kiltedcelt

I know that there are a bazillion different setups for rando bikes, but one thing that seems to be fairly common across the board is a front handlebar bag and some sort of largish seat bag. When I think of photos I've seen of rando rigs I don't often see panniers. I'm guessing that the strategy is mostly packing fairly light and thus not needing the extra space to carry stuff that is afforded by using panniers? I use panniers every day on my touring/commuter bike which is also the same bike that I ride when I do a century. I'm starting to get into doing randonees/brevets and I've noticed, most recently on a century ride from Chicago to Milwaukee (into a headwind the whole way), that those panniers can be a detriment. I currently have a trunk bag that is converted to use as a sort of largish front bag similar to a handlebar bag but keeping the weight much lower down. I'm considering getting the same model of bag and using it on the rear of the bike and just going with that for any century/rando/longer ride. More aerodynamic than panniers and probably about the same amount of storage space as my smaller panniers give me. I just thought it kind of interesting that so many folks use a similar cargo set up for long distance riding and just wondered how that was hit upon as the best setup for so many people.

unterhausen

I would say the majority of the people I ride with have a seat bag. The traditional front rando bag is gaining popularity because you can get stuff out of it while riding. There are quite a few people using trunk bags, but a trunk bag and rack are pretty heavy. The only time I have wanted anything bigger than my large Ortlieb seat bag is when the ride started in the cold and the daytime was warm enough to shed clothing. I saw panniers on PBP, but I suspect those people actually rode their bikes to the start and basically were touring. There is no reason to carry that much stuff with you just for a brevet.

StephenH

The "fairly common across the board front handlebar bag" is only common in certain areas, not many of the local randos use them. Ditto with fenders and mudflaps, if you live in certain areas, they're considered mandatory, elsewhere, they're an oddity. But on the single bike lately, I've been using a small seat bag plus camelbak backpack, on the tandem, a large trunk bag with fold-out panniers, one of which is usually folded out. https://s192.photobucket.com/user/ste...600kRandoBikes

unterhausen

most randos don't have a low trail bike with accommodations for a front rack, so rear bags are the norm. I see a lot of bento bags. A decent size seat bag for the stuff you don't need often and a stem bag/bento bag is a pretty good combination

Chris Pringle

^^^^
This is it. I don't think there is a "right" set up for most people. You need to look at the geometry of the bike and the needs of that particular rider. There is a fine line with the amount weight you put on a bike that isn't designed to carry weight up front (i.e., high-trail bikes.) Sure, you can get away by putting a few pounds up front on virtually any bike (balanced by your own weight toward the rear), but load it up too much and your (emergency) handling will suffer. Low-trail bikes are made specifically to carry the big rando bags that will allow you to carry heavier weight up front. Most bikes manufactured these days are high-trail bikes and are made to carry most weight toward the rear. Hence, the popularity of trunk bags that sit over the rear rack. Jan Heine ran an aerodynamics study a few years ago. Contrary to normal logic, it revealed that front bags were more aerodynamic than rear trunk bags in the wind tunnel.

I have a friend who rides long distances with panniers. He carries a lot of stuff as he likes to be prepared for any eventuality. Since randonneuring is not really competition, he feels panniers work well for him. But I agree, that this is possibly the least aerodynamic way to rando. Different strokes for different folks.

mander

I ride a not-low-trail crosscheck and have no real handling problems carrying enough stuff for a 600 in a bar bag on a nashbar rack. This includes extra bottles of water when needed. I can change into or out of my coat when riding, steer around obstacles, etc. And every morning I ride 30 kms to work with a huge lunch in the bag and thermos full of coffee balanced on top... again, no issues.

The handling issue vis a vis bar bags with mid trail is overrated imo... i wouldn't ride a crit or descend Mt Diablo at top speed with this setup but it's a-ok for brevets.

mander

In answer to your question, yes you really don't need as much stuff as you can carry in panniers. I remember using panniers for centuries when I was just learning how to pack, and just basically bringing way too much.

IMO the simplest and easiest (in terms of not spending tons of time and money looking for bikes optimized for carrying a front load) rig for randonneuring is a regular mid trail bike with a nice seat bag and just carrying your food and other things you might need to access while rolling in your jersey pockets or maybe a bento box

bats

I agree with mander.

Also, shouldn't this thread be titled "Rando thought/question about bag choices"?

kiltedcelt

+1 ^^^

On a related note. I trialed this bag setup on a century ride yesterday. I carried a rain jacket and a heavy DSLR camera in the front bag and a few other sundries in my panniers on the back. The trail on my bike must be spot-on because even with the front bag fairly heavily loaded (the DSLR is a fairly stout Nikon D200, so weighs a fair bit), the bike steered well and I could even sit up and ride no-handed on good straightaways so that I could stretch my back and just relax for a minute. There was no wobble or shimmy or sense that the heavy-ish load in the front was compromising handling in any way. The panniers were overloaded though as I brought other crap that I really didn't need. I really like this setup and will be writing up an extensive entry in my blog about this bag set up within the next few days. Thanks to everyone for their opinions. The issue of trail and geometry hadn't necessarily occurred to me, so that's something I'll be considering as I do the write up.