How do you apply your backpacking gear to road/mountain bicycle camping trips?

I use slime-filled tubes, lower the tire pressure a bit, leave the helmet at home, loosen the hip-belt, put on my pack, hop on the bike and peddle away.

If I'm really going a long distance I'll carry a folding spare +tube, pump, etc. or if I'm traveling on old rail bed.

I bought a rear rack for my mtb, but haven't gone that way for over five years now, as I used to go with a friend. I used a daypack on my back and strapped the rest on to the rack and my pad I think on my handlebars or something small. Worked great, picked a great weekend and had minimal gear. No Slime goo in tires, down the Rubicon Trail at Lake Tahoe to Buck Island Reservoir. Great trip, we got to see 4X4's doing there thing or not.

I road toured on a pre-suspension mountain bike fit with narrower tires, drop-down touring bars, bar end shifters and a road gear cluster. I had toe clips before the days of step-in pedals.

I mounted front and rear panniers and a rear rack on the bike. Most of my gear fit into the panniers. I tied my tent, sleeping bag and empty pack, which I folded up as much as possible on the rear rack.

I carried my backpacking gear as well as bike touring gear - spares (cables, folding spare tire, tube), tools, and pump. I also had a break down fishing rod in a case.

All up the whole set up weighed about 80 lbs. I eventually figured out I could send the gear I didn't need ahead of me on the bus and pick it up when I got to the next town. Doing that lightened the load up quite a bit.

I wore a fanny pack for small stuff, including maps.

I use the bike as a vertical support for the tarp.

I recumbent bike. I use a Baccheta Giro 26. My wife uses a Catrike Pocket. Our backpacking gear fits in our rear panniers. My neighbor uses a one-wheeled trailer (BOB Yak) for his recumbent. We easily put in 60-100 mile days with no butt pains! Because the way our body is laying, we also see more.

On rare occasions, I will use a mountain bike. I wear my stuffed backpack—the Ghost. Surprisingly, this has not off-centered my balance.

-Barry

I'm not a biker, but am seriously considering it. At least in the Pacific Northwest, so many roads to trailheads have been washed out the last few years, with no money in the Forest Service budget to fix them, that a mountain bike is becoming essential to reach many trailheads. I'm not sure how a 25-lb. backpack could be strapped to a bike, though.

For bicycle touring, weight is still important but my number one consideration is volume. Both of my panniers together are still much smaller than my pack. This of course rules out closed cell foam pads for bike camping, and I've been leaning toward them for backpacking lately. Since fresh hot food is readily available on the road I usually skip the stove and pot. Besides I love breakfast and coffee in a roadside cafe, especially on the coast. I also avoid shelters that have long pole sections, no real room for them on the bike without sticking out.

Other than that, everything else is about the same.

......And no bear canister......YEAH!!!!

OM- you could strap your pack onto a rear rack, but panniers are much better because the weight distribution is better.

With front and rear panniers, the bike isn't top heavy since the weight is lower. My front panniers were almost centered on the axle and the rear ones just above it. The gear on my rear rack didn't weigh all that much-tent, bag, sleeping pad, empty pack.

I have seen panniers that clip together to make a pack-no idea how well they work.

Thanks for tall the responses

I did extensive bike hikes during the 70-80. Getting ready to hit the road for a couple of weeks and will be down in deep country. Most of my camp sites will be covert off road in the woods. It will be nice to be able to eat on and off road in small towns. I have a hammock with cover and a blanket. I have to carry tools and tube repair. Oh and a credit card for cheap overnite stay as needed to R&R.

There is a pattern for panniers at this site that are basically two large stuff sacks.

Somebody above, said to wear a backpack on a bike.

Extremely poor advice.

Bike bags are required. Ideally, front and rear. If you've got less than very minimal weight, then front and rear are necessary.

The low-rider front bags are probably optimal.

I spent about 12 weeks bike camping in the 1980s. Some of my info is probably dated.

I used home-made very crappy bike bags. Cracked rear axle because of weight; not bag design.

Yeah never wear backpacks , low riders, I had never considered ship ahead , but yes good idea

I used to ride tubulars on bike hikes, but have since converted to road tires. You would think I would ride mountain bike on trails but am oppossed to mountain bikes tearing up the environment. I like real back roads in the middle of no where. People in the small farming communities are so easy to find who understand the wanderlust. Ive had some great meals and barn times.

<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />“Somebody above, said to wear a backpack on a bike.

Extremely poor advice.”

Nah. Backpacks work. If you have a good rear-breathing backpack that hugs, and keep it <15lbs (maybe 20), it won’t be noticed (balance wise). Some principles from this sight help <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />. Backpacks have some nice advantages over panniers. Bike size/weight, rider size/weight also adds to the equation of staying nimble with a backpack on.


-Barry

Well, I wear a backpack on a bike, but I'm not exactly a "serious" mountain bike rider. I pretty much use a bike to bike flat approach trails that would otherwise be boring, so it's essentially a "commuter" to
make some boring clicks go by quicker to get to nice stuff to walk in. I don't want panniers because
I'm just gonna hike after I dump the bike anyway.

A guy last year crossed the US on a bike wearing just a backpack for gear.

I'll bet that was a sight to behold... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Not to mention the chafing from the backpack - and the bike seat.

My memory failed me. I looked it up and I'm wrong. He posted on the ultralightbiking yahoo group.

"This is my idea of an ultralight long camping tour without backpack,
rack or panniers. The link below is to pictures that were taken on the
23rd and last day of my solo Bike Across America. Out of the 22 nights
I spent on the tour, 15 of them I camped out, 5 I stayed in motels, and
2 in kind people's houses. My bike tour was from Tybee Island, GA to
Laguna Beach, CA, covering 2681 miles in 21 days, 23 hours and 15
minutes.
http://summitch.smugmug.com/gallery/1651943/1/80781601

Most of my gear was carried in 5 small stuff sacks, 3 in the jersey
pockets and 2 behind the seat in water bottle cages. The sleeping pad
was strapped to the frame with velcro straps, and the camera bag with
zip ties. After I got back I figured how to do the same thing with
only 3 small stuff sacks, so there is always room for improvements. The
only thing that to limit us is our imagination.

Adrian Stingaciu
Long Beach, CA"

Whether you are staying mostly on roads or actually go completely off-road makes a difference.

In all cases, weight is just as important on a bike as in a backpack. Perhaps more. My first ultralighting was for bike trips because I felt the extra weight more acutely.

On road trips, I go lighter on the camping gear to make up for the weight of a useful tool set. On the road, you can find a place to get fed every 8 miles or so in most parts of the country. Therefore, I don't carry cooking gear or food except for maybe a burger and fries from the last pit stop. I sleep either in a hammock (27 oz.) in warm weather or in a tarp with attached bug net (17 oz.) held up by the bike in cooler weather. With a minimal sleeping bag (16 to 22 oz., depending on season), the whole rig can go into a big stuff sack with the foam sleeping pad rolled inside and the gear stuffed inside that. A seatpost-mounted tube rack or a very lightweight rear rack will work with such a minimalist load. Tools go in a seat pouch and incidentals in a handlebar bag.

Tools are vital for any bike trip. It can be a long walk to town. I also carry two (2) extra tires and tubes on road trips. Broken bottles hide on the shoulder and destroy tires and tubes. The next town may have nothing better than a Western Auto with 26 inch tires.

Off-road trips might require a little more gear. A minimal cook set, suitable for freezer-bag cooking and food will probably require adding panniers to the kit described above. I don't like front racks; they interfere with the front suspension (if you have one) and make for a rough ride regardless of the front configuration. They also tempt one to add extra gear (and more weight). Off-road, any panniers (and the gear inside) will get banged up. I use a frame bag (fits under the top tube) for food when going off-road and put a minimal stove (esbit wing stove) and 650 ml pot in the big stuff sack.

With the price of gas as it is, and only one car in the family also, it is very tempting to bike to the fundy footpath, and then hike it, and so forth. If I wasn't so darn overweight I could probably bike with my backpack on. I agree that volume is more critical than weight when cycling. With hills weight is just as important biking as hiking, but volume is more limited. Also the transition from pack to panniers and back is a bit awkward and redundant. Where to leave the bike can be critical. A stealth stash is tempting sometimes. Biking is another great way to lose weight, but if your overwieght you gotta make it as easy as possible to put the hours in, hiking or biking, and biking is a lot harder on the butt, even without a backpack on. Paddling can burn calories also, but is also very hard on the butt. Comfort is key.