Hello. I'm hoping to build up a bike packing system for short trips in the California Sierra with a buddy or two of mine. I currently have a half frame bag, plus the Revelate Designs Egress front "Pocket."
For the front, I intend to add Revelate Designs' Harness. This is for a drop-bar gravel bike, which limits the length of bag i can use. I'm wondering if I should go with their Saltyroll dry bag (somewhat narrow and perfect for flat bars, but limited space for drop bars), or try a "hiking" company's dry bag like a 13 liter from Sea to Summit. I like the idea of the double ended closures on the Saltyroll (found on most bike packing companies' designs), but it's only 7 inch diameter. A Sea to Summit 13 liter drybag is 8.6 inch diameter. If i mix brands, the Salsa EXP Dry bag is 200mm/7.87 inches diameter. The Saltyroll, and MAYBE the Salsa bag, also have webbing to loop the Harness' straps through, most one-ended hiking dry bags do not have that feature. Are there any other cottage industry brands that offer a front double ended dry bag that i should consider for the Harness? I intend to store my tent, poles, and down quilt up front. I could carry my XTherm sleeping pad in a cage on the fork.
Any thoughts from personal experience? Is it best to have those extra webbing points for the straps?
Later, i also need to plan for rear storage, not sure if i want to go with a seat pack like the RD Terrapin 14 liter, or smallish panniers like Ortlieb's newish Gravel Panniers, which would involve the added cost of a good rear rack ($150 for a Tubus is one example).
I'm leaning towards brands i can find at REI (they carry RD and Ortlieb) since i have a nice dividend available right now, plus they have a 20% sale coming up in a couple of months, and they have that nice return policy, and I have an REI in town.
I also know i should have an idea how much space i need before buying bags. But I've been moving into lightweight backpacking gear for a couple of years now and hope that will help in the end.
Thanks for any suggestions anyone can offer. As you can see, there's a storm of ideas swirling in my mind at the moment 🙂
I use a Revelate Designs Pronghorn with the medium drybag, plus the RD Egress Pocket, with a 44mm Salsa Cowchipper drop bar. All that works together comfortably for me. IDK how the large drybag would fit. Note that the Pronghorn drybags are light, waterproof, and durable - Dyneema is amazing stuff - but they do not have a valve to vent air out of the bag, so you have to compress it by hand and then close the roll-top.
