What is the difference between bike packing and cycle touring?

[tyred]

Forgive my ignorance here. I like to tour, and I use a bicycle for doing so. I would describe myself as a cycle tourist.

Yet for the past week, most of the people I met in the Hebrides that I spoke to said they were bike packing.

Am I just out of touch with terminology, or is there a difference?

 

[raleighnut]

Forgive my ignorance here. I like to tour, and I use a bicycle for doing so. I would describe myself as a cycle tourist.

Yet for the past week, most of the people I met in the Hebrides that I spoke to said they were bike packing.

Am I just out of touch with terminology, or is there a difference?

As I understand it 'Bikepacking' tends to be lighter and shorter whereas cycle touring involves carrying more kit and is for a week or more, I could be wrong but I described my short 'overnighters' to Monyash with the little Bikamper tent as bikepacking but longer trips as cycle touring but I'm carrying more food, kettle. stove etc.

 

[nogoodnamesleft]

My understanding which may be wrong is it almost comes down to volume of kit you carry.

Cycle touring maybe for longer maybe more independent (so maybe a stove, maybe camping gear, etc).

Bike packing lighter, probably with credit card (they are small and lightweight). Probably staying hotels, AirB&B, basically sleeping in a bed. Food, drinks, etc. purchased and consumed quickly (generally not carrying eg food for tomorrow).

But I'll be interested to see if my impressions are wrong. I place myself in "Cycle Touring" with two rear, two front panniers, bar vag incl. tent, stove, etc. trip typically 2 months.

 

[tyred]

I wasn't carrying a tent on this occasion, but did have enough to be completely self-sufficient, clothes, tools and food.

 

[Ian H]

I tour with a credit card and a saddle-bag (occasionally panniers). Bikepacking seems to involve filling the main triangle of your bike with odd-shaped luggage, cantilevering more of it off your seatpost, then strapping even more to your bars and fork blades.

 

[mickle]

Bikepacking: a relatively new niche and closely related to the gravel fad. Lightweight gear carried in minimalist luggage. Attached directly to frame, bars or saddle rails, negating the use of racks. Weight is carried high because mostly offroad, gravel, fireroads and keeps everything up and out of the way of rocks, foliage etc. wider drop bars. High volume tyres. No mudguards. Usually carbon or alu frame and fork. Often 1x or 2x transmission.

Cycle Touring: been around forever. More gear carried in traditional panniers attached to racks. Lower centre of gravity for stability over long distances. Almost exclusively road based. Thinner tyres traditionally, combined with mudguards. Usually steel frame and fork. 3x (or less commonly 2x) transmissions.

There's increasingly more crossover between the two types. You can mix and match bags according to your needs. I'm running 42mm gravel slicks on my touring bike which gives it a bit more grip and cush on unmade roads. Bikepacking bars have some interesting dimensions, shapes and angles that might see their way onto touring bikes. Ive got some OEM gravel bars i bought out of a bin at my local bike shop which have more flare and shallower drop that trad touring bars. Frame bags are an excellent way to carry heavy shoot because it centres the weight which minimises its negative effects on handling.

 

[Jameshow]

Simple....

If your over 50 your a cycle tourist

If your under 50 your a bike packer just saying! 🤣

 

[Oldhippy]

A huge amount of marketing as well I suspect. Essentially the same thing with different bags.

 

[teeonethousand]

I tour with a credit card and a saddle-bag (occasionally panniers). Bikepacking seems to involve filling the main triangle of your bike with odd-shaped luggage, cantilevering more of it off your seatpost, then strapping even more to your bars and fork blades.

This is me too.

I understood it that we are all cycle tourists if we are out for a ride somewhere aimed at enjoying the scenery rather than heads down, arse up and going as quick as you can. Some are single day, some multi day/week/month or more. Within that category bikepackers are largely self sufficient and so carry their whole need and do camping, cooking etc independently.

I pack a bag absolutely as minimal as possible ...Inc a credit card...and have never done more than a week.

 

[chriswoody]

@mickle has pretty much summed it up for me, it's just a different way to undertake a bike tour.

Every tour I've undertaken in the last 7 years has been with soft bags strapped to the frame carrying tents, sleeping bags etc. The lightweight set up with minimal bulk allows me to confidently navigate tricky off-road terrain in beautiful areas far away from traffic and other people. Whether that's on my gravel bike or my mountain bike. It's a way of touring that I much prefer and will continue to do for many more years.

This is my bike set up with full camping gear on my Alpine traverse last year,

With this set up I comfortably traversed the Alps in 7 days, 430km and 9000metres of height gain. Camping along the way with 70% off-road in the mountains. Its' a gravel bike with 45mm tubeless tires, 1x groupset and all up with full touring kit, food, water etc weighs around 25 kilos including bike.

 

[Chief Broom]

Bike touring= good luggage system, bike packing= bad luggage system....i observe both species through the summer here in the highlands.

 

[Milzy]

Packing you can stop at the coast pitch tent ride home next day. Touring you can go around the world in about 80 days doing 270 miles a day like Mark Beaumont.

 

[Oldhippy]

I think the marketing bods tried to give the illusion that bike packing was a go roads less travelled thing when in reality a tourer can do the same thing. Panniers seem to be much tidier in my opinion without squishing everything in. I've never had an interest in minimal packing as I like home comforts when touring.

 

[chriswoody]

, bike packing= bad luggage system

In what way? Yes they can be more fiddly to mount on the bike and tricky to pack. Like anything though, you soon develop a system and get used to it.

In the thousands of kilometres I've done with bike packing bags there have been countless occasions where I would never had been able to have traversed a section with panniers and racks. They make the bike too unwieldy, heavy and wide. Also the constant vibrations off road will rattle bolts loose and fatigue pannier mounting systems. Nope there's no way I could ride the places I do with traditional rack and bags.

 

[Gwylan]

I am a traveller, you are a tourist, he is a tripper.

Gentlemen cycle tour, men go bike packing, riff- raff fill the destination with their oversize cars