Most recent activity
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Thanks, yeh I have a set of carradice struts already that I would swap for the Canti ones to mount it to the mid fork mounts. Let me have a think and I’ll Pm you if I’m keen. Cheers!
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I’m interested but is it worth the extra money over the Nitto M18 at Planet X price (£89), persuade me?
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Looking very nice! What fabric did you use? I’m using the machines down the makers space which are heavy duty singers and supposedly can go through nine layers of denim (according to the marketing) so they handle webbing no problem. Just made myself a roll top cargo cage bag as well:
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Gotta applaud the audacity! You’ve taken the purchase price + import price and then added on what £60 or £70? The fact that there not for sale right now means very little as AARN does fairly regular re-stocks (email subscription). Good luck finding someone dumb enough to pay you £200!
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Latest little project re-thinking my front loading touring set up. Picked up a couple of Blackburn cargo cages and drilled an extra hole to accommodate a 3rd mounting bolt then knocked up a quick roll top bag for it. Of course I could have just bought a regular dry bag but this has some features I wanted like a semi rigid panel in the back and high density foam in the base to give it some shape and avoid rattling contents as well as extra webbing for running straps through.
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Sorry confused does the groupset come with the XD driver or your noting that the cassette needs one?
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The Nitto rack is the R10 right? I'm interested and don't want to sound like a dick but it's only £10 more expensive brand new on planet x?
So there are some reasons that are often touted as to why front loading has become more popular. The point you make about the riders weight being closer to the rear wheel but I think strictly speaking that one doesn’t actually hold up so well if you think about the direction your weight is moving relative to where the rear hub is. The other point you make is also true about a front load making handling feel slower but this is where it helps to choose a bike that has a ‘low trail’ geometry (like the AWOL) which goes some way to offset this. Ultimately though I think it just comes down to personal preference. When I ride loaded I like my bike to feel as much like it does to ride unloaded. For example I used to ride a surly cross check with the standard two outline rear panniers and riding out the saddle you really notice the ‘sway’ they cause at the rear end. My current strategy is not so much front loading but really having weight balanced between lots of places in the bike. So that means heavy items (tentpoles, pegs, knife and tools etc.) go in the frame bag and other stuff divided between saddlebag and front load with probably only slightly more weight in the front. Those latest bags will mostly be for a small cook kit on one side balanced by something like waterproof clothing and gloves on the other. TBH no one gets it perfect to begin with and every tour involves a bit of juggling stuff around and trying different things out. More important is that the frame really fits you well.
Saying that one of the best tips when using a bivvy set up that I got from Jesse Carlsson is just to leave everything in side of it. In Japan, my inflatable sleeping mat and ‘quilt’ just stayed inside the bivvy and got rolled with it and my groundsheet meaning at the end of the day I just threw it on the ground and got in.