antokelly

hi all,
kinda made my mind up on which panniers to buy,ortlieb seem to be the ones most people like.
anyhow what i want to know is ,on a fully loaded tour ,how do you guys pack your panniers ,what goes where,like give me a clue(as i dont have one)
what about a short tour say three days maby four,what gear would you take ,would i need the four panniers. these may sound stupit questions but this is the place to find out things.(
whats your favourate thing you cant be without on tour(this can be anything)

NeezyDeezy

you can probably get away with 2 panniers. I'd use large panniers on the front rack only. I use rubber bands to make my clothes pack smaller.

If it's cold and you'll be cooking, you'll probably need all four panniers even though it's only three days. If so, put your bulky and lightweight items like your clothes in the rear panniers and your heavy items like equipment and tools in the front.

raybo

Here is a link to 3 entries that deal with packing lists. One of the links points to a previous thread here that has links to other threads here.

I hope this help.

Ray

downtheroad.org

We pack differently for every continent, we are currently in New Zealand and are about to ride into a remote area with very few stores. That said, our priority will be food, of the eight panniers between us one will be dedicated to food, we call it the camp kitchen.

Here is our packing list.

For a 4 day trip we would pack similar to a 4 month or 4 year tour. The difference is going to be food, if your self contained ie tent vs motel, and if you are in a hot climate vs a cold climate.

I (Cindie) carry my clothes in my front panniers and separate my clothes into five or six bags (I use a laundry bag used to wash delicate clothes). One for cycling clothes, warm weather clothes, street clothes, and sock and undies. It is easier to grab a bag then to look around for one particular piece of clothing. Also in my front pannier is lunch for the day.

My rear panniers have cooking utensils on one side and shower stuff on the other.

Tim here, I am obligated by the rules of marriage to say, I could not live without my wife on tour, second to that is my hammock because I put my couch in storage years ago.

Cindie here, this may sound silly but I have to have my pillow.

antokelly

thanks folks,raybo great site ill read it in more detail tomarrow its late now,
tim, cindie,wow its like talking to the super stars of the touring world, well done on all your travels.

gregw

Or................ BOB trailer with it's big yellow bag. Throw it all in, go.

Machka 

Two panniers. One with clothing and toiletries. One with "household items" (sleeping bag, mattress, pillow, cookware, etc.).

One Carradice Nelson Longflap containing tools, medical supplies, and any clothing I might need for that day (i.e. rain jacket and booties)

One handlebar bag containing food, meds, kleenex, camera, etc.

I carry the same stuff whether it is a few days or a few months. You can see my packing list on my website (link in signature line below).

nun

Here's a thread with some lists and ideas. You don't necessarily need any panniers to tour.

https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/271722-i-did-gear-under-20lbs.html

gz_

4 bags:

Handlebar bag - wallet, gps, camera, flashlights
Left rear pannier - clothing, stove, fuel
Right rear pannier - sleeping bag, repair gear, flat kit, maps, sandals, booties, toiletries
Backpack - food and utensils

This worked really well for me. The important points are having a handlebar bag with all the expensive stuff in it that you can just unclip and take with you when you go into a supermarket/resturant/etc and not worry. The other is the backpack which has all the food in it. If you are going through bear country (Rockies and Appalachians) it is good practice to keep the food separate from everything else so all you have to do is hang up/hide that one bag.

Losligato

I like the Eagle Creek packing cubes to organize the inside of Ortlieb panniers. They keep stuff from getting sucked into the black hole at the bottom of the pack.

nun

Great suggestions. I use a handle bar bag to carry all my documents, phone, wallet, keys etc and always take it with me when I leave the bike. I strap my sleeping pad on a small front rack, my goes tent under my saddle, and I put the rest of my gear in a Nelson Longflap saddlebag. I separate my gear using nylon stuff sacks, one for food, one for tools and bike spares, and a few for clothes. I can easily hang the food bag from a tree away from the tent. I carry spare plastic bags of various sizes for trash etc.

neilfein

The Eagle Creek pack-its look cool, but ziploc bags to an excellent job, they keep your stuff dry, and they're a lot cheaper.

antokelly

thanks everyone for that great info,im nearly there with the bike build hope to have it on the road by january.
it was a bit of a puzzle to know what goes where in the panniers,glad thats sorted.

KonradNYC

Just a guess, as I've never used the Eagle Creek pack-its, but I think that their advantage over ziplocs is that they are NOT waterproof. No need for waterproof organizing bags if your pannier is waterproof. Since they are mesh, I would think you can hang the Eagle Creek bags on the outside of your bags if you want to air out or dry a few things without the risk of losing them or flapping around.

MichaelW

Pannier fabric can wear very rapidly if you have edges sticking out. Use soft items to pack around hard items.
I am not a big fan of organiser style panniers. It usually takes me about 2 days to figure out where everything goes then I stick to the system.
Put heavier items (cooking stuff) low down, large items (eg footwear) before smaller ones. I put all the paperwork I accumulate in an A4 envelope against the back of the pannier.
Put items you may need during the day (repair kit, waterproofs, insulation) closer to the top.
Damp items inside the bags tend to stay damp , use a small mesh bag to dry out any washing in the breeze.
Put your dirty clothes in one pannier and clean ones in the other.

DuckFat

One thing I think is great are these huge ziploc bags I found at Target. They are about 2 foot square or more. They are excellent to organize things and isolate wet items. These bags let me compartmentalize my Bob trailer very well.

nun

If I have stinky laundry I carry it in a cotton bag to give it some air. I also think the cotton absorbs some of the smell. However I seldom have dirty laundry as I always wash my days cycling cloths and put on something clean. The washed clothes often dry overnight, but if they are still damp I hang them over
my saddlebag and after a hour or so they are dry.

neilfein

A couple that tandem tours told me that they'd hang their laundry from the back of the trailer and let the wind dry it.

Machka 

I often hang my towel from a pannier to let it dry after my morning's shower.

Rowan

If I was ever to get waterproof panniers, these are the sort of packs I would use. Everything is organised and what you don't need can stay inside the pannier in the vestibule. I am one of those who has waterunproof panniers, and I use colour coded Sea-to-Summit drybags (which are made of a softer, more malleable material than kayaking drybags) in various sizes for my gear.

There are many packing lists on the web (even I have one here at https://www.cycling-adventurer.net/bi...pack-list.html -- it's different from many others because it includes weights of all the items I take to help calculate whether my baggage will be over the limit on domestic and international flights).

But it all comes down what you need and then what you want to feel comfortable. There are too many variables between credit-card touring through to expedition touring to suggest otherwise.

You will find out what you cannot possibly do without (which must be a need) as you get more experience in touring and using your panniers.

You will then discover that the final question you asked -- "what's your favourate thing you can't be without on tour (this can be anything)" is virtually impossible to answer because it becomes a package deal.

antokelly

rowan,thanks for that its good to know how you pro's do it. i have a lot to learn about touring
i come from a road background,basically the only thing i know is how to ride a bike,
well thats a start.i like the idea of camping doing my own thing (i dont like hotels) mind you ive never been camping ,never cooked ,never had call to use a map or compass so that should be interesting,
so i need all the help i can get ,i bought a fantastis thorn sherpa frameset im building it myself i wont have it built up for a couple months im like a kid with a new toy.thanks for all the help ,keep it comming.

acantor

Everyone develops a unique packing style based on experience. I think that there are only three general principles that apply to everybody who tours with panniers:

1. Strive to take only what you will need, no more, no less.

2. Keep the centre of gravity low and close to the midline of the bike: place heavy things at the bottom and closer to the inside, lighter things higher up and closer to the outside.

3. Aim to distribute 60% of the weight in the front, 40% in the rear.

Even these three rules can be broken. For example, I only tour with rear panniers, so I am in violation of Rule 3! But based on my experience, I know the configuration works for the kind of touring I do. Rule 3 does not apply to those who pull trailers instead of using panniers.

niknak

I use Ortliebs. Although each item stays in the same pannier the entire trip, that's about as organized as I get. I prefer the stuff and forget method. Wet and smelly items hang from the cargo net on the rear rack.

Rowan

Yes, acantor, we all violate those rules, mainly because experience tells us we can.

For example, we all like some level of additional comfort, otherwise we would only take a spoon, a pocketknife with a can opener and a plastic sheet to cover us at night... because truthfully, that's all we'd need for camping. A cedit card would take care of everything otherwise.

But I think loading is an issue that can get overstated in some areas, and ignore one critical one. I ride often (not necessarily touring) with loads that definitely don't keep the centre of gravity low. The addition of food (quite a lot of it!) at the end of a day's ride on top of the back rack doesn't really have much influence on the feel of the bike. Likewise, more weight on one side than the other doesn't seem to have an effect (on the bikes I have used).

And I have never ridden with the 60-40 weight distribution... usually the opposite if I am toting four panniers (and like you, acantor, I usually tour with rear panniers, plus a handlebag only). One of the main limitations here is the size of the panniers that can be fitted to, say, low rider racks, and the paucity of front platform racks on the market.

The key issue in loading, in my opinion, is to ensure that the load is distributed within the wheelbase of the bike -- in other words, there isn't a big weight in rear pannier pockets hanging out the bag that will end up being a tail wagging the bike. Some frames, because of their lightness in the frameset and especially around the BB, can become very sensitive to this, and wobble even at while sitting and pedalling can be an issue; standing to pedal uphill will be almost impossible.

So, if you have racks with rear pockets and tend to put heavier stuff such as a tool kit or bottles of wine in there, ensure your pannier is attached well forward on the rack, or else move the heavier stuff inside the main compartment. Plus, if you have to move the panniers back to get heel clearance, you may run into this issue. Naturally, secure attachment of the rack to the frame is essential, and the more rubost the rack's the construction, the better. I use a Topeak expedition rack made of aluminium tubing and I like it a lot. I use a Blackburn lowrider up front which has served me well.

But again, these are issues that come to surface only through experience with your frame and packing set-up.

antokelly, go well with the build. You have a fine frame there, and you obviously have a plan over a long period to get the main item built-up right. But... as we always suggest... get out there and do it. That is the best teacher.

BigBlueToe

Whatever you decide to bring, how ever many panniers, and front or back or both, I have a couple of general suggestions. 1) Try and balance them weight-wise, side to side. In other words, make sure your left front panniers weighs about the same as your right front, and the same in back. Your bike will handle better. If your bike is prone to shimmying at speed, this will help a lot. 2) Figure out a system for what goes where that you can remember. I've wasted a lot of time (and gotten frustrated) searching for something in my panniers. It always seems to be in the last one I check. If you have a meaningful plan you can usually narrow your search down to one pannier. Of course, in my case, I always seem to arrive at my best plan after about 5 days on the road!