On of the ideas I love most about bicycle touring. Is that the things you take with you serve a significant purpose in your life or there is no point carrying it.
In this article I’m going to talk to you about all the bicycle touring gear for your next bicycle adventure.
Quick List
Here is a comprehensive list of all the gear I take on a standard bicycle tour across country. This video was filmed about 1 year ago, and since then I have updated some of my gear and will be updating you all with a new video later on. But for now you can see below all the gear I use.
- GEAR / Products
- Butterfly Handlebars : https://bit.ly/2HAezZf
- Bike : https://bit.ly/2WdDRj8
- Shop Wiggle : https://bit.ly/2Wc8t4D
- Components – Rear Derailleur : https://amzn.to/2ukD3x3
- Gear Shifters / Break Levers : https://amzn.to/2umPcSm
- Saddle Bag (for tools) : https://amzn.to/2FiEnWn
- Multi-Tool : https://amzn.to/2ToUSFe
- Hand Pump : https://amzn.to/2Hyht0I
- Handlebar Bag : https://amzn.to/2FlG4SK
- Portable Phone Charger : https://amzn.to/2Ctc8ni
- Headlamp : https://amzn.to/2CuHidO
- Tent : https://bit.ly/2OjTpzo
- Yoga Mat (aka sleeping pad)
- Travel Pillow : https://bit.ly/2HyyCr4
- Cycling Shorts : https://amzn.to/2YcUSvN
- Sleeping Bag : https://bit.ly/2W7MnQS
- Panniers : https://amzn.to/2ulp5eq
- Camp Stove : https://amzn.to/2Tihrvm
- Tyres : https://amzn.to/2ukjAfW
- Day Backpack : https://bit.ly/2Oh8cdX
- GoPro : https://amzn.to/2YbEVWM
- Selfie Stick : https://amzn.to/2TiuAER
- MacBook : https://amzn.to/2uhR6DC
- Storage Hard Drive : https://amzn.to/2FumDrl
- Main Camera : https://amzn.to/2Y6cUjc
- MY DRONE : https://click.dji.com/AOWgS6_fzwQnp1e…
Bicycle
First to consider is the bike itself, I am cheap haha, my mum calls me a “tight-arse”. You know what I guess I am what can I say I love to get a good deal, I paid $250 for my SURLY LHT, anyway that is a whole other story. The point is you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on a NEW touring bike, to get out there. I have met many world travellers who ride bikes that only cost them a couple hundred bucks. For example; I met a European couple in Rockhampton, QLD, Australia. And one of them was riding his grandmas bike. Can you believe it? A old school ‘step through’ ladies bike. With their hiking bags somehow fixed to the front handlebars. It was quite inspiring! Nothing stopped them, they made it happen. If you do your due diligence you can find a nice deal on a great touring bike, something a bit better then nanas ride.
Butterfly bars! have you ever hear of them? They are a favourite of mine, the most comfortable handlebars I have ever toured with. Offering many different hand positions, to change it up a bit. I wrote a post sharing my experience of 5,000Km + on the bike using these bars.
Started of with a Gel seat cover like this one on a standard road bike saddle. You can see it in the photo above of my complete touring setup. It was comfortable but now am using a BROOKS B17 Saddle is a classic piece of bicycle touring gear. When I got mine it took a few hundred KM before my bum moulded to it. Early days of bicycle touring I have had my fair share of saddle sores. To be honest this is the best solution.
Panniers or Bikepacking bags? This is dependent on your preferred style. Do you want to pack more like a bicycle touring setup or bikepacking setup?
Bicycle touring is more about the panniers and racks. For racks it is important to consider. Steel is a recommended build material as it is strong. Often cheaper racks will not hold as much weight and not last over time. Best to look for racks with a range of 35-50kg (80-110lbs).
Tubus racks are very great quality. Does your frame even have rack eyelets? may need to consider some kind of quick release rack mounting kit. Other details like Tyre clearance, etc..
Next is panniers, I can recommend the Ortlieb Classic for great rear panniers. In my earlier tours I also had front panniers to. But from my experience are not essential. For multi year expeditions but I don’t need much stuff. For Bikepacking bags I made a post writing about my Top 8 bikepacking bags.
Handlebar Bag is very handy when it comes to storing those things you use multiple times in a day and need to get to them quickly and easily while riding your bike. Things like physical maps, phone, speaker, and other essential items. Ortlieb make a 7L handlebar bag which is very common with other bicycle tourers and that is the Ortlieb Travel Ultimate 6 bag. Also for additional storage solutions on the handlebar area are these pouch water bottle storage bags. Great for stashing away your camera and quick to access for capturing the moment.
While we are on the subject of bag I also like the idea of carrying a small backpack when bicycle touring. It is what I use to store all my essential tech and other expensive essentials. That I take with me into a cafe or grocery store. This is the backpack I am currently using.
Tyres depending on the style of travel bicycle touring or bikepacking. I am more of a “both’ kinda guy, I enjoy riding on the roads and also enjoy some remote and stunning trails. These SCHWALBE Marathon Plus HS Wire Tire are more suited to a bicycle touring style. I met a bicycle tourer who had been all over Australia riding and has been across the Nullarbor 3 times and he highly recommend these tyres. They are durable.
These Maxxis Ikon 3C/EXO/TR Tire- 29in Skinwall, 3C/EXO/TR, 29×2.2 are great for bikepacking style riding.
Tools, spare parts and other accessories
Other bicycle touring gear to think about. Any kind of Handlebar Phone Mount I recommend this one. Also a bluetooth waterproof speaker is always a good little addition.
Multi-tool – A multi tool is on of the essential bicycle touring items one must have. As maintenance on your bike is a must. A decent quality tool will make it much more manageable to fix your bike as your need to. One of the best multi-tools on the market is this Crankbrothers M19 Bicycle Multi-Tool. It even has a chain tool which is very handy.
The Bicycle Pump I use is the Topeak Road Morph G Mini Pump here is a quick look at it in action. Very compact and is great for a bicycle tour, fitting on the side of your frame. Another great pump + multi tool combo is the Oneup EDC Pump Tool System.
Repair kit is always something handy to have. And after doing a few kms you may also need to use some chain lube, I have been using this Bike Milk from bike mechanic in QLD.
Solar panel chargers are something that I have always wanted to get, as I am doing more remote adventures. For a few weeks at a time. I need to always have charge on my camera batteries, drone and all my other tech. So I can document my journeys to share with you all. That is a major priority of mine. I cannot go past GOAL ZERO they make some quality gear. The Goal Zero Nomad 20 seems like the best off the grid bicycle touring power setup.
Also a addition to the solar power setup and a way to get the most out of the power from solar. A portable power bank I recommended. I have this great Sony portable power bank gifted to me from The College Picker when in Japan. And it is the best thing ever I get about 2 to 3 full re-charges for my phone battery.
Another addition or alternative option for power on the road is the Dynamo hub setup. I can recommend Cycling About’s post jammed pack full of information all about Dynamo hubs.
Clothing
The bicycle touring closet must be as light weight and take up as limited room possible. To bad I didn’t know this when I took off on my very first bike tour. Unfortunately I was not vlogging my adventures back then. But I was silly enough to pack a, fair to say, 50/50 ratio of clothing to ever other bit of gear on my bike.
Here is a very interesting post on Reddit about the bicycle touring closet that may help someone.
For me though, I find any breathable material. Like nylon shorts and button shirt, long sleeve to keep the sun off. And under the shorts some padded cycling knick shorts. Also a cool product I cam across were these zip off convertible nylon pants. Pants when you need them to be and shorts when it is warm = genius . For the colder temperatures remember some thermals and gloves, ect. For shoes I wear some thongs or flip flops. I am super casual when it comes to cycle travel, “don’t take life to seriously”. But as of late am using some classic Birkenstocks sandals.
Camping & sleeping gear
Here you can find a list of very great quality bikepacking tents. If you are buying a tent you want to make sure you are getting something that is going to last. Something like this tent is appropriate for bikepacking and bicycle touring. That is value and lightweight.
Or if you are looking for more room and quality. The Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL 2 is recommend by many bicycle travellers.
A interesting alternative to a tent, that I have been looking further into. Is Hammock bicycle camping! Check out this hammock, how cool is this? I camp in forests all the time and this would be so amazing to try.
A Sleeping pad is recommend but if you want to rough it out like me use a yoga mat. Seriously though it is possible, it takes about a week for your body to adjust to the conditions. But having that said a inflatable sleeping pad is the bomb!
A roll up travel pillow is essential for a good nights rest
Last but not lest is a quality sleeping bag. Something again that is light weight and packs small to fit on the bike and takes up as less room as possible.
Do you have a favourite piece of bicycle touring gear that you cannot live without? Or anything that I missed? Share it with us!
** Disclaimer **
Most of the links to products in this post are Affiliate links and if you click and purchase there is no extra cost to you. Only I make a small commission from the sale.
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