Wolf Tooth Doo-Dad & Banjo Brothers Frame Pack

I like my Revelate Tangle half-frame bag, but it's difficult to fit water bottles under it on the frame.  I have a tall water bottle on the down tube that protrudes up into the bag, and isn't easy to retrieve. On the seat tube I can fit a short 12oz Hydro-Flask under the Revelate, good for coffee or cold-brews.

(Maybe at this point I should point out that no companies or personages send this blogger any free stuff to review.  [Hint, hint...].  I buy bike things with my own hard earned allowance.   Speaking of, anybody need their lawn mowed?)

Wolf Tooth Components to the rescue. They developed the the B-RAD System, aka Bottle Relocation and Accessory Device.

I use the B-Rad 2 to lower the attaching points for the down tube cage and the taller water bottles fit great underneath the Tangle.  Only trouble is, now the cage interferes with the seat-tube bottle cage.  That's solved by another B-Rad to raise that one but of course there's no room now for even a 12 oz. bottle there.

So off to the internet I go looking for a little triangle shaped bag, something I've been thinking about for awhile. After some searching, I found just what I was looking for in the Banjo Brothers Frame Pack.  Only $35 bucks. The B-RAD isn't cheap at around $17 so that helps. Checked locally and didn't find any (ok, didn't look too hard - checked one store that was listed as a dealer) so ordered the medium from that universal place in Portland, Oregon. I gambled on the medium size, hoping my mid-size u-lock would fit in.

The u-lock fits, along with a tool kit and assorted sundries. I like having those on my bike so when I switch bags up front or use a backpack instead I don't have to make sure I transfer those items, too. There's room for a regular size bottle on the seat tube.  The only real complaint I have is there isn't a strap to snug the bag up next to the head tube so it tends to slide down. I think I can easily fix that.

Bikepacking setup in progress

this is what I have so far for this year's go at the John Wayne Pioneer Trail:

ceramic mug for laughs 

It's bulky up front, and I'd like to pare it down but will probably live with it. Might need a sleeping bag in September. Underneath and holding all those items is my Blackburn Top-It rack. Right now the idea is to use small bags like the Revelate handle bar bag shown instead of panniers cuz I ain't got no front panniers and don't want to buy any. I can fit a Platypus Platy bottle on top the front rack, too.  There's another handlebar bag above the sleeping bag and bivy, and dual feed bags. One of the feed bags might have to go as it's a little cramped up front; I can probably attach one on the Bindle.

I've biked with the sleeping bag and other items in a bag hanging from the handlebars before, but there's just not much room between the drops on the Woodchipper bars.  The new Woodchipper  2 bars on the new Fargo Rival have more width, and I could've switched them out I suppose but I like having a larger handlebar bag up front.

Instead of a rear rack and panniers like last time, I  picked up the Portland Design Works Bindle Rack which solves the saggy butt-rocket problem.  It's  holding the Salsa Terrapin dry bag which gives me a lot more room than the Revelate Pika I have. Inside I'm packing clothes and stuff in ditty bags to keep things separate and make it easier to get to things.  I also fit a Platypus flat bottle between the Bindle and Terrapin. More water storage!

I took it out for a spin, and the bike road smoothly, no wiggle waggle. We'll say how it works when I get it fully loaded.