Bikepacking for a day or multiple days is a fun and unforgettable experience with a lot of adventures coming your way. However, before the actual bikepacking activity, you must ensure that all the essentials you need are well packed securely on the bike.
This situation can be solved by familiarizing how to pack for bikepacking correctly. Packing your essentials requires you to consider several factors to ensure they are strategically put on various bike bags for equal weight distribution, which results in better bike handling. Please see some bikepacking packing tips below:
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Always Consider Weight Distribution When Packing
When you have all the bikepacking gear spread in your bed or in the floor, ready for packing, the question that will cross your mind is, how are you gonna pack all of this stuff? Packing for the first time can be challenging because you will have no idea how to bring all the gears with you.
Packing all the bikepacking gears is not as simple as stuffing everything inside the bag. You need to consider the various bikepacking bags that you will be using. Since each bag mounts in different places around the bike, you need to consider that extra weight that will be with you throughout the trip.
The extra weight will undoubtedly affect the bike handling, meaning weight distribution is extremely important when packing. For better bike handling, you will need to have the weight distributed evenly in all of the bags you will be using during the trip.
Putting Protective Tape
Before putting anything on the bike, it is also nice to consider putting protective tape on to prevent all the bags from moving during the bike ride. The constant movement of the bag can also affect the quality of the ride. It will also help prevent scratching your bike’s surface, which is possible when the bag keeps on moving.
Things to Put on the Bike Frame Bag
Since the frame bag is mounted on the bike’s frame, this bag will be secured since it has a lot of mounting points. The bike frame bag comes in half or full sizes offering different storage sizes. If you have a frame bag, it is advised to put the heavier items and all the things that you want to access immediately.
Examples of these items include jackets, arm warmers, and tools like the inner tubes, tool kit, and mini pump. Furthermore, since the bike frame bag is located at the bike’s center, it will help enhance the weight distribution you need during the ride. Of all the places on the bike, the bike frame is the best place to put a lot of items.
Another point you need to consider in using the frame pack is its size. If it is large enough to cover the triangle, you can put your water bottles elsewhere on the bike, like underneath or on the fork.
Things to Put on a Bike Seat Pack
The advantage of having a seat pack is its ability to carry a large volume of items. But, putting more weight into the bag will affect the weight distribution and probably make the bike swing a little bit more during the ride, making it harder to corner and throw the bike around.
The things you will put in a bike seat pack are the bulkiest lightest items like the sleeping bag and the bivy bag. One thing to remember about the seat back is that it can get high up and swing a little bit if you fail to pack it well. So, putting all the stuff right at the bottom of the seat pack is essential.
Things to Put on a Handlebar Pack
A handlebar pack can fit many items and is fairly good for heavier items. The best thing about this pack is that its weight is controlled between the bars, which is excellent for weight distribution. It may make the stirring a bit heavier, but you will get used to it after some time.
The other benefit of putting weight over the front wheel is that it puts more grip on the tire. You will feel more secure when dealing with rough, loose, or grave descents as it puts more grip on the front tire.
You can put the other casual kits on the handlebar pack and the other extra warm stuff you want to bring on your trip. Things like casual clothes in the evening are perfect for the handlebar pack where you can easily remove all this stuff in the evening in one particular bag.
Other Storage Spaces to Consider
The bike frame bag, the bike seat pack, and the handlebar pack are the most significant storage you can have when packing your things. However, for those small items, the top tube bag will be handy for you.
This smaller storage is perfect for tools, money, phone, passport, charging cables, and battery packs. You can even put chocolate bars and other small food items inside.
Putting Order in Packing the Items
Lastly, when packing the items in a bag, you must put them in an order where you can quickly get them. For example, packing your rain jacket at the bottom of the saddle pack can be difficult if you ride during the rainy season. You will need to arrange the item in an order where you will need these things in a particular order.
Conclusion
The importance of packing your essentials properly before going on a bikepacking trip cannot be underestimated. How you will pack your stuff can also affect the ride quality, making learning how to pack for bikepacking extremely important. Furthermore, this skill will maximize the storage space available in all the bike bags that will be used.