How To Pack Bikepacking Bags | Bikepacking Setups Explained
If you're heading on your first bikepacking trip, working out how to pack your bike bags can be a daunting task. Here's our guide to getting your bikepacking setup correct as well as our tips and tricks on what to pack.
Transcript
00:00If you've got your first bikepacking trip planned,
00:02or perhaps you've been inspired to start plotting one,
00:05it can be a pretty daunting prospect
00:07to get all of your bags onto your bike.
00:10And there's loads of different options for that as well.
00:12So we're going to run you through
00:13some modern bikepacking setups to help you choose the best,
00:17as well as some tips that we've learned along the way,
00:19not always the easy way either,
00:21so you can avoid making the same mistakes.
00:24Ready?
00:25Let's go.
00:26Let's go camping!
00:27So, let's talk a little bit about different ways
00:35to carry your kit on a bike.
00:38What are they, Catherine?
00:39And what are the benefits of each one?
00:41Yeah, so to start with, I think most people
00:43will be familiar with panniers and pannier racks.
00:45So these are large bags that you can either fit
00:47on the front or the rear.
00:49They sit on top of racks that you need to fix onto your bike.
00:52Now you'll also need to have specific mounts on your bike
00:54to fit the racks on which you put the bags.
00:58So that's one thing to consider.
00:58And these are really great for capacity,
01:01if you need to take loads and loads of stuff.
01:04And they tend to be really good on the road as well.
01:06So when you start to take them off-road,
01:08things can get a little bit spicy,
01:10especially if you're on really chunky gravel
01:12or mountain biking territory.
01:14And because they then come out to the side of your bike,
01:17if you're on really narrow single track
01:19and you're a bit limited in terms of how much space
01:22you have on the sides,
01:23then they can be a little bit limiting.
01:25But they do tend to give you a really good
01:26center of gravity near the bottom of the bike
01:29over the bottom bracket.
01:30So that's good.
01:31So panniers are kind of your archetypal touring setup,
01:36right?
01:37You see pictures of people with like front panniers,
01:39rear panniers,
01:41but that can often be a quite heavy
01:43because you've got the rack
01:44and the bags might not be as lightweight
01:47as some other options.
01:49But also it might be that your frame
01:50can't accommodate the racks.
01:52So to prevent you having to get a new frame, which can,
01:55there has been a rise in lightweight
01:57strap-on bike packing bags.
01:59So essentially it's just a combination of different bags
02:02that are spread all over your bike.
02:04So you can have everything from saddle bags
02:06to handlebar bags,
02:07top tube bags,
02:08down tube bags,
02:09cargo cage bags,
02:10loads of different ones.
02:12And these tend to be really, really good
02:13because of their versatility.
02:15So you can have a handlebar roll and a saddle pack
02:17that you move from your road bike
02:19to your mountain bike,
02:20to your gravel bike.
02:21You don't have to worry about the specific mounts.
02:24And then on top of that,
02:26they're really lightweight in comparison to
02:28a rack and pannier setup
02:29because you don't need the rack.
02:31And they tend to just strap on really easily.
02:34If you're riding a mountain bike, for example,
02:36a full suspension mountain bike,
02:37I've seen them where they can get fitted
02:39around your linkage of your suspension.
02:42So they just allow you to use whatever bike you have
02:45and just to get out and get riding,
02:47which I think is really cool.
02:48Yeah, and maximize the space that you have
02:50on that particular bike as well.
02:51So there are three main types of bike packing bags.
02:55You nod your head like this.
02:57Clearly loads more,
02:58but the main ones you would want to get
03:00if you were to go on your first bike packing trip.
03:02Yeah, so starting at this end,
03:05saddle bags are really popular.
03:07So they tend to affix to the seat post itself
03:09rather than the frame using one or more Velcro straps.
03:13Then it's supported typically by straps
03:15which thread through the saddle rails.
03:18So one to be wary of
03:19if you're running a carbon railed saddle,
03:22probably not a good idea.
03:23And these tend to be quite big,
03:24obviously all different sizes available,
03:27but that's really good for quite a large capacity.
03:31And just like on the handlebar front,
03:33they're either a one piece
03:35or you can get a holster with a dry bag inside.
03:38So it's worth thinking about
03:40whether you're camping right next to your bike, for example,
03:44or if you're staying in an Airbnb or a hotel or whatever,
03:47you might want to have a holster type.
03:48So you can just pull the dry bag out and take it with you
03:51rather than having to take the whole setup
03:52off your bike each time.
03:54Yeah, and then moving on to the frame,
03:56you can get everything from a full sized frame bag,
03:59either one off the shelf
04:00or custom made specifically for your bike,
04:03right the way through to like a little half frame bag
04:05that just comes down the middle
04:06or little ones like we've got in there.
04:09And then finally at the front, handlebar bag.
04:11So like I said, with the saddle bags,
04:13these tend to come either as a one piece
04:15or as a holster and dry bag type thing.
04:18And these mount directly onto your handlebars.
04:21Crucially, like the saddle bags,
04:22these tend to be expandable.
04:24So you can have a play at home before your trip,
04:27crucially, a good little test ride
04:30is always a really good idea by packing different widths
04:34or probably taking out a little bit
04:37compared to how much you'd like to pack in there.
04:39Because if you have mechanical shifting,
04:41you need to remember that you'll need to have
04:42full range of movement of the shifter.
04:44Flared bars like these are actually really great,
04:47not only for confidence on the descents,
04:49but it does give you a little bit more space
04:51for a handlebar bag.
04:53So that's worth noting.
04:54And then on top of those three main bags,
04:57there's, I guess, additional storage solutions.
04:59Yeah, so there's lots of different ones.
05:02This is a stem bag.
05:03So that's just a small little bag
05:05that you can fit between the stem
05:07and the handlebar that just straps on there.
05:09It's kind of a fill all thing that is.
05:11Now I like to use it for my little mirrorless camera I have,
05:14which is really useful
05:15because it's very easy to get at
05:16whilst you're riding along.
05:18Great for snacks,
05:19your phone if you're just wearing a t-shirt,
05:20that sort of thing.
05:21Just rubbish if you're eating a lot on the bike
05:23and you need to be able to put it somewhere.
05:25It's a little bin bag on your handlebars.
05:27So that's good.
05:28If you have a bike which is enabled
05:30with cargo mounts on the forks,
05:32then you can have bags on the forks
05:34or water bottles for more storage.
05:36So they're really handy.
05:38In general, it's best to keep most of the weight on the bike
05:41from personal experience.
05:43The lower down and more central
05:44towards the bottom bracket,
05:45the better it'll be for handling.
05:48You need to pay particular attention
05:48to how much clearance you've got
05:50between the saddle and the rear tyre
05:52and the handlebars and the front tyre
05:53because that can be a little bit troublesome
05:55for shorter riders.
05:56And also you're less likely to have so much space
05:59in the main triangle for frame bags.
06:01You might have a very sloping top tube,
06:03which limits that.
06:04Now this bike we've got here
06:05is a really good example of a very small framed bike.
06:08And you can see it would be really hard
06:10to fit a frame bag in there, for example.
06:12So we've alleviated this problem
06:14by using some Wolf Tooth B-Rad components.
06:17Now these are really cool little tools
06:19which just allow you to sort of
06:21expand your storage basically.
06:23By using your existing bottle cage mounts,
06:25you can fit a base to it
06:28that you can then move everything up or down
06:30much further inside the down tube or on the seat tube.
06:33So for example, we've moved two full water bottles
06:36much further up the frame
06:38so we can fit two additional dry bags on the seat tube
06:41and on the down tube,
06:42which is kind of allowing us to get away
06:44with not running a little frame bag.
06:46Yeah, it's really handy.
06:47And I think it's a bit cliche, but it's so true.
06:51They say that the best bike packing bike
06:53is the one that you already own.
06:55And even if it's not specifically made for that purpose
06:58or ideal for it,
06:59like little handy tools like this can really help.
07:01Absolutely.
07:02And this had three sets of bottle mounts
07:05and we've managed to fit so much more in that frame
07:08because of it.
07:09It just goes to show that you can really customize
07:11and make your fitting solutions quite bespoke to you.
07:14So how would you pack all of these different bags?
07:17Let's start at the front.
07:18What are you putting in your handlebar bag?
07:19So that's where I tend to put my sleep system
07:23if I'm camping out.
07:24So things like your sleeping bag, sleeping mat,
07:27if you've got a bivy or a tent or a hammock,
07:31all of that tends to fit really nicely in there.
07:34Yeah, it's a decent little space.
07:35And depending on your bars, it can be pretty wide as well.
07:39So you can get quite a lot in there.
07:41In the frame bag?
07:43I tend to find it's really good for little bits and pieces,
07:46things like electronics, tools, a battery pack.
07:51My top tip, you could use like a hammock
07:54or some other slightly squishy soft thing,
07:57maybe a waterproof to pack just here in this corner.
08:01If you're using a half frame bag, that is,
08:03because if you have to do any hiker bike
08:06and put the bike on your shoulder like cyclocross,
08:08then you have a nice little pad
08:10and the top tube won't hurt your shoulder.
08:12That is smart.
08:13I just tend to find that the frame bag is my catch-all.
08:16Anything that I don't have enough space for
08:18just goes in the frame bag.
08:18Baguette, sandwich.
08:20Straight in there, fits perfectly.
08:22Now at the back in the seat pack?
08:24It's more accessible than the front, I think,
08:26but you still have to get off the bike to get into it.
08:29So personally, I tend to pack slightly bulkier things
08:33like spare sets of clothes, a pair of bibs every day.
08:38Fresh set is definitely my go-to
08:41after many years of learning.
08:44Clothes, extra layers, toiletries.
08:48I tend to put something like,
08:50if I'm taking a mini stove to cook on,
08:52bits and bobs like that, really.
08:54Essentials, you try and pack them easily accessible
08:58and near the top.
08:59Absolutely.
09:00So things like a spare layer.
09:03I absolutely swear by a down or a synthetic jacket
09:06that's like really puffy, really warm.
09:07Even in the summer, you always get like chilly evenings
09:10and that's really, really good to have
09:11as soon as you reach camp or the pub or wherever.
09:17Tools, emergency spares.
09:20A survival blanket is a really good idea,
09:22especially if you're going somewhere quite remote.
09:24A waterproof jacket near the top
09:27because the last thing you want to be doing
09:29when it's just suddenly, out of nowhere,
09:31started hammering it down
09:33is rooting all the way to the bottom of your bags
09:35with everything getting soaked to find them.
09:37So there you go.
09:38Those are our top tips for packing your bike bags.
09:41If you do have any great tips yourself
09:42or any funny stories,
09:44then please do leave them in the comment section below
09:46because we'd love to hear them.
09:48In the meantime, don't forget to give us a like
09:50and to subscribe to the Cycling Weekly YouTube channel
09:53and we'll see you soon.
09:54Bike packing!
09:55Woo!
09:58Got the echo.
10:00Wow.
10:01Mastermind subject.
10:02Bike bags.
10:03Bike bags.
10:04Oh boy.
10:05No, it was rubbish.
10:06Sorry, Ed.