vik 

That's standard Old Man Mountain rack hardware. It works on any bike.

dahut

Works for me!

vXhanz

Vik, Thanks man! That's exactly what I was looking for to put on my Instigator frame I'm building up.

Enthusiast

Perhaps by "touring" they mean "bike packing." Those chain stays are a bit short for large conventionally located rear panniers.

benajah

Is there a difference besides the surface you are riding on?

spinner

Saddle up, that's a great loking bike. It's exactly what I have had in mind since I first saw the Troll frame. I was wondering if you have weighed it, and if so, how much does it weight?

positron

yes, weight.

also: whats the deal with the fork:
Springs (vs. air)?
did you stiffen the springs aftermarket (or even think about this)?
are you worried about 'unsprung' front rack weight wearing out the stanchions/seals etc? ie: did you consider a Tubus 'Swing' top mounted rack?

I ask because I'm thinking about a sus-fork for my silkroad for offroad touring. Not really sure about all the issues though. would love to hear if oyu thought through some of these...

Saddle Up

@Enthusiast, I built this bike from a frameset exactly how I wanted, it would not be a stretch for me to choose panniers specifically for the build. I'll be using a set of Arkel XM-28 and XM-45, both of which are narrower and mount higher than the Axiom bags I have in the photo. If I wanted conventional I would have built a LHT.

@spinner, the bikes weighs 34 lbs with the suspension fork.

@positron, I went with a spring fork instead of air mostly bacause of the advise by folks that have done the Continental Divide Ride, less to go wrong, the Tora fork is really simple and works well enough. The racks are mounted to the stanctions so don't effect fork performance or wear. The weight is being carried on the wheel axle.

starboard73

Ortlieb Back Roller Classics fit just fine on the standard rack I have on my Troll- no heel strike. Those are pretty standard touring panniers, so I think the Troll can be tour worthy. Plus it has plenty of mounting points for front racks and panniers if you like to tour that heavy- I haven't used fronts in a while but i tend to tour lighter these days than I used to.

HandsomeRyan

Troll built with Alfine 11. Very very nice. Do Want.

Enthusiast

Saddle Up, of course you could find excellent panniers that would work well with the rack and bike. I'm sorry if it sounded like I was dismissing the use of any pannier on a Troll. This discussion seemed to go beyond your specific bike and I just felt that it should be mentioned that the geometry of the frame requires panniers that are either smaller, higher, narrower, or set further back. I'm sure your Troll will be an excellent touring bike.

Benajah, the difference between bike touring and bike packing has much to do with how the gear is secured on the bike. As I understand it, with bikepacking the gear is secured on the bike directly by different sorts of framebags, saddlebags, etc. No racks.

megalowmatt

When are you doing this ride and are you doing it all at once?

I'd love to read a blog about this if you're going to be writing as you go. I'm sure others would, too.

That bike looks awesome.

kaliayev

Nice bike. Not into mountain biking so not very knowledgeable, but the Salsa Fargo would seem to be a better choice, no?

benajah

Im bringing up an old post, but as I understand it, the difference between touring and bike packing is an attempt to find something similar to backpacking, only on a bike, long distance mountain biking, more or less. I don't think it has so much to do with how you attach gear to the bike.