Cycling backpacks to stop back sweating

mpalmer123

Hi,
I am cycling to work and trying to find out if any of your products will stop\prevent my back from sweating(current one does not). I would use it to carry lunchbox, towels other small items - not water.
I have found it difficult to simply find a product that carries various items with an air-vent(are there good websites) and I will be grateful for any information received,


Mr Mark Palmer.

Monty Dog

Deuter - my Race X-Air is 8 years and still going strong. Minimalist size but they do bigger models

fastbatard

A colleague of mine uses this and has a very dry back! I have the none freeflow version and have a very sweaty back! Wish I had a spare 50 quid!
http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/berghaus-fr ... ck-p131695

sturedd

I agree with Monty Dog, I have used a Deuter Race X Air for the last 10 years or so and it is an awesome rucksack. I think they are about £50 but worth every penny I would say, luckily a mate from a bike shop got mine ;-) However I would have been happy paying for it.

Pretre

Panniers - bikes are designed to carry loads, your back is not

arthur_scrimshaw

I use an earlier version of the backpack in fastbatard's link. The mesh panel keeps the main body of the bag away from your back and works well. Mine also has a pocket for a 3L camelbak unbottle but the downside is that there's not loads of room in it but I can carry a change of clothes plus food and tubes etc. without a problem.

rolf_f

Pretre wrote:

Panniers - bikes are designed to carry loads, your back is not

Upset the handling of the bike, less useful when you get to work and want to go shopping and put your shopping in the thing you are going to be taking your shopping home with! Also, airback rucksacks don't really feel that noticeable when you are riding and certainly not for shorter distances.

Sorry Pretre - the answer isn't that simplistic.

I got a £30 35 litre job from a cheap outdoor gear shop in Shrewsbury. Does the job. I can put spare clothes in it, shopping, there is a compartment at the bottom I can put a pair of shoes in if I need to. I think any airback rucksack will probably be fine but the Berghaus, Deuter ones seem to be the most liked.

I commute anywhere between 20 and 60 miles a day and always wear that rucksack and I really forget its there.

Danny M

i have a Deuter Air EXP excellent pack, good for 100 mile rides on hot days. Used mine to cycle from London to Paris in June

Ollieda

I use a satchel bag I got a few years ago, not designed for cycling at all but there are plenty of messenger bag styles out there that are. I find that it leaves a large amount of my back free to the air and can easily be shifted about on my back.

Slung so that the strap goes across your chest seat-belt style and fully done up it tends to stay well put as well.

Admittedly my "commute" is only about 3 to 4 miles on a direct route so not much time to work up a proper sweat and see how the bag reacts!

furrag

I have the Deuter Bike rucksack.

It's clearly made to a superior high quality, but the airstripes system are a fail for me. I'm quite underwhelmed by how sweaty my back still gets when I get into uni (7 miles).

prawny

One of these



No effect on handling, can fit enough to get me to work and back and no problem with sweat or backache.

I've tried panniers rucksac and messenger bags I bought this second and have come back to it for good.

outofbreath2

I just read the subject line too quickly and thought it said 'riding backwards to stop back sweating'.

It could work...

amaferanga

I used to use a rack pack for commuting, but I got fed up with my fruit (especially strawberries, grapes and bananas) being mashed by the time I got to work. With a backpack it seems to take much less of a beating. My current favourite is a Tresspass Ultra 22 that cost me about £10 and is super-lightweight, yet very comfortable. It sits against my back, but doesn't seem to make me sweat much.

Rouge Penguin

30Ltr DHB from wiggle gets my vote. Suit, towel, washbag, 2ltr bottle of water, lunch and shoes all go in. Had 2 pad to create a slight gap for ventilation

blackpoolkev

I like my deuter speed lite 20.Small but perfectly formed.

fnegroni

Rolf F wrote:

Pretre wrote:

Panniers - bikes are designed to carry loads, your back is not

Upset the handling of the bike

Minimally, but then racksacks affect your body movements too, and raise your centre of gravity. So what gives?

less useful when you get to work and want to go shopping and put your shopping in the thing you are going to be taking your shopping home with!

Don't understand. My pannier bags have shoulder straps.

Plus I can load 56 litres of stuff in them (plus an extra 10 in the rack top bag) and not worry about weight shifting around/bulk.

Racksacks have their place. But not for commuting IMHO.
Great if you venture on single track.

antikythera

I use an Ergon BC2.

It has a swivel ball joint and plastic frame arrangement that raises the pack and keeps it clear from your back. Its really comfy and allows incredible flexibility and freedom.

amaferanga

fnegroni wrote:

Racksacks have their place. But not for commuting IMHO.

Rubbish (I'm assuming you actually mean rucksack). I see more cyclists with rucksacks than panniers on my commute. I often take my best bike to work and go for a long ride in the evening so a rack and panniers wouldn't work. I leave the rucksack at work and use another rucksack the following day. I've got 3 so provided I ride home direct every 3rd day I don't run out.

And more importantly my fruit is still edible when it gets to work.

father_jack

Rucksacks are ok for lighter loads ie clothes/waterproofs but forget heavier items. I agree rucksacks effect balance and if you have a larger rucksack reduces visibility (cannot turn around, also may block side/rear vision) I ride to work everyday with panniers and rack pack. brilliant and far better than a rucksack. I do also have a camping rucksack in case I need to carry something longer than the panniers allow.

heavy rucksacks effect balance, cog, and also bad in case you come off. I carried about dozen tins in the rucksack and doesn't feel good at all.

Easyriding

I've been using a Deuter Speed Lite 10 for the past few months on my commute. I've found it fine on all but the hottest days. It only holds 10 litres so have to leave shoes at work but I guess the relatively small size stops me filling it up with c**p.

My wife uses a handlebar bag and when I tried it out of interest the front felt 'nose heavy' going round corners.

fnegroni

amaferanga wrote:

fnegroni wrote:

Racksacks have their place. But not for commuting IMHO.

Rubbish (I'm assuming you actually mean rucksack). I see more cyclists with rucksacks than panniers on my commute.

Circumstantial evidence. They most probably don't know panniers could be better for them.
Rucksacks are great in some circumstances, but IMHO, they are limited.

I often take my best bike to work and go for a long ride in the evening so a rack and panniers wouldn't work. I leave the rucksack at work and use another rucksack the following day. I've got 3 so provided I ride home direct every 3rd day I don't run out.

I use a panner bag once a week and store my clothes at work. I can even then go and do the weekly shopping after work if necessary.
Use my best bike at times too (like today) and all I need is a saddle bag.

When I take my son to school/childminder, I put his racksack on my back, his scooter and toys in one pannier, and my stuff in the other. Sometimes I even carry his booster seat with all the above.

Food I usually buy near work and store in the office's fridge so again I don't need to bring from home, and when I do, the rack top bag is usually big enough.

And more importantly my fruit is still edible when it gets to work.

I don't know what kind of panniers you are used to, but mines are fairly padded and take a lot of the vibrations out. I usually store food in such a way it becomes a non issue anyway.

Here is a link to what I use:
http://wokingham-cyclist.blogspot.com/2 ... -rear.html

amaferanga

Well all I can say is that I have used panniers, a rack pack and a rucksack for commuting and for me the rucksack fits my needs better. So IMHO rucksacks DO have a place in commuting and panniers are not necessarily better.

matt581

I use a berghsaus freeflow 20

http://store.berghaus.com/webapp/wcs/st ... Sacs_Mens_

Seems to work for me fine.

gary.hounsome

I currently use a backpack and am als loooking for a new one to prevent my back from sweating as much. The deuters look look but im not sure what capacity my current rucksack is.

If i were to do as the poster above does and bring all my clothes in on a monday in panniers i can then get away with a smaller rucksack (15 ltr) each day thereafter bringing my shirts home each time.

Its another one of those things that is personal prference i guess and both have there pros and cons.

dynamic52

Could try this from Inov8

http://www.inov-8.com/Products-Detail.a ... 5050973012

Depends how much stuff you need to carry

vorsprung

I don't use panniers or a rucksack

I have a large Carradice saddle bag on a SQR attached to the seatpost

SteK

Ages ago I ventured into one of those Sports Direct places and found a Karrimor AirSpace 25ltr Backpack. It was the princely sum of £14 and I love it. I haven't tried the expensive backpack mentioned earlier and I have no doubt that it's awesome, but if you're on a budget the Airspace really does the trick. (That said, I think they're pricier if you don't find one in a budget shop!).

Fully laden it weighs 7kg and houses my 2.2kg lock!! It's even got a zip underneath that drops out a helmet carry bag that'll dangle beneath when you're off the bike. I cycle a lot of dual carriage way and vision is not impared in the slightest. It's got a couple of loops for hooking lights to and 2 nice straps across the chest that stop side to side movement.

I much prefer it to my fancy hip-cool Manhattan Portage £85 messenger bag!!!

SteK

ps. There's one like mine on Ebay at the moment, although it is £35, rrp is apparently £55 or something so seems ok, I'd be buying it if mine had broken (although it's still good after 5 years). It's says the bit I've been using as a helmet bag is apparently a waterproof cover - I've just tried it and it is! Brilliant, 5 years in and i'm still finding new features!!

father_jack

Just gone shopping...

20 tins of food
4 glass 1pint bottles of ale
One 2 litre bottle plastic of ginger beer
hefty bike lock
2 packs of onions

And space left in the panniers for probably a bit more. I'd like to see rucksack wearer have that lot, and not be unsafe (so heavy and high up really effect balance and cog)

Course in wet weather, with that much and calipers they felt more like speed reducers rather than brakes.

rolf_f

fnegroni wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

Pretre wrote:

Panniers - bikes are designed to carry loads, your back is not

Upset the handling of the bike

Minimally, but then racksacks affect your body movements too, and raise your centre of gravity. So what gives?

less useful when you get to work and want to go shopping and put your shopping in the thing you are going to be taking your shopping home with!

Don't understand. My pannier bags have shoulder straps.

Plus I can load 56 litres of stuff in them (plus an extra 10 in the rack top bag) and not worry about weight shifting around/bulk.

Racksacks have their place. But not for commuting IMHO.
Great if you venture on single track.

Maybe I'm just more awesome than I think - I've never noticed the weight of the rucksack. Of course, I don't try to carry huge amounts of shopping in one go - I nip out several lunchtimes a week and do small shops - the walking gets me extra free exercise. Certainly affects the handling less than a pannier - however you look at it, weight does affect handling - ye cannae change the laws of physics. So, my small shops go in my backpack and I cycle up to 40 miles home with them over hill and dale and I don't notice them in the same way I would if they were on the bike. I'm not saying that Panniers don't have their place - just that those that say that rucksacks don't, really don't know what they are talking about. (I spend a good 15 hours a week cycle commuting with a rucksack on my back so I think I do know that they have their place!)

rolf_f

Father Jack wrote:

Just gone shopping...

20 tins of food
4 glass 1pint bottles of ale
One 2 litre bottle plastic of ginger beer
hefty bike lock
2 packs of onions

And space left in the panniers for probably a bit more. I'd like to see rucksack wearer have that lot, and not be unsafe (so heavy and high up really effect balance and cog)

Course in wet weather, with that much and calipers they felt more like speed reducers rather than brakes.

I buy my ale and ginger beer from the corner shop, I don't buy tinned food and I leave my lock at work. Therefore I only need to carry the onions home in my rucksack. No wonder I don't notice it