Apidura Accessories are ultralight, versatile solutions for any bikepacking set up, taking advantage of any available space on the bike.
Apidura Downtube Packs
Among Apidura’s accessories are the downtube packs. These are bags designed to mount on the outside of your downtube, above the bottom bracket. These bags are a great solution if you have the clearance. If you’re riding a hardtail mountain bike or a gravel bike you should have clearance.
Because downtube bags are on the outside of the frame, rather than in, they get very dirty. And we mean very dirty. Your front wheel will be kicking up mud& water straight on to them! This is why Apidura have made their downtube packs from the hardest wearing material. To withstand all the mud & rocks that may be kicked at them. And of course they are fully waterproof.
The thing about downtube packs is that they are largely inaccessible. This is fine for things you don’t need while you ride. But it can be tricky if you have ridden through the mud. De-caking mud off your downtube bag is no fun! So these bags are best used to store your emergency kit. Things like multi-tools, spare tubes, Co2 & hand pumps.
Apidura Fork Packs & Cargo Cage Packs
These two types of bag from Apidura are designed to mount on the forks of your bike, in two different ways.
The Fork Pack is designed to mount on to a bicycle fork that has bidon bolts or bottle cage bosses. These bosses are increasingly common on gravel bikes or touring bikes. So if you are lucky enough to have these bosses, you can mount the fork bag directly onto these bolts.
The other style of bag is the cargo cage mounting bag that is designed to sit in a cage you attach to your fork. This works if you already have bosses on your fork. Or if you have found a way to attach a cage to your fork regardless (there are clamping solutions available to solve this).
The benefit of a cargo cage pack is being able to easily remove it from your bike to go through the gear inside. Whereas the fork pack would stay on your bike until your ride is over.
Why we like fork-packs for bikepacking
From a bikepacking perspective it’s sometimes easier to take your fork bag off your bike. Especially if you have all your cooking gear inside. Bringing it over to your camp is easier than emptying the bag on the bike.
Both these bike bags don’t have a huge capacity, as often toe clearance is an issue on fork-mounted bags. And this is especially true if you are on a gravel bike with less rake to the fork. The bosses on forks are designed to carry water bottle cages or bidons so they are designed for a narrow profile carry in their original purpose.
However carrying gear on your forks is just another great way to cram as much as you can on to your bike rather than yourself! Even if you can’t fit much in these bags, it is still a great idea to take advantage of whatever space you can on your bike frame when it comes to riding rail trails or bikepacking routes. Apidura’s speciality is gravel riding & racing and these slim designs in their fork bags and cargo cage bags are a good example of this.
Apidura Hydration Bladder
Another great accessory from Apidura is the hydration bladder system. These 1.5L capacity & 3L capacity bladders are designed to fit perfectly into their Backcountry & Expedition frame packs. Being a flexible liquid storage they fill out the available space in the very lowest corner of your frame bag perfectly.
The bottom portion of a frame bag is often the most difficult to deal with. Little items migrate their way down to the bottom throughout your ride. The bottom can become bulky & get in the way of your cranks depending on how good a fit your frame bag is to your frame. Using this space in your frame to carry a hydration bladder is an excellent choice. Especially since Apidura’s frame bags have cable ports for you to run the hose & mouthpiece through to hang on your handlebars for on-the-go hydration.
Not only that but hydration packs address the critical issue of frame bags taking away your bottle cages. Without bottle cages in the main triangle of your bike, a lot of us are left with nowhere else as easily accessible to carry water. The hydration bladder is the solution to this, allowing you to continue to be backpack free!