I preordered a set, but they have already been posted.

Tour Aotearoa Official Guides

I too have just put my order in.

If anyone is planning a ride - the official route guides will be released next week on the Kennett Brothers web site.

Thanks.  I'll keep my eye out for that.

Just wondering whether any members on the forum are planning on riding the unofficial TA in 2017.  The next official one is not until 2017, but I have heard that a handful of people are potentially doing it in 2017.

If you had done your homework, you would have discovered that the swaying issue has long ago been dealt with.

F'rinstance Porcelain Rocket's Mr Fusion bag has a mini-rack that has been widely imitated.

And Bedrock Bags Railwing can be retro-fitted to your current bag.

As can Portland Design Works Bindle Rack.

To name just a few.

I must have been living in a cave as I was totally unaware of that fact.

It's so easy to DIY a handlebar harness. I don't know why they are so expensive and people keep buying them.

I have made 2 rolls of my own, but whilst they work well they end up pushing on the brake / gear cables.  Given they just hang off the bars there is no getting away from the fact that it will bounce around when travelling over very rough ground.  I was thinking of an after market bracket that fixes to the bottom of the fork steerer or to the suspension crown that enable you to also fix the roll harness from the bottom of the harness.  This will stop the harness from bouncing around.

I am not affiliated to Specialized in anyway, but I must admit I am quite impressed, on paper anyway, with what looks like some well thought out designs.  The seatpack with integrated stability mount and the front harness which clamps to the bars.  From a weight perspective I suspect the weight conscious will run for the hills, but for those of us after gear that stays put and does not move around could be worth a look.

http://www.cyclingabout.com/new-specialized-burra-burra-bikepacking-bags/

No sooner did I switch over to panniers and a rack because of the annoying seat pack sway when I just discover Specialized have brought a pack that addresses the problem.  http://www.cyclingabout.com/new-specialized-burra-burra-bikepacking-bags/

I also purchased a Diverge in May and would have gone with the specialized sequoia, but that only came out for 2017 :-(

I think if you go with a rack and 13 litre dry bag mounted on the rack you are comparable with an undermount seat pack, but have the benefits of.

1.  Does not sway
2.  Ease of removal
3.  Flexibility to strap other stuff to rack mid ride should you need to.

Since posting, I have purchased a rack which fixes to the bike using the QR skewer and a seat post clamp with eyelet mounts on it.  I can't wait to get out and give it a whirl :-)

The large dry bag on the rear rack looks like it works really well.  That looks like the way to go to me.  More storage space and won't sway around like an under seat saddle bag.

I've gone from using racks and panniers for a number of years to using a seatbag briefly to see what was that all about and back to using racks and panniers again.    I can pack out of camp in less than half the time with R & P's.

That's great to know and thanks for sharing your experience.  I just need to now try and find a rack that will work with a carbon frame which does not have eyelets.

After numerous trips I have decided that the 13 litre underseat pack that I use is just not cutting it and have decided to move to a pannier rack with a dry bag or even panniers.

My motivation is 2 fold.

1) On extended trips I struggle to pack enough gear and end up with a rucksack.  Going forward plan will be to put hydration bladder in frame bag and that gear into panniers / dry bag.
2) Seat pack always has a certain amount of sideways sway when out of the saddle. 
3) Once strapped in and under the seat it was annoying if you ever needed to get something out of it unless at destination for the day.

Anyone else made the move and if so, what's a good rack for a carbon 29er frame disc frame without eyelets and QR rear wheel?

I have been contemplating doing either the Sarn Helen Trail (MTB Bikepacking) from North to South Wales or the North Coast 500 Scotland (Road Touring)

Short notice, but if anyone fancies going then message me.  Having company would be great as I'm getting a tad bored of the usual solitude of riding alone.

NC 500 GPX
http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=kyrqihganzbftxeb&authkey=2C20106788F25C150A09C4E95A622118BAD0376BC83BB210

Sarn Helen
http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=abducjatsqarmsww

Plan is to use camp sites or wild camp with maybe one night mid ride in a B&B

Just read this and I too have fallen foul of the auto renewal :-( with no major trips planned I was planning on just letting my licence elapse.  That is very rubbish that it just keeps rolling.

Planning on doing some touring on the diverge soon and wanted a way of carrying 3 litres of H2O without having to wear a camelbak or rucksack, so decided I make a framebag to hold the bladder.

[Rawlins, Wyoming)]

I need to get the message out to all riders regarding 2 great eateries I found last year on my divide trip.  Best food I ate the whole trip :-) and you'll really need to head in there if you want a great fill.

Rawlins, Wyoming)



Steamboat Springs (best breakfast burrito ever!)



Makes me hungry just thinking about the food here. Beat the usual diet of gas station junk.

I took my 1000 weight down 10c booster mummy bag and did the following.

1.  Cut it down the back all the way to the foot section. 
2.  Sewed a small triangle of lightweight fabric to the underside of the bag.  This will then be used to hook the quilt under the thermarest mat.



3.  Used gross grain to finish the edges.



4.  Added popper tabs to the edge of the quilt which then can be used to fasten quilt to the thermarest mat




No I also purchased a thermarest quilt, but I am half tempted to return it as I was not very impressed with the size of the baffles (too wide) and the down felt very thinly distributed.  I suspect it will not be a warm quilt.

My existing down bag is a 750 weight down bag and I am thinking of just adding some fasteners which go underneath the matress and hold the 2 sections taught against the mat.

The Therm-a-Rest Vela Quilt is designed for 2 people right?  Does it come with the sleeping pad/ mattress, or do you add your own?
http://www.cascadedesigns.com/therm-a-rest/quilts-and-blankets/camp-quilts/vela-hd-double-quilt/product

Not sure the Vela is a 2 person quilt.  It is though really designed to work with the thermarest mounts on the fitted mat sheet.  Thermarest have now released a pack of 8 sticky back pads which you could stick to your own mat so that you then have fixing points for the quilt.

I converted my old mummy bag into a top quilt.    I got rid of the zippers, hood, and lots of other excess material.   That conversion cut the weight and volume of the bag by half.

That is one option.  I have a very lightweight bag with no zippers that is designed to boost the warmth of a bag by 10c.  I think I'll cut that and turn that into an inner quilt which I can use to help boost the warmth of the Corus HD.  For me, the Corus integration with the Thermarest mat is a great idea and to have a quilt that stays put and does not end up stuffed up to the inner fly sheet collecting moisture is the main motivation for buying one.  In a small tent you don't have much room either side of the mat and there is nothing worse than finding your bag is wet because it was touching the side of the tent.

I, too, am shopping for a quilt and cannot decide on size/ width. Here is a suggestion:

Take your exisiting bag, unzip it and measure the width and go from there OR
If the quilt you are interested in is an off the shelf model, buy both sleep in them in your living room and return the one that doesn't fit.  This way you'll know for yourself which one fits better.

  I don't think undoing the mummy bag will help with sizing?  Would you not just measure with the bag zipped up as half of the bag is underneath the body?

I think I will order the Corus HD first and see how that sizes up.  @Smithhammer did make a valid point that aside from the extra weight it's also the extra packing bulk.

But if it were me, I would stick with the Corus for the lighter weight and less bulk when packing.

I want to avoid a quilt that when you are turned on your side pulls tight like I found the mummy bag did.  I am sure the Corus HD will be more spacious than my mummy bag.