The 16 BEST Bikepacking Bikes For 2020! 

I would have thought the Jones Plus was worthy of a mention with complete bikes in around $2000. Good list though :)

@@fademasterfade227 The Jones is great, but I think the specification is a bit too low-end for a bike at its price. I'd love to see it with the spec level of the Kona Unit or Surly ECR, but then again, Jones doesn't have the economy-of-scale like most other brands.

GHOST! we ride about 10 000 km already. And this is just the beginning )

I'm a big fan of the Breezer Doppler Pro. With a compact 2x10 650B setup, plenty of mounts for racks, included fenders, and a hybrid cable/ hydraulic brake setup for about US $1200, it's a pretty solid deal. I have the 2018 version I got for US $830 after taxes and shipping, and it has performed very well on the gravel rides I've taken it on. As an added bonus, the smaller wheel size is great for shorter riders. Many smaller riders, myself included, find that wider 700c tires are just too large on a small or extra small frame. The 650b tires, even though they have the same diameter as thinner 700c tires, feel better than 35c tires and don't give as much pedal strike

@@Cyclingabout I would have to agree, and I own a Jones Plus. The geometry is unmatched in my opinion, but there is no question that you don't get the same value as with larger brands.

So true! You really can't go wrong.

Thanks dude!

Thanks for the kind words!

Yes, I thought so, too. You sound like a linguist who knows many languages.

That's awesome! I will pick up something exactly like this when I next stop travelling. 🤘🏼

Хотел вам ссылочку отправить , но уже вижу лайк

Опа, Йохан и Устим фром Эдвэнчер Тим.

That's awesome! The Voytek would be my fat bike of choice too.

I recently saw that update. Hard to fault it for a custom build!

And not recommend a single hardtail.

Just rode the CT on a transition sentinel 160 140 suspension. it worked fine lol

Depends where you are riding. If I'm going to ride in the Chilcotin mountains I'll take my full suspension. Even a capable hardtail would not be great in this terrain. If I'm riding something like the tour divide a gravel bike would be fine and if I ride the Baja divide I'll take something with 3'' tires and possible front suspension.

Good Question

The best rack for a suspension fork is the Faiv Hoogar as it puts the bag weight above the suspension, resulting in the luggage weight being "sprung" while you ride.

@@Cyclingabout thank you for the fast reply. the rack that you recommended to me, however, is not available in my country, but thanks to the photographs I find on Google I will certainly be able to reproduce a custom copy in my shop.

Awesome, send me a pic of the rack when it's complete! Check out the Tubus Swing (discontinued) too for a more simple design that does the same job.

I love the ToughRoad series! Such awesome value bikes, plus that D-Fuse post is so damn comfortable.

I've gotna fastroad advanced 1 that I put some more gravel oriented gravel tires on, but I feel like I should've gone with the toughroad.

Great to hear! I really like that XT 3x9 groupset.

You are 100% correct! Oops...

The Bombtrack Beyond, Kona Unit or Surly Bridge Club would be my pick. But if you're wanting to be ultralight and fast, you'll probably want to use a hardtail mountain bike with lighter (but not as strong) components.

gblan - Hell yeah!!

Yep, I'm a big fan of that bike. Looks much nicer in the latest version too.

Also the Fuji Touring Disc. I'm running 29x2.2" Maxxis Aspens on mine for bikepacking. It comes stock with Reynolds 520 tubing, LX triple with a 26x36x46, 11-36 Sram Cassette, XT rd, barcons.

I'm such a big fan of the Fuji Jari Carbon! It's a bike I'll seriously be considering purchasing when I get home. It only didn't make the list because the aluminium/Ultegra model is such a sweet deal. I didn't know the Fuji Touring can clear 2.2" tyres - that's quite impressive. How much clearance do you have on each side of the chainstay/seatstay/fork?

You can't go wrong with either. The Vagabond has a better frame geometry for off-road trails, so if you're strictly on trails, I'd go for that.

Jason Miller I was looking at one too. But the one I saw did not have drop outs on the fork.

Those two are so close, you can't go wrong with either. Take them both for a test ride and you will be able to work it out.

@Arthur Feitosa - But , but the geometry on my '93 isn't quite right for bikepacking 😉

Could work, but it's gonna be really hard to navigate past all the posers at the trail head ; -)

I haven't seen a 1993 Specialized Rockhopper Comp in a shop since about... 1992. 😅

@@Cyclingabout - and hope your top 16 bikes will still be around in 26 years and longer ...

Hay nuthin wrong with a rockhopper i run an 03 hardrock for day to day stuff on and off road old can still b good

The Honzo is a sweet rig!

There are no automatic payments. It's a one-time payment only.

In the drop bar touring category, it's hard to go past the Salsa Marrakesh, Kona Sutra or Trek 520.

I haven't spent more than a handful of days riding Pinion gearboxes, but I'm still impressed! I'd love to take one on a cross-continent tour one day to see whether it can handle my abuse. I have a Rohloff vs Pinion analysis in this article: www.cyclingabout.com/tour-with-a-pinion-gearbox/

troy kiri - The Rohloff hub puts multiple maintenance items in one place, whereas you’d still need to maintain the freewheel/rear hub when using a pinion gear. It’s kinda heavy and needs a special frame design. You can also convert a Rohloff to an E-bike using a mid-drive conversion kit. They’re still both great, durable systems, but I think the Rohloff has an edge.

@@Cyclingabout I know. Its one of the few websites that constructively outlines the two systems. I like the idea centrally weighted system and the smaller steps between gears of the pinion. Thought I'd love to put a rolhoff on my Brompton and do small light weight adventures on it. Keep up the good work Alee.

That's sick! If you ever get the chance to throw in a 3.0", I'd love to know how much room is left from tyre-to-frame at the chainstays and seatstays.

Doubt it. On every promo pic the 2.6" the ranger almost touches the seat tube. That's not an issue though. 3.0" tire will obviously fit in the front where it counts the most.

That's a tough one. I prefer the Trek frameset, but think the Giant comes with a better specification - the flex D-Fuse seatpost and gear ratios in particular. Given you can always upgrade parts (but not the frame), I'd go with the Trek and later swap in a crankset with smaller 46-30t chainrings, and a carbon flex seatpost from Canyon or Cannondale.

ᴄ ʏ ᴄ ʟ ɪ ɴ ɢ ᴀ ʙ ᴏ ᴜ ᴛ thanks for your time! Last question what about giant toughroad ark gx 1. Do you still going for the trek?

@@valentinareco3526 The GX1 will be the better bike if you plan on doing more rough roads because it can clear much bigger tyres. But I'd go the Trek if you mostly ride smooth surfaces.

Thanks a lot! I’m going for the trek tough!

I'm a big fan! It has good gear ratios, air-sprung fork, decent 1x drivetrain, good brakes, a stable frame geometry... and you can fit 29" wheels with 2.2" tyres if you want something more speedy.

The Finna was sooo close to making it, but I ended up picking the Breezer in its place. The value on the Landscape is exceptional.

That's awesome! Definitely get into it, it's the best way to experience the world.

@@Cyclingabout Thanks for the reply and encouragement.

Make your own video and add it.

Both terms can be used but sub-compact is the most common terminology in the media. The only big brand using super compact is FSA.

The Sutra LTD is definitely in my top few. Bridge Club was chosen almost entirely on price. It's 30-50% cheaper than the other options with similar capability across the board (you'd pick a plus-specific bike for looser/rougher terrain).

@@Cyclingabout I can't speak for price, but my LBS the BC and ECR were only $300 apart and frameset only prices are very similar between BC ECR, Karate Monkey, and Ogre(all of which are also plus tire bikes).

They're super nice!

I wrote an article just for you! www.cyclingabout.com/decide-between-surly-troll-ogre-ecr-bridge-club-disc-trucker/

@@Cyclingabout Oh man.. You're the absolute best. Thanks!! Looks like I was after an Ogre instead!

@@thefeelz5845 Glad that helped!

If you're a size medium, get last year's Pine Mountain! £549 is an insane price for a bike of that calibre.

I'm a fan. I think the geometry makes sense if you're after something comfortable but capable on a mix of terrain (I prefer something more 'aggressive' as a mountain bike though). The SWB complete bike is a little bit lacking in terms of drivetrain spec, but the LWB complete is better. I'd probably build one up from a frameset though...

@@Cyclingabout thanks, I thought that the upright and balanced character of the Jones geometry might work well with snow riding, which is mostly what I do. I still need to ride one before I ask him to make me a custom fat bike frame that would fit 5" tires front and rear. Hope all is well enough in Mexico.

Well, my Bikepacking Bike Buyer's Guide goes into detail on many things! You can see the chapter listings and page samples on my website. But otherwise, you've really got to do it the good ol' way and spend a tonne of time researching all aspects of bikes.

Great answer! Thanks. I guess it’s just like any language/cultural learning process, you just have to jump in over your head and learn to swim... and fast! It’s easy to look at a bike and think it’s simply a collection of a few tubes and a couple wheels, without realizing there is a lot of science, innovation, and entire cultural sub-groups within the biking community, each with their own attitude and philosophical approach to what they need their bikes to do. I’m in love with the artistic diversity of custom bikes, but won’t be attempting the Tour Divide on one, maybe just the farmer’s market. For the goal of making my first exploratory ride to antelope wells in 5 years, I’ve got a lot to fill my head with and sift out. Thanks for your reply and the plug for your book; it sounds like an excellent resource for seeing just what’s out there, where the innovation gaps might be, and what I would like my noble steed to encompass. Awesome! Thanks again:)

Touring bikes often don't use suspension because it needs regular servicing to work well, and many tourers cycle 40 hours per week which means servicing needs to happen very often! In any case, most people find they don't need suspension because the weight of their front pannier bags along with some wide tyres smoothes out a lot of bumps. 😎

The Grail AL 7.0 is definitely my second pick. But the climbing gear ratios aren't quite as good for a loaded bike, and it uses a pressfit BB which is a little harder to work on (and sometimes the BB shells are manufactured poorly).

It's on my website here: www.cyclingabout.com/best-bikepacking-bikes-2020/

It depends if you want to ride fast or not. I can ride with 32mm tyres slowly on gravel with no problems, but I am much faster with 40-45mm as I can let the tyres smoothen the surface.

@@Cyclingabout tks for ur kindly sharing! I'm a fan of u and i've bought an used Masi giramondo because of ur recommendation!

I really like it. It's got great tyre clearance, a good frame geometry and low enough gear ratios for most applications. Depending on how much you + your equipment weigh, the wheels are the only weak point.

ᴄ ʏ ᴄ ʟ ɪ ɴ ɢ ᴀ ʙ ᴏ ᴜ ᴛ thanks for your reply. I weigh 85 kgs and my gear weighs around 20-25 kgs. Would that be ok for the wheels?

@@stristan6302 Probably only just, but that depends how you ride too. Expect that you may need to need to swap out the rims at a later date. 👍🏻

It's not intentional. I just pick the best bikes every year and talk about them. 👍🏻

KOGA Denham Bar

Fill us in with your issues! I've only really heard of people being happy with the bike.

CYCLINGABOUT my bike might have been a lemon, hard to say. I had issues with the brakes, both derailleurs, the mounts (both coming unscrewed and also deteriorating when screwed in tight), and the general fit. I know the fit issues are likely due to the bike being too small, but I feel like the geometry is strange compared to the other bikes I ride. I just took it for a spin yesterday and that confirmed how much I dislike it haha. I hope other people have had good experiences, I just wanted to share my own.

I'm a fan! It's lightweight and upright, with a nice spec and responsive geometry. I LOVE the 2X drivetrain and colour too.

@@Cyclingabout OK. So, i have a KONAL LIBRE DL, just wanted to get your unbiased take. I've rigged it out to do the 1000+ mile, 84K of climbing, Arkansas High Country Race this year. It's a faster bike than my Salsa Jman, and pretty comfortable geometry. Im not entirely convinced that a carbon bike is really the best bike to bikepack on though because of the toll the elements; mud, grit, grime, can put on the frame. I normally ride a 54CM bike, but went with a 51CM Libre and it rides even bigger than a 54. It's a Kona thing I guess, but it does fit me well. I have the dropper post, which is awesome on gnarly descents, but it doesn't come up all the way if you have weight from a seat bag on it. Not a huge deal, because I can grab it up, but I likely won't use it much loaded down. I bought the frame and built it to my specs, which was challenging (thank god for great bike shops). Thanks for your thoughts man. I dig my Kona.