# Thoughts/experience on fork bags?



## Lundi (Jun 25, 2017)

I've ridden with front/back panniers but after doing the Divide Route with frame/handle bar/seat bag I'm reluctant to go back to panniers and racks but looking for a bit more packing space.

Anyone used fork bags? Recommendations?

Thank, Steve


----------



## ridinHigh (Jan 12, 2012)

I like the Blackburn outpost cargo cages. They come with straps and you can use any dry bag.


----------



## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

I don't like having stuff attached to my forks. It messes with handling and getting through tight spaces. For the GDR which is essentially an unpaved road ride you can get away with fork mounted gear though. So if that's your goal vs. singletrack touring why not try it?


----------



## Aushiker (Sep 27, 2007)

I have Salsa Anything Cages HD on my Salsa Mukluk and use dry bags with them. I have learnt however use dry bags with lash loops such as the Sea to Summit Big River Dry bags as I found bags without loops couldn't be secured as well as I would like and hence would slowly work loose (and in one instance fell off costing me two hours of back-tracking).


----------



## Lundi (Jun 25, 2017)

The Salsa cages look nice but I have a front suspension so I can't use the mounting holes. 

Can I get some hose clamps around the top and bottom "flanges" on the Blackburn cages?


----------



## Rob_E (Nov 22, 2010)

I don't have a front suspension, so I can't address any issues there. I can say that I use the Salsa Anything cages, and they work fine. I have the Anything Bag, and it's a little small for my liking. But the larger the bag, the more potential problems. I agree with Vic that they can affect maneuverability. I don't find the weight or the added width to my bike to be an issue (but I'm not squeezing through a lot of tight spaces, either. Usually rail trail is as off-road as I get), but if the bag is too tall, it contacts the frame when you turn, which means your turn radius is decreased. If you're not dealing with existing mounting points, you may be able to change the position to fix that. Using the mounting points on my Troll fork, my only solution is to use shorter bags.

I like the handlebar roll/fork cage combo more than I liked my front rack set-up, mainly because I would have to work my dynamo lighting set-up around my front rack, which meant that once everything was set up, I didn't want to mess with it. Which meant commuting year round with a front rack I wasn't using just because it came in really handy three or four times a year when I went camping. Not that I never used the front rack in my commute, just not enough to justify it's continued existence.

I also think that combo is a little lighter, but it also seems like it holds less. I'd like to see a breakdown in weight/space of a typical bike-packing front end compared to a typical rack with two Front-Rollers. Not sure which will come out ahead because I feel like part of the weight savings of the fork-mounted method comes from the fact that you can't carry as much.

But if you don't need the extra room, I prefer the fork-mounted set-up to the front rack. But if you _really_ don't need the room, the fork-mounted cages are the first thing I'd remove. I'm riding rigid, and I usually have a rear rack. One Front-Roller holds more than two fork bags, and one Front-Roller holds almost as much as my seat-post bag. I just spent a few days riding some rail trails, and the only reason I went "full-bikepacking" was because getting the rack into my airline luggage was a pain. So I went with the seatpost bag. And the only reason I went with the fork-mounted bags was because I don't have a light/mid weight quilt set-up, and I can't fit both of my cold weather quilts and my tent into my handlebar roll.

So, while i don't know about the front suspension and hose clamp issue, I would say that fork-mounted bags work fine if you need them, and better if you don't need them.


----------



## Lundi (Jun 25, 2017)

Thanks for the feedback, great stuff! I think my rack days are coming to an end, there are so many more options and manufacturers than a few years ago.

I'm not riding in tight quarters front and back racks are just too bulky. The Salsa handle bar rack looks great, keeps the bags away from the cables.

Thank you again for sharing your wisdom and experience!!!


----------



## threepin (Nov 2, 2006)

my wife uses fork mount bags to get away from a pack on the back
i did a bunch of research and the consensus was that the anything cage hd and a 5-8 liter bag was a good combination. We had used anything cages and bags before and the challenge was the diameter of the bag/stiction was limiting for packing and un-packing.
The original cage was a bit weak and took more work to strap to. She now has 6l jandd roll top bags and they seem to work well- i echo the idea of using bags with lash loops or daisy chain- you don't want anything dropping, or worse yet going into the spokes and causing a wreck.

you can use hose clamps, for the above reasons i would consider doubling them up or an extra in the middle

many long distance tourers use water bottle cages hose clamped to fork legs- probably not the best for really rough single track as it increases un suspended weight.

Have you considered a down tube bag?


----------



## Lundi (Jun 25, 2017)

threepin said:


> my wife uses fork mount bags to get away from a pack on the back
> i did a bunch of research and the consensus was that the anything cage hd and a 5-8 liter bag was a good combination. We had used anything cages and bags before and the challenge was the diameter of the bag/stiction was limiting for packing and un-packing.
> The original cage was a bit weak and took more work to strap to. She now has 6l jandd roll top bags and they seem to work well- i echo the idea of using bags with lash loops or daisy chain- you don't want anything dropping, or worse yet going into the spokes and causing a wreck.
> 
> ...


Thank you, yes looking at them as well. Thanks for your thoughts, appreciated!


----------



## jmctav23 (Oct 16, 2010)

I used fork bags with the blackburn outpost cage on a coast to coast road tour. A few tips, yes get dry bags with a daisy chain, also don't go for Ultra-light dry bags as they won't stand up to the constant abrasion of bouncing up and down. I put a Nalgene in each bag against the cage and then packed clothes around it, made for a nice secure connection of bag to cage and put the spare water weight nice and low, but the drawback is that it is not very quick to access, I usually didn't need it during the day and just treated it as spare water for evening at camp. There are three slots for hose clamps in the mount for the outpost cages and the straps have rubber backing so they grip like a mother and don't come loose. I went with 8 liter dry bags but would probably drop down to six if I did it again, you can clip the dry-bag closed around the back of the fork to help secure the top portion of contents.


----------



## Smithhammer (Jul 18, 2015)

Unless you're riding truly technical terrain, a couple small, light dry bags strapped to cages on your fork aren't going to noticeably affect handling, in my experience. I try to keep mine to < 2lbs each. Lately I've been using the Blackburn cages with Sea to Summit 3 or 5L 'Big River' bags, strapped with ski straps. Simple and a good way to increase your capacity when needed.










And for the record, we were riding stuff like this on our last big trip, with several of us running fork bags, and it handled just fine and was never an issue:


----------



## mikesee (Aug 25, 2003)

vikb said:


> I don't like having stuff attached to my forks. It messes with handling and getting through tight spaces. For the GDR which is essentially an unpaved road ride you can get away with fork mounted gear though. So if that's your goal vs. singletrack touring why not try it?


Well put, Vik.

I can't stand bags/mass on my fork legs, but for dirt road riding like the divide it really doesn't matter.


----------



## fotooutdoors (Jul 8, 2010)

My suggestion is to load up your bike. Then, tape (electrical tape around the fork to prevent damage, then told of tape to hold on a water bottle cage) a couple large water bottles to your fork and go for a ride on trails similar to what you plan to ride. Then, remove the bottles/cages and ride some more to decide if the experience is tenable.

I like to minimize weight in the front especially far from the steering axis, but not at the expenses of my back. On my last trip, I had two water bottles on one leg and my (heavy) sleeping pad on the other. I was riding Forest service roads, so I wasn't width limited. Plus, it was cold and snowy, so I needed more gear. It's all about the balance for a given route.


----------



## idahomer (Feb 22, 2017)

Let the bike the weight I say. Give a look at King Cage and his many thing cage. If you don't have mounting bolts on your fork his universal support bolts will attach a cage safely and securely to any place on your bike. I had great success with this set up bouncing around on the Arizona Trail. Cheers


----------



## Flying_Scotsman (Jul 12, 2011)

Lundi said:


> The Salsa cages look nice but I have a front suspension so I can't use the mounting holes.


Anything cages and Gorilla Clips..... 4 zip ties pulled as tight as possible and they have been solid for me.

gorilla clip for gorilla cage and monkii system | CycleMiles

Last ride I had my sleeping mat on one side and my insulated jacket on the other, 600g each side maybe?


----------



## bachman1961 (Oct 9, 2013)

I've set up a simple Velcro mount cage that was $10 and has a rubber adjustment strap as is. Then I use another strap up top after making a cylindrical liner for extra support within the sea to summit stuff bag.

Holds tight , works great and holds a multi tool, pump, headlamp and 2-3 ClifBars. It got a real test on my last ride through some rocky downhill I came into at good speed. Some of the roughest I've been in in a while and it was just fine.


----------



## Yootah (Jun 30, 2017)

idahomer said:


> Let the bike the weight I say. Give a look at King Cage and his many thing cage. If you don't have mounting bolts on your fork his universal support bolts will attach a cage safely and securely to any place on your bike. I had great success with this set up bouncing around on the Arizona Trail. Cheers


I've been eyeballing those. Since you've used them, what do you see as the benefits those bring over normal hose clamps?


----------



## idahomer (Feb 22, 2017)

Yootah, The benefit I have to assume would be a more secure attachment as his hose clamps has a small bolt welded which you slip your cage over and secure with a nut. Silly clever. Not listed on the web site are smaller diameter clamps designed to fit on seat stays


----------



## Smithhammer (Jul 18, 2015)

My Better Half used the King hose clamp/bottle mounts on her fork for a recent trip and they worked really well.


----------



## seedub (Nov 16, 2005)

*Zip ties and old tube method*

Heavy duty zip ties with split tube for grip worked for me over multi-week trip. Very rough trails. Sometimes they would slip a bit, just pulled them up the fork again to the upper larger diameter fork blade area. In retrospect I should have used hose clamps (was trying to save weight. Ha!) to make it more secure. Obviously I was packed heavy, not racing. Handling was of course effected, but I feel I adapted to it fine.


----------

