# Bikepacking Kit Ready



## mtnfiend (Feb 26, 2004)

I got my Carousel Design Works packs in today. Wow amazing construction, especially on the seat pack. This thing is totally first rate.

I managed to get my entire kit mounted on the bike. Food, bowl, wind jacket and fuel are in my Wingnut. I hope I'm going to be warm enough... I used accessory straps to attach my pad (Cascade Designs Ridgerest full length) to the handlebars. Sleeping bag (Marmot Arroyo 35 deg. bag and clothes are in the seat pack. Cloths include REI Primaloft vest, arm warmers, Smartwool balaclava, REI liner gloves, Patagonia lightweight bottoms. Frame bag as my stove (alcohol cat food can), pot/insulated cup (22 oz. Heineken can), windscreen, spoon, water purification (Kleen Water), Cascade Designs pack towel, and shelter (Six Moon Designs Westgate Cape, Easton carbon pole, and Easton 6" aluminum stakes).

Food for the trip will be: Snacks/lunch PB&J on wheat bread, fig newtons, dried banana strips, chili and lime papaya, and a few bars. Dinner Mountain House Hearty Beef Stew Pro Pack and salami, Hammer single serving Recover Rite and Heed, oatmeal cookies. Breakfast two instant oatmeal packets, dried blueberries, Genmaicha green tea.


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## naked indian (Jul 4, 2007)

Looks good. I got to get my stuff together and get my order in.


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## mtnfiend (Feb 26, 2004)

Yeah it sounds like Jeff is really busy.


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## Guest (Feb 15, 2008)

Hey mtnfiend,

That setup looks nice. A lot of strap action on that pad! Is that a standard 'large' size seatbag? Or does he do standard bag sizes? It looks bigger than I'd have thought. Any idea on volume? 

It must be nice to have weather where you can actually get out and give your setup a test ride. Enjoy,

FW


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## mtnfiend (Feb 26, 2004)

The seat bag is a standard large size bag, not a custom size. He does make smaller bags. 

The weather has been a bit warm this past week, like in the upper 70's and clear. Problem is the weeks before have been cold and wet. Which in our local mountains means snow and lots for around here. Most of the trails we plan to ride had, and may still have, too much snow to ride. We will be checking things out tomorrow. If not we will have to go with plan B, which is a terrible choice of an IMBA Epic Trail. Such is life I guess.


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## BThor (Aug 26, 2004)

does the seatbag hit your legs?


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## Zignzag (Jan 23, 2004)

Sweet! Well done. I love bikepacking - road and off road. My weekend trip road setup, including bivy tent, down bag, thermorest, seatpost rack and clothes, is under 10 pounds. My offroad setup is more substantial, with rack and panniers.


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## ionsmuse (Jul 14, 2005)

At least you won't hurt your hands when you endo.  

Those frame bags are sweeeet.


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## mountainboat (Nov 14, 2005)

The bike's looking good!

A couple notes about your set-up.......

Looks like everything fits well. 

I'd say the next step towards refining your bikepacking kit would be to consider a bar bag, so that you could spread the weight around on the bike a little better. This would also allow you to remove some of the load from your seat bag and roll it up a bit further for better clearance in the tech stuff.

Sure, it means giving up the lightweight foam pad for a heavier inflatable, but some of the new pads out there are super comfortable and compact. Check out Big Agnes, Exped, and the Thermarest ultralight 3/4. 

Now that you know you can carry all the stuff you need, start thinking about center of gravity and weight balance. 

When I properly load my bike and bags, I can literally lift the bike by the top tube, with two fingers, in the middle of the wheel base, and the bike balances perfectly. This weight distribution makes a big difference in technical performance and ride quality.

Hope you have an awesome trip this weekend.


Peace on Dirt!


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## mtnfiend (Feb 26, 2004)

Thanks Jeff. I went out for about 9 miles of riding today on some pretty interesting singletrack. There is still too much snow on our originally planned route. The temps had been warming for about 2 weeks and then it changed to freezing again for 2 nights. This turned the snow to ice. The trail we rode today was quite narrow with a good amount of exposure. Not the place to ride on ice. 

The bike handled beautifully! I got a bit of air on some small jumps and cleaned some fun technical ST. We have organized a total reroute of the trip for lower elevation south facing slopes. I think everything is pretty dialed in for tomorrow!


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## bailout (Mar 2, 2005)

*Nice setup!*

Did you guys go ahead with the trip? Any pictures? 
I've only done a couple bikepacking trips but I'm now hooked ( http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=303858 ). My setup is a hardtail with rear racks and panniers. I was pretty happy with it until I learned about Jeff's frame bags. I was wondering if Carousel Designs makes waterproof frame bags. I want to be able to cross hub-deep creeks and still have my gear completely dry.

Also, I'm looking for new places to go bikepacking. Any recommendations for Northern CA?


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## Pivvay (Aug 19, 2004)

bailout said:


> Did you guys go ahead with the trip? Any pictures?
> I've only done a couple bikepacking trips but I'm now hooked ( http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=303858 ). My setup is a hardtail with rear racks and panniers. I was pretty happy with it until I learned about Jeff's frame bags. I was wondering if Carousel Designs makes waterproof frame bags. I want to be able to cross hub-deep creeks and still have my gear completely dry.
> 
> Also, I'm looking for new places to go bikepacking. Any recommendations for Northern CA?


Forget a waterproof bag. Get a normal water resistant bag and put your stuff that must stay dry (puffy items) in a waterproof bag or small stuff sack.


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## JLantz (Feb 8, 2005)

Did you complete this trip? Details would be great.


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## The_Boy (Sep 15, 2005)

Yeah, he did. Check it out here


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## riverfever (Jun 26, 2007)

Thought I'd piggyback onto this:

I recently got my bags from Jeff and I'm really impressed. Jeff's a super friendly guy who's got a good thing going and he really has an eye for detail. I would definitely encourage anyone to give Jeff a shot to earn your business.

Thanks again Jeff. I was undercharged by $10 and I know you caught this mistake b/c I saw it on the receipt you sent. It's on the way dude. Worth every damn penny.


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## cowgirlonwheels (Nov 23, 2004)

Sounds like Jeff is workin' his tail off! They're lookin good Jeff.


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## donkey (Jan 14, 2004)

cowgirlonwheels said:


> Sounds like Jeff is workin' his tail off! They're lookin good Jeff.


Wait......Jeff has(errr...had) a tail?

Whoah....crazy.

B


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## mountainboat (Nov 14, 2005)

*I'm in league with s8tn?*



donkey said:


> Wait......Jeff has(errr...had) a tail?
> 
> Whoah....crazy.
> 
> B


Well, no one has ever accused me of being a saint, but having a tail may be taking it too far.

Yeah, I've been staying busy.

Lots of cool stuff happening.

Not much riding lately though. Mostly just driveway trials to blow off steam, and riding wheelies down the road to the mini mart for a snack. The Kentucky Waterfall wearing chick who works there just calls me "Red Bull" now, if that gives you an idea of things.....so I just throw the horns and do my thing. I have gotten out on a few S24O rides to check out new gear though.

Working long hours and breaking it up with impromto sessions of dancing the robot to the new Radiohead intro, pogo-ing to the Minutemen, and generally rocking out to the Pixies (I'm a building jumper!). Loving life!

Ba'donkey-

Give me a call if you want to talk tour ideas. I've got a couple plans I hope to put into action this later this year.

River-

Here's a user tip for your saddle pack I've worked out through personal experience that will get rid of that "about to drop a turd" look it's rockin' in that photo.

First, when you load your saddle pack, be sure that the items you're carrying towards the back are on the lighter end of the contents inside. This will help with packing and performance.

Second, when you pack, take the time to really compress stuff in there. This will give the pack better structure.

Once you've got it loaded, hold everything in compression for a second, like you would do when packing a snowball. This will remove the air from the contents. Then fold the extension collar up over towards your saddle, so that the load doesn't expand while rolling it shut.

Finish by rolling the collar towards the top. This will give the compression wing straps better alignment.

Also tucking the compression wing straps under the attachment straps will help pull them in and away from your thighs.

Make sense?

The techniques I've developed for using this stuff is a part of the equation that I really haven't taken the time to explain yet. That will change.

Oh!....and if that was my fancy plastic bike, I would wrap some packing tape over the headtube where the bar bag is attached, so that when dirt inevitably works it's way under there you won't damage your swanky machine.....or better yet, consider flipping that stem for a more upright position and attaching the strap there. Your back will likely thank you for it after about 12 hours in the saddle.

Hope that helps!


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## BrendanC (Aug 11, 2005)

*Tails- not a bad thing!*

Tails are both fashionable AND functional. They are a great conversation item & add balance.

Jeff- let's talk stems.


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## dRjOn (Feb 18, 2004)

do the larger saddle packs put more strain on saddle rails? i guess the answer is "depends" but id be interested in folks experiences...im not averse to replacing saddles when needed but i prefer theshape of saddles that tend to have ti rails...i see the bags tend to have large mounting area on the post itself, does this diffuse the weight?


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## riverfever (Jun 26, 2007)

That pic is when I first got the bags and I stuffed 2 full size beach towels in that rear bag. I still have a lot of shuffling to do in order to find the best way to pack everyting in there though so thanks for the tips Jeff.



mountainboat said:


> Well, no one has ever accused me of being a saint, but having a tail may be taking it too far.
> 
> Yeah, I've been staying busy.
> 
> ...


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