Hi All!
I have a wonderful update on my ultralight touring scheme: A Forum friend very kindly sent me his older Carradice Camper Longflap. I am over the moon with delight and it feels like Santa paid me an unexpected visit! It is perfectly serviceable and has a lot of "character" which makes it beautiful and it even smells good, as if it has been used for camping. There are some small holes, but I can patch them with no trouble and then re-waterproof. I donated the cost of shipping to a local food bank, where it will be put to good use.
I have taken photos and attached them so you can see how it all looks. Captions tell the tale. Although I plan to use the bag on several of my bikes, the photos show it posed on my late father's bike, as it started to rain before I could photograph it on my Nomad.
Total weight including the bag itself is 6.41kg/14.1lb complete except for food, which is variable. Packed items would be good for camping from late Spring to early Fall in my locale. It holds a complete stove with fuel and cookset, sleeping bag and mattress, tent with fly and footprint, a complete spare set of cycling clothes plus cycling tights and longsleeve fleece-lined jersey for cool weather, tools and full rain gear from head to toe.
Half the rear rack is still available for cargo and the D-rings atop the flap are unused and ready to carry stuff sacks with extra food, fuel, clothing, the solar panel, whatever if needed. Still a bit of room in the center of the bag. Left pocket completely empty, right pocket only half full at best. There is still the option to add my 8.5l Large Ortlieb handlebar bag at the front of the bike so I can carry extra food, fuel, and clothing to extend my range.
The Camper Longflap is now ready for my next pair of 300-400km days. Getting everything in one bag at minimal weight means I can still make a good distance yet ride and sleep warm and dry and eat two hot meals a day for as long as food and fuel reserves last (depending on my location, these may be replenished at stores). This setup is not for everyone -- not even me, for most extended tours well away from resupply -- but should be just the ticket for this unique purpose, when I want to take a long day ride and maybe decide on the fly not to return home that night. It also allows me the option to either camp at the halfway point and sleep and explore the area or put all my effort into forward progress, effectively doubling my range over two days. All this at no real hardship. I can even watch movies or read e-books on my phone or do actual work on it while sipping a hot cup of tea before I go to sleep in my warm down bag atop a soft mattress in my dry, bug-free tent, the Carradice stored in the vestibule awaiting the next day's travels.
So delighted! This is the culmination of a 35 year-long dream to fit an entire cycle-camping setup in one bag for fast-light touring. Once attached, the Carradice Camper Longflap seems to be remarkably stable when secured to the saddle and the bicycle's rear rack. I have tried so many schemes to pack smaller and lighter for special trips, but all required increased time to fit everything
just so and delayed early starts at dawn and in the rain. The present setup is almost grab-and-go and loads very quickly; it takes only 4 minutes to stow the pre-stuffed items in the bag and be on the road. In rainy weather, it can be packed while inside the dry tent. It seems a better course for me than recent bikepacking-specific bags.
I am very grateful to each of you for your thoughts and experienced input. I would like to make or buy a quick-release mount so the bag can be removed and then un/packed inside the tent if it is raining so the contents can remain dry. Right now, placing the bag's bottom on the rack is most ideal for stability -- the gap is just right and would be even better if attached either to the saddle rails or to a Bagman QR clamp alone.
The person who so kindly made this gift included a Karrimor Uplift. Mindful of the suggested weight limits on similar devices, I think it is ideal for lesser loads that would put a bit less strain on the saddle's mounting loops. The higher perch would be nice on some of my bikes and allow carrying a load along the rack beneath the bag.
One of my concerns in asking about bag supports is my penchant to ride on rough roads, even with my 700C-wheeled road touring bikes. This causes a lot of vibration and the secondary load cycles -- where the bags contents loft, then crash down -- do increase effective mounting loads. This has been such a concern in the past, I have taken to using cinch straps on my panniers. They do help, and also point out the effect on rack and mount lifespan of load-cycling unconstrained bag contents. Minimizing those impacts makes a real difference over time. I agree: For heavy loads in such a large saddlebag, it would be best to use a conventional bicycle rear rack for support -- or none at all.
One reason I am thinking of the complete Bagman QR Expedition (to match the larger Camper Longflap bag) with support hoop is to implement a future scheme to possibly travel by air without a bike. Air transport has become so expensive it might actually be less expensive to fly with just the packed Camper Longflap and a support in checked luggage for International trips, carrying my pedals and saddle in my handlebar bag as carry-on items while wearing a full suit of cycling clothing including helmet (I've done this before, draws amused comments about whether I know more than others about an impending crash...). Once landed, a bicycle could be borrowed or bought/sold/abandoned for much lower cost than flying with my own. This scheme has worked very well for Igor Kovse:
http://ultralightcycling.blogspot.co.uk/http://www2.arnes.si/~ikovse/It is just a thought, but if I purchased the Bagman QR complete with support hoop, the clamp could be used in daily practice while the hoop resided in the closet until needed. I still think the stainless hoop needs additional support, as was implemented briefly in the aluminum-hooped Bagman 2, where support rods were incorporated. Hmm. Perhaps I could make a bracket and braze it on to add some Carradice or Tubus rod supports and prevent undue bouncing.
Thanks again, All. Still looking forward to any additional thoughts on mounts and such.
All the best,
Dan.
