Built for More: A Touring Setup With the OMM Divide and Ponderosa
After my initial thoughts on some Old Man Mountain gear—which you can read here ➡️ Overbuilt Bikes Deserve Overbuilt Baskets: OMM Elkhorn and Hemlock Review—my mind started to wander: what if I went full bike-touring mode?
Speaking from a purely personal point of view, I’ve always felt that a front rack or basket simply looks better than anything rear-mounted. That said, I’ve usually ended up filling my bikepacking saddlebag with as little weight as possible to avoid sway, while putting most of the heavier items either in a frame bag or up front.
And while it’s true that your gear should be spread evenly across the bike, having the option to place weight lower, combined with the extra space that a rear rack and panniers offer compared to a saddlebag, felt worth testing. So, let’s see what Old Man Mountain can do for me this time.
Starting with the Divide. As one of the most popular items in their range, the Divide truly defines Old Man Mountain’s philosophy: a high-quality rack designed to adapt to nearly any bike. The Divide offers exceptional flexibility, giving you the option to mount it either front or rear, on 26, 27.5, 29” wheels, whether your bike has eyelet mounts or not. It’s also compatible with both quick-release and thru-axles, thanks to OMM’s own hardware solutions and those from their sister company, Robert Axle Project.
What’s especially impressive here is the amount of behind-the-scenes work that’s clearly gone into making installation as straightforward as possible. Detailed guides, YouTube installation videos, bike-specific fit kits, and clearly numbered skewer and bolt packs all contribute to an experience that feels genuinely well thought out. Every bike is different, and OMM clearly understands that. More importantly, they’ve done the work to make sure the process feels as smooth and frustration-free as possible.
So, unsurprisingly, I had no trouble fitting the Divide on my Gravel Weis, even with its asymmetric seatstays. No worries there; the rack even comes with protective tape for your paint, but I personally chose to install it on the raw titanium section of the seatstays instead.
On that note, I want to give a special mention to the high-quality zip ties included with the fit kit for mounting the Divide directly on your seatstays. Honestly, I’ve never seen zip ties this well made, and to be honest, I didn’t even know they existed… These are UV-stabilized, meaning they stay flexible and strong over long periods, withstand constant outdoor exposure, and handle heat and cold without degrading. Even better, they’re non-ratcheting, which lets you achieve the perfect fit for your bike with absolutely no chance of the tie being even slightly loose. And that’s exactly want we like, nothing less!
With clearance for up to 3” tires and the ability to carry over 31 kg when axle-mounted, the Divide lived up to my previous experiences with Old Man Mountain products: solid, well-built racks with absolutely no rattling whatsoever, even after a couple of long rides. At around 1 kg for the full assembly, it’s not the lightest option out there, but it feels like a reasonable trade-off for the amount of gear you can carry once it’s installed.
Mounting the Divide is one thing, but it becomes so much more useful when paired with the Ponderosa Panniers, which allowed me to carry what felt like more than I actually needed. These waterproof panniers can carry up to 13 L per bag, and thanks to their internal plates and compression straps, you can be confident that anything you put in them won’t shift while riding.
The Ponderosa Panniers attach to the Divide via a simple Velcro system, eliminating extra plastic parts that could fail and keeping things beautifully simple. Each pannier weighs just over 500 g, so the pair adds more than a kilo, and combined with the Divide rack, you’re looking at roughly 2 kg total for the system.
Now, style-wise, rear panniers have never really been my thing. I had them on for a couple of rides, and while they were quite helpful for carrying extra gear, I couldn’t shake the feeling that they made my bike look and feel heavier than it actually was. I’ve always preferred “pushing” weight rather than “pulling” it, meaning I like to carry most of what I need up front, even if it comes at the cost of a bit of steering precision. What I didn’t expect, though, was how much better and more planted the bike feels when everything is lower to the ground. The combination of Ponderosa panniers with the Hemlock fork-mounted bags made the bike feel far more stable and controlled compared to having the same weight split between a saddle bag, a half-frame bag, and a handlebar bag.
To wrap up this review, OMM also sent over their Pinecone Pouch, an affordable little add-on that works perfectly inside the Ponderosa panniers or just as a standalone pouch for everyday essentials. I personally used it for film photography equipment, but at some point it also doubled as my toiletry kit. It’s one of those small, versatile pieces that ends up being more useful than you initially expect.
So, what are my final thoughts on this bike-touring setup with my Weis Gravel bike? Honestly, I’m a bit torn. As much as I enjoy how the bike rides, and how solid and confidence-inspiring everything feels, even off-road, I simply don’t carry that much gear. I’d be perfectly fine with half the carrying capacity I have right now. That’s probably why I’ll end up passing the Divide and Ponderosa panniers on to a friend, who’ll use them as a front rack setup instead.
That said, the reason I’m completely comfortable doing this is simple: OMM products genuinely feel like some of the highest-quality racks you can find. At just over €370 for the complete rear setup you saw today, it might seem expensive at first, but in reality it’s the kind of purchase that leaves you feeling like you truly paid for gears that will last.
I never carried that much stuff!
⛰️: Old Man Mountain
💾: Fuji XPro-1
📍: Saint-Louis de Guémy
