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My lightweight Bikepacking carbon road bike setup

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My lightweight Bikepacking carbon road bike setup

Old 04-22-20, 05:38 PM
  #1  
illjustride
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My lightweight Bikepacking carbon road bike setup

A look at my lightweight Bikepacking carbon road bike setup with Revelate Designs bags. Let me know what you think. I have this setup for fast road tours and will also be transferring this to my gravel bike when it's finished.

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Old 04-30-20, 09:59 AM
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zweitesmal2
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Looks good! I've always toured with 4 small panniers and wanted a lightweight setup also. Imagine the big mile days you can pull off in the US, flying across Kansas or Wyoming, moving fast. I'm setting up a similar outfit myself. The hard part is culling equipment. I'm looking at bivy sacks now, and contemplating leaving behind my air mattress for starters. Good luck!
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Old 05-01-20, 06:15 AM
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jpescatore
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Nice, I went a similar way with mixed vendors on my Jamis what today is called a gravel bike. I can use the same setup on my carbon Domane but I weigh 225 and decided that adding more weight before I lose more weight would be pushing the wheels too close to the limit - so the Jamis is my touring bike with a bike packing setup, replacing my 1995 Trek 520 and traditional pannier approach. I pretty much only do "credit card" style touring - not camping or cooking.

For a recent 3 day tour in Florida, I didn't need the Oveja Front Loader bar bag, just the small handle bar bag add-on. For that trip, I actually didn't even use the top tube bag, either - warm weather made light packiing easier and the Revelate saddle bag and mini-framebag gave me enough room for what I needed to carry. Using SPD pedals and not really planning on much walking meant one pair of shoes was fine for that short trip, too.

The downsides: (1) Had to be careful about strapping up the saddle bag right or it would bounce into the rear tire; (2) Not a good way to hang a tail light to roll-up saddle bags but I jury rigged up some straps to do so. (3) Even the mini-frame bag and side load cages meant I really couldn't remove/insert water bottles while riding.


Jamis Renegade in bike packing mode
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Old 05-01-20, 06:22 AM
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andrewclaus
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Way to go with the rackless touring.

I interrupted my bike touring career with a decade of long-distance backpacking. I learned the value of a light load and applied that to the bike. I haven't gone rackless yet--I use a rear rack and two Arkel Drylite panniers. That lets me carry an occasional heavy load of food or water, and keep the same set-up for running some heavier errands around home.

Flying across the country is right! On my first shakedown tour with the light load, I easily rode back-to-back centuries. I never rode a century once in decades of heavily loaded touring before that. On a cross-US tour later that year, I rode 17 more centuries, smiling all the way.
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Old 05-10-20, 12:08 AM
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3aughtmaxon
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Nice rig!

What do you think of the handling compared to a 4 bag setup?
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Old 05-10-20, 05:50 AM
  #6  
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Originally Posted by jpescatore
Nice, I went a similar way with mixed vendors on my Jamis what today is called a gravel bike. I can use the same setup on my carbon Domane but I weigh 225 and decided that adding more weight before I lose more weight would be pushing the wheels too close to the limit - so the Jamis is my touring bike with a bike packing setup, replacing my 1995 Trek 520 and traditional pannier approach. I pretty much only do "credit card" style touring - not camping or cooking.

For a recent 3 day tour in Florida, I didn't need the Oveja Front Loader bar bag, just the small handle bar bag add-on. For that trip, I actually didn't even use the top tube bag, either - warm weather made light packiing easier and the Revelate saddle bag and mini-framebag gave me enough room for what I needed to carry. Using SPD pedals and not really planning on much walking meant one pair of shoes was fine for that short trip, too.

The downsides: (1) Had to be careful about strapping up the saddle bag right or it would bounce into the rear tire; (2) Not a good way to hang a tail light to roll-up saddle bags but I jury rigged up some straps to do so. (3) Even the mini-frame bag and side load cages meant I really couldn't remove/insert water bottles while riding.


Jamis Renegade in bike packing mode

jpescatore...I like the setup of your bike. My only concern, which may just be me, is the stress that your saddlebag is putting on your frame. I realize that your bike is made of steel so it might be a non issue but I had a Specialized Stumpjumper M2 develop a crack in the frame tubing right where the top tube meets the seat tube from a maybe over extended seatpost. Riding offroad might have made the situation worse and it was with a frame made out of a different material. Just my 2 cents...
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Old 05-10-20, 06:34 AM
  #7  
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Chrisp72 - exactly why I decided to buy this bike to replace an 1995 Trek 520 touring bike and not put those bags on my carbon road bike. I tried it for an 85 mile ride and everything fits fine, but I weigh 225 and my weight plus those bags is right at the warranty limit for the carbon bike - and probably above the smart limit for the wheels I use on the carbon bike.

I'm pretty sure the steel Jamis frame with be fine, plus since I'm not camping/cooking, that rear saddle bag has mostly clothese in it, with the heavier stuff next to the seatpost.
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