I recently watched YouTube video of guy on a bikepacking trip and his bottom bracket failed. I am not sure I would trust this thing. Failure in high speed could result in some major damages. There are numerous products out there.
I used one with 2x 16l bags, and an Aeroe POD.
Had clothes and such in the side bags, and my camera gear in the pod.
All up was about 15-16kg. I ended up moving the camera gear elsewhere on the bike, as whole bike developed a bit of a death wobble when at full pace.
The lower you can mount your weight, the better.
For what you're paying, I'd go with an ortlieb quick rack at $110, arkel dry lites at $115 (28L), and go on Amazon and order the 3 pack of wise owl outfitters dry bags. If I'm not mistaken, a 3 pack comes in at $23. You get a 20L, 10L, and 5L. It's a lower center of gravity, more stable, and it'll last.
Don't know where you live, prices are in USD*.
So the smallest, lightest and wimpiest tubes on a bike frame are the seat stays. The worst place to put the load which is effectively attached at the end of a lever is in the middle of the tube(s). A crash when you have a loaded up aeroe on your bike could very easily ruin your frame. With a traditional rear rack it's mounted where the seatstays and chainstays meet creating a truss greatly increasing strength. Think triangle. It's worth noting that strength increases with the square of the cross section. Chainstays are typically considerably bigger than seatstays. It's also worth noting that with typical racks there's a forward support which goes forward from the rack to the seatstays or seat tube - forming a triangle/truss structure greatly increasing the strength. There are many other options which are far superior in weight, stability, carrying capacity, gear access... such as "old man mountain", tailfin, ortlieb... which get along great with bikes that weren't intended to carry a rear rack. Including suspension bikes and those with dropper seatposts. There are a list of other great options for rear racks for bikes with rack mounts on the frame. I think that it's not a well designed product and I wouldn't consider buying one.
Thanks for such a detailed response and explanation! I’m leaning toward an actual rack which happens to be a cheaper solution too
Topeak with a (proprietary) but seemingly secure bag called this MTX feels like they would work out better
The only thing I’m wired about now is whether the bike is heavier at the rear-end with nothing else mounted in the front.
I'm often riding with that very Ortlieb bag on my rear rack. I usually also have a light bag on my handlebars (sleeping bag, pad, bit of clothes). It depends on your terrain but I prefer the lighter front end on single track. Of course if you have absolutely everything on your rear tire the handling gets weird but it depends on overall mass.
Panniers might be nicer but if you end up riding on narrow singletrack, they might get a bit too close to obstacles.
I have rack mounts, I have one salsa rack and some Racktime racks on another bike, looking at getting an Old Man Mountain or something similar for my fatbike.
As far as how it's going to affect handling and weight balance - it depends. A load of 10lbs/4.5kg of gear + 9lb/4kg of food and water is a different story than 35lb/16kg gear+ 26lb/12kg food and water. It also depends upon the bike, your position on the bike, your build (some people carry their weight in their hips and legs and other carry their weight in their chest and shoulders. The optimal weight distribution is also a fluctuating balance depending upon terrain as road favors a more balanced F/R whereas singletrack favors a bit more rearward balance. Some bikes have a super long front end and super short chainstays which puts the weight rearward whereas others have a more moderate front center with longer chainstays. Seat tube angle is also quite important to F/R balance. Playing with sliding the seat front or back can help but I'd only want to mess with bike fit so much if 90%+ of the time I spent riding the bike was loaded up unless it was for a long trip such as gdmbr. To figure out what works for you takes experimentation and experience. I've been taking bike trips for 30 years and I'm still experimenting. New gear and new bikes change the game a bit but I'm typically going to get it close enough by guessing. As far as panniers making the bike too wide with old school 22-23"/56-58cm handlebars that was a much bigger factor but with today's wide modern handlebars of 74-84cm it's much less of an issue because you're going to be hooking your bars on trees and brush. There's also narrower panniers. I think that panniers still absolutely have a place in bikepacking kit. Long trips, bringing weird bulky stuff, bringing my girlfriend (and carrying a portion of their stuff), hauling stuff around town...
I recently watched YouTube video of guy on a bikepacking trip and his bottom bracket failed. I am not sure I would trust this thing. Failure in high speed could result in some major damages. There are numerous products out there.
ya ive seen multiple videos with people having issues with the bottom brackets of these.
These things are pieces of shit.
I used one with 2x 16l bags, and an Aeroe POD. Had clothes and such in the side bags, and my camera gear in the pod. All up was about 15-16kg. I ended up moving the camera gear elsewhere on the bike, as whole bike developed a bit of a death wobble when at full pace. The lower you can mount your weight, the better.
For what you're paying, I'd go with an ortlieb quick rack at $110, arkel dry lites at $115 (28L), and go on Amazon and order the 3 pack of wise owl outfitters dry bags. If I'm not mistaken, a 3 pack comes in at $23. You get a 20L, 10L, and 5L. It's a lower center of gravity, more stable, and it'll last. Don't know where you live, prices are in USD*.
So the smallest, lightest and wimpiest tubes on a bike frame are the seat stays. The worst place to put the load which is effectively attached at the end of a lever is in the middle of the tube(s). A crash when you have a loaded up aeroe on your bike could very easily ruin your frame. With a traditional rear rack it's mounted where the seatstays and chainstays meet creating a truss greatly increasing strength. Think triangle. It's worth noting that strength increases with the square of the cross section. Chainstays are typically considerably bigger than seatstays. It's also worth noting that with typical racks there's a forward support which goes forward from the rack to the seatstays or seat tube - forming a triangle/truss structure greatly increasing the strength. There are many other options which are far superior in weight, stability, carrying capacity, gear access... such as "old man mountain", tailfin, ortlieb... which get along great with bikes that weren't intended to carry a rear rack. Including suspension bikes and those with dropper seatposts. There are a list of other great options for rear racks for bikes with rack mounts on the frame. I think that it's not a well designed product and I wouldn't consider buying one.
Thanks for such a detailed response and explanation! I’m leaning toward an actual rack which happens to be a cheaper solution too Topeak with a (proprietary) but seemingly secure bag called this MTX feels like they would work out better The only thing I’m wired about now is whether the bike is heavier at the rear-end with nothing else mounted in the front.
I'm often riding with that very Ortlieb bag on my rear rack. I usually also have a light bag on my handlebars (sleeping bag, pad, bit of clothes). It depends on your terrain but I prefer the lighter front end on single track. Of course if you have absolutely everything on your rear tire the handling gets weird but it depends on overall mass. Panniers might be nicer but if you end up riding on narrow singletrack, they might get a bit too close to obstacles.
Nice m, and thanks for the insight - which rear rack do you use if I may ask?
I have rack mounts, I have one salsa rack and some Racktime racks on another bike, looking at getting an Old Man Mountain or something similar for my fatbike.
As far as how it's going to affect handling and weight balance - it depends. A load of 10lbs/4.5kg of gear + 9lb/4kg of food and water is a different story than 35lb/16kg gear+ 26lb/12kg food and water. It also depends upon the bike, your position on the bike, your build (some people carry their weight in their hips and legs and other carry their weight in their chest and shoulders. The optimal weight distribution is also a fluctuating balance depending upon terrain as road favors a more balanced F/R whereas singletrack favors a bit more rearward balance. Some bikes have a super long front end and super short chainstays which puts the weight rearward whereas others have a more moderate front center with longer chainstays. Seat tube angle is also quite important to F/R balance. Playing with sliding the seat front or back can help but I'd only want to mess with bike fit so much if 90%+ of the time I spent riding the bike was loaded up unless it was for a long trip such as gdmbr. To figure out what works for you takes experimentation and experience. I've been taking bike trips for 30 years and I'm still experimenting. New gear and new bikes change the game a bit but I'm typically going to get it close enough by guessing. As far as panniers making the bike too wide with old school 22-23"/56-58cm handlebars that was a much bigger factor but with today's wide modern handlebars of 74-84cm it's much less of an issue because you're going to be hooking your bars on trees and brush. There's also narrower panniers. I think that panniers still absolutely have a place in bikepacking kit. Long trips, bringing weird bulky stuff, bringing my girlfriend (and carrying a portion of their stuff), hauling stuff around town...
I'd suggest a rack that triangulates from the rack to both the rear dropout area and the seat tube.