Bags

How to Pack for Bikepacking

Backpacking is a fun way to explore the outdoors with liberty. Packing your bike for backpacking is different from traditional cycling with panniers and racks. You need to strategically think about which gear should be pack and how to distribute the weight to ride with comfort.

Backpacks

While most bikepacking riders avoid carrying backpacks, sometimes it becomes a necessity to accommodate all essential gear in a backpack. With a bikepacking set up, good organization is extremely important. Since bikepackers have all their stuff strapped on their bikes, it can be problematic if you encounter rain. Hence, a lightweight backpack is a good option to keep all your gear, food, and clothes organized and safe. Elite, Ergon, Castelli, POC, and Brooks England are the top brands that design robust, durable, and most functional backpacks for backpacking.

Bike Bags

A seat pack, handlebar pack, and frame pack make the standard storage system for most backpacking tourists. Depending on your routes and destination, you can use some or all of these bike bags. Stem bags, top tube bags, and cargo bags provide additional packing options. But adding more bags will increase bike weight and make it difficult to carry uphill. Specialized, Brooks England, Tile, WTB, and Zipp offer a huge range of bike bags in different styles to suit your riding needs.

Carriers

Bike carriers are used to carry bulky yet lightweight items at the back of your bike. You can easily place a tent, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag in the carrier. All you need is to strap them properly while balancing the weight. Specialized, Thule, XLC, Topeak, and Zefal are the leading brands that manufacture the most innovative, high quality, and functional bike carriers.

Panniers

Panniers are the best storage solution for most bike riders. These bags are made of high quality material and offer enough space for storage. Panniers are easy to attach and detach. Most of these bags are waterproof which is great to protect your gear from getting wet during rainy days.
You can attach the panniers at the front or back of your bike. Put less required supplies in your back panniers as they are difficult to access unless you get completely off your bike. Specialized, Elite, Scwalbe, Castelli, and Vittoria are the best brands you can choose for buying bike panniers for your next touring adventure.

Waist Pack

For long distance bike riding, you need to consider wearing a waist pack. It provides enough room for storing essential items like food, water bottles, and gear. It has the capacity to fit a few extra essentials that you need for a long day touring. Unlike a backpack, a waist pack has a lower profile and multiple small pockets for storage. Thule, ION, Leatt, Camelbak, and USWE provide a complete range of waist packs to the riders to fit all essential items without feeling bulky and uncomfortable.

More about the Bags

When you are outdoors, you must be prepared to fix issues like flat tires, broken chains, or tighten bolts. To keep you riding comfortably, keep tool bags with you that include all the basic tools and gear such as spare tube and patch kit, pumps, levers, and multi tool box.
Cycling crates are a handy tool that is incredibly spacious, nice, and sturdy. With the crates, you can carry plenty of essential belongings anywhere you like with ease. Specialized, Brooks England, Thule, XLC and Topeak are the most recognized brands that offer high quality bike accessories and parts. An overloaded bike is difficult to handle and ride on rough terrains. So, for bikepacking, you have to be very specific about what should be packed in your travel bags without adding more weight.