Clem for bikepacking?

[Richard Rose]

Wondering if there are any Clem L owners here using their rig  for bikepacking excursions? Seems like an ideal platform in spite of having no space for a framebag nor fork mounted braze ons for anything or similar cages. I am thinking of front and rear mimimalist racks from Tumbleweed as they include the anything / manything cage mounts. Curious what others might be doing?

[iamkeith]

Keep in mind that interior frame bags and everything cages and cantilevered soft bags and a lot of that other, now-common, high-tech bike-packing equipment is pretty new in the grand scheme of things.  You can still do alot with some good old fashioned "full" racks with panniers and saddlebags, the way it was done for a century or more.  I personally think the long rear end of the clem lends itself to this better than any other bike ever made.

Also, people often forget about or overlook bob trailers too but, depending on what kind of trip you had in mind, they sometimes work well, and make it easy to strip the bike down for day rides once you reach your destination.

[John G]

Most of those are not new in the scheme of things at all.  They've just been rediscovered and possibly updated.  I may be geezing here, but I had an AMF (I think) frame bag of orange nylon back in 1970s.  I wish I still had it.  I still have the Cannondale handlebar bag from the same era. The freedom to explore the world (well, at least a good chunk of mid-Maryland) a couple of bags and a wonderlight (https://cdn-0.sheldonbrown.com/images/wonder-lamp.jpg) gave teenaged me is a cherished memory.

As to the original post, bikepacking is worth it even on a less than perfect bikepacking bike.  Underbikepacking, as it were.

https://flic.kr/p/X5m8o

Cheers,

John G

Union Bridge, MD

[Jeffrey Arita]

I agree with John G: pretty much any bike can be used for cyclotouring/bikepacking.  I don't have a Clem (I have a Rambouillet), but Grant designs framesets with strength and reliability in mind.  It is steel, so absolutely, it should be fine.

If you ever have a chance to visit Adventure Cycling Association's (ACA) HQ in Missoula, MT, you can see many of the original rigs that were used.  Absolutely fascinating.  They just took what was available and invented solutions.  Those folks were animals, too: you gotta check out the tall gearing they had.  At the same time, they were young and in the prime of their lives.....

Fast forward to 2022: there are so many gadgets now to enable one to attach something to your frame and fork.  Check out Bikepacking.com for a complete rundown.  They have a wealth of information.  Be careful though: it is a true rabbit hole.  It's like going to REI.  You just keep buying stuff!  

In 2017 we used (because they were one of the first to market) King Cage USBs (Universal Support Bolts).  Extremely handy and strong.  We used sets of them to support King Cage Manything Cages on our forks for the Great Divide.  They were truly tested: because we could be cycling through areas with no water sources for our water purifier, we carried 3-liter containers of water.  Note: there are now several solutions out there in addition to the King Cage USB.

Enjoy and have fun!

Jeff

Claremont, CA 

P.S.: Voile straps are your friend!!

[Liz Tilton]

I certainly plan to pack my new Clem L for camping! 

Long ago I spent weeks in Europe (on several different trips) on a packed-out Motobecane Grand Touring bike with skinny little tires. I added a temporary Blackburn rear rack, slapped some panniers on it, threw some sort of front-bar bag on the handlebars, and despite tons of flats (we eventually stuck to the roads rather than gravel trails), the bike did fine and we had a blast. I’m sure it wasn’t pretty, but it was wonderful, and now I can flip a bike over and whip out a tube change like nobody’s business. 

(I’ve traveled a number of the Adventure Cycling Association routes the same way, too, Jeff, and it was so much fun to see how other bicyclists handled their gear. We can complicate the most simple experiences, and I want to be more like those easy travelers…they make me laugh)

Anything will work, if you let it. :) Have fun on your bike-camping trips.

Liz

[Matt Maceda]

Here's how I loaded my Clem L for seven or so days on the road (OAK - SLO, very slow). I regret not having a rack for panniers; it was a pain digging around and packing the Nelson longflaps with not enough room for my gear. Having more bags would have helped spreading items out for easy access and packing. In any case, Clem L handles really well while carrying gear and feels acceptably "fast" for multi day touring.

[Mackenzy Albright]

As much as I think rackless systems are neato, and it's easy to run pannier free with the many bag manufacturers now in fair weather and s240 style camping. I absolutely love the look of low rider racks and good set of panniers which are great except for lots of bumpy roads and narrow single track. 

[Matt Maceda]

Here's another example from a mate who put me on to Clem L and is the top-ranking Clem L enjoyer in Los Angeles.

[Richard Rose]

Cool, thanks!

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 17, 2022, at 11:51 AM, Matt Maceda <mma...@gmail.com> wrote:

Here's how I loaded my Clem L for seven or so days on the road (OAK - SLO, very slow). I regret not having a rack for panniers; it was a pain digging around and packing the Nelson longflaps with not enough room for my gear. Having more bags would have helped spreading items out for easy access and packing. In any case, Clem L handles really well while carrying gear and feels acceptably "fast" for multi day touring.

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[Richard Rose]

That latest one has some clever things going on.

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 17, 2022, at 1:32 PM, Richard Rose <rmro...@gmail.com> wrote:

Cool, thanks!

[Mike Packard]

Clem L works for birdseedpacking (20lb bag) with a Pletscher rack :)

mike

[Lyman Labry]

Seems like a good enough bike for the job to me for most bike-packing touring. Front rack braze ons would be a plus for me.

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[Vincent Tamer]

I own a Clem H but do not utilize the frame space at all for a frame bag. I've bikepacked several times and its great! I got lucky and found a company blowing out their sackville bags so I stocked up :) Heres a few shots from our trips.

[Richard Rose]

Hey this bike looks a lot like Adom’s Clem. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 17, 2022, at 11:51 AM, Matt Maceda <mma...@gmail.com> wrote:

Here's how I loaded my Clem L for seven or so days on the road (OAK - SLO, very slow). I regret not having a rack for panniers; it was a pain digging around and packing the Nelson longflaps with not enough room for my gear. Having more bags would have helped spreading items out for easy access and packing. In any case, Clem L handles really well while carrying gear and feels acceptably "fast" for multi day touring.

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[DamonLee]

Hello, curious about your height and PBH given the saddle hieght displayed here, is this a 59cm frame? great set up btw!

Damon

[Kim Hetzel]

Hi Vincent,

What size tires and fenders are you running on your Clem "H" in your pictures ?

Thank-you,

Kim Hetzel

Yelm, WA.

[Richard Rose]

I just realized this was a thread I started. I don’t think I ever posted pics of my first ever multi day bikepacking trip. This setup worked really nicely.

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 9, 2023, at 12:53 PM, Kim Hetzel <krhe...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Ryan Frahm]

No offense Richard, there’s a Clem in that picture? I’m picturing that Ferrari with a bike rack on it!

[Richard Rose]

I did wait around to see if I could swing a trade…

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 9, 2023, at 6:26 PM, Ryan Frahm <fra...@gmail.com> wrote:

No offense Richard, there’s a Clem in that picture? I’m picturing that Ferrari with a bike rack on it!

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[Ryan Frahm]

😂