Equipment on a bike trip: our equipment list
Here’s a good question: but by the way, why do we make a list of equipment before going on a bike trip? We will give you 4 good reasons to do so:
This list of equipment serves as a checklist before departure to be sure not to forget anythingOur cycle touring equipment list allows us to follow the progress of our equipment purchases visually and to give Christmas gift ideas to our loved ones
The list of equipment is scalable and allows us to take a step back by looking at it with our heads resting before our bike trip , wondering if we don’t have too much equipment. This list of cycle touring equipment also serves us after the trip by asking ourselves what we missed, what we did not use and making adjustmentsWe can easily share the list of our equipment with other cyclists, including you (laughs)!Even today, after more than 10,000 km of cycling together, we continue to use our list before each bike trip, to develop and complete it.
How to make a list of cycle touring equipment?
The online spreadsheet: the ideal tool for making a list of equipment for cycling tripsWe tried several methods: list on sheets list on the internet
online spreadsheet
Honestly, the Google Sheets online spreadsheet is by far the best solution we’ve tested: you can come back to it often to update the list of equipment, authorise the modification of this list by the people with whom you go, divide this list into sub-categories and use it as a pre-departure
One column per cyclist
Some cycle tourism equipment will be common (tent, stove, etc.) but others will be individual (duvet, mattress, clothing, etc.), we therefore strongly advise you to make one column per person on your excel and to merge the cells to common equipment:
Divide and rule
With experience, we realised that it was easier for us to divide our list of bicycle touring equipment into sub-lists, each on a very specific part of the bicycle trip. This is also how we have constructed this article so that you are not lost:Download our equipment list for the bike trip (.csv)
For those in a hurry (and others for that matter), we suggest you download our list of equipment for cycle tourism, it is perfect for us but you can of course adapt it according to your desires. It is in any case a super good base for those who do not know what equipment to take on a bike trip!3 tips for choosing the right cycling equipment
The ideal equipment depends on your practice of cycling
The cycling equipment to take will vary according to several criteria:
the constraints : from parents carrying all the equipment for the children to solo cyclists travelling in ultralight.desires : sleeping in lodges every night or camping?
Everyone has their own way of cycling!
the period when you leave : you will be much less busy if you leave for 2 months in the middle of summer than if you have to face colder months.
the places crossed: if you plan to cross several countries with mountainous conditions, you will for example have to be more prepared and therefore carry more weight.
The duration of the trip :
We obviously do not leave loaded the same for 2 days as for 1 year around the world.However, it seems important to us to emphasise that the equipment for the bike trip varies only slightly whether you leave for two weeks or 2 months. Indeed, you will need as much material for two weeks to sleep, eat, dress…!
Sort through your touring gear before departure
There is always a good reason to overload yourself with equipment on your first bike trip , for fear of missing out. With experience, we tend to lighten up and get rid of superfluous things.
We therefore advise you to think twice before taking this or that piece of equipment which may only be used once or twice: a hammock, a ukulele… They are not heavy individually but as the weight increases. Saddlebags are increasing fast!
Take quality touring gear
We are aware that the right cycle touring equipment comes at a high cost. However, in our experience you will really save yourself a lot of trouble by choosing the correct hardware. Otherwise, you risk becoming disgusted with the bike trip if you chain mechanical glitches or breakage.We’re not talking about spending thousands of dollars on your first bike trip of course!
The idea is to find a happy medium of not favouring the first price because it is not expensive. If it’s cheap, there’s a reason. In the end, you will have to change so many broken things that you will pay more!
The travel bike: an essential piece of equipment
How to choose the right travel bike ?
Your travel bike will become your most faithful companion over the miles. You will love it, sometimes hate it, sometimes want to abandon it by the side of the road when it has mechanical problems… But in the end, what are you going to get attached to!!
It must have certain characteristics to be comfortable:
perfectly to your size and well adjusted : a bike that does not suit you risks causing you significant pain over the miles (neck, wrist, back, etc.)
match your project : you don’t go with the same super light bikepacking mode bike to go fast and far as you do for a trip around the world by bike in total autonomy.be robust and reliable : you don’t want to have to change a part every 300 km. And then, it’s going to have to support the weight of this poor little bike with all the luggage!
