Probably 1 of a million posts like this, but I’ve been looking at getting a bike to start getting used to it as I’d like to do the NC500 in 2026.
Sharing pictures of ones I’ve done research one – looking at Gravel mostly for its versatility on road and off.
Would love any tips on getting into it and lessons learned from others first bikepack trips!
by msquared4
5 Comments
Gravel bikes don’t make the best bikepacking bikes. Bikepacking bikes make decent gravel bikes. The difference? Geo,frame material and intend. The bikes you showed are gravel bikes that can do light bikepacking. I’d expand your horizon and look at the kona rove/unit, salsa fargo/jouneyer/cutthroat,breezer bikes, bombtrack and others because there are ton of bikes out there that can do both very well with only a marginal weight penalty. Good luck
My recommendation would be not to buy a bike for bikepacking unless that bike is what you would be buying for other uses until you know it’s for you.
A £250 used hardtail would be a fine ride to test the water on bikepacking. You can strap as much as you like to it and it’ll just truck on as long as you have the legs and gearing for it.
I only brought a gravel bike because it’s what I wanted to branch out into as a sport, I just made sure to get one with plenty of bolt on points including on the fork so I could use it for bikepacking as well.
If I then get the itch and decide I’m going to do multiple trips a year and the gravel bike isn’t right for longer and larger trips then I would consider building a better rig for the job.
You have time, if you have a ride now then try it with that before you buy something specific, I take the nc500 as in Scotland yeah? But I see your options are in dollars? Are you planning on shipping it over? Or are you UK based?
hell I’ve still got my Blackburn design handlebar and seat pack somewhere from my hardtail packing trips, if you’re in the MK area in eastern England I’d happily lend you them for a few days to test the water before.
Any love for the Fuji Jari?
I have this bike and it certainly can go Bikepacking but it’s a bit more limited than a hardtail or similar bike for that purpose. It can fit max 50mm tires which is good but not enough for muddy or sandy trails. It’s more of a road bike position which can be tricky for steep downhill as you can’t get that far back.
All that said it’s a fun bike and I’ve taken it on grade 2-3 trails with gear. Mine spends most of its life as a commuter so it’s doing double duty. It’s pretty fast on the road.
Dont go for the diverge