Touring on a road bike? Hiking backpack selection

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superdx
Posts: 524
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2014 1:27 pm

by superdx

I'm planning a 9-10 day touring ride in Taiwan next year, and I've also read that many people (esp. locals) have done this on road bikes (as its the fastest) with nothing but a hiking backpack. Since it's Taiwan, there are hotels easily within the reach (80-130km) of any given day, cargo basically is just clothes and some personal items, no need for things like sleeping bags or pots/pans for cooking.

So I want to do this on my CAAD10 road bike, and all I'm missing is apparently a hiking backpack. Was wondering if anyone had experience with this, and what kind/brand of hiking backpack would be the most comfortable?

by Weenie


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acetonehk
Posts: 53
Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2012 12:42 pm

by acetonehk

Maybe you can try a backrack installed on your seatpost.
This would prolong the endurance of your back muscle in 10 days tour.

mariovalentim
Posts: 225
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 2:03 am

by mariovalentim

Bikepacking is the way to go! All these brands bellow offer amazing products. I've done 22 days of cycletouring through the east coast of Italy only bikepacking (with camping gear and all) and it was amazing.

Apidura https://www.apidura.com/shop/
Revelate http://www.revelatedesigns.com
Alpkit https://alpkit.com/bike-luggage

drchull
Posts: 376
Joined: Sat Jul 30, 2011 6:38 pm

by drchull

Problem with hiking packs is tend to interfere with helmet/head as they are generally quite tall extending well above shoulders. Also would be very hot. Need to take something fairly small that is low across the shoulders.

Frankly I would try the bike packing like mario showed or mount a rack temporarily for panniers. The distribution of weight with panniers would certainly make the bike a lot less top heavy than a huge saddle bag and bar bag. Would make handling a lot more predictable. However, if all you need is a change of clothes or two and a wallet then should be fine with any of the above. That you could almost shove under your jersey.

mattr
Posts: 4671
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 6:43 pm
Location: The Grim North.

by mattr

Revelate viscacha.

Very nice, have two at home.

Riding 80-130km with a rucksack on sounds like purgatory.

Marin
Posts: 4035
Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:48 am
Location: Vienna Austria

by Marin

I have a 12l saddle bag from Bikepack.pl that can easily take a change of clothes, flipflops, rain gear & more. It will also protect you from rear wheel spray.

You could get a bar or frame bag to supplement it if you need more space or easier access during the ride.

For a tour like yours I'd also consider SPD shoes/pedals for the walkability, and it saves you carrying an extra pair of shoes. Mount some durable tires too, and your roadbike becomes a superfast tourer!
Last edited by Marin on Fri Oct 16, 2015 8:08 am, edited 1 time in total.

basilic
Posts: 1028
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 8:05 am
Location: Geneva, Switzerland

by basilic

i agree with the posts above - get a saddle bag and maybe handlebar bag.
e.g.
Image

stevo564
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 9:37 am

by stevo564

Another vote for Apidura kit.

superdx
Posts: 524
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2014 1:27 pm

by superdx

Thanks for all the suggestions! I'm going to go with a 35L backpack (which is light) and also the saddle bags mentioned above. All the heavy stuff will go into the saddle bag like spare tires, tools, gadgets, and clothes etc. will go into the backpack.

After pounding Google Translate in Taiwan forums, the 35-40L backpack is the most common way to go, doesn't interfere with the helmet and if you balance the load right, apparently it's not much of an issue.

superdx
Posts: 524
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2014 1:27 pm

by superdx

Riding 80-130km with a rucksack on sounds like purgatory.


I laughed hahaha

Marin
Posts: 4035
Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:48 am
Location: Vienna Austria

by Marin

Still does to me...

mattr
Posts: 4671
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 6:43 pm
Location: The Grim North.

by mattr

It pissed me of just commuting to work with a day sack ~15 litres and 60km round trip.

ollekirchmeier
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri Sep 04, 2015 12:30 am
Location: Sweden

by ollekirchmeier

Image
Image

Me and a friend went from Paris down to the french Pyrenees on a 1333km/11day long ride. Our goal was to be as "lightweight" as possible, so we pack bare minimum and aimed at staying at hotels and airBNB. We had a fixed start and a fixed end to the trip but kept it open during the weeks and choose our route depending on places to stay or stuff we wanted to do. We had planned for one or two rest days but skipped them both and went straight to our goal.

We used a Axiom Journey DLX-racks with a Tubus adapter-set for QR-mounting because we both rode on road bikes without any mounting options. We paired them with the Axiom Monsoon Aero DLX Pannier Bags, small frame bag for snacks/cellphone and one saddle-bag for tools.

When we arrived to the Pyrenees we took the bags of and tackeld some mountains, and finished the trip of with the 2014 Le etapé du Tour.

I can't imaging doing the same trip with a backpack. The front loading racks worked really good for us.

If interested you can find more pictures, Strava-routes and some info about our gear here: http://velonode.cc/touring-de-france/ and http://velonode.cc/members/ollek/activity/1687/

superdx
Posts: 524
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2014 1:27 pm

by superdx

Really helpful information, read the entire thing. You definitely travelled light!

I've done a two-day 180km ride with a backpack before, albeit a 16L Evoc and I didn't find uncomfortable at all. Sweaty yes, but not to the point where I felt like I was getting a rash or something. Plus the back has contoured supports, so it's not like the backpack presses against you fully. There's drainage for sweat and airflow was actually quite good. I didn't even use the waist straps as I didn't know what they were for at the time. I had a change of clothes, energy bars, cereal bars, water, tools, pump which I ended up using none of! I just cycled about 28 hours straight with 1-2 hour breaks every 30-40km or so, and a 5 hour nap on a park bench. Woke up, washed my face off and head and kept going. Luckily no rain!

I'm looking into pannier racks (front and rear) but everything seems to indicate a road bike like a CAAD10 won't do very well with hard mounts like that, and may even damage the frame. Topeak racks seem to be for road bikes but their bags at most have 9L-20L capacity, which is no different from the Apidura bags.

by Weenie


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jordo99
Posts: 106
Joined: Mon Apr 09, 2012 10:48 pm

by jordo99

If you're not carrying a tent, sleep system or cooking gear then it should be really easy to accomplish with either backpacks or a few bikepacks.

I've used a Vaude Wizard Air for commuting 16 miles round trip each day to work. It has a mesh back rest that allows you to raise the pack up off your body or leave it flat on your back.

However, I use custom bags with my WW bike (15lbs) and it works out pretty well....here's my setup if you're curious:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=126742

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