A bit less blue

I have both of the Arkel handle bar bags, small and large, and I can highly recommend them. I use the large one on my LHT for tours and the small one on my road bike for daily use.

I'm glad I'm not the only one naming bicycles...

Bikeasaurus Rex, a 59cm 2011 Raleigh Port Townsend. Stolen once off my college campus, recovered through a mass Facebook / Local Outreach campaign, stripped of everything. Just built him back up after repairs.


Ultralight Touring Setup- Dry Run by Max Roman, on Flickr

80% loaded for a dry run, a few 50 mile rides and one night of camping. Going Ultralight, but I will have to test to see if this little gear is realistic for a 30 day tour. I'm assuming I'll wear one merino wool/synthetic outfit and wash it 3-4 times whenever we pass a laundromat, but I might chicken out and throw two Ortliebs on there. Planning on also using a very breathable backpack and lumbar pack to replace that blue DSLR bag.



The little hanging doohickey is a raincover.

My Miyata 210 loaded up for a couple of days on the Katy Trail in Missouri last week. My favorite of my bikes (shh, don't tell the Fuji) and a fantastic place to ride. High marks for the hammock in the extreme heat.

Georgia

Mdilthey, how did you keep the top bag from rolling off the drysack underneath? Just tied it on and it behaved like it was supposed to, or did you have to resort to some kind of coersion or trickery?

Here are some with me and my brother on our 2008 bike tour from Anchorage to Tijuana. Note the ukuleles. I'll see if I can find any better ones from further South where we picked up more random crap along the way lol. By the time we made it to TJ, I had hawk and sea gul feathers poking out from my handlebars, a baby redwood tree growing in my handlebar bag, and a spider who lived on my bike who built a new spiderweb each night.

Thanks for the fix, got a new puter system that I have yet to figure out...

Hello all! I have loved looking at your bikes so I want to share. Here is my 2006 Bianchi Castro Valley, modified a bit. I had been touring on it as it was for about 3 years and this year I decided to mod the drive train, shifters and brakes. I took it out yesterday, fully loaded for a short test ride yesterday. I leave Madison, Wisconsin in a few days for Thessalon, Ontario Canada - full load includes lots of water and an ice sock in the Wisconsin heat wave. I'm looking forward to slow days of riding through Wisconsin the UP and a bit of Canada! Again, I love all your bikes and reading all your stuff on the forum - it has been very helpful. Cheers!

Hey Prime, looks similar to the amount I was carrying. What do you estimate the weight to be? Just curious really....

The belt loop on the blue bag goes through one of the straps that holds on the drybag, and all four of the harness attachment points go around the drybag as well. Since the drybag is compressed flat, there's no rounded edge, and when I torque down the straps, everything stays put. I just tightened it a lot. Nothing crushable in the drybag.

Hil Dyyak! I can give you better than an estimate - I weighed all the bags. For that day's ride, I had 38,5 lbs (17 kg). When I go on my actual trip, I will have about 40 lbs (18,1 kg). I am trying to keep it below that.

The last trip I was on was about 35lbs, but some of that gear was extra I was carrying for a friend, his knees aren't as good anymore, so I took on the extra weight.

I love the dog back there "supervising"... really cute.

This is Big Citrus, without the touring gear I loose the "Big" prefix in the name.

you win the largest seat to bar drop award.
plus, if you could add some Big Apples and some red wine, you'd end up with sangria.

how is the heel strike, must not be an issue if you ride it. Hows the handling with the two ortliebs on the back?
nice looking bike btw, makes my neck hurt just looking at the drop and the reach, but looks great.

Haha!!

This is my make shift rig for this year. I'm really hoping to have a dedicated less flashy bike for touring next year, I always worry when I lock this bike up anywhere. I have been on many many long non loaded rides with that seat/drop ratio so it didn't take much of a adjustment when I threw the gear on, a bonus is shes still fast Heel strike is surprisingly a non issue even with 175mm cranks and a size 12 1/2 shoe (<----Clydesdale ). I am absolutely in LOVE these Ortliebs, they stick to the rack like glue so even at 25-30mph she is still very nimble, I imaging that the narrow top of my rack helps by centering the weight.

re Ortliebs, there are many good pannier systems out there, but I just bought my second set of them. The first set lasted at least 18 years and they always stayed on perfectly. While they may be more expensive than others, for me the excellent top locking mechanisms, and the newer type of lower attachment (compared to my old pair that had a hook on a long flexible rubber strap) mean that I never ever have to worry about them moving around or falling off. If you are someone who plans to ride a bike for years to come, for me the higher price is completely offset by the build quality over time, not to mention the obvious advantage of them being waterproof....

Nice that with two bags on the back, that it handles well. Thats always nice.

From the reviews/journals saying these took a beating and traveled all over the world to the waterproofing, the vast space, how well they compress, and their mounting system didn't dissuade me either; the very minute agility loss on that bike is a HUGE bonus well. I'm very much looking forward to rolling with these panniers at my rear for years to come. The rack pack will probably replace my trunk when I eventually do a trip longer than a week, this season it's only little two to three day jaunts.

Three loaded (and one unloaded)


21 by jonathanreid85, on Flickr


28 by jonathanreid85, on Flickr


12 by jonathanreid85, on Flickr


IMG_0658 by jonathanreid85, on Flickr

How was the Katy Trail with the skinny tires?
I live in Kansas City and want to go on it soon but have 28c wide tires. Seems like it should still be okay but what do you think?
Were the ciders smooth?

Daypacked.

Montauk.

took this after a shake down ride. Will be riding the GAP and C&O towpath from Pitt to DC in 4 weeks. Only 1/2 packed....

Seriously nice looking bike. What kind of bags are those, front and back?

Love the Arkell bags, ...I have same only my front ones are older and a rust colour , not red....Made in Canada...eh!