Bikepacking Routes, Equipment Reviews, and Guides to Getting Started
Bikepacking takes the concept of backpacking and puts it on two wheels! A bike can take you deep into the backcountry for days at a time, and best of all, the bike carries all the weight. Here you’ll find bikepacking trip reports and information about routes and destinations plus bikepacking equipment reviews and tips for taking your first overnight trip.
Bikepacking routes and trip reports
The Ring the Peak bikepacking route traces the base of Pikes Peak in central Colorado. The route has extravagant views and takes riders through historic areas.
Scarlet Zeigler is a young rider who has proven herself mentally and physically capable of conquering big bike rides.
The Orogenesis Trail and bikepacking route will stretch 5,000 miles from the U.S./Canada border down to the tip of the Baja peninsula.
Rollins Pass is a high elevation mountain in Colorado that can be ridden as part of a route from Denver. We tried Specialized and Fjallraven's latest bikepacking gear on the chunky pass.
A bikepacking trip report from the Sierra Valley, the largest alpine valley in the Western United States, and the location of a future 600-mile network of multi-use trails.
Rick Ianniello explores the varied environments of the Sierra Nevada by mountain bike.
Interviews with bikepacking pros
There’s a lot to learn about bikepacking, and even if we’re not planning to spend weeks riding our bikes, it’s fun to live vicariously through those who do. Here are some of our favorite interviews with the sport’s most inspirational and influential pro riders.
Kurt Refsnider recently completed a 3-month mountain bike ride along the Continental Divide trail. We dive in to understand what makes this is such a big deal.
Last year Eddie O'Dea became the first person to bike the entire 5,900+ mile Eastern Divide Route from Newfoundland, Canada to Key West, Florida. Here's what he found along the way.
In 2006 Goat and two friends set out to ride mountain bikes from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost tip of South America, and after three and a half years of travel, the trio completed the mother of all bikepacking trips.
Scott Morris is a self-described “lifelong mountain biker, trail mapper and programmer.” He’s the creator of Track Leaders, a live tracking website for bikepacking races, and TopoFusion mapping software.
Dr. Kate Leeming is an explorer and adventurer who has biked tens of thousands of miles around the world, most recently across the remote and sandy coastline of Namibia.
Lael shares her tips and tricks for bikepacking and mental toughness, and talk about the role gender plays in ultra endurance competition.
Getting started
Tips and tricks for loading up your bike, packing gear, getting fit, and recovering after a big multi-day ride.
I love mountain biking, though not enough to skip my daily cup of coffee. Here are 6 ways to prepare your next coffee on the trail.
I asked five experienced ultra-endurance bikepackers what they do to stay loose, avoid injury, and reduce the need for recovery after a long ride.
We learn how the pros recover following an ultra-endurance bikepacking effort.
Learning how to bikepack isn't just about packing the right gear. It's about finding the right mindset too.
You can huck into rock gardens, bunny hop logs, launch gaps, and rail singletrack, all on a loaded bikepacking rig. It all depends on what you bring, and how you bring it.
Enjoying Packsaddle Lake all to myself in the Big Hole Mountains "Microadventure." The word sounds contradictory. Originally coined by Alastair Humphreys, the word challenges the idea that “adventures”…
Frame bag and pack reviews
We put Topeak bar and saddle bags to the test on a two day bikepacking trip to see how they handle weight and distance.
The REI Co-op Junction line of bike bags are value-priced and designed to offer convenient on-bike storage for everyday rides.
The Ortlieb Seat-Pack works well with a dropper post and should be full-suspension-friendly as well. Most importantly, it keeps gear dry.
The SKS Explorer EXP handlebar bag is waterproof and carries up to 9L of gear securely.
The Ortlieb bikepacking frame bag is offered in two sizes and is designed to fit most frames with an open front triangle.
The Discover Handlebar Bag from Pro is a versatile gear-roll that will work with almost any handlebar and frame shape for bikepacking.
Lightweight and ultralight tents, sleeping bags, and pads
OR's Helium Bivy paired with a sleeping bag and pad might be the best possible sleep setup for bikepacking.
The Nemo Dragonfly is a lightweight and compact tent designed for bikepacking.
Does the Mountain Hardwear Lamina Eco AF sleeping bag trade comfort and performance for saving the earth? We tested it on the trail to find out.
Holy cow, this bikepacking air mattress is lightweight, and surprisingly comfortable too.
The Fly Creek tent is designed specifically for bikepacking, with helpful features like shorter poles and webbing on the stuff sack for additional storage.
The Big Agnes Flume UL 30 runs true to its 30-degree temperature rating. The DownTek down is resistant to water and dries quickly, helping make this bag very packable and lightweight--perfect for bikepacking.
