https://carouseldesignworks.com/CDWpage1.html

Don't need any racks, no special frame, no long chainstays, any frame material you want and you can ride technical singletrack without having bulky racks or panniers throwing the balance of the bike off.

I plan on getting a set of bags for my full suspension MTB and doing some offroad touring. These bags are very high quality.

they look kinda cool, although I'm not sure they'd fit enough gear to do any real touring, unless you're the credit card touring type.

No doubt you would need to go Ultralight and minimalistic but I think it can be done.

I myself plan on using a Ergon BC3 as well, it'll add 30L of storage and they really are comfortable to wear, doesn't put any weight on your shoulders, the weight is transfered to your hips and it uses a ball joint between your upper body and the pack so you have a full range of mobility.



https://www.ergon-bike.com/en/backpacks/bc3.html

Off-road camping, all I needed was a rear rack, lash the sleeping gear on top and use a daypack for the rest. No big deal. Were'nt going out for a week—just three days, but was able to carry it all with no discomfort. Did that quite a few times and it always worked well.

Looks good. You can tour with any bike, but I'd have more money in the bags than I do in the bike by the time I was done. May have to make my own.

Hey Robert_in_ca. What part of Riverside are you from? I reside off of the historic Victoria Ave.

<---- Just ride it!

Why not just use a trailer?

Also, can you post your gear list?

Ray

A bob will do all that and more. I've seen huge loads on a Bob out on tour and you don't have to micromanage every square centimeter of available space.

I plan on doing very technical riding with this stuff. A bob trailer wouldn't be able to take 4+ ft drops, jumps and gaps...

This is the bike I'm using.

I have had Jeff at Carousel Design Works make a custom rear rack stuffer for my off road touring recently. The materials, design and execution are first rate and the price was quite reasonable. I would recommend him to anyone.

The point of his signature designs is to travel with the least weight without sacrificing the basic requirements of being warm, dry and comfortable. It does require careful gear selection but traveling with an 18 pound base weight load has made my tours more enjoyable. It also puts less stress on the bike particularly the wheels. Touring for me is not a contest to see how much weight one can pedal or push up a mountain.

Many of the BoB users that I met on the Divide Ride had problems because they filled the trailer's tempting capacity completely and beyond. Less is more in my experience. For me a BoB is just one more complication too many.

Looks like your setup should work for ultra-light off-road stuff. Did you cut the handle off your toothbrush yet?

Normally I'd say it is better to keep the weight off your back and put it on the frame, but if you're doing highly technical off-road and need the full suspension, it's a good trade-off.

For road use, I think it'd be usable for short credit-card tours, or very uncomfortable tarp-camping tours. For longer tours, you really do need more capacity and most people will not be happy with even a well-designed backpack.

The thing I'd be curious about is how substantial weight on the handlebar bag will affect your handling skills and if it will have a critical effect on visibility.