SaddleSoar

Check out Revelate Designs for some non-rack based, frame mounted bag solutions.They are popular with the Tour Divide crowd - notorious weight weenies!

Clarabelle

It would be nice. Just to muddy the waters more, we just picked up a Bike Friday tandem for touring in Europe (hopefully next spring), so now a have need for a tandem-touring-folding bike subforum. Oh well.

Ritterview

Yeah, I saw that, but I noted as well that TG had to make some modifications.

I looked up Tubus (a German company), and found that their US Distributor is Ortleib. I asked Ortleib what Tubus rack would fit in general, and about the weight weenie 281 gram titanium Airy in particular (I'm an obligate weight weenie. I can hardly have a bike that is a weight weenie project fitted with cumbrous touring rack and panniers. It would be a bike like the antebellum U.S., divided against itself).



The rep averred that the Airy might fit. Might. I didn't want to order the rack, and have a project to do to see if it could be made to fit.

I contacted Mike Moore at Calfee, and pitched the idea of Calfee figuring out how to fit an Airy on a Calfee tandem, perhaps making some fitments, and selling the Airy as an accessory. Calfee ordered an Airy, and even now are figuring how to fit it on a Calfee tandem.

Next, I have to figure out where to get a pair of cuben fiber panniers.

Carbonfiberboy 

Heck, you just send them a pair of Ortleib backrollers and have them replace the fabric bits. We have the SS Tubus Cosmo, very good because of the broad top for tent and sleeping bag, and a pair of UL panniers from a company that's gone, too bad.

Ritterview

So, this is the Ortleib Backroller Plus (the Plus is lighter).



I had thought about harvesting the frame and fitments from a pannier, and then duplicating the pannier in cuben fiber.

That is what ultralight backpack maker Zimmberbuilt did as a one-off.





The thing is, I plan only to do credit card touring. The panniers will carry mainly compressed clothes, which will, due to being compressed, have its own structure. All the pannier has to do is make it into the hotel room. I don't need an overbuilt pannier, and so I want to make the kit as light as possible so that my touring riding is as close as possible to regular riding.

I like very much what Zimmerbuilt did for Doug, but Zimmer is no longer doing this. I don't know who exactly to send the donor pannier.

Carbonfiberboy 

The main thing for a durable pannier is the plastic fitments on the inside. I've attached a couple of photos of ours.
The blue bits rotate down and lock the pannier to the rack. The hook at the bottom slips over the rack frame. So nothing touches the rack except the plastic. The fabric, as you say, doesn't much matter as long as it's light, waterproof, and you don't go down. Ours were made by Pacific Outdoor Equipment, now defunct, though the employees were trying to resurrect it. There must be some parts around somewhere.

We also put everything fabric in compression sacks. I bought a unnatural fabric dress for my wife from Title 9, this one:
https://www.titlenine.com/product/140...n#.UfHRRY2Jrng
which comes out of a compression sack wrinkle free. That and a pair of light flats is an outfit. We both also have nylon running shorts and running tops for off the bike. We both also have trail runners, compression strapped together, for actually walking somewhere. It is way cool to move the bike up the road even when touring.

jimmuller 

I know this thread has taken a few turns here and there, but I'll bring it back to the original content!

This past weekend we did a little trip with some folks (including some BF members), 3 days, 2 nights. We rode our tandem and another couple rode theirs. Two tandems and five solo bikes to start the trip. Our odometer read 129 miles, about 9 of which were unload as we went off to supermarkets after setting up camp.

The other was a fairly recent Bilenky. They towed a BOB trailer, a very slick arrangement on a very slick bike.



Our bike is an '82 (I believe) Peugeot TH8, definitely vintage with Mafac cantilever brakes and Simplex derailleurs. Here's a pic of me attaching something as everyone was getting ready.



Our pannier arrangement works okay. The weight is a bit higher off the ground than I'd like but it took me only a mile or so to become comfortable with the balance. As shown the unloaded bike is a bit over 40lbs. Loaded it was about 100lbs, a bit more than when we did a similar but shorter trip last year.

You know what a bike feels like after you've taken the load off? Light as a feather! But it ran like a champ.

Packing up for the ride home:

Clarabelle

Thanks for the photos. Makes me want to get on the road ASAP. Sadly, a bout of carpal tunnel syndrome has us sidelined for the season. Hopefully, I'll be done with it by next spring.

swiss_toni

The Thule Pack 'n Pedal rack will fit on any bike. We have just used one on our full suspension tandem for a two day tour and it worked perfectly. When we get our road tandem will be fitting one to it

Flam24

Like Ray R, my wife and I did the entire west coast in 2009 ( Vancouver - San Diego ).
We mostly used hiker/biker camping sites. Therefore we needed the panniers and the trailer for all the stuff.
Next summer we will ride along the Rhine river from the Netherlands to Switzerland !

Ritterview

I'm still waiting on the Tubus Airy Ti rack from Calfee. Apparently it fit a tandem fine, and they were all ready to send it to me. But I had asked that the anterior fitment attach not to the seatpost but to the brake bridge, which is unemployed due to the disc brake. So, they are looking to make this happen, but in their wonted dilatory fashion.

Meanwhile, I saw this feature on Bike Rumor, and purchased the 420 gram Arkel Dry Lites panniers.

Sorry for the lousy pics, I just got these on our Burley tandem, which has a rack. I put a pillow in one. I think these will work fine, but I've not been touring, so what do I know? They are light, waterproof, doesn't look like they will hit the stoker heel, and seem to attach securely.

tirli_mirli

always on a tandem! from last trip to Mississippi

5ofus

I wish I had taken a picture, but we met a woman touring with her 10 year old daughter on a custom made tandem bike. They were from Arizona and had started in San Francisco. We met them at Doheny State Park as they were headed south to San Diego. They camped along the way. I hope to tour with my son some day who is now 9. But I think it would be more fun non-tandem.

WebsterBikeMan

We rode from Rochester NY to Victoria BC the other year. Our experience - along with many others - documented on www.crazyguyonabike.com. You can limit your search to tandem bikes: you'll find number active at any time, and hundreds if you want to go a little way back in time.

Paul J

WebsterBikeMan I really enjoyed reading your journals! We are dabbling with touring having done some out and back weekend rides. I'm hoping we can do a more significant tour in a year or two.