# Most Useful Frame Bag



## RatBikeRod (Jun 27, 2019)

Hey, guys and gals, I am just getting back into Mountain Biking and will be picking up a Trek Stache 7 today. 

My question is this - to carry the basics (multitool/tools, med kit, spare tube, etc...) is there one good bag or should I consider getting a few smaller more purpose built bags?

Mostly I will take my bike by truck to where I want to ride then spend time on the trails. I am not yet to the full on Bikepacking state (maybe sometime in the future). So these will be day trips back to a common site. 

Any advice would be appreciated.


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

RatBikeRod said:


> Any advice would be appreciated.












If you are not sure about bikepacking and want to use a water bottle these ^^ partial frame bags are nice. They hold a fair bit, but allow you to still use a water bottle. If you do decide to bikepack you can just use this instead of a full frame bag. Won't hold as much, but it's fine and will be useful for all rides instead of a just your few days of bikepacking in a year.

Mine is from Porcelain Rocket, but most bag brands will offer something similar.


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## str8edgMTBMXer (Apr 15, 2015)

this is what I have used for pretty much exactly what you carry, plus the water

https://www.osprey.com/us/en/product/raptor-14-RAPTOR14S19_550.html

I got mine on big time sale at REI 4 years ago...it has been through hell and back between biking and using it at my job...actually saved my back on a few crashes as well

I am slowly building up gear for bikepacking, and am thinking of getting a gas tank type bag next, which might end up holding some of the bigger items like the tube and multi tools and phone...


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## mikesee (Aug 25, 2003)

Revelate Ranger is super nice.


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## RatBikeRod (Jun 27, 2019)

This looks pretty good. I guess I just have to decide what I want to do with water. Either a hydration pack or just bottles and a half-frame bag. 

Definitely no backpacks. I hate those things.

Edit: I meant the Relevant Ranger....


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## mikesee (Aug 25, 2003)

RatBikeRod said:


> This looks pretty good. I guess I just have to decide what I want to do with water. Either a hydration pack or just bottles and a half-frame bag.
> 
> Definitely no backpacks. I hate those things.
> 
> Edit: I meant the Relevant Ranger....


Depending on the day or trip, I sometimes run a 6L bladder in my Ranger, sometimes a few 1L bladders, and sometimes soft goods (jacket, lunch, etc...) with a small bottle. Super versatile.


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## jcd46 (Jul 25, 2012)

Banjo brothers makes some good and affordable frame bags.

I'm getting this for m Krampus and you can put a bladder in.

https://www.jensonusa.com/Oveja-Negra-Half-Pack-Frame-Bag


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## HerrKaLeu (Aug 18, 2017)

Not sure the water bottle should determine the bag. I have full frame bags (rogue Panda) and put hydration bladders in. Easily fit 3l. then a hose is attached to handlebar (via retractable) and I can just sip while riding. the good thing with a bladder is it conforms to other items in the bag and if you use less water (i.e. colder rides) you get more space for other things (i.e. clothing for colder rides).

Leaving most of the triangle unuses is a waste of space, IMHO.


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

HerrKaLeun said:


> Not sure the water bottle should determine the bag. I have full frame bags (rogue Panda) and put hydration bladders in. Easily fit 3l. then a hose is attached to handlebar (via retractable) and I can just sip while riding. the good thing with a bladder is it conforms to other items in the bag and if you use less water (i.e. colder rides) you get more space for other things (i.e. clothing for colder rides).
> 
> Leaving most of the triangle unuses is a waste of space, IMHO.


If your goal is to maximize storage space a full bag makes sense. Personally I don't want to use a bladder and prefer a bottle. On my bikes will full frame bags I have to unzip the bag every time I want to access my bottle which is a hassle. The partial frame bag holds more than I need and allows the use of a bottle/cage so that's the setup I prefer for day rides.


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## heapshake (Mar 31, 2019)

I have a full frame bag but for what you are describing a half would work. I also think a top tube bag could work as well. As far as water goes I use feedbags. I have 2 from Rockgeist and they can fit a 1.5L smart water bottle (I replaced the cap with a sport one) snugly. I've heard smaller bottles need to be cinched to keep them from popping out. 

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk


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## RatBikeRod (Jun 27, 2019)

heapshake said:


> I have a full frame bag but for what you are describing a half would work. I also think a top tube bag could work as well. As far as water goes I use feedbags. I have 2 from Rockgeist and they can fit a 1.5L smart water bottle (I replaced the cap with a sport one) snugly. I've heard smaller bottles need to be cinched to keep them from popping out.
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk


Yea, with the limited frame space on the Stache I am thinking that repositioning the water bottle mounts would be my best bet. Because even the half bags I have looked at get into the cages due to the limited space inside the frame.


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## RatBikeRod (Jun 27, 2019)

vikb said:


> If you are not sure about bikepacking and want to use a water bottle these ^^ partial frame bags are nice. They hold a fair bit, but allow you to still use a water bottle. If you do decide to bikepack you can just use this instead of a full frame bag. Won't hold as much, but it's fine and will be useful for all rides instead of a just your few days of bikepacking in a year.
> 
> Mine is from Porcelain Rocket, but most bag brands will offer something similar.


So I am wondering if I could use one like yours by removing the rear cage and moving the bottom tube cage down lower? Or just go with something like the rack on the rear of the seat?


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

RatBikeRod said:


> So I am wondering if I could use one like yours by removing the rear cage and moving the bottom tube cage down lower? Or just go with something like the rack on the rear of the seat?


Are you running a dropper post? If so that will limit what you can do with a seat bag and the seat bag will limit how much you can move your butt behind the saddle.

You can use these B-Rad bases from Wolftooth to lower the bottle cage that's on top of your DT. Although you could just put it anywhere you want and attach it with electrical tape wrapped around it many times. That ends up being pretty darn secure and very cheap.

https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com.../b-rad-bottle-relocation-and-accessory-device


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## heapshake (Mar 31, 2019)

I think a feed bag makes more sense than the cage on the seat. You can use it for more than holding a bottle and I think it would be a lot more stable.

You could also use a wedge frame bag that would leave room for a bottle.


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## RatBikeRod (Jun 27, 2019)

vikb said:


> Are you running a dropper post? If so that will limit what you can do with a seat bag and the seat bag will limit how much you can move your butt behind the saddle.
> 
> You can use these B-Rad bases from Wolftooth to lower the bottle cage that's on top of your DT. Although you could just put it anywhere you want and attach it with electrical tape wrapped around it many times. That ends up being pretty darn secure and very cheap.
> 
> https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com.../b-rad-bottle-relocation-and-accessory-device


Yea, I have a dropper post and I was thinking about that. I like the WolfTooth idea.


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## RatBikeRod (Jun 27, 2019)

RatBikeRod said:


> Yea, I have a dropper post and I was thinking about that. I like the WolfTooth idea.


I went ahead and ordered one of the WolfTooth repositioning mounts and removed the down tube cage. I think I will get a feed bag for the handle bar for a second bottle if I want a second and that will free up a lot of room in the triangle with just the rear bottle holder. This way I can use almost a full bag for all but the very back near the seat tube.


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## 126driver (Apr 21, 2006)

Rogue Panda makes a sweet stem bag bottle carrier: https://roguepanda.com/shop/bismarck-bottle-bucket/


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## Rob_E (Nov 22, 2010)

I like the idea of a partial frame bag for day trips. For actual bikepacking, I go full frame and relocate my water bottles. I may want more than one water bottle, but really only need one to be easy reach. Easy enough to swap them when one gets empty. To that end, I've put a water bottle on my stem, and sometimes one behind my seat.
I've used the King Cage Top Cap mount.
Dropping a bottle in my feed bag is also an option, but I like at least one, dedicated, water bottle mount, because I never don't want my water bottle handy.
Lots of options for where to carry your water if you cover the normal mounts with a frame bag: https://bikepacking.com/index/add-cage-mounts-bike/


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## Willysjeepguy53 (May 23, 2019)

I have a full frame bag on my stache. Most of the time it’s not completely full but if I put a bladder in there it will take up the majority of my space and run out of room for my tools and jacket. I’m running an osprey hip hydration pack for short rides and an osprey raptor 14 for longer rides.


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## mikesee (Aug 25, 2003)

I did a long day ride last week -- not an overnight -- where I needed 6L of water, clothes to be comfy from +20*f to +65*f, plus food for ~12 hours out, a few hours of good lighting, as well as tools and repair stuff to fix anything that might happen on a ~100 mile desert ride.

All that and I didn't want to have anything on my back.

You can see how I packed for it, and maybe understand most of why I chose to pack that way, here:

Big Wheel Building: Out in the world.


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