Bicycle Touring 101: Carrying the load on the bike

Now that you've picked out the bike and sorted out your mental and physical training issues the next step is figuring out how to carry everything you need with you. There are two main ways of doing this on a self-contained and fully loaded tour.

This is my Arkel Handlebar bag on Day two of my Round Lake Huron tour. The bag is open because I had just removed my camera to take the picture.

Notice the map holder on top of the bag as well as the handy net pockets on the sides. There is also a pocket on the front side as well.
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One way is to carry everything on the bike itself. This page will cover this in detail.

The second method is to tow a trailer and carry everything in that. More information on this method will be discussed on another page.

Different types of bags exist to help you make use of almost any part of the bicycle. Here's a list of just some of the options:

A handlebar bag rides on the handlebars just as the name implies. This type of bag is often used to carry items that you want close at hand. Examples include a camera, notepad, touring cards and snack foods.

Some handlebar bags also have some really nice features like a mapcase and a strap that makes it possible to take the handlebar bag with you when you leave the bike.

One consideration that you should be aware of is the overall weight of the handlebar bag when it's fully loaded. Heavily loaded handlebar bags can make steering harder then necessary.

It is possible to get a map case on your bike without a handlebar bag. Some people do exactly this to get around the potential steering and weight issues on the bike.

I use this bag for everyday commuting back and forth to work. It carries my lunch as well as tools, and a spare tire tube.

This bag also features a place to mount a rear light although after losing two lights I no longer trust it. Unfortunately the bag blocks the rear light mounted under the seat making the ability to mount a light on the rear rack even more important.
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A trunk is a bag that rides on top of the rear rack of a bike. This type of bag is very useful for a lightly loaded or sag wagon tour when you want to carry just a few items on the bike without going all the way to saddlebags. It's also very useful for commuting or day rides.

Although I have a trunk bag I don't use it on tour. Instead I prefer to have nothing on top of the rear rack allowing me to put things there when needed. One Item that typically ends up there if I use it during a particular day is rain gear.

During my last tour I mounted a water bladder above the rear rack. This allowed me to carry more water and remove the weight of a water bladder from my body but it also made mounting a trunk bag completely impossible had I wanted one.

These bags ride along the sides of the racks mounted on the bicycle. These bags come in a variety of colours, shapes and sizes. Additionally you can get bags with lots of pockets to help you organize your equipment or one big pocket for your gear but completely waterproof.

Two very well respected saddlebag manufacturers are Arkel OverDesigns and Ortlieb. While both companies are recognized by many bicycle tourists as having superior products the two companies have taken different approaches.

Ortlieb is renowned for having bags that are almost waterproof. Many stories have been told on the International Bicycle Touring Mailing List about how well these bags have worked to protect essential gear like a sleeping bag from getting soaked during a heavy rainstorm.

I ordered new Arkel's just before my Round Lake Huron tour. I wanted to increase visibility so I selected red bags. Notice the round tube connected to the right side rear saddlebag. This bag holds my therma rest and if I used a tent it would also hold my tent poles.
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Arkel has also gone with high quality materials and a very strong set of attachment hardware. They have also focused on providing lots of compartments to make packing your gear easier.

I currently use Arkel saddlebags although in the past I used Vaude RoadMaster bags until I experienced a problem while passing through the Cleveland harbourfront while going around Lake Erie. I sold these saddlebags to a touring buddy only to have them break during our first tour together.

For me having saddlebags that I can rely on makes a tremendous difference when I am touring. I look for high quality construction, a reliable attachment mechanism and some form of protection from water.

I also look for straps that I can use not only for being able to temporarily hold things on the bike but also to allow me to try to compress the fully loaded bags as tightly as possible to help reduce the impact of the bags on aerodynamics. This is an important feature especially in a headwind.

For commuting I like to use different bags that have a easy quick release mechanism. This makes the bags easier to take off the bike. When I tour I typically want the opposite since I tend to leave the bags on the bike for the whole tour. Some people feel differently about this. They like to take the bags into their shelter at night rather then leave them on the bike.

Of course to mount most of these bags you need a rack of some sort. The next page will cover that topic.