Hey everyone! I just discovered this awesome subreddit and was hoping to find some advice for my upcoming bikepacking trip. While I’ve browsed through a lot of great posts, I haven’t come across anything that addresses my specific issues—so I thought I’d just ask directly. Maybe others have faced similar challenges and can benefit too.
Context:
I did an 8-day bikepacking trip in Europe last year and now I’m planning another one. I’m using a road bike and carrying a tent. Overall, I really like my setup—especially the tent, which I don’t want to replace—but I’d love to solve a few small problems first. My main concerns are: water, electricity, and shopping. I’ll attach some pictures of my setup for reference. My goal is not to buy a ton of new gear or add more bags—in fact, I’d prefer to make the setup even more minimal if possible.
1. Water:
Last time, I carried two 750ml bottles on the fork, one 750ml bottle in a stem bag, and tried to strap a 500ml bottle to the downtube—but I lost it within the first hour. I need a fair amount of water for both drinking and cooking, but I really dislike the fork-mounted bottles.
Any tips on alternative ways to carry enough water? Would switching to a smaller frame bag so I can fit bottle cages inside the frame make sense? Right now my frame bag is full, and my seat pack is almost entirely taken up by my sleeping bag—maybe I need a more compact one to free up space?
2. Electricity:
I brought two 20,000mAh power banks, but had a few issues. First, I struggled to find a good place to store them where they’d stay dry but also be easily accessible. Second, they just didn’t last long enough. I had to recharge them every two days to keep my phone, bike computer, and watch powered. This year, I’ll also need to charge my electronic shifter.
Either my batteries have degraded, or I’m underestimating my power needs. I’d love ideas on how to manage electricity better without relying on campsites or hotels every other night just to recharge.
3. Shopping & Food:
Grocery runs were another challenge. I travel solo, so I was always worried about leaving my bike outside. I often brought it into stores, but that wasn’t always allowed. What do you do with your bike when shopping alone?
Also, I needed to buy and carry a lot of food frequently because I was burning so much energy. I didn’t have enough space to haul everything, especially alongside water. I often ended up riding all day with a linen bag over my shoulder just to carry groceries—not ideal. Any suggestions for managing this better without adding more bags?
I’d really appreciate any advice or feedback—big or small. Thanks so much in advance! 🙌
by Lxkas_me
6 Comments
For water, putting a bladder inside your frame bag is much more space efficient than using bottles + cages. You could also buy a proper hydration pack/bladder.
If you are struggling with space your options are something like get more space by changing your bag configuration (so rack + panniers probably), get smaller stuff especially your big 3 (tent, sleeping bag, mattress), bring less stuff (how many extra clothes are you carrying is usually a good place to start, I see lots in your pic). Probably most likely a combo of all three.
For electricity, why are you running a phone, computer and watch, why not just use your phone and leave the other two at home, saving electricity. One of the things that some people use to differentiate bikepacking from traditional touring is minimalism, or just bringing less stuff. You could also look at a dynamo hub or solar panel but they are only going to give you a bit more power.
The store thing, I always carry an ottolock (kind of like a giant zip tie) and lock my bike either to itself, or to a post. And hope that no one goes through my bags. I was in Rwanda this winter, and I would lock it where police/security/soldiers/or storekeepers could see it.
1: Seat post bag stabiliser with eyelets. Allows you to put bottle cages on. Very easy access. https://amzn.eu/d/aHQoFCA
Or
Apidura water pouch at bottom of frame bag
2: One 20,000mah should last longer. Your phone will eat more power than anything. Always have your phone in low battery mode, you don’t need 5G on if you’re using a computer for GPS.
Wrap them in a lightweight dry bag. You really shouldn’t need to charge on the go, a phone, computer, and watch should theoretically last all day. I know taking photos does consume power. But if you have to, charge everything at a lunch break, and the charger itself at a cafe.
You should need to rely on power at campsites, you can’t expect power banks to last forever. Although 2x 20,000 mah is a lot, it’s also a lot of weight.
3: Take a lock. Mason lock, 1kg. That’s a lot of weight? Lose 1kg from your body.
You need more space? Now is the time to not be afraid of having panniers.
I’m planning a Europe trip for the summer, I might need your advice soon!
For your water problem I recommend a seatbag stabilizer like the topeak backloader wishbone – this has the option to mount bottle cages so that they are on de sides of your seatbag.
Electricity, well do you put your phone in airplane mode while riding? That helps a lot. Also maybe look into a bike computer that has a longer battery life, my garmin edge solar lasts several hundred kilometers on a single charge.
Food, you can consider bringing low volume foods like freeze dried meals, gels, high calorie bars. Other than that, volume is pretty clear. Either bring less other stuff to make space or add more storage space. If you don’t like your bag over your shoulder you could strap it on top of your bar bag. Good luck!
Seems like a lot of clothing items. Can you cut down there?
For power, are you running your phone in airplane mode? Turn off all of the background apps and location and wifi. Your phone should last at least 48 hrs unless you’re shooting video, surfing at night or playing games.
Your power banks are toast. 20000mah is 5-6 full charges of a phone. There’s no way you use that much power unless you are constantly out of service and your phone is running on max power searching for a signal.
Hard to tell from the pics, but judging from the 6 cables I guess you tend to be redundant for no reason
Another obvious problem is your seat bag: all the stuff are too much outward and I bet it sways like hell.
You need to put weight and volume UNDER the saddle, just enough to leave room for your thighs
https://preview.redd.it/bn1acceffgwe1.png?width=1240&format=png&auto=webp&s=ef8de5d9794d697cf1b8a2ba1cf529cc2f1db7cd