Bikepacking and gravel touring represent one of the most exciting evolutions in cycling: riding beyond roads, sleeping under stars, and experiencing landscapes that only exist at the end of unpaved tracks. If you’ve been riding gravel and wondering how to turn a day ride into a multi-day adventure — or if the idea of self-supported cycle travel has always appealed but seemed daunting — this guide is your complete starting point.
We’ll cover everything from the fundamental difference between bikepacking and traditional cycle touring, to how to pack your bike, plan a route, and handle the physical and logistical challenges of travelling by gravel bike.
Bikepacking vs. Traditional Cycle Touring: What’s the Difference?
These two terms describe genuinely different approaches to self-supported bike travel, though they overlap in many ways:
- Traditional cycle touring uses panniers — bags mounted on front and rear racks. The bike carries everything in large, low-slung bags that sit close to the wheels. It’s stable, high-capacity, and road-oriented. Think: fully loaded road bike crossing Europe on quiet roads.
- Bikepacking uses frame-mounted bags — a frame bag, handlebar roll, seat pack, and top tube bag — that attach directly to the bike without racks. Lower total capacity but far more capable on rough terrain, since there’s no rack to catch rocks and the weight is distributed close to the frame’s centre of gravity.
Gravel touring sits comfortably in bikepacking territory: you’re on a capable off-road bike, carrying gear in frame bags, exploring unpaved tracks, trails, and forest roads that no panniers-and-racks setup could navigate.
The Right Bike for Gravel Touring
Good news: if you already ride gravel, you likely have a suitable bike. Gravel touring doesn’t require a dedicated expedition machine. The essentials are:
- Tyre clearance: Wider tyres (38–50mm) provide comfort, traction, and puncture resistance on rough terrain. If your gravel bike maxes out at 35mm, you can still tour — just choose routes accordingly.
- Mounting points: Look for frame mounts for water bottles (ideally three), and anchor points for frame bags. Most modern gravel bikes have these.
- Mechanical reliability: For remote touring, simpler is safer. A 1x drivetrain with fewer components to fail is generally preferable to a complex 2x setup.
- Comfortable geometry: Gravel bikes are already designed for long-day riding. If yours fits well for 4+ hour rides, it’ll work for touring.
If you’re newer to gravel riding itself, our complete beginner’s guide to gravel cycling covers bike selection and first rides before you get into the multi-day realm.
Bikepacking Bags: The Essential Setup
The bikepacking bag system is modular — you choose what you need based on how long you’re riding and how much you’re carrying.
The Core Bags
- Handlebar roll/bag: The largest single item — a cylindrical dry bag strapped to the handlebars. Ideal for bulky, light items: sleeping bag, tent, down jacket. Capacity typically 8–16 litres.
- Frame bag: Fits inside the main triangle of the frame. Excellent for dense, heavy items: tools, food, battery packs. Size varies by frame — measure your triangle before buying.
- Seat pack: Mounts under the saddle and extends behind the rear wheel. Good for sleeping mat, spare clothes, or tent poles. Choose a waterproof option.
- Top tube bag: Sits on the top tube for easy-access items: phone, snacks, sunscreen, small tools.
- Fork bags: Strap-on bags for fork legs — great for adding water carry capacity or lightweight gear.
What to Look For
- Waterproofing: Prioritize waterproof seat packs and handlebar bags. Frame bags are often water-resistant rather than waterproof — use dry bags inside for important items.
- Secure attachment: Bags that move or bounce affect handling and wear out quickly. Test attachment before a big trip.
- Accessibility: Think about what you’ll need frequently (snacks, phone, sunscreen) vs. rarely (sleeping bag, spare clothes). Pack accordingly.
Planning Your Route
Route planning is where bikepacking trips succeed or fail. A few principles that experienced bikepacker-tourers rely on:
Use the Right Tools
- Komoot and Ride with GPS are the most popular bikepacking route tools, with surface type filters that help you identify gravel tracks vs. paved roads.
- OpenStreetMap (via Komoot) has excellent trail and track coverage in many countries.
- Established routes: Consider starting with a recognized bikepacking route — the Gravel Rally series, the Loire à Vélo (partly gravel), or local gravel routes mapped by cycling clubs. These have tested surface information and local knowledge built in.
Daily Distance Reality Check
Bikepacking daily distances are significantly lower than road cycling. A 100km day on the road becomes a 50–70km day on mixed gravel/trail with a loaded bike. Factors to account for:
- Extra weight slows you and increases energy expenditure
- Rough surfaces add resistance and vibration fatigue
- Navigation takes time and attention
- You’ll want to stop more — for views, for photos, for unexpected diversions
For a first tour, plan 50–70km days. Build in a rest or short day midway through any trip longer than 3 days.
Water and Food Logistics
On remote gravel routes, services can be sparse. Plan:
- Carry a minimum of 2 litres of water; 3 litres in hot or remote conditions
- Identify resupply points (towns, cafes, shops) on your route and plan accordingly
- High-calorie, packable food: trail mix, energy bars, nut butter sachets, instant oats, crackers
- A water filter (e.g. Sawyer Squeeze or Katadyn BeFree) allows you to drink from streams, dramatically expanding your range
Nutrition strategy matters as much on a multi-day tour as on a single-day ride. Our complete guide to cycling nutrition is worth revisiting with a touring lens.
Sleeping: Your Options
Wild Camping
The purest bikepacking experience. In Scotland, Scandinavia, and many mountainous regions, the right to camp in the wild is legally protected. In England and Wales, legal wild camping is more restricted but widely practiced discreetly. In most of mainland Europe, permission-based camping on private agricultural land is common and usually granted when asked politely.
A lightweight tent or bivy bag, sleeping bag rated to the expected low temperature, and an inflatable sleeping mat are the core kit. Aim for total sleeping system weight under 2kg for comfortable bikepacking.
Huts, Hostels, and Hotels
You don’t need to camp to bikepack. A “credit card touring” approach — riding light with no camping gear and staying in accommodation each night — dramatically reduces pack weight and allows faster, more comfortable daily distances. Many gravel tourers combine both: camping for 2–3 nights, then splurging on a hotel for a shower and proper bed.
Essential Skills for Gravel Touring
Beyond the physical fitness needed for multi-day riding, bikepacking benefits from some specific skills:
- Basic mechanical repairs: At minimum, you should be able to fix a puncture (tubeless plug, inner tube), adjust brakes, and re-attach a dropped chain. Our DIY bike maintenance guide covers essential self-repair skills.
- Navigation: Know how to use your GPS device or phone offline — mobile signal can’t be relied on in remote areas. Download offline maps before departure.
- Pacing: Multi-day endurance requires conscious effort management. Ride at a conversational pace for the majority of each day — sustainable effort over distance beats fast starts and blown-up afternoons.
- Managing recovery: Sleep quality, food intake, and post-ride stretching matter far more over 5 days than over a single ride. Prioritize these as actively as your riding.
Your First Bikepacking Trip: A Practical Framework
The best first bikepacking trip is close to home, short, and achievable. Here’s a proven framework for building into it:
- Overnight shakedown ride: Load your bike and ride 40–60km to a campsite (or hotel). Identify what you packed that you didn’t need, and what you needed that you didn’t pack. This is invaluable before a longer trip.
- Weekend trip (2 nights): A 100–150km route over 2–3 days. Close enough that bailing out is possible if something goes wrong. Far enough that you experience the multi-day rhythm.
- 5–7 day tour: Once you’ve done two or three weekenders, you have the systems knowledge to handle a week on the road with confidence.
If you’re planning international bikepacking and need to fly with your bike, our guide on how to fly with your bike covers everything from bike boxes to airline policies.
Bikepacking opens a relationship with cycling — and with landscape — that day riding rarely provides. When you ride to where you sleep and wake up to ride again, the bike stops being exercise equipment and becomes transport, home, and adventure. Start small, learn fast, and let the trail lead you further each time.
