Bikepacking guide: What to know and how to choose the right bike  

Bikepacking bikes are the ultimate freedom machines. Perfect for enabling your inner explorer or just escaping into nature for a night. But what is bikepacking, exactly? What makes a bike good for bikepacking? And which is the best bikepacking rig for you? 

Bikepacking is a more adventurous, all-terrain take on traditional touring. It’s based around using strap or bolt-on bags to carry your gear on the bike. These are much tougher, lighter and more secure than racks and panniers that can rattle loose; all of which makes riding rough terrain, or even carrying your bike, much easier and safer. 

Bikepacking events can range from epic tests of endurance, like the mountainous Tour Divide from Canada to Mexico, The Silk Road and Atlas Mountain races in Asia and Africa, or the Highland Trail 550 in Scotland. But bikepacking can also simply be a friendly try-out, just a few kilometers from home. 

Many bikepackers create their own adventures by using published routes or just pedalling off and seeing where their bike takes them. Basically, the joy of bikepacking is that there are no rules or restrictions and the best bikepacking bikes won’t limit you either.  

The spectrum of bikepacking bikes is as broad as their riders and the places they want to go.  

For example, our Endurace bikes are awesome if you plan to mostly ride on the road with just occasional path use.  

Similarly, if you want to bikepack competitively off road and speed is your focus, then our Grail gravel bike can be fitted with aero-boosting bags for maximum efficiency.  

If your bikepacking adventure includes a lot of challenging, technical terrain, then our race-bred Exceed mountain bike is fast and surefooted everywhere and also makes for a great bikepacking rig. 

If speed and Swiss Army knife-style versatility is what you seek, our Grizl OG bike is a super versatile joy ride that’s light, comfortable and super capable for the longest days or light loaded overnight trips.  

Like the sound of that vibe but want to go deep into the woods and high into the mountains? Then our latest Grand Canyon MTB is loaded with bikepacking bolt mounts but has super confident handling and a trail ready suspension fork.   

If you want to take everything and worry about nothing, then Grizl Escape is our unstoppable all-terrain adventure machine. Packed with innovative tech that makes it as perfect for a weekend of wilderness exploration as it is for riding around the world.  

Bikepacking does what it says on the tin: You pack everything on your bike and go! The amount you take is entirely up to you, as is how luxurious you want your overnight stops to be. 

And while you can have an adventure on any bike, with whatever bags you can find, we’re guessing you’re here for some expert advice on what to look for in your ideal adventure ride. So, what exactly makes a bikepacking bike different from your everyday ride? 

As the point of contact between your bike and the ground, wheels and tyres make a huge difference to your bikepacking experience in terms of speed, safety and comfort. 

If you’re mostly sticking to the road then fat - 30+mm - road tyres are the fastest option for efficient riding. Pick a tyre with some protection against punctures rather than choosing the lightest, pure race rubber you can find. After all, you can’t go “flat out” with a flat tire.  

40-50mm gravel bike tyres provide a great balance of easy-rolling efficiency and enough grip to keep you safe and upright when you are riding over loose and rough surfaces. If you’ve got an eye on the clock, then 40mm tyres roll fast, feel fast and have an aero advantage which is why they’re standard fit on our Grail gravel race / rapid bikepacking bikes. 

On the other hand, we fit a tough 45mm overland tyre on our Grizl Escape all-terrain bike and the more fun focused, Grizl OG gets a set of grippier 45mm boots. All Grizl bikes can take up to a 54mm tyre though, which makes them compatible with a lot of 29er mountain bike options for maximum off road control. 

If you know you’ll be off piste on singletrack and mountain paths most of the time though, then it makes sense to go for a full MTB and get wider tyres as standard. Our Exceed and Grand Canyon bikes are equipped with fast rolling but surefooted 29 x 2.25in tyres, and will accomodate up to 29 x 2.4in rubber, for extra comfort and control. 

When it comes to wheel size, bigger always rolls better and smoother, so 700c / 29in is the way to go. That’s because the basic physics means every bump in the trail is proportionately smaller. You will see 27.5in / 650b wheels on some of our smallest bikes though, which helps us keep bike fit and handling perfectly proportional. 

More advanced manufacturing technology means frame material isn’t the big issue it used to be, but each way to make a bike still has its pros and cons. 

Carbon frames are the lightest and strongest choice for all our flagship bikepacking and adventure bikes. Our athletes and adventurers have proven how tough they are, time and time again, all around the world. Carbon frames can be repaired too, but you do need to be more careful about crushing and crashing them than a steel frame. 

Alloy frames are the go-to choice for durable and affordable frames on all the Canyon bike ranges. They’ll handle a bit more hammer from flying rocks or tops of buses on transfer days than a carbon frame too. However, if dents are too big or are located in a high-stress area of the frame, aluminum has one drawback: you can’t repair an aluminum frame safely. When it comes to frame repair, carbon fiber has the advantage. 

Don’t just get fixated on the frame material either. The weight limit of the frame and the warranty offered by the manufacturer are always the most important things to consider, especially when you’re picking a bikepacking bike that you’re going to load up and rely on for a long time. 

Bikepacking bikes generally use slacker head tube geometry than road race or cyclo-cross bikes. This means the steering self corrects more easily, making the steering stable in slippery or steep situations. A longer wheelbase, and therefore overall longer bike length, also makes for a calmer ride in challenging terrain compared to shorter (twitchier) bikes. Want to dive deeper into gravel bike geometry? Check out our complete gravel bike geometry guide.

Long days loaded bikes and steep climbs all mean lower gears are a real help when bikepacking. That’s why single - rather than road bike-style double - chainring transmissions are becoming the default choice. Most gravel group sets now team a 40-tooth chainring with a 42 or 44-tooth biggest cog at the back.  

That gear range can winch you up most climbs reasonably well, but if you know you’ll regularly be crawling up really challenging pitches then look at MTB-style “Mullet” gearing. “Mullet” gearing on gravel bikes often consists of a 40T gravel chainring that’s teamed with a bigger (51 or 52-tooth) rear cog. For maximum mountain-taming ratios though, a mountain bike with a 32 tooth chainring and a 51 or 52 tooth max cog out back will let you spin up most climbs rather than struggle. 

Suspension forks used to be a mountain bike-only thing, but more and more gravel riders are using short-travel suspension forks now too. These gravel forks only have 30-40mm of travel, but that’s enough squish to add a lot of comfort and control when things get rough. You’ll also be amazed how much faster you can roll without getting rattled about, even on climbs. The extra control can make up for the additional weight of a suspension fork. Riding faster, and with less fatigue, is always a plus – particularly if long and wild rides are what you are after. 

Both our Grail and Grizl ranges now come with Canyon X DT Swiss fork options that are totally integrated in terms of aerodynamics and handlebar control. And, of course, our Exceed and Grand Canyon MTBs come with full-control 100 and 120mm travel forks as standard equipment. 

Look around at customised bikepacking builds and you’ll see all sorts of bolt-on extension bars that give you aero speed and extra hand/cargo positions. We recognised that fact and created two specific gravel / bikepacking cockpits for our bikes.  

Race-focused Grail bikes get the Double Drop system which has mounts for the seamless addition of aero extensions, GPS units and other equipment. Grizl Escape bikes get our radical Full Mounty bar, which takes the forward loop designs of popular bike packing bars and builds the design into the stem too. This gives you many more potential hand positions, keeping your upper body relaxed and your hands fresh. The Full Mounty cockpit also creates a lot more space for mounting bags (we make a dedicated one for this bar) as well as lights, GPS etc.  

Multiple hand positions and a narrower, more aerodynamic ride position give gravel bikes their major advantage over MTBs. That said, you can add bolt-on extensions to your flat bars if you want. 

Bikepacking bags are what makes bikepacking different than touring. They’re lightweight, compact, tough, and make your bike easier to handle on challenging trails.  

Seat packs are the core of most loading systems, as they offer some aerodynamic benefits and are a great way to carry bulky overnight kit. Handlebar rolls are good for light and bulky kit too, but don’t overload them as doing so can affect your bike’s steering and handling. 

Top tube packs, small bar bags or frame packs are really useful for things you need in a hurry, such as snacks, phones and tools. Fork bags are the best place to put heavy items as their low positioning can help stabilise the bike. Fork-mounted bags are not aero though and while you can get load sleeves for Canyon RIFT gravel suspension forks, they won’t fit on MTB suspension forks. 

While you can use any brand you want on your bike, check out our range of specific bikepacking bags for each Canyon model. These bags use size-specific designs and innovative features like magnetic Fidlock closures and connectors, all of which make them super easy to use, secure, and aero-efficient too. 

Finally, internal (in-frame) LOAD storage compartments help you carry some of your essential equipment inside many of the latest Canyon bikepacking frames.

These mounts are the most secure option for bottle and cargo cages, and they’ll stop bags and straps from scratching your paintwork. That said, protecting your paint job by applying stick-on gel film or tape is always a good idea for adventures anyway.  

Finally, don’t forget you can carry stuff on your own body too. A vest like our Canyon X Millet SHARP collab is a great way to keep your drink and essentials within easy reach so you can Stay Hydrated At Race Pace. 

Lights are a bikepacking essential if you want to carry on adventuring or just setting up camp after dark. As with handlebars, there are lots of bolt-on bike light options you can add to any bike. In terms of power, we’d recommend at least a 1000 Lumen max output for riding technical off-road trails confidently. When riding simpler tracks and at slower speeds, 500 lumens is OK. 

In terms of types, the latest self-contained LED lights give excellent run times for their size and weight. Most have different power modes and a battery display for rationing those run times too. Alternatively, dynamo lights are powered by a special hub as you pedal along, so they stay illuminated for as long as you keep moving. That’s great for really long-distance riding, but if you stop to camp, fix a mechanical, get some food out - or even just pause at a junction - some of them stop shining completely.  

In order to give riders constant ligting, we developed the ECLIPS system for the latest Canyon adventure bikes. This combines an ultra-efficient Son dynamo with powerful Lupine lights, an internal battery, and BlackBox brain. This not only drives the lights, but also lets you store power as you pedal. End result? You can still have lights on when you’re stopped or going slow up a climb. You can also recharge other devices like phones and GPS units using the built in USC-C outlet – even when you’re totally off grid. 

Whatever system you use, don’t forget to mount a high-visibility, red rear light to make sure you’re safe in traffic and to use as a back-up light for camping / mechanicals etc. Or take a spare torch to stop your pasta sauce looking weird. 

If in doubt, always buy “more bike” than you think you might need. That approach will serve you well whether you encounter bad weather, a wrong turn down a wild trail, or a mountain that’s higher and steeper than you thought. It’s just a fact – bikepacking often turns out tougher than you expected.  

When an unexpected challenge rears its head, you want a bike that you know will keep you safe and get you home. And while a heavier bike with fatter tyres might be slower for the first few hours, staying fresh all day or not weakening through the week will mean you finish your adventure much fresher, happier and likely faster too. 

Finally, if your adventures roll at more of a party (and less of a race) pace, comfort and control will always make better memories and bigger smiles.

Hopefully everything you’ve read in this blog helps give you an insight into the bikes and equipment that will give you the bikepacking adventure you want.  

What we’ve learnt from years of heading out into the wild - or just the local woods - on our bikes is that the best bits of an adventure are often the unplanned ones. The wrong turns that lead to amazing new places. The solved problems that reveal talents and tenacity you never knew you had. The pushed climbs, exhausted wobbles into bushes and ‘hangry’ hunger tantrums that you hate at the time but will have you howling with laughter later.  

So whether you’re riding alone, finding new friends on the trail, or solidifying lifelong relationships through shared adventure, remember one thing: You’ll be fine no matter which kit or bike you choose. Just be open to all the opportunities bikepacking can bring and truly embrace the escape!