Bikepacking: how to choose bags and pack your bike for a trip

Less is further. In bikepacking, this saying feels like a cliché only until the first time you’re climbing with an overloaded bike, the saddle bag is swaying from side to side, and your rain jacket is buried at the very bottom of the luggage, inaccessible without undoing half your setup.

Bikepacking isn’t about strapping everything possible to your bike. It’s about the opposite: taking only what is truly needed and transporting it in such a way that the bike still rides like a bike. So you can steer. So you can climb. So you can descend on gravel, ride through a forest, stop for something at a shop, and not feel, with every movement, that you’re carrying too much heavy, poorly packed luggage.

That’s why choosing bikepacking bags starts earlier than at the checkout. First comes the route, the length of the trip, the accommodation, the weather, and the level of self-sufficiency. Only then come the seat pack, frame bag, handlebar bag, top tube bag, and additional mounts.

Browse bikepacking bags at ANTY — frame, handlebar, saddle, and rack bags.

photo — Apidura

Bikepacking vs. classic bicycle touring

Classic bicycle touring has its very specific advantages: a rack, large panniers, high capacity, and comfort on long asphalt routes. This is a good setup when payload is the priority and the bike is meant to calmly transport gear from point A to point B.

Bikepacking grew out of a different mindset. It is closer to gravel riding, MTB, and mixed-terrain routes. Bags are attached directly to the frame, saddle, handlebars, and fork. The luggage is more compact, the bike remains more agile, and the setup handles gravel, forest trails, uneven ground, and sections where classic panniers start to take on a life of their own much better.

However, the boundary isn't sacred. You can go bikepacking with small panniers. You can do a light gravel trip with a saddle bag and a frame bag. You can also mix systems if the route requires it. Good packing isn't about adhering to definitions; it’s about ensuring the bike still makes sense once loaded.

Bikepacking — what is it all about? — an earlier ANTY article on cycling trips and riding your own way.

List of items first, bags second

The biggest mistake beginners make is buying capacity "just in case." A larger bag is tempting because it provides a sense of security. But empty space fills up quickly: with an extra sweatshirt, a spare cable, toiletries, a second mug, another item "just in case." And then every one of those things rides with you all day long.

Bikepacking works best when you start by minimizing your gear. A day trip requires something completely different than a week with a tent. A weekend with indoor accommodation is a different set than a weekend of wild camping. A route with frequent shops is different from a section where you have to carry more water and food.

That is why bags shouldn’t be a shopping list. They are rather the answer to the question of where to place specific things on the bike: the heavy, the light, the bulky, the wet, the ones needed on the road, and those you only look for in the evening.