A complete Lightweight Bicycle Touring Gear List.
This is all the bicycle touring gear you will need to cycle for a weekend tour or around the world.
The base weight of all this gear is around 23kg (50lb). My Touring bicycle is a solid, reliable touring bicycle set up for Bicycle tours 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
Bike Touring Camping Gear
- Self Standing Lightweight Tent
- Lightweight Air Mattress
- Lightweight Camp Pillow
- Lightweight Sleeping Bag
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 regularly. 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 Cycling Shorts
- 2 x Bright colored short sleeve cycling shirts, preferably bright yellow
- Cheap running shorts
- Bike Helmet: On the quiet back roads I often don’t wear a helmet
- Sunhat
- Sunglasses
- Cycling fingerless padded gloves
- Sports Sandals
Cold Weather Cycling Clothing
All the items above plus the following:
- Down Jacket
- Convertible Pants
- Baselayers
- Long Sleeved Shirt
- Short-Sleeved Shirt
- Balaclava
- Hiking Shorts and Running Shorts
- Cycling Gloves
- Cold Weather Gloves
Rain Gear for Bicycle Touring
- Lightweight Rain Jacket
- Lightweight Rain Pants
- Bright velcro leg strap to prevent the rain pants from getting caught in the chain
Town Clothes for Bicycle Touring
- Lightweight Jeans
- 2 x cotton t-shirts
- 1 x collared long-sleeve shirt
- 3 x Underwear
Bike Touring Cooking Gear
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, the 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 setup:
- Fuel Stove
- Gas Stove (used for hiking when I can find gas canisters)
- Titanium Cook Pot
- Non-stick fry pan (eggs, bacon and pancakes)
- Small egg flipper
- Cutting board
- Sea To Summit X-Mug
- Sea to Summit BOWL
- Titanium Spork
- Small Knife
- Water Filter
- Water Treatment Tablets
- Hydration Bladders
- 2 x 750ml cycling drinking water bottles
- Nalgene Water Bottle 1 litre
- Bic Lighter
- 1 litre MSR Fuel bottle
- 4 x small Nalgene bottles that contain herbs, spices, and Olive Oil.
- Coffee maker
Bike Touring Electronics
Photography and making videos of my journey are important to me, as a result, I carry more gear than most lightweight bicycle tourists. With my setup, I can be off the grid for up to 2 weeks and still can 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 a remote area. Here is my list of electronics that I carry:
- Outdoor Camera and GoPro
- Spare Batteries
- Lightweight Tripod
- Lightweight Battery Bank
- Wall Charger + Cables
- Extra Backup hard drive, 4 x USB memory sticks, and 4 x SD memory cards in a case
- Macbook Pro – stored inside a padded case
- Kindle with a ton of loaded books
- Cables to connect and charge everything
- Bike Computer
- International Plug adapter
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.
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Hi Brad … great site and inspirational posts. Can appreciate the effort you’ve made to do this – even on the tough days. Quick questions on the Ortlieb rack bag. Is this the 49L model and does your Osprey Exos 48 or 58 pack fit inside? Looking at a similar set up for Patagonia where I plan on a number of long hikes on an extended cycle tour.
Hi Peter, yes the Osprey 48 and 58 both fit inside the 49L Ortlieb Rack bag, so do my trekking poles and tent poles. Combining hiking and cycle touring in Patagonia will be awesome. I’ll be down that part of the world in the next year or so.
are you cycling now?
Back to Cancun in 4 weeks to continue cycling, I can’t wait.