom one-offs so feel free to share any experiences…

I have a nice UL fast-packing sleep setup so I am all set on that front.

Thanks in advance,

fred

[bakerjw]

I'm riding a Surly Karate monkey with a RockShox Reba 100mm fork. Just general comments.

I have a Rogue Panda seat bag that I like quite a bit. It is more vertical than the others and has no wobble at all. Quite a bit of volume in them.

I made my own frame bag for the KM. Tools, parts and other heavy stuff go in the bottom of it. The rest gets packed with whatever I haven't gotten stashed somewhere yet.

I also made my own handlebar roll. It holds my tent and sleeping bag which together weigh 6#. It is a bit heavier than most like, but it would cost another $400+ to shave off a couple of pounds.

I am also finishing up a gas tank bag. That will be for lightweight items, snacks, etc...

Water weight seems to come into play quite often. I run 2 water bottles on each front fork.

I found that the extra weight on the bars seems to stabilize the bike. It isn't quite as twitchy as it is unloaded. The extra weight down on the forks as well as up above also makes it stick better on descents; however, it doesn't like bouncing over trees as much as it will unloaded.

If you have access to a sewing machine, you might look in the DIY subforum to see some frame bags that others have made. There's a roll top design that is pretty basic. My mantra in life is to never be afraid to try doing something.

Once you get some bags on the bike, take it out and bang it around. See how it handles and shift weight to feel the changes.

[Meadowbolic]

In regards to bike handling, for technical climbs and decents (e.g., the arizona trial race) I like to minimize the weight on the front handlebars as much as possible. This means no or as small handlebar roll as possible. If you spend a good amount of time out of the saddle climbing, keep in mind if your knees need the space that typical handlebar feedbags occupy.

have fun out there!
- Greg

[Britt]

Check out Ojeva Negra bags. Made in Colorado. Great product and excellent service.