Ultimate bikepacking bike frame that can do it all, any suggestions?

[zh4k]

Hello,

I'm looking for the bike frame that can meet all my needs listed below if you know of any frame that has this potential I would love to hear it:

Can be used for bikepacking, general mountainbiking, road biking with people with 15-18 pound road bikes, be able to handle downhill biking on ski slopes during the summer time.

I'm definitely leaning toward a hardtail bike frame using aluminum.  Hopefully with a large triangle to fit a lot of gear into.  I would love to just be able to use a hybrid mountain/road tire in the back and swap out the front tire with either a road or mountain bike tire as needed.  But would this be possible because of the different size tires or that fact that I would use the hybrid tire for downhill biking?  I just want to swap out the tires super quick if something just comes up and don't want to worry about taking time to change the back tire.  Unless it really isn't that hard to do?

Additionally I was thinking of using internal chain systems such as SHRAM's hammer and that other one that goes into the back tire and starts with an R.  Do you think these would hold up for the various uses?

Thanks for any helpful insight.

[Outsider]

I have a Salsa Fargo, which probably is one of the most versatile bikes available. It does fine on asphalt, shines on anything from gravel roads to easy singletrack, handles technical terrain as well, though the fact that is is fully rigid means that it is not much fun on technical downhill. It has a large front triangle, which can be seen on the picture below (it has 29" wheels and the frame is size XXL).



To fullfill all your needs it would probably need to have a suspension fork (which would make the front triangle smaller) and I don't know how easily an internal gear system, e.g. Rohloff, could be fitted. For any kind of road riding, even gravel roads, a drop bar is a must. I don't think it is realistic to expect all these things in the same bike. Downhill biking, and fast technical singletrack with lots of roots and rocks, is the territory of full suspension, which pretty much is suboptimal for the rest of your needs.

[zh4k]

Wow, nice set up....But yes I know it is hard to find a compromise for all three areas I would like.  However if I got the front suspension fork and maybe one of those seat suspension forks I was thinking it then might work and I wouldn't have to buy a full suspension bike.  Then if I wanted to go road biking I could just replace the seat suspension fork with a rigid fork.

Additionally, what handlebar's are you using, those look sick, also do know know what grips such as ergon's grips, but clamshell could be fitted to those?

Finally, do you think 29 inch bike tires would be the best for all three?  I just didn't know if 29 inch tires were used for downhill or not, and whether they made a 29 inch hybrid bike tire for the rear?

[Outsider]

The front suspension would make a fairly big difference, but the suspension seat post won't help at all during technical downhill, since you would not be seated anyway. The Thudbuster suspension seat post is still very nice to have, though, and it is actually necessary for me due to a lower back injury.

The handlebar on the picture is a On-One Midge drop bar, and it has since been replaced with a Salsa Woodchipper drop bar, as seen in the picture below. The Woodchipper is the best handlebar I have ever had, and is much more comfortable than any traditional Mtb handlebar, even with Ergon grips. A traditional handlebar is still better for very technical terrain in my opinion.



The decision whether to use 26" or 29" (which is the same size as 28") wheel size is often a topic for hot debates. My take on it is that it depends on the rider's height. I'm safely in 29" territory. There are tires for all possible uses in both wheel sizes, everything between narrow road slicks to wide mtb tires.

[zh4k]

Thanks, yea looking at some vids of downhill they definately are not seated, which makes me thank I should buy a smaller frame so as to lower the seat post and allow room for the thudbuster.

As to the drop bar, I was talking about adding mountain bike grips such as ergon grips to those specific bars.  You would just need to find a clamshell version.  Do you like the brakes in that position tho on the bar?  It seems like you'd have to contort your wrists just to break and would seem very difficult on a rocky down hill?

As to the tires, I was unaware you could different style tires in different sizes to mix and match, but it would seem that 26 would be the most versatile size.

Additionally, as long as I have a front fork I can take a beating since I'm still young so I really don't need the rear suspension as much.