Looks like you had a blast. My verdict on this is either SAG wagon 3 to 4 nights to do all the side stuff and enjoy the people you are with with some tequila shots or do it in one day. I've done both for a total of 7 times. I have considered the one night bike packing but all that extra stuff just kills the fun for me making two hard days with water insecurity.
We'd agree, a longer trip would be a lot of fun. Fortunately for us it was cold enough in February we were able to carry all the water we needed for two days one night, otherwise we would've opted for a one day mission or a longer, supported mission. We're glad it worked out the way it did, since we had to drive to Grand Canyon right after this for a Rim 2 Rim 2 :)
We put the bike rental company in the video description in case anyone wants to check them out. In terms of gear/clothes, the answer is largely determined by the time of year you go. Any kind of weather is possible in the canyon, so best to prepare by checking the weather forecast a week out and making decisions there. Overall, we would suggest prioritizing carrying excess water, basic survival supplies, and bike repair kits, above all. In terms of bike gear, we did a section on our bike choices in the video and would defer anyone to that if curious about bike stuff. There's no wrong answer, but hardtail mtb setups are probably the most enjoyable ride.
We've put the bike rental company in the video description. Be sure to check them out, Moab Bikepacking is great. We camped near the route, so we started from camp and rode back to our campsite since it's a loop. Check out the route on bikepacking.com and you'll find there are plenty of spots to start from.
It hasn’t changed. We stayed at a backcountry site for our one night. Ours was Gooseberry and ended up being about 50 miles on the first day from where we parked our cars.
