Travelling by bike & how to choose a setup

As i was trying to put my thoughts in order, I created a list containing all the items I should have with me on my trip so i could decide what extra “bags” I need. There are several setups you can use to store the baggages on a bike.

The usual bike travellers who circumnavigate use a full setup which contains a rack with two panniers (one on each side) and a larger rackbag on it, two smaller panniers strapped on the fork, a handle bar bag and maybe a smaller frame bag. A famous for high quality waterproof pannniers is Ortlieb.

The brand new setup that gives more flexibility and speed is Bikepacking and is being used mostly on road bikes rather than the touring ones. There are many road bike categories and the preffered for touring are the Adventure Road Bikes. These bikes usually have a frame designed for longer rides (less aggresive riding position, more upright position on the saddle, better all around vision, wider tyre ,rack mounting holes etc).

There we have a large saddlebag without any left and right pannier, so the bike can keep it’s aerodynamic shape and weight, but with less carrying equipment. A famous brand is Apidura and has many ambassadors all over the world.

The decision can be made accordingly to the rider and his ride. A circumnavigation can be done with both setups, however the luggage volumes can be summarized below: