Anyone strayed into bike packing?

[ggorgeman]

I gave the saddle pack approach a couple of goes but found it too limiting. I don't find any real downside to rack and panniers even on really rough single-track, as long as you have the gears and fitness to support the weight you're bringing.

Agree! For trips > 1 night where I need to pack shelter, sleeping gear and food, I've found panniers on a suitable (lite'ish) rack to be more practical than a saddle pack (which I have used too). Easy to also add a dry bag on top of the rack. Duration of trip and relative remoteness plays a big part.

[Aushiker]

I thought:
Touring: generally on roads, more often sealed.
Bikepacking: more often on singletrack or narrow, rocky, gravelly tracks

Bikepacking is thus on average lighter, with suspension, and more often remote.

As a bushwalker, bicycle tourer and bikepacker, that is my take. This image is an illustration of my bikepacking.


screenshot utility windows

Last edited by Aushiker on Sun 27 Apr, 2025 1:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[nezumi]

The term "bike packing" is a complete mess, which originally meant minimaldst endurance mountain biking, then cycle touring with saddle pack instead of rack and panniers, and now seems to basically just mean cycle touring.

I gave the saddle pack approach a couple of goes but found it too limiting. I don't find any real downside to rack and panniers even on really rough single-track, as long as you have the gears and fitness to support the weight you're bringing.

I thought:
Touring: generally on roads, more often sealed.
Bikepacking: more often on singletrack or narrow, rocky, gravelly tracks

Bikepacking is thus on average lighter, with suspension, and more often remote.

I think of "cycle touring" as being analogous to "back-packing" in the sense of someone saying that they are backpacking around Europe or Australia, while bikepacking is more equivalent to hiking.