Blake's Top 8 Tips For Beginner Bikepackers! | Bikepacking Kit & Advice

Blake has learnt about Bike Packing the hard way, through trial and error, both overpacking and underpacking! He's now got his camping set up on point and ready to take on anything that these trips can throw at him. Here are his Top 8 tips and tricks for a successful bike packing trip, from route planning to test running your gear. If you're an experienced bike packer, why not share some tips if we missed any in the comments below.

Have you ever been bike packing? Are you now more likely to be giving it a go? Let us know what your favourite trip has been in the comments down below 👇

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[gmbn]

Have you ever been Bike Packing? Where?

[Wabit]

“if you only own one bike, that’s going to be the best bike to go bike-packing” – and that's why you chaps are so awesome. No pretentious rubbish, just get out, make it happen and have fun. Love it.

[andrifsig]

Late to the party I know...but I chuckled when you mention the Iceland trip by Neil and Si. I live here in Iceland and do my bike touring locally because why wouldn't I living in Iceland!
On my 4th trip I had a mechanical in a remote area in Iceland, much more remote than their trip was. Blew my tire so bad it was probably beyond my skill to do a field repair. Was fleeing from an approaching storm when it happened. Storm caught up. I saw my choices were: First option: Layer up, abandon a good portion of my kit and bike and hike about 2 and a half day towards civilization. Not a good idea. Second option Try my best to repair the tire, keep on riding, get caught in the storm and risk hypothermia, which at that time was starting to set in, in august. Third option: Utilize the kit I have and thank god for me being a demanding prick with some money to burn due to being single and childless. Hunker down, put my Hilleberg tent up, which is relatively storm proof being a 4 season tent, cook a nice meal inside my tent, get warm, check on the tire as best I can and see if it is really rideable, which it wasnt after calmly looking at it inside the tent. Realize I have food rations for about 3 and a half days with me not riding and needing it as extra fuel to ride. Get a good nights sleep, in the storm. Wait it out, storm passes about 30 hours later. I get out, pack up everything in a way that it can be carried or pushed. Hike along the road, hoping for a car or cell service. Car comes along after about 5 hours of hiking. Wave it down, get picked up and get a ride home.

Moral of the story: Get proper kit for where you will be riding and keep your wits about you, it will save your life!

[adamabbas]

You guys should do a £300 pound bike bikepacking special. You have to buy everything, tent, sleeping bag, bike etc. Film the escapades and the mega fails and wins. Top Gear style.

[freddieansell-virco]

You forgot a very important one!
First aid...

[stickyprickle]

Ultralight Backpackers and through hikers have thankfully done a lot of the work for us here when it comes to gear setups, other than bike spares there is a huge amount of overlap, I would check out a few of their videos ( Darwin, homemade wanderlust etc for tips on packing light). However many of my mtb mates are of the opinion that the 2 things they like most after a day on the bike is a shower and not sleeping in a tent! So I may be bike packing alone!
Barry Godin’s series BG tips is a must watch too!

[irvsstella]

There's a saying in the British Army, that every squaddie will know, the 7 p's.
Prior, preparation and planning, prevents, p*ss poor performance.
This is a motto we should all accept. 👍👍👍

[johnbaldwin]

There is a UK company called Alpkit. They have a range of well designed waterproof packs for bike packing and a lot other light weight equipment. I have used them for several years now. Also I have a BOB Ibex trailer for those longer journeys. I also use it when I do my food shopping. None of my kit has ever let me down.

[benestes]

Who else really wants a bike check of Blake’s nukeproof reactor? Like so it can happen!

[DamanKingBear]

I’m bikepacking all of NZ in January 3000km ride

[IT-Entrepreneur]

Got a new trekkingbike and want to start bikepacking. I do alot of hiking and multiday trekking in the past, so i am not that unexperianced about being outdoors. Whats new for me is to have a bike with me :)

[SirBobbyDuncan]

After 20+ years of living out of a backpack. I can tell you, I got my best advice from through hikers. Like removing the core to your t.p., or wrap a bunch of duct tape around your seat post for later use & to stop seat slip, and etc.

[Bantogare]

Just back from 2 weeks, two things I want to mention. If you change tires/chain/... just make sure to have a test ride before the big vacation just to ensure that you don't have a faulty product. Happens rarely but you don't want to get stuck.
Even with everything digital nowadays, I prefer to have the main route printed on paper as well, a few sheets won't hurt just in case.
As for food, dehydrated things, rice and spices works wonders. Rice you can buy nearly everywhere and the rest you can take with you. Cooked ~5 times this vacation and I am still amazed how good it tastes (but hunger is the best cook, after 9+ hours of riding)

[OgedeiKhanOKOK]

i'll be doing my first bikepacking in a couple of weeks. Doing planning and stamina training to run things smoothy

[Johnson-elzs]

Pro tip for anyone wanting to try out bikepacking, a great way to stow your sleeping bag is by attaching it to your handlebars using webbing straps so it acts like Blake's front loader bag but without having to buy an expensive bike bag. If you thread the webbing straps through the compression straps on your sleeping bag it will be very secure. You can also attach other things by rolling them up and strapping them in, i carried a blow up pillow and my waterproof along with my sleeping bag this way when i first went bikepacking. Lots of people will already have some webbing straps in the house that can do this, i used 2 belts from climbing chalk bags, but the straps are very cheap to buy and useful if you don't have any already.
I'm sure the same principal could also be applied to carrying lots of other things on the bars, part of the fun with bikepacking is to get imaginative with how you store stuff, i once had a can of Heinz beans strapped to my frame in a sock so it didn't scratch it :D

[TrailAddict]

Went to bike adventure thinking i can make it a 125km w/ 5000m total climb in the wilderness in 1 day so i didnt bring w/ me any lights so when worst scenario happened i needed to look for a B&B to spend the night...luckyly found a small village 😅
Lesson learned, always bring emergency lights ☺

[EvidenceofaFabulousLife]

Every chain I have ever bought and fitted, I have shortened. I take the short piece of chain with me, along with a quick link in a plastic bag. With a chain splitter, some patience and a brew, you can repair any chain situation. I roll a length of super tape and electrical tape around my seat tube. Always there when you need it. Enjoy! 😉

[jimmccorison]

In the boat cruising world we have what is called a shake down cruise. You go to a harbor or anchorage half a day or less from home for a few days and see if everything works. Saves all kinds of miseries. Same thing applies to bike packing. Ride to the local park, or your buddy's house, that's 10 miles away and camp for a couple nights. You'll learn a lot without risking a lot.

[billslicer]

The heavy stuff should be low in the frame bag ( tools, tubes). Yes, a backpack will tire you out, Unless all you put in is Just clothes.

[wietzevanderwijk]

Another tip: always put everything inside of your tent. Also if the weather predictions say that it isn't going to rain.
It was awful cycling in wet shoes