Solutions for Smaller Bikepackers

Packing all the gear for a long bikepacking trip can be a challenge. Kurt Refsnider has the rundown on potential solutions that will help any rider, but especially those who ride smaller framed bikes.

Author:
Kurt Refsnider
Oct 2, 2020

One of the unfortunate realities of bikepacking is that for smaller riders, packing a few days’ or weeks’ worth of gear, food, and water on a smaller bike can be incredibly challenging. Smaller frame triangles and less clearance between the seat and rear tire mean bag space becomes very limited very quickly. And should a small rider ride a full-suspension bike, then there’s even less space with which to work. I’m tall enough that I do not face this challenge personally, but I’ve helped and watched quite a few smaller students and friends get geared up for trips. There are a lot of ways to potentially strap more gear onto a bike, but not all are necessarily going to result in the most enjoyable riding experience. In this edition of Fully Loaded, I’ll share a wide range of gear-carrying options and strategies worth exploring. And many of these may also be helpful for any bikepacker, new or experienced, and of any size.

Smaller seat bags

With the meteoric rise in popularity of dropper posts, the demand for relatively small bikepacking-specific seat bags has also skyrocketed. This is a boon for smaller riders, as there are so many small bags from which to choose—the Revelate Designs Vole and the Bedrock Bags Black Dragon were favorites from our testing back in 2017. Some other options include the Rockgiest Gondola, the Blackburn Design Outpost Elite Seat Pack, the forthcoming J.Paks DropperPak, and the very small Revelate Designs Shrew. But for smaller riders who also want to use a dropper, particularly on full-suspension bikes, there may not be clearance for even a typical seat pack used for day rides. Limiting dropper travel with a Wolf Tooth Valais Clamp may help, but it may simply not be possible to carry much of a seat pack. And on full-suspension rigs, the rear shock can be stiffened up with more pressure or made more progressive by adding some internal tokens to effectively limit travel; neither are ideal options, though. But never fear, there are other options.

Pros:

Some bags are designed specifically for smaller seat-to-tire clearances
Can limit tire-rub issues

Cons:

Still may not provide adequate clearance, especially on full-suspension bikes

A small hardtail, a dropper post and a Revelate Designs Vole seat bag.

A [bigger] backpack One easy solution for packing gear is simply to throw it in a backpack. But not everyone wants to wear a pack, and heavier packs really are more abusive on the body for extended days in the saddle. Added pack weight is hard on contact points—hands, feet, and butt, as well as the back and wrists. So keeping a pack—should you choose to wear one—relatively light is going to be far more comfortable for the long haul. I’ll commonly wear a small pack on trips, usually just stashing a bit of water, food for the day, and some rain gear and warmer layers in there. A few bulkier items of clothing like this in a pack can keep the weight down but free up more space on the bike. Pros:

Ample storage space

Cons:

More weight on the back means more stress on the body

Larger handlebar bags Similarly to backpacks, it is fairly easy to just strap larger bags and more gear to your handlebars. Stuff the dry bag to maximum capacity and then just throw the tent on top, right? That can work, but too much weight on the bars really impacts the handling of a bike, and not in a helpful way. Excess weight on the bars can make steering a bit wobbly feeling. For non-technical riding, this isn’t the end of the world. But a wobbly front end can very quickly take most of the fun out of trail riding, and a heavier front end can make steep hike-a-bike notably more exhausting. Fortunately, for trail riding, the advent of dropper posts and the ability to get your body weight lower and farther back while descending can help offset a little bit more weight on the bars, but it’s still best to keep gear weight on the front end modest. For higher volume handlebar bag setups, the Blackburn Designs Outpost Elite Handlebar Roll and the Salsa Cycles EXP Series Anything Cradle and Dry Bag are popular solutions. If your bike has limited space between the handlebars and front tire, especially with front suspension in the equation, wider bags may occasionally buzz on the front tire. An additional strap around the handlebar bag and looped up and over the stem can help further stabilize the setup. Pros:

A lot of gear can be strapped to the handlebars!
This can be a great solution for non-technical riding

Cons:

Too much gear on the handlebars can make steering feel wobbly
Wider diameter handlebar bags can buzz the front tire

The Blackburn Design Outpost Elite Handlebar Roll with some extra straps to eliminate any chance of the bag hitting the small bike’s tall 29+ front tire.

Fork-mounted cages and bags Fork legs offer yet another place to strap, clamp or bolt more gear. And getting the weight well below the handlebars is less impactful on a bike’s handling. For more than a decade, I’ve used radiator hose clamps to add an extra bottle cage or two to my suspension fork legs when bikepacking. And in the past five years or so, a plethora of bigger 'cargo cages' have been developed for carrying anything from dry bags to Nalgene bottles to fuel bottles on fork legs. The Salsa Cycles Anything Cage HD and the Blackburn Design Outpost Cargo Cage quickly became classics. A personal favorite is the Widefoot Cargomount Cage with its hose clamp slots and slim design paired with the Revelate Designs Polecat bag. Or there’s the bolt-on Oveja Negra Bootlegger that forgoes a cargo cage entirely. There are plenty of options from which to choose. And a newer variant is the Ortlieb Fork-Pack mini panniers, very small waterproof panniers that can be mounted on nearly any style fork. But like anywhere else on the bike, too much weight on the fork legs will negatively impact handling, especially on rougher terrain. Anything mounted on the fork legs also gets shaken, bounced, and abused like nowhere else on the bike. Make sure bottles are strapped down, bags are attached securely, and that there’s absolutely no way anything can get wrapped up in the front wheel’s spokes. If using hose clamps, wrap the fork legs a few times around with electrical tape to protect the finish and give the clamps a little extra material to bite into (and I would not advise clamping anything to carbon fork legs). Pros:

A bit of added weight here doesn’t affect bike handling too much
Many options are available for cage styles and designs
Radiator hose clamps can be used on virtually any fork

Cons:

Anything not strapped firmly in place is a serious safety hazard
Too much weight on the fork legs can make steering feel wobbly

Widefoot Cargomount cages holding two Revelate Designs Polecats along Alaska’s Iditarod Trail

Downtube bags Yet another convenient place to strap some additional gear is below the downtube. Any weight added here is very difficult to notice, so it’s a great place to stash spare tubes, repair items, stove fuel, and anything else that’s particularly dense. Water bottle or cargo cages can be mounted down here, as can downtube-specific bags like the slim Rogue Panda Designs Oracle or the more roomy Revelate Designs Joey. But expect anything you strap down there to get covered in mud, cow poop, and if you’re riding rough trails, smashed into rocks or logs. Also, if your bike has front suspension, be sure that the front tire cannot hit anything strapped beneath the downtube if the fork bottoms out. Pros:

Weight added down this low doesn’t impact bike handling

Cons:

Will get covered in mud and cow poop
Easily smashed into rocks and logs on trails

Racks and rack bags I often hear folks refer to racks as the “old-fashioned” way to carry gear on a bike, but racks sill offer a practical and stable solution for mounting bike bags for dirt road touring and trail riding alike. And there are some great racks out there for hard off-road use, even for full-suspension bikes. The Old Man Mountain Sherpa rear rack is a bombproof option that can be used on hardtails or full-sus frames. The rack mounts on a custom thru axle and two 3D-printed blocks that are zip tied to a frame’s seat stays, and the setup is designed for and proven in the roughest off-road terrain. The Sherpa can be used with a dry bag on top, panniers, or both. For hardtails, the more minimalist (but still sturdy enough for demanding off-road use) Tumbleweed T Rack can be mounted front or rear, includes triple water bottle cage mounts on the legs, and mounts with an elegant strut attachment system. Plop a dry bag on top, strap it down, and you’ll have far more carrying capacity than any small seat bag would allow. As far as bags, conventional panniers, like the Blackburn Design Barrier City, are often voluminous, but they also can really get in the way on singletrack for any hike-a-bike. For off-road use, slimmer, lower profile panniers can be a great option – check out the Revelate Designs Nano Pannier, the Porcelain Rocket Microwave Pannier, and the Bedrock Bags Hermosa UL Pannier. Keeping with a more svelte setup, any robust dry bag can be strapped to the top of a rack; lighter-weight materials will wear through quite quickly, though. Pros:

Large carrying capacity
Offer very stable way to carry gear
The Old Man Mountain Sherpa works on full-suspension bikes

Cons:

Panniers can be great for gravel but less so for trail riding and hike-a-bike
Too much weight too far back on the bike negatively impacts handling

The slim Revelate Nano Panniers mounted on the Tumbleweed T-Rack.

Other considerations Smaller riders also need to give some additional consideration to carrying the most compressible sleep kit and clothing as possible. Minimalist shelters, rather than bulkier complete tents, can save a lot of space; see some of my recommendations for shelters here and here. Tarps and mids can offer nearly the same level of protection from the elements as a full tent, and yet they’ll pack down to just a fraction of the size. If traveling in a group, have a conversation with all party members about distributing gear equitably among everyone. Larger riders with larger bikes and more carrying capacity should be very willing to help carry additional group gear to help smaller riders pack their bikes more easily. Finally, if the smaller riders happen to be a group of kids, consider arranging vehicle support for the trip. Although the bikepacking experience can be hugely empowering and transformative for youth, it is incredibly challenging to fit all their gear on what are often smaller bikes, and much of the kids’ clothing and equipment is likely not particularly compressible. Riding partially loaded during the day from camp to camp can still be an incredible experience, and not having to deal with carrying all the equipment will make the kids’ riding more enjoyable and the group leaders’ lives much less challenging.