Bikepacking bags have come a long way in the past decade! The materials are amazing, the designs are sleek, and almost all bags are fully waterproof.
So, where to from here?
Manufacturers are now offering stabilized bikepacking bags (and harnesses) that promise a better user experience. There are actually quite a few reasons why stabilized bags make sense, so let’s take a closer look at the advantages, and the slew of products available.
Note: This article was originally published in 2018 but has now been updated in May 2024.
The Advantages of Stabilized Bikepacking Bags
Cable Clearance
Regular bikepacking handlebar packs naturally rest against the shift and brake cables of your bike. Unless you’re running long cables, you might be hampering the performance of your brakes and gears. A stabilized handlebar pack will allow you to lift the load off your cables to prevent any performance hindrances.
Reducing Paint Rub
Handlebar packs often have a strap that fits the headtube of your frame to keep it in place. Over time, this strap will have a go at your paint, along with any other parts of the handlebar pack that are touching your frame. The obvious answer is to fit some clear tape to your headtube so that your paint doesn’t get scuffed, but that’s not necessary with a stabilized bag setup.
Eliminating Front Bag Squeak
Along with regular handlebar packs rubbing on your frame, they can also make an infuriating squeak as you slowly turn your handlebars. You can have a squeak-free bike when you use a stabilized front bag.
Eliminating Bag Sway
Ahh, the dreaded tail wag of a bikepacking seat pack. The more modern seat packs are pretty good at eliminating this, but with a sloppy pack job, even the best will wiggle around. Stabilized seat packs use rack supports to ensure that your rear load is stable at all times.
Clearance
Sometimes the gap between your seat and tyre, or handlebar and tyre is limited. This often means fitting smaller diameter bags with reduced capacities. Many of the stabilized bags increase this clearance by allowing you to lift a handlebar pack higher, or by cinching down a drybag further back behind the saddle.
The Disadvantages of Stabilized Bikepacking Bags
Less Durable
A stabilized system’s biggest downside is that it’s way more susceptible to damage. If you come off your bike or accidentally drop it, you can damage the somewhat fragile rack supports (your bags will be fine). Some products listed here are more durable than others – before buying, it’s prudent to research whether these products are lasting the test of time. I normally search the name of a product plus ‘broken’ or ‘cracked’ into a search engine (eg. ‘Arkel Seatpacker broken’).
Extra Weight
While most handlebar and seat packs are in the 300-450 gram range, the stabilized gear is often 600 grams or more. This may be a concern for those who are racing but won’t make much of a difference to your overall pack weight otherwise.
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Front Stabilized Bikepacking Bags and Harnesses
Aeroe Spider Cradle
- Weight: 479 grams or 17 oz
- Load capacity: 5kg or 11lbs
- Price: US $79 on Amazon
The Aeroe Spider harness allows you to attach any drybag you like to your handlebar, although Aeroe sells a dry bag with webbing in the right spots to suit the harness straps. The maximum luggage weight on this harness is 5kg/11lbs.
Arkel Rollpacker 15 and 25
- Weight: 680 grams or 24.0 oz
- Load capacity: 7kg or 15.4lbs
- Price: US $239 at Campfire – 15-Litre Dry Bag
- Price: US $249 at Campfire – 25-Litre Dry Bag
This dual-access bag has an accessory bag attached to the front, and it’s all supported with two arms that swoop under the bag to hold it in place. It’s available in either a 15-litre or a rather monstrous 25-litre configuration suited to flat bars. The maximum capacity is 7kg/15lbs.
Blackburn Outpost Elite Handlebar Pack
- Weight: 795 grams or 28.0 oz
- Load capacity: 3.6kg or 8lb
- Price: US $199 on Amazon
The original Blackburn Outpost was one of the first stabilized bags. The latest version, the Outpost Elite, uses a plastic handlebar mount to attach the harness, and once your drybag is locked in place, two straps keep your bag riding high.
The drybag that is provided with the Outpost Elite is 14 litres and the system has a maximum load capacity of 3.6kg/8lbs.
Goodday Curiosity Spacer Cradle Rack
- Weight: 230 grams or 8.1 oz
- Load capacity: 5kg or 11lbs
- Price: US $175 at Goodday
The Spacer Cradle is essentially a second stem. Simply remove the top cap, stem, and spacers, slide the cradle on where the spacers were, and then reassemble and tighten.
The cradle body is 230mm wide and is compatible with any stuff sack or roll-top bag with a circumference of 760mm (30 inches) or less. The cradle has strap guides for quick on-and-off bag attachment, and two straps are included too.
Gramm Handlebar Roll
- Weight: 580 grams or 20.5 oz
- Load capacity: 5kg or 11lbs
- Price: €229 at Gramm-Tourpacking
This Handlebar Roll features a lightweight quick-release system that mounts to your handlebars. Locked into place, the bag moves with the bike over any terrain, and it’s a snap to remove when you need to get at your gear.
The roll-top expands for up to 12 liters of highly water-resistant storage, which fits an ultralight tent, air mattress, and sleeping bag. The accessory bar provides real estate for mounting lights and GPS units right where you need them.
Jack The Bike Rack
- Weight: 700 grams or 24.7 oz
- Load capacity: 5kg or 11lbs
- Price: £80 at Wholegrain Cycles
Jack is a universal-fit front bicycle rack that securely straps to almost any bike, offering a straightforward solution to carrying your things with you while you ride.
This rack fits your bike with a tool-free strap system, requiring no special bicycle frame or fork, no specialist equipment, and no bike maintenance skills.
Orbiter Rack
- Weight: 288 grams or 10.1 oz
- Load capacity: 5kg or 11lbs
- Price: US $215 at Pedal Stoke
The Orbiter is a steerer-based gear mounting system that allows your handlebars to freely ‘Orbit’ any racks, packs, or snacks held by The Orbiter. This means that your bike can now have front accessories that don’t move with your handlebars, making your steering feel lighter on technical or steep terrain.
Ortlieb Handlebar Pack QR
- Weight: 530 grams or 18.7 oz
- Load capacity: 5kg or 11lbs
- Price: US $165 at Campfire
The waterproof Ortlieb Handlebar Pack QR can be attached and removed from your bike in no time thanks to the bar-lock cord attachment. This attachment also allows this bikepacking bag to remain stable and secure, even on rougher terrain. It has an 11-liter volume, weighs only 530 grams, and is loaded from above.
PDW Gear Belly
- Weight: 1026 grams or 36 oz (with bag)
- Load capacity: 7kg or 15lbs
- Price: US $120 at Angry Catflish
The Gear Belly uses a handlebar mount to secure the harness in place. It offers cinching straps on both the inside and outside of the harness which ensures your drybag is going nowhere.
The Gear Belly without a dry bag is 850g, and it’s 1026g with a Revelate Saltyroll with a 15-litre capacity. The cradle has a 7kg/15lbs capacity.
RatKing Cradle
- Weight: 265 grams or 9.4 oz
- Load capacity: 5kg or 11lbs
- Price: US $175 at RatKing
The Ratking Cradle is an adjustable bag support + cargo platform for bicycle fork steerers or seat posts. It replaces 20 mm of headset spacers and the adjustable tilt allows you to fine-tune your fit for your desired bags and your specific handlebar setup.
The height adjustment will get the cradle into a prime location even with short stems, minimal spacer stacks, short head tubes, and suspension forks.
Restrap Bumper Bar
- Weight: 178 grams or 6.3 oz
- Load capacity: 5kg or 11lbs
- Price: US $59 at Angry Catfish
The Bumper Bar is a unique accessory that serves multiple functions; as a hard point for mounting lights, while also acting as a spacer for our range of bar bags, pushing them upwards and away from the front wheel.
This mount is ideal for smaller bikes with a low stack height or where handlebar-to-tyre clearance is limited.
Rockgeist BarJam Harness 2.0
- Weight: 283 grams or 10 oz
- Load capacity: 5kg or 11lbs
- Price: US $185 at Rockgeist
The Rockgeist BarJam is a lightweight, exceptionally stable bikepacking harness+bracket that protects your brake, shifter, and dropper cables. The 2.0 version of this harness increased the strength of the brackets to an ultimate load of 728 lbs force!
Rogue Panda Blue Ridge
- Weight: 240 grams or 8.5 oz
- Load capacity: 5kg or 11lbs
- Price: US $185 at Rouge Panda
With CNC-machined aluminum clamps, the Blue Ridge holds your dry bag securely in place with no need for a head tube attachment. Twin carbon fiber bars hold your load away from your head tube, and nylon shims protect your handlebar (available in 35mm, 31.8mm, and 22.2mm sizes). The result is a handlebar harness that won’t move.
Salsa EXP Series Anything Cradle
- Weight: 640 grams or 23.0 oz
- Load capacity: 3.6kg or 8lbs
- Price: US $239 at Campfire – Top-Load Kit
- Price: US $239 at Campfire – Side-Load Kit
- Price: US $119 at Campfire – Cradle Only
The Salsa EXP Anything Cradle is the bag of choice of my partner Laura, who has been using it on our recent journeys throughout Africa, Asia, Australia, and North America. It has been such a solid bit of kit and put up with over 25,000km of abuse.
The cradle is incredibly stable on the bike, and the two Voile-style straps have a nice amount of stretch on them to make mounting your dry bag very easy.
There are two models to choose between. We prefer the ‘Top-Load’, which comes with a roll-top dry bag. This essentially allows you to find what you need in the dry bag without emptying the contents – I’ve got no idea why they aren’t more common. The Top-Load is also suitable for drop bars as the bag width is fixed. The ‘Side-Load’ is a conventional dual-access dry bag, which has the advantage of an extra litre of volume.
This cradle not only fits a 12.7-litre dry bag, but a large front accessory bag too. The handlebar mount will support up to 3.6kg/8lbs and will fit onto 31.8mm or 35.0mm diameter handlebars.
You can pick up the Top-Load kit from our good friends at Campfire Cycling.
Swood Twisted T-Bar
- Weight: 104 grams or 3.7 oz
- Load capacity: 5kg or 11lbs
- Price: US $75 at Haute Bike
Taking the place of a 1/2″ spacer directly underneath the stem on any 1 1/8″ steerer, the T-Bar 2.0 supports your handlebar bag, giving extra strength and rigidity whilst stopping rubbing against the headtube and relieving pressure on the brake/shift cables. The BXB Goldback bag is a perfect fit for this product.
VAP Butterfly 3
- Weight: 660 grams or 23.0 oz
- Load capacity: 5kg or 11lbs
- Price: €280 at VAP Cycling
Vap Cycling recently unveiled a neat stabilized harness kit to hold a dry bag. The mounting kit includes an aluminium structure (two different lengths) that bolts to your handlebar and offers four points for the sling to grab on. The front section doubles as a light and GPS mount or a location for some bar-ends should you be using the optional aero bar elbow pads.
The harness is made from a non-slip fabric called ‘Rubbotex’ which is used in the nautical industry, and it’s reinforced with two glass fibre sticks to keep the harness rigid even when not filled. The mounting kit and harness weigh in at 490 grams, which is boosted up to 660 grams when using the 11-litre dry bag.
Vincita Strada
- Weight: 1100 grams or 2.4lb
- Load capacity: 5kg or 11lbs
- Price: US $115 at Vincita
Little-known Thai brand Vincita produces a really neat harness called the Strada, which uses a Klickfix handlebar mount to attach and remove your harness from your bike. The supplied dry bag is relatively small at 8.9 litres, but the harness will fit a 15-litre dry bag if you use a flat handlebar.
WZRD Ritual Rack Lite
- Weight: 1.2 kg or 2.7lbs
- Load capacity: 5kg or 11lbs
- Price: CA $500 at WZRD
The Ritual Rack LITE handlebar is custom-made by WZRD Bikes and integrates a dry bag cradle into the handlebar itself. This option is not cheap at all – expect around US $400 for a bar built to your every specification.
Rear Stabilized Bikepacking Bags
Aeroe Spider Rack
- Weight: 979 grams or 28 oz
- Load capacity: 16 kg or 35 lbs
- Price: US $131 at Nashbar – Spider Rack only
The seat stay Spider Rack is the base layer of the Aeroe system. It comes with a Cradle to carry a dry bag or tent, but you can also buy up to two additional Cradles that will fit to the sides of the rack.
If dry bags aren’t your jam, Aeroe also sells 11-litre hard shell pods that will attach to the rack via a quick-release mechanism. The Spider rack supports a rather hefty 16 kg (35lbs).
Arkel Seatpacker 9 and 15
- Weight: 640 grams or 23 oz
- Load capacity: 5 kg or 11 lbs
- Price: US $219 at Campfire – 9-Litre Dry Bag
- Price: US $229 at Campfire – 15-Litre Dry Bag
The Seatpacker is the narrow bikepacking seat pack option by Arkel. It uses a mini-rack that mounts to both the seatpost and saddle rails to ensure the bag is free from tail wag. Given the design, it can be mounted to a dropper seatpost too. The Seatpacker is available in 9 and 15-litre sizes and will handle 5kg/11lbs.
Note: A friend’s Arkel mini-rack snapped on the Baja Divide route. It’s worth researching whether this product has been recently updated, or keep some hose clamps on hand.
Arkel Rollpacker 15 and 25
- Weight: 908 grams or 1.8 lbs
- Load capacity: 7 kg or 15.4 lbs
- Price: US $289 at Campfire – 15-Litre Dry Bag
- Price: US $299 at Campfire – 25-Litre Dry Bag
The Rear Rollpacker is a great bag for cyclists seeking a functional and high-performance storage solution. This bag stands out for its stability, thanks to its two attachment points that prevent any movement when riding.
The same front Rollpacker bags are used on the rear too, but the rear kit comes with a special quick-release saddle rack.
If you have a limited distance between your saddle and tyre, you can mount these 15 or 25-litre bags on top of the rack (pictured). But hang it underneath the rack for a lower center of gravity if you’ve got the space.
Bedrock Coconino
- Weight: 419 grams or 14.8 oz
- Load capacity: 5 kg or 11 lbs
- Price: US $200 at Bedrock
Born on a rough singletrack tour in 2014, the Coconino is a very different and improved take on the traditional bikepacking seat pack. The Coconino doesn’t move around on even the roughest trails thanks to its “RailWing” attachment. The Coconino should also easily survive crashes intact as the bag support is notably tough.
Blackburn Outpost Elite
- Weight: 572 grams or 20 oz
- Load capacity: 5 kg or 11 lbs
- Price: US $147 on Amazon
The Outpost Elite is a two-part system. An alloy wing attaches to your saddle rails and is intended to minimise bag sway. You then have a removable and waterproof dry bag, which has an air-bleed valve to assist with compression while off the bike.
As the rack does not connect to the seatpost, it makes the Outpost Elite suitable for both dropper seatposts and carbon seatposts too. The maximum capacity is 4.8kg/11lbs.
Carradice Colorado
- Weight: 650 grams or 1.4lbs
- Load capacity: 6 kg or 13.2 lbs
- Price: £105 at Carradice
This 12-16 litre seat pack and the seat-rail-mounted rack are made by Carradice, who has been making bike bags for almost a century. Thanks to the small support, Carradice promises no drooping onto the back wheel, and minimal side-to-side sway when riding out of the saddle. The quick-release support even allows for one-handed mounting of the bag!
The Colorado is available in black, neon, or camo and will comfortably carry 3kg/6.6lbs. For heavier loads (6kg/13.2lbs) you can connect a compression strap from the saddle rails to the tab on the underside of the bag to ensure it gets enough support.
Carradice Super C with Bagman QR Support
- Weight: 1.38 kg or 3.0 lbs
- Load capacity: 10 kg or 22 lbs
- Price: US $154 at Campfire – Super C 23-Litre Bag
- Price: US $109 at Campfire – Bagman QR Support
The Super C Saddlebag is the ideal bag for longer rides or touring. Its durable construction and breathable cotton duck canvas ensure that all your contents will remain safe and dry.
These saddlebags mount directly into the saddle loops behind Brooks saddles, but it’s recommended to use Carradice’s stabilizing rack that keeps your bag stable and allows you to install or remove the bag in seconds. The Bagman QR support (pictured above) is good for up to 10kg/22lbs but is not rated for off-road use.
D rings are located at the back of the bag to allow a shoulder strap to be fitted for off-bike carrying, and the Super C is easily re-proofed and repaired.
Ortlieb Seat Pack QR
- Weight: 625 grams or 22 oz
- Load capacity: 5 kg or 11 lbs
- Price: US $195 on Amazon
Constructed with an innovative attachment system and abrasion-resistant fabric, this 13-litre seat pack is super stable, quickly mounted, and just as quickly removed.
The internal reinforcement and five compression straps ensure that the contents are packed tightly and securely. A valve with a handle strap helps to compress the pack volume, and the elastic cord on the outside allows for the attachment of additional gear.
To prevent damage from tire contact, a protective plate is attached to the underside of the Seat-Pack QR, which also doubles as a fender. This bag can even be used with a dropper post.
PDW Bindle Rack
- Weight: 350 grams or 13 oz
- Load capacity: 5.34 kg or 11.8 lbs
- Price: US $88 at Angry Catfish – Rack Only
- Price: US $38 at Campfire – Revelate 14-Litre Dry Bag
The Bindle Rack is a popular option for those with minimal clearance between their seat and tyre.
This rack prevents side-to-side sway while riding and wheel-to-bag contact for riders with short seat posts. You can use the included straps to cinch down a dry bag like the Revelate Terrapin (pictured above).
The rack is constructed of lightweight alloy and mounts to any size seatpost in seconds. The maximum capacity is 5kg/12lbs, and the rack cannot be used with carbon seatposts.
Revelate Spinelock Seat Bag
- Weight: 680 grams or 24 oz
- Load capacity: 5kg or 11lbs
- Price: US $179 at Campfire – 10-litre Dry Bag
- Price: US $185 at Campfire – 16-litre Dry Bag
The Revelate Spinelock stability system consists of three components: the saddle clamp, seat bag mounted Spine baseplate, and pin.
To connect the bag, you simply line up your selected mounting position to the seat-mounted clamp and slide the pin through the aligned holes. Attaching the side compression straps to the wings of the clamp fixes the pin in place and you’re ready to ride!
The bags are available in 10-litre or 16-litre sizes.
Rockgeist Mr. Fusion Seat Pack
- Weight: 560 grams or 20 oz
- Load capacity: 5kg or 11lbs
- Price: US $230 at Rockgeist
The Mr. Fusion seat packs consist of a dry bag and harness system that’s supported by a mini-rack. You can get the dry bags in large (8-12 litres) or XL sizes (10-15 litres). The mini-rack is not suitable for carbon seatposts.
Roswheel Off-Road Seat Pack
- Weight: 600 grams or 21 oz
- Load capacity: 5kg or 11lbs
- Price: US $95 on Amazon
Roswheel makes medium and large-sized seat packs (8-litre or 15-litre) that are suitable for off-road riding. A 27.2mm or 31.6mm diameter support rack keeps everything stable, but like similar rack designs – these are not suitable for carbon seatposts.
Tailfin AeroPack Alloy
- Weight: 925 grams or 32.6 oz
- Load capacity: 9kg or 19.8lbs
- Price: £275 at Tailfin
The AeroPack Alloy is a little different because the rack connects at both the seatpost and rear axle. The included 20-litre dry bag ends up sitting on top of the rack where you’d normally find a standard seat pack.
Two long cinching straps also allow you to expand your volume even further if you need to by adding an extra dry bag on top.
Topeak Backloader X
- Weight: 723 grams or 25.0 oz
- Load capacity: 5kg or 11lbs
- Price: US $115 at Angry Catfish – 10-litre Dry Bag
- Price: US $130 at Angry Catfish – 15-Litre Dry Bag
The Backloader X harness is designed to be used in conjunction with the optional Topeak Backloader Wishbone. With the harness connected to the stabilizer, bag sway is significantly reduced.
The Topeak bikepacking harness is available with either 10 or 15-litre dry bags. A neat feature is the bottle cage mounts on either side of the Wishbone that add extra water capacity.
VAP Kangaroo Seat Pack
- Weight: ±600 grams or 21.0 oz
- Load capacity: 5kg or 11lbs
- Price: €185 at VAP Cycling
VAP Cycling makes a rear bikepacking harness with lower rack support. The system comes with a 15-litre dry bag and you can get the Kangaroo rack for 27.2mm, 30.9mm, or 31.6mm diameter seatposts. This bag/rack combo is not suitable for carbon seatposts.
Other Bikepacking Bag Stabilizers and Protectors
Stabilizers: Woho, Topeak, Williamly, ECYC, Rhinowalk, Minoura
These products are designed to stabilize any seat pack you like – but please note that they get mixed reviews regarding whether they do an effective job.
Woho came up with this rather simple stabilizing bracket that has now been copied by a handful of manufacturers. These brackets mount directly to your saddle rails and cradle either side of your seat pack to stop the bag sway. As a bonus, you will find bottle cage mounts on either side of the bracket.
Dry Bag Protector: Rockgeist Armadillo
And lastly, you can always just fit a rear rack to your bike and use rubber straps to cinch down a dry bag! If you do decide to go down this route, just make sure to protect your dry bag from wearing against your rear rack on bumpy roads.
Rockgeist makes a bag protector called the Armadillo, which is cut in a great shape and has loops for elastic straps (see above).
