Howdy BF Tourers,

I am planning a short bike tour in early July from Boston, MA to either Washington, DC or down to Chapel Hill, NC. I will be taking a few days off from riding to do some activities with friends including hiking. So one thing I cannot stand is having a backpack on while riding for long distances (over 30 miles - I regularly ride around with my messenger bag or another bag when going out with friends or running around the city on weekends).

I have already ordered a custom Leviathan bag by Burro Bags (see : Burro Bags ? LEVIATHAN Large Rolltop Backpack and Tori & Her Custom Burro Bag ? Forward Set) however I'm not sure if this will be suitable to strap onto the front of my bike (I will be using a Porter style rack with a fence that will allow for the bag to sit 1-2 inches higher than without the fence). I already have ordered the Burro bag for daily commuting and other needs, however I'm wondering if anyone has used a similar roll-top bag as a front pannier before?

Secondly, the alternative would be something like these bags:
Store - ANHAICA BAG WORKS
OR
Store - ANHAICA BAG WORKS

The Raid bags come with 1 bag that converts into a backpack. What are your thoughts on these options?

Thanks!
Red

They look nice..

My hiking/bike touring system is different. I use "regular" panniers on the bike, and pack a very light silnylon pack like this one for hiking. My camping equipment is very light and compact so I don't need much of a pack to carry it in. I would like to figure out a way to securely mount the silnylon pack directly to the bike, but that hasn't worked out too well and I think the pack is too fragile and not flexible enough for bike duty. Since it's about a half pound, that's not too much of a weight penalty to carry a separate pack.

For day hiking when I am on a bike tour, I use a lightweight fanny pack. It is an old one (1980s vintage?) with some leather patches on it for extra straps, I can strap a jacket on the outside of the fanny pack. Folds up to almost nothing in teh bottom of the pannier and only weighs 300 grams.

I gave my sister a backpack for Christmas, she wanted one that folded up small but could be used for travel. I got her one of these:

Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Daypack - REI.com

I have not tried it but she looked at it in the store and decided she wanted one for travel and sightseeing.

I would look for day pack such as the REI Flash, which is very light weight and doubles as a stuff sack.

REI Flash 22 Pack - REI.com

I have used and liked both of those and also the REI Flash 18. The Sea to Summit is only 2.4 ounces and works great if you don't need to carry a lot of heavy stuff. The Flash 18 weighs 12 ounces and works better if you need to carry more weight. The Flash 22 weighs 17 ounces and carries a good bit more in part because of the pockets. The 22 also gives more easy access to your stuff with the extra compartment and pockets.

If you want/need to carry even more the Flash 30 or the Flash 45 might be worth considering. They are more pack than I personally use for day hiking though, but I am a bit of a minimalist.

I use the Flash 45 (2lb 2oz) for week long or longer hikes and even have used it on trips requiring a bear canister. For folks who lug more stuff it might be a day pack. It won't stuff into a pannier very well though.

The Flash 30 would be OK for the minimalist on hikes of a few days or maybe longer if restock opportunities were frequent and no bear canister was required. Most folks probably use it as a day pack. I am not sure they still make this one. Like the 45, it also does not stuff in a pannier as well

There a few choices: Laplander bags ? Waxed Porteur Rack Pack < This is a porteur bag that turns into a backpack.

Another is Freight baggage, they also sell a porteur bag with backpack capabilities, but I would not recommend. Really bad customer service, and never actually shipped the bag I ordered after 3 months of waiting. Took another two months to get a refund which I had to do through my bank.

My favorite set up is basket and Rivendell Sackville. Sackville ShopSack - MEDIUM - half n half . You can take the fence off the porteur I think, and zip tie the basket on. Wald 137 fits Riv medium.
This is my current set up. For bike camping, I just strap my sleeping bag to my saddle. For longer touring, I have low riders and front panniers. The medium sackville has a lot of space inside, and has places on the side to attach a shoulder strap if you need it. The sackville also comes in a much larger size. If you're carry a lot of weight, you might wanna have a compression strapped from the front of your basket to the handlebars for extra support.

Even the tried and tested world wide Ortlieb has an accessory back pack kit.

Ive Used a Rucksack as my Stuff sack on top of the rear rack too ..


A Portage pack in a Bike trailer could take the whole camping load and you can wear the Trailer and get over road washouts, fallen trees , etc.

carrying your bike..

ok why don't you use whatever panniers you like for the bike part and borrow a backpack from your friends or ship one you already have to them? You don't have to carry it on the bike tour, right?