Appreciate the straight talk. I’ve been nerding out over luggage options for the last week (re: not making decisions), and in the meantime just keep throwing shit in a tote bag in my basket. Easy to access while riding! also gets real damn wet!
how is Xpac vs cordura?
That looks really clean, I can’t figure out how its attached to the strut though, have any disassembled photos?
Xpac doesn’t handle abrasion very well while cordura is super durable.
I have a bag that has cordura on the outside and xpac as the waterproof liner and it works really well.
Would be cool to make a bag that has cordura at all the abrasion points and xpac everywhere else
[quote=dotMR]PurpleGatherer + RainbowRack is making my day
Is that light mount bracket custom?[/quote]
Yep, everything below the platform is custom, I didn’t use the included struts that are meant for axle mounting. For the light mount, I measured up the IQ-X bracket, so the holes are sized for the torx bolt shoulders and the spacing matches the light or the dogbone.
The mount is a larger OD tube brazed to the 3/8" strut, and plates brazed to the larger tube to get the mount spacing required.
[quote=dotMR]#bagchat
Looks like they have an option with map case too.[/quote]
That version of the bag predates the rack and my bag by a few years. heavymetal has one on his NFE. The mash ones don’t have the map case on any version, the original ones don’t have the fabric pockets for rack retention.
Re: xpac/cordura: Base of bag isn’t xpac:
Oh nice, that is almost exactly what I wanted on my Orc rack.
Ended up with something slightly different that works well but I love what you did and kinda wish I had something like that on my rack.
I guess the one advantage of the orc design is having the light as high as possible so slightly less wheel shadow.
On your design the plates could be extended further to move the light up a little higher.
I really like what Dan Boxer did with this design but Its nice to have the adjustability of the sandwich design.
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But if I put the dogbone back in between the mount and the light, I can extend the light out and up/down as desired.
Fork placement was best guess from mockups and measuring to allow for one or the other to work acceptably without putting the light way in front of the front rail or way too low.
That cyo premium setup is boss! I only got away with this because the collar can spin on the IQ-X and be setup hangy. Not compatible with non IQ-X lights without some kludging.
Xpac doesn’t handle abrasion very well while cordura is super durable.[/quote]
I’ve seen several friends replace multiple Xpac bags in the same time I’ve had my one Cordura Ozette.
Xpac doesn’t handle abrasion very well while cordura is super durable.[/quote]
I’ve seen several friends replace multiple Xpac bags in the same time I’ve had my one Cordura Ozette.[/quote]
[quote=orc]
x-pac by itself has the stiffness of toilet paper; you’d want to back it with either fabric or interfacing unless having the bag collapse into a puddle of fabric is what you want.[/quote]
Xpac is not great for anything you want to last more than casual use. If you’re a Fred or Andrew type user it won’t last more than a year, honestly. As a liner it’ll last a bit longer unless you pack things in the same spot consistently (which you should never do. Stuff your tents, don’t roll them). If you always use tent poles and put them in the frame bag it’ll be dead in like half dozen camping trips. I’d also suggest washing/spraying down your frame bag after each actual dirt use. If one were smart they would make the frame contact sides of the bag out of cordura and everything else out of xpac or whichever single layer product they choose. But then again you have to think about the difficulty in sewing a zipper into silpoly, it is not fun.
From most durable to least. All weight measurements are nominal per square yard.
Classic messenger bag combo: 1000d cordura and vinyl coated polyester. It would take years to wear out even at the corners on a rando bag. Where the bag meets the rails of the rack will wear out much sooner, obviously.
1000d Cordura: 11.25oz
Vinyl polyester: 18oz
Total oz: 29.25oz
Total cost: ~$30/yd
Cost/oz:
Lightweight cordura and mid-weight dyneema. Honestly not that much less durable than above, just a little more time than the 1000d. Once the 500d is worn out though the dyneema will wear out very quickly whereas the vinyl from above will still be a pretty good barrier for a few months of use.
500d Cordura: 8oz
Dyneema: 2.5oz
Total oz: 10.5oz
Total cost: $55/yd
Cost/oz: $5.24
Xpac vx50 only.
Xpac vx50: 9.3oz
Total cost: $28
Cost/oz: $3.01
xpac vx42 only.
Xpac vx42: 8.4oz
Total cost: $27
Cost/oz: $3.21
Xpac vx21 only.
V21 vxpac: 6oz
Total cost: $22
Cost/oz: $3.66
210D HDPE Poly only.
210D: 4.8oz
Total Cost: $26
Cost/oz: $4.58
I would personally do a dyneema 210D bag and maybe use 500d cordura for contact points. Basically the entire bag is made of dyneema with an extra layer of 500d all along where it meets the bike frame. But I am super interested in that vx50 xpac which I just found. I might have to buy a few yards and see how it goes.
fabric chat blowing me away right now. perhaps the spreadsheet needs another page?
I abuse the shit out of my stuff and my xpac bag has survived a few years. I’ve sewn a pocket back on here and there, the tombstone once or twice, and it has a couple of holes but it is 100% functional. It isn’t THAT bad but you must certainly be more careful than with cordura. My bag is X33 which is I think X21 level of durability (I just looked this up and am surprised it is so lightweight). I’ve been thinking about the issue of the rack rails on the bottom and I believe it helps that the bag rests on the cordura velcro straps, not straight on the fabric.
Rockgeist site has a ton of good info!
Will deRosset probably built the first X-Pac handlebar bag and it’s still in service. He puts a Cordura patch on the bottom, you can see it here.