why not small panniers

[B@se]

Love that photo.  Is that from the Rivendell website?  (LOL)  I'd like to know more about those tires...I wonder how many flats they had with rubber from that period? 

its from a magizine from these guys
http://www.v-cc.org.uk/index.html

[Smithhammer]

Bicycle touring in Norway in 1890... so Bikepacking is not really new.

Ok, I'll bite - of course no one is claiming that strapping things to your bike and traveling is anything new. And I suppose there is a semantic debate to be had as far as where "bike touring" ends and "bikepacking" begins (and there is plenty of middle ground in between), but as much as I love that classic photo, those guys were not riding the kind of terrain with those setups that a modern mtn. bike, with a lean bikepacking kit, allows one to cover over multiple days. In my mind at least, the point of the "bikepacking" approach is that it allows one to travel on a bike in places that would have been very difficult if not impossible with a traditional "touring" setup.

Such as....



or....



There is no way I would have wanted to be on a skinny-tired bike with panniers or other huge bags strapped to my bike when I was on the trip above. So, no - I don't think bikepacking represents anything radically new. But it is a different approach than traditional touring gear, which makes a lot of sense when applied to terrain that calls for a lighter, leaner approach.

But in the end, who cares. Ride your bike and explore and carry your gear in whatever way makes the most sense for you and the conditions you ride in.  

[B@se]

hmm, friends of me have cycled almost on any part of the globe, no worries with panniers and rack:









http://fietsjunks.nl/

Just a different approach.

Cheers

Bas

[Smithhammer]

Cool pics. But a smooth, flat trail along a lake, or walking your bike in 3" of water isn't really what I'm talking about.

But as I said above, if that's what works for them and allows them to get out and explore, then more power to 'em. I think we both agree that it's a different approach to something people have been doing for a long time. I guess where we disagree is in the advantages that going light and lean afford, and the opportunities that it opens up.

[B@se]

I think you didn't look at the website...



Thats a trip in the high-atlas mountains in Marocco.

and yes they had been riding the great devide with the new Santos 29 pinions...



btw thats the canadian rockys.

I take my bike-packing bags for short trips, and for longer trips I'll take my bags-n-racks.

btw, Elmar works in the travelcycling industrie.

Bas

[Smithhammer]

...I take my bike-packing bags for short trips, and for longer trips I'll take my bags-n-racks.

btw, Elmar works in the travelcycling industrie.

Cool! 

As I said, panniers have their place, either due to terrain or length of trip,  and everyone should obviously do whatever works for them. Personally, they are not my first choice for most of what I like to do.

[AugustWest]

For all but the most technical stuff I can see small panniers making a multi day unsupported trip much more possible. Especially in cold conditions. Granted very few people actually need that but 10 days of food for me will almost fill a truck bed LOL. But I absolutely agree that inline bikepacking frame bags fill a vital purpose and didn't arise for stylistic reasons.

The problem in my mind isn't the bags but rather the racks which seem impossible to engineer without breakage. Then you really are screwed. Not having the fear of broken racks is a big load off.

[B@se]

The problem in my mind isn't the bags but rather the racks which seem impossible to engineer without breakage. Then you really are screwed. Not having the fear of broken racks is a big load off.

Well, I've worked at a cycle traveling shop and some friends stil do. Tubus racks or the OMM racks will not brake. The oldschool racks on Koga-Miyata do break.

On my heavy touring bike (steel mtb with suspfork and 26" wheels) I heaver a nice rack rear rack and a OMM frontrack. I can hurl 4 backrollers and a 40 ltr roltopbag with gear for 2 persons with it with no issues for 14 years now. Also used this bike with load on some mtb trails in the southern Netherlands.

Basicly, the story of broken racks is commonly aplied to cheap racks. and yess seen alot of these in the bikeshops were I've been working.

[Smithhammer]

.....Especially in cold conditions.

This is a large part of the reason that I bought the Kaibabs - for winter trips on my fat bike, where I need extra storage for a warmer sleeping bag, layers, more calorie-intensive food, etc. In the winter I'm riding on snow and not riding particularly technical terrain. I have a Blackburn Outpost Fat Rack for that bike, and it is really solid.

On rocky, steep singletrack I didn't like the way that a rear rack/mini-panniers behaved, but I suspect that has as much to do with the rack as with the panniers. Regardless, there is a point at which putting too much weight on your bike, and mounting it off to the sides where it sticks out, is undeniably going to affect what kind of terrain you can ride.