JayP

that is the question.

There are many different ways to carry gear on a bicycle and the old tried and true pannier racks have been the standard till recently. In the last several years soft bags have really taken precedent. Manipulating, cutting and sewing fabric in ways with buckles and straps have produced bags to fit directly on the bikes without the wieght of the racks and opening up plenty of the non-interfered spaces on the bike to put that piece of clothing, bits of food, and extra gear. The convience of these bags has made things more accessable, espically when riding, and allows one to really be organized, as much as one can while packing a couple weeks worth of kit to the bike.

I have proven experince with both soft bags and racks, winter and summer. For 3 season touring, soft bags, in my opinion are the way to go. The combo of seat bag, bar bag, frame pack, small back pack and accessory pockets should be more then enough room wheather you are racing or luxury touring. For winter touring I have used this system also with basically a much bigger seat bag and bar bag, the bar bag actually has an internal frame system giving it a much more stable mount.  As of recently I am wieghing out the pros and cons of these methods for winter travel.

The winter sleeping system tends to be a bulky system, not really heavy, but bulky. So that goes to the front of the bike, with my custom made harness system by Carousel Design Works. A frame bag is of standard equipment and a must have for all those essintial bits and pieces. A big 'ol Fuel Cell for the top tube which is also integrated into the frame bag is where the thousands of calories go. The piece I am really wieghing thought to is the seat bag and trust me, I have a very nice, very large, seat bag to accomidate what I need to but do I want to. Generally this is where the extra clothing ends up. For some reason with the soft bag system I end up stuffing extra accessories, food and such up front with the craddle or strapped to the craddle because the seat bag just does'nt offer many options and gets filled quick. Ultimately this just keeps putting more weight to the front of the bike. This year I am trying to weight out the convience of a rear rack. No more stuffing to the gills seat bag, trying to fidget and make things work when it is 20 below. The rear rack will let me gain space and stop piling up stuff on the front of the bike. Getting rid of the seat bag will allow for a much easier of getting on and off the bike which sometimes can be a constant when conditions, basically suck.

The convience, effiency and extra room of the rack far out wieghs it's wieght when dealing with winter touring. I think I just talked myself into using this system. I have been fiddleing with different bags and systems that will make the use of this rack perfect.

"You have to love a good rack" and a nice new snow bike to put it on.

I highly suggest Old Man Mountain for a trusted proven rack with mounting accessories to fit any bike and great customer service. I personally used the Sherpa on the Tour Divide and Ultra Sport races.

For soft bags of great workmanship and all original ideas look at Carousel Design Works.