Gravel/Bikepack nerds enter...

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Originally Posted by Tailwind

Finished up the Colorado Trail a week ago.

I'm already loosely contemplating giving the CTR race a try next year also looking at the Oregon Timber Trail.

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This is worthy of it's own full trip report, get to work! You lugged that camera around, you must have more shots worth sharing. Thanks for the post!

Did you have to deal with storms many days?

CT is on my to-do list. I will get to it one of these years.

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Originally Posted by Whiteroom_Guardian

Man you guys are killing it. I gotta at least sleep out once with my bike if I stated the damn thread.

September has two options. Either head to SF and do coastal route with a buddy to San Diego OR something outside of Jackson with same friend who is moving to Jackson for a job and doesn't know how soon he is moving.

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Do both! And yes get out there bikepacking even if it's just an easy after work overnighter. I do those once in a while, fun and easy way to get away on a weekday.

I tried to post a few photos as attachments... but I don’t think they show up on mobile. I’ll try to get some posted later this week.

Thanks for the good feedback.

We had three days with some decent storms but honestly got lucky with a good weather window. The worst weather incident was a 25mph headwind all day on the 19-21 road detour. It’s a little shy of 60 miles and seemed liked we were pedaling into the wind the whole time. Pretty incredible how much drag a loaded bike has in the wind. All told it probably just added 2 hours of pedaling.

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Originally Posted by evdog

This is worthy of it's own full trip report, get to work! You lugged that camera around, you must have more shots worth sharing. Thanks for the post!

Did you have to deal with storms many days?

CT is on my to-do list.

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I'm just here to give Laps some props. Nice work man!

are any of you using both a seatbag and a dropper post? curious what combos are workable

Thanks, Huck.

This thread showcases a bumch of great adventures, props all around!

And I have yet to find a dropper/seatbag combo that I think are worth using, on mtb or gravel bike.


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I ordered a Topeak seat pack and noticed they sell a dropper adapter. I may order it just to see if/how it works.

Stock pic.

Attachment 337519

I used a Revelate Vole on the Colorado Trail. 150mm travel dropper left me with a little over 100mm of usable drop. No real complaints. It isn’t a large seatbag but it would hold my tent or down Jacket And sleeping bag easily. Stable enough that I didn’t notice it while riding (which is what you would hope for).

It’s expensive and it might not be reliable.... but that new DT Swiss 232 dropper is really light and would work with a normal seatbag with the inverted design. I would still limit weight to 3-4 pounds, so using a large bag still may not work.

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Originally Posted by mall walker

are any of you using both a seatbag and a dropper post? curious what combos are workable

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Just use a rack if you're on a hardtail. The "dropper compatible" bags add a bunch of hardware (weight) to achieve their dubious performance. A rack is a little heavier but allows use of a much more convenient bag and full dropper travel. I know the cool guy bikepackers poo-poo them, but there is no denying the functionality. Tumbleweed makes a very simple one called the T rack, or just make your own out of license plates and extra aluminum extrusion like I did. Add a cheapo rack bag and you're in business.

Stuff like this is no fun without a dropper.Attachment 337553Attachment 337554

how important is using your dropper on a bike packing trip, and how far will a giant seatbag go down before it hits the tire anyway?

Wolf tooth makes little clamps that are meant to go on the stanchion. A couple of those might still get you a little bit of dropper post travel and allow you to use a regular bag.

For smaller bags, something like the ortliebs that clamp onto the saddle rails would work too.

The Vole works great and and uses the wolf tooth clamp. I don’t have any tire issues nor does my 5’5” wife on hers but that’s a bit closer.

It really depends on terrain if it’s needed. For single track and technical terrain I think it’s helpful.... but also just more fun.

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Originally Posted by jamal

how important is using your dropper on a bike packing trip, and how far will a giant seatbag go down before it hits the tire anyway?

Wolf tooth makes little clamps that are meant to go on the stanchion. A couple of those might still get you a little bit of dropper post travel and allow you to use a regular bag.

For smaller bags, something like the ortliebs that clamp onto the saddle rails would work too.

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I have the smaller seat bag from Nuclear Sunrise and have used it with a dropper for the CTR, AZT750, and lots of other trips. It's not specifically designed for a dropper but works good enough, I add a ski strap around the seat rails to help keep the front of the bag from riding too low. I end up getting maybe 1/4 of the travel from a 150mm post.
I'll try to remember to get a pic of it when I set it up again over the weekend.

I may try one of those wolf tooth collars to minimize any chance of the bag hitting seal

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Originally Posted by jamal

how important is using your dropper on a bike packing trip, and how far will a giant seatbag go down before it hits the tire anyway?

Wolf tooth makes little clamps that are meant to go on the stanchion. A couple of those might still get you a little bit of dropper post travel and allow you to use a regular bag.

For smaller bags, something like the ortliebs that clamp onto the saddle rails would work too.

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well fwiw I was also wondering/meaning to use a small bag to store a tube/tool/tire levers for daily use. most of those seem to attach to the seatpost as well though, which limits the dropper action to some extent. I've got 100mm on my bike so I'm really not looking to give up any of it, but I'm not gonna run a rack for daily use. I agree it makes sense for proper bikepacking, though still if there were another solution I'd be curious.

I really don't wanna ride my bike without using my dropper

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Originally Posted by mall walker

I really don't wanna ride my bike without using my dropper

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That's the smartest bike decision you've made yet!! Look into the Backcountry Research straps. I have one and it holds my multitool, spare tube and a tire lever. To me they seemed pretty insubstantial but I haven't lost anything out of it in over 1k miles since i got it.

I could surely just use voile straps too but won't the tube become damaged after a while? I'm already not great about maintenance, being used to ski touring gear where I use it 100+ days a year and occasionally wax it... I was hoping a small bag I could stuff somewhere would do the trick. Top tube bags looks so silly though...

It might. I wrapped my tube(hehe) with a sandwich bag and havent really had any issues.

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Originally Posted by jamal

how important is using your dropper on a bike packing trip, and how far will a giant seatbag go down before it hits the tire anyway?

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Given the added weight on the bike it's nice to be able to drop the seat an inch or so. But I'm usually not trying to get rad when bikepacking. If I know there is considerable steep/tech descending I'll probably just tough it with a larger backpack instead of a seat bag.

I'm on a small size frame so I'm kinda screwed with seat bags. I could run a full size revelate on my 26" Ibis Mojo and on my hardtail but can't run even a small seatbag on my Mojo3. I could run a dropper size bag on my hardtail with partial use of dropper. I'm getting better at bringing less shit on trips so the small seatbag is getting more realistic. Being able to run a frame bag of some size helps with that.

No need for something fancy for this... just use a strap setup. They seem to work fine.

The cool solution would be a bedrock sinbad. I’ve been eyeing one and will likely put an order in at some point.

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Originally Posted by mall walker

well fwiw I was also wondering/meaning to use a small bag to store a tube/tool/tire levers for daily use. most of those seem to attach to the seatpost as well though, which limits the dropper action to some extent. I've got 100mm on my bike so I'm really not looking to give up any of it, but I'm not gonna run a rack for daily use. I agree it makes sense for proper bikepacking, though still if there were another solution I'd be curious.

I really don't wanna ride my bike without using my dropper

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Knocking this out a week from Thurs up in ADK. Two days (out and back). Nothing too extreme, just want to cruise and enjoy it.

Attachment 337587

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Originally Posted by mall walker

I could surely just use voile straps too but won't the tube become damaged after a while?...

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I had a flat a while back and found that my trusty tube that had been on my bike for a year or more was not actually trusty. It was all cracked from exposure.

Now I put my spare tube in a tiny stuffsack and ski strap it to the frame. I take it out of the bag every few months to check it, but it's been fine. Between this and the little frame bag I made which holds tools, a pump, and a couple of bars, I can ride for a couple of hours with no pack.

Attachment 337588

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Originally Posted by mall walker

are any of you using both a seatbag and a dropper post? curious what combos are workable

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I tried seat post bag and gave up

I like this on my frame easy access and tools

Attachment 337594


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speaking of rear racks, check out these guys: https://www.tailfin.cc/product/panni...es-trunk-rack/ crazy I would never pay price for the carbon model, but seems to be really well thought out engineering. I (used to) commute daily and use the same bike for gravel, road rides. would be pretty awesome to be able to remove and reattach the rack in a few seconds.

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Originally Posted by huckbucket

Knocking this out a week from Thurs up in ADK. Two days (out and back). Nothing too extreme, just want to cruise and enjoy it.

Attachment 337587

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I hope you are starting and ending at Beaver river. Sounds like a nice place.


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Originally Posted by Laps

I hope you are starting and ending at Beaver river. Sounds like a nice place.


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I hear it's very moist there.

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Originally Posted by mall walker

a small bag to store a tube/tool/tire levers for daily use.

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someone mentioned ortleib earlier, the S makes one too. I've got a similar thing as climberevan going on, but I'd do the seat bag if the frame bag didn't work out

https://ortliebusa.com/product/saddle-bag-two/
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/st...ext=41118-0201