Kurt's Take: Rack + panniers versus seat bags for bikepacking and touring
Published 2024-07-03
All Comments (17)
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Great explanation, short and to the point, no long drawn out fluff. Thanks for your thoughts
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Best overview I’ve seen! At 5’0”, I will likely never use a seat bag…
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I recently started using my bob trailer on a few grav rides. Kinda crazy how difficult it is to feel it behind the bike! I admit, it was for a more luxurious ride where I took my cooler with drinks, hammock, chair, etc lol but considering I had like 25 lbs in the trailer it cruised along great!
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Happy to have your back on your adventures Kurt! Thanks for the continued support!
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I've got to agree with you. I keep wanting to get back to a seat bag for the simplicity but.. I just did Ragbrai with some cheap panniers and it was good. Felt good, heavy but good. I probably loaded them up with a little too much weight but.. I'll be looking into those micro panniers. I tend spend most time on crushed limestone and gravel. I love how well panniers work for camping out of and making mid trip lunch out of. Stay cool man.
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Nicely presented. There is no substitute for practical experience.
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I love my Revelate Nano panniers! so does my Surly 🥰seat bags are ok but these bags kick ass 🥰🥳👊🏻
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Great breakdown Kurt!
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Great overview, I have similar reasoning. Tailfin (rack) is great for convenience and very stable. It's easy to pull something out and put it back. But it is heavier. Saddlepack is light but harder to access and swings about a bit. Also changes size and shape depending on what you take out/put in during the trip. So I lean towards the rack for fun trips and the pack for fast, light bikepacking races.
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I have a Tailfin out back with no panniers and a 12 liter Bags x Bird top load bag in front. Revelate 1/2 frame in the middle as I like to use bottles. That was a nice balanced ride for gravel and really helped on some slippery descents. Never done a road tour, but what you wrote makes sense. Sleep! Don’t just replace your pillow - get a better pad like a 25” wide Nemo Tensor - they work!
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Great info and insight. Thanks!
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I like your mini pannier set up! I BP on a full suspension MTB, and use Arkel Rollpackers front and rear. I carry the weight really high at the rear but it doesn't bother me on fast gnarly single track. The Rollpackers are bags on a frame, so inbetween what you have just reviewed.
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Good info ..
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Thanks. I'm shocked that a guy with your credentials has only 80 subscribers. Where is everyone?
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It seems like one of the advantages of going “bikepacking” style is that you are more streamlined and you have weight distributed over the length of the bike. In your photo, there is no bar bag or anything visible that would put a bit of weight on the front. I wouldn’t want too much weight in front, but do you think grip on cornering for the front tire would be better with a little weight forward?
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If you use a dropper post then a seat bag won’t work well.
