Lightweight Bicycle Touring Gear List

Lightweight Bicycle Touring Gear List

Brad McCartney
Gear List
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This is my complete Lightweight Bicycle Touring Gear List. This is all the bicycle touring gear I carry with me as I cycle tour around the world, read more of my journey from Bicycle Touring from Alaska to Argentina.  When I’m not cycling around the world I’m hiking. As a result a lot of the gear also serves a dual purpose as hiking gear. For me it is essential to choose strong and lightweight gear that have multiple uses.

I live on my bicycle so I have everything I need in life with me. The base weight of all this gear is around 23kg (50lb). My Touring bicycle is a solid, reliable touring bicycle set up to Bicycle Tour around the world. It is set up to carry very heavy loads if I need to carry many days of food and water. At times it might be carrying up to 20 litres of water and 10 days of food. This would bring the weight of my gear close to 50kg (110lb).

Bicycle Touring Gear List

Panniers and Storage for Bicycle Touring

2 x Ortlieb panniers
Ortlieb rack bag
Ortlieb handlebar bag
Frame bag

Bicycle Touring Camping Gear

Nemo Hornet 2 Person Tent
Nemo Nocturne 15F / -9C Down Sleeping Bag 
Thermarest Neo Air 
Nemo Elite Pillow
Sea to Summit Stuff Sack 

Read More about Lightweight Gear

Best Lightweight Tents
Best Lightweight Sleeping Bags
Best Lightweight Sleeping Mats

Bicycle Touring Clothing List

Cheap clothing is best for long distance bicycle touring. They will get covered in sweat and dirt and start to get destroyed quicker than on a short tour with access to washing machines on a regular basis. I also carry a set of town clothes for the times I spend in towns wandering around like a normal tourist. When I get to town I usually hand wash my clothing in a hotel sink and let them dry naturally, sometimes that means strapping them to the bicycle as I cycle.

Bicycle Touring Clothing must serve the following purposes:

  • They must be practical
  • Cheap
  • Serve the purpose of cycling clothing and hiking clothing
  • Work well in cold weather and hot weather
  • Be quick drying

Warm Weather Cycling Clothes

  • 2 x Cheap padded lycra cycling shorts
  • 2 x Bright coloured short sleeve cycling shirt, preferably bright yellow
  • Cheap running shorts
  • Helmet: On the quiet back roads I often don’t wear a helmet
  • Baseball cap
  • Sunglasses
  • Cycling fingerless padded gloves
  • Teva Sports Sandals

Cold Weather Cycling Clothing

All the items above plus the following:

Rain Gear for Bicycle Touring

Town Clothes for Bicycle Touring

Bicycle Touring Gear List – Kitchen

I like to cook most of my meals when cycle touring. Breakfast is usually either fruit with granola or oats, lunch is whatever I can find as I cycle and dinner is usually a hot meal of pasta or rice with vegetables and tuna. Sometimes, fuel can be an issue in remote areas. When I started bicycle touring I used an alcohol stove. In Australia, USA and Canada it was very easy to access the fuel. As I cycled into Mexico and Central America it was harder to find quality alcohol fuel. I threw down a heap of cash and invested in a multi fuel stove. Below is my not so lightweight kitchen set up:

 Electronics and Cameras for Bicycle Touring

Photography and making videos of my journey is important to me, as a result, I carry more gear than most lightweight bicycle tourists. With my setup I am able to be off the grid for up to 2 weeks and still have the ability to charge my phone, GPS, 2 cameras and Kindle. I only use my computer when in town so it does not need to be charged when cycling off the grid in remote area. In the coming months I will be writing an article about how I keep my gear charged when on the road. Here is my list of electronics that I carry:

Toiletries and Medical Kit for Bicycle Touring

  • Lip Balm
  • Earplugs
  • Antacid tablets
  • scissors
  • Toothbrush, Toothpaste and Floss
  • Razor and spareblades
  • Electric razor
  • Shampoo
  • Plastic zip lock bags
  • Money / ID / Credit Cards
  • Blister pads
  • Strapping Tape
  • Giardia anti-biotic
  • Foot infection anti-biotic
  • Ibuprofen
  • tweezers
  • Safety Pin, needles and sewing kit
  • Deet insect repellent
  • Sunscreen
  • Toilet tissue
  • light rope for a washing line
  • sea to summit bucket for doing laundry etc
  • Passport and Vaccination Certificates

What equipment is on your bicycle touring gear list? What else should I be carrying?
Let me know in the comments section below.

Lightweight Bicycle Touring Gear List

Before you go, you might want to read:
Bicycle Touring from Alaska to Argentina
Bicycle Touring Tools and Spares 
Bicycle Touring Gifts

Where to buy all the best gear for Bicycle Touring:
REI | Moosejaw |Amazon | Cyclocamping | Backcountry.com | Campsaver | Competitive Cyclist | Patagonia

Traveling Overseas to go Bicycle Touring?
World Nomads Travel Insurance

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