I'll echo Deacon Patrick's comments about just loading up and testing it, and it sounds like you're taking that advice. There's probably nothing more important than test riding your tour load, regardless of the way you're going to carry it. I'll further comment to say that when I was preparing for a fully loaded tour a few years ago, that was set to feature some potentially gnarly off-road segments, in the weeks leading up to the tour I tested all sorts of configurations on a few different bikes. I experimented with panniers, saddlebags, handlebar bags and a few bikepacking-style bags. I found, that at first, all loads felt a little bit awkward and unwieldy regardless of how the gear was distributed and attached, but after rolling for anywhere from a few miles to a few dozen miles, I was able to get in tune with the ride characteristics. There was no one bike and packing configuration that would absolutely not work, so long as I was willing to keep an open mind, be willing to adapt a bit, and put in a bit of practice.
Unless I'm going full bikepacking outfit, my preference for packing, in order of the amount of stuff I need to carry, would look something like this: * Saddlebag, small handlebar bag * Saddlebag, small handlebar bag, front panniers * Rear panniers, small handlebar bag * Rear panniers, small handlebar bag, front panniers * Rear panniers, small handlebar bag, front panniers, rear rack-top bag The handlebar bag in this mix is something small, just because I don't own a boxy rack-top rando-style front bag, as none of my bikes, or maybe me, love this as a solo bag choice when I need to carry just a bit of stuff, they all, or I, prefer a small saddlebag. Adding bikepacking bags to the mix would change up the options and order of packing, but I don't have a full array of those bags yet to be able to sort out the options that would work best. -Jeff Silver Spring, MD On Sat, Jun 24, 2017 at 10:44 AM, Marc Irwin <irwin7...@gmail.com> wrote: > I switched from a Frost River Gunflint Trail bag to a Large Saddlesack and > am really happy. I have fought the urge to carry more and find it much > better to have the extra room and waterproofing. Here's a little closer > <http://simplecycle-marc.blogspot.com/2015/06/gunflint-trail-vs-sackville-large.html> > look. > > Marc > > look.On Friday, June 23, 2017 at 8:45:25 PM UTC-4, Dave Small wrote: >> >> A while back I bought a large Saddlesack thinking it'd be good for >> shorter tours. I'm taking a 7-day credit card tour soon and I'm having >> second thoughts about using it. It's bigger than I thought it'd be, large >> enough that it's unwieldy sitting on top of the rack. I'm considering >> using a couple of Carradice Kendall panniers instead, which (combined) have >> the same volume as the Saddlesack but sit lower, which may make the >> handling a little better. I'll be taking a Sam Hillborne with a Nitto Big >> Rear rack, and won't have more than 20 lbs in the rear bag(s); in fact, it >> may be only 10-15 lbs. I'll have an Acorn Boxy Rando bag on a Mark's Rack >> on the front regardless of what I do in the rear. >> >> Does anyone have experience with the large Saddlesack for such use? I >> can think of pros and cons for each option, but would like opinions from >> those who really know. Thanks. >> >> Dave >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
