Bike-packing and bike touring are almost interchangeable terms. Bike touring setups tend to use fixings on the frame to hold pannier bags and have been the staple setup for riders since the 1930s. The beauty of bike-packing is its simplicity: most bikes can be a bike-packing bike. Thanks to the advent of soft bags in the last twenty years, bike-packing doesn’t depend on a particular frame having eyelets for racks and panniers.

Most bike-packing bag manufacturers have an ecosystem of bags. There are no hard and fast rules in bike-packing and we think that mixing your bag brands is absolutely fine in order to achieve a rig that is right for you.

We’ll outline three levels of bike-packing kits and the different trips they are designed for. Or skip to our bag explainer for what to consider when choosing your three staple bags: handlebar roll, saddle pack and frame bag.

1. The Day Out / Overnighter

This setup utilises three bags: a saddle pack, small handlebar bag, and a top tube pack. It is great if you are planning a visit to far-flung friends or family but would rather not go by car. You can stuff clothes and shoes into the saddle pack and toiletries and a rain jacket into the front bag. Access your phone, wallet, and snacks on-the-go from the top tube pack rather than weighing down your jersey pockets.

If you’re starting out and want to keep things straight forward, this layout is perfect for riding mostly on the road as it will give you the opportunity to feel how your bike rides with bags attached. Pubs, cafes and shops (usually) abound will make refuelling a breeze. In this setup we’ve avoided using a frame pack for easy access to two water bottles.

Pro Tip: pack a swimmers chamois (shammy) towel instead of a cotton towel. They absorb water super quickly, and get water than makes you cold off your skin quickly. They can be wrung out easier than an standard cotton towel. The chamois dries quicker than a towel, its lighter and packs down smaller. 

2. The Weekender

Once you’ve enjoyed your first overnighter, there’s a good chance you’ll be hooked and want to take your bike-packing adventures to the next level. The charity Cycling UK (formerly the CTC) has worked to create signed circular loops that can be completed in 3–5 days and are almost car free.

This setup is ideal for their routes. We’ve added a half frame pack, which maintains space for a full water bottle on the frame. Frame packs are available in multiple sizes. Measure the interior length of your frame triangle so you can choose a bag that will fit inside. The frame pack is great for storing your heaviest items such as food and items you might want to access during the day. Up front, the handlebar bag is bigger and has straps on the front for tent poles or a compact sleeping bag.

Plan to stop at a campsite on your first weekender? This will give you the opportunity to hone your evening and morning routine as well as access showers, local shops, and fresh water.

Pro tip: try to keep handlebar pack contents light so as not to affect your steering on rough and twisty terrain.

3. Multiweek Trip

This setup uses a full frame pack and this will mean you’ll need to remove your bottle cages. We added a handlebar accessory pouch to carry your water bottle. Frame packs come in different sizes and with different strap locations. Measure the internal width of your frame and check the location of straps to ensure it won’t foul your front derailleur.

For a multi week trip you may need to carry a week’s worth of food, extra things like washing powder for clothes, and, if it's the autumn and very muddy, a couple of extra pieces of kit. Full frame packs are a great way to increase the carrying capacity of your bike.

The Condor Bivio Gravel and Odyssey Gravel framesets are both equipped with pannier rack mounts should you want the versatility of running traditional rear pannier luggage. Panniers are popular with riders who have smaller frames and struggle to fit a frame pack to their bike. Equally, narrow handlebars can restrict the size of the pack you can have on your bars.