Frame setups for Bikepacking
mountaingroupTouring can be daunting for anyone considering their first big bike trip.
Where do you start?
Whether on a grand cross-country adventure or a simple weekend trip, there are many ways to set up your bike for touring.
This article covers a few different setup options for any kind of bike, from mountain to road. We’ll also discuss what to take and how to carry it for 1-2 day trips to 3 weeks and beyond. These different setups will give you plenty of ideas and inspiration for attaching luggage to your bike, ready for your next epic trip.
Adventurous Day Rides
Sometimes, all it takes to shake off the cobwebs of daily life is a long gravel ride. You might want to enjoy a leisurely gravel ride through the local countryside, complete with a mid-ride beer, or test your endurance over a longer distance for 24 hours.
A simple handlebar bag, paired with a smaller saddlebag, is usually all you need. Each suits any kind of bike and offers a comfortable, lightweight, and low-bulk solution to using a rucksack on day rides.
Long Weekends
You might not put speed and bike touring together in the same sentence, but your road bike can be ideal for a weekend tour. Road riders will find their bikes can easily be loaded in a lightweight style for overnight, Audaxes, or weekend trips. This setup is also ideal for what is known as ‘credit card touring,’ in which you stay in a hotel or at a hostel.
For this touring, you can easily use a small setup with a canister bag, a small frame bag, a top tube bag, and a saddle pack. The whole setup has a carrying capacity of up to 15L, and in all four bags there’s enough room to store a change of clothing, bike essentials, and food. This lightweight setup is perfect for riding trails and staying off the beaten track.
One thing to consider with a full-suspension mountain bike is the rear suspension when using a frame bag. Each frame is different, and it's worth noting that even a small frame bag can be difficult to fit into your frame.
If you're using a dropper seatpost, we recommend taping the area of the seatpost where the bag sits and using a component like this. This will stop the dropper seatpost from fully retracting, which will prevent scratching and rubbing on the post.
Multi-Week Tours
Suppose you want to tour for longer or carry more in the way of creature comforts. In that case, a bikepacking setup is an ideal option. This allows you to stay outdoors longer, ride further, and carry all your essentials on those big bike adventures.
You can easily rig your bike with a handlebar bag, a small frame bag, and a saddle pack, and smaller cockpit bags on the handlebar. On most bikes, there is usually more than enough space for a medium or large frame bag for maximum carrying capacity, depending on the frame you’re using.
Road, gravel, and hardtail mountain bikes are all ideal for this kind of bike. Increasingly, gravel bikes are available with bottle bosses on the fork legs, allowing you to carry more gear on the bike. This gives you more leeway to take everything you need for being off-grid for extended periods.
Transcontinental and Round-the-World Trips
The most traditional form of bike touring, racks and panniers allow you to carry everything you need to be completely self-sufficient on your bike, no matter where you go.
This type of setup will easily give you 100 L or more of carrying capacity, with more than enough room for all the gear you need for months on end on the road. With bags spread across the bike, it’s easy to keep things organized. You can even strap dry bags to the top of your racks, protecting your gear from the elements.
An Essential Overnight Kit List
A general rule of thumb is to split your weight 40/60 (rear) when packing your bike, you are your adventure. It can be useful to consider each of your bags and pockets as sections of your home, for example, one bag for sleeping gear, another for food and cooking supplies. Here you can find a breakdown of a fully loaded bike's weight distribution.
These are our recommendations, which will give you the foundation to build your own adventure cycling setup. Whether you're camping with friends or bivvying in the wilderness, there are plenty of options available. So it's best to experiment, see what works for you, and have fun.
- Sleeping bag
- Sleeping pad
- Waterproof cycling jacket
- Waterproof cycling trousers/pants
- Bike tools
- Water bottle
Geosmina Components
New journeys have always been synonymous with new experiences and at the same time new doubts and challenges, always seeking the goal and enjoying our passion: travel. New challenges that force us to face each setback that appears before our eyes effectively and comfortably, to travel safely, to feel, enjoy and live.
That's why our bikepacking products are made with ultralight materials highly resistant to abrasion, water, and UV rays. Our bags don't require additional supports and are compatible with almost all bicycles on the market. Their perfectly studied ergonomics optimize weight distribution, making bicycle handling perfect on both mountain and road, even when fully loaded. Design, functionality, and durability. Our products will help you enjoy your rides, focusing solely on the ride and the landscape, knowing that all your cargo travels safely and perfectly distributed on your bicycle.
