Bikepacking vs. Touring: The Bike Travel Vibe Difference

What do pedal-powered travelers mean when we talk about bikepacking versus bicycle touring, and what’s the difference? Oh my, what dangerous waters I’m about to wade into! 

I’ve seen this debate get surprisingly heated in forums and Facebook groups, and I’m not about to subject myself to that kind of abuse. Instead I’m going to offer my answer here, on my own website, where I have the power to delete any and all mean comments (civil and constructive comments always welcome).

You might be saying “Who cares? It’s all riding bikes, and it’s all awesome.” And you would be correct. It doesn’t matter what we call it, as long as we’re having fun or adventure or whatever it is we seek. 

So true, and yet: if you’re a beginner, it’s important to understand the different moods implied by the terms bikepacking and touring, at least as we use them here in the United States. I’ve done a lot of both, and while I love them equally, they are very different types of experiences.

Bicycle Touring Is…

Riding more pavement (or well maintained gravel) than dirt (or rugged gravel). Many routes have a mix of surfaces, and some — rail trails come to mind — feel like touring even when unpaved. In some parts of the world where paved roads are uncommon, bike touring might involve a lot of gravel and dirt roads.

Hauling gear with racks and panniers instead of soft bikepacking bags. You can usually tell whether someone considers themselves a “bikepacker” or “tourer” from a mile away. The classic touring setup uses racks and panniers, with a wide-open frame triangle holding a bottle cage or two. The classic bikepacking look is more svelte, follows the shape of the bike, and includes staples like a frame bag, seat bag, and handlebar bag. That said, this line is fuzzy: racks and panniers are used by bikepackers too, and you can certainly do a pavement tour using bikepacking bags.

An older term. As you can see from Google Trends, search traffic for bicycle touring has been steadily decreasing as the term bikepacking picks up steam. It’s worth noting that if you include variations like “bike touring” and “bike packing” the lines only cross as recently as 2020. However, we’ll never know how many people are referring to motorbikes when they search “bike touring,” so just take this as a general statement: bikepacking is trending up while bicycle touring is trending down.

Focused on populated areas with more services. If you’re “touring” you’re more likely to stop at restaurants and hotels, or at least grocery stores and campgrounds, on a daily basis. Think EuroVelo routes in Europe, or rail trails on the U.S. east coast. Bikepackers, on the other hand, sometimes carry many days of food between resupply stops so we can explore all the places without towns.

Focused more on culture and sightseeing than nature and scenery. Not that bike tourers don’t enjoy a gorgeous view when we find one — who wouldn’t? And many bikepackers love sightseeing and cultural exchange. But folks who consider themselves tourers are more likely to pick a route because of factors like the food, culture, and things to do and see along the way. Bikepackers are more likely to pick a route based on scenic appeal and natural environment (mountains, desert, etc).

Involves more motor vehicles. Most tourers don’t like this part, but it comes with the territory of touring in more populated areas: you’ll be riding on roads with cars. Often this can be done in relative safety with careful route planning and high-vis gear, but it’s still an ever-present concern. Bikepackers, on the other hand, seek out remote gravel roads and even vehicle-free singletrack where you may not see a car for days.

More a method of travel than a type of cycling. As Tom of tomsbiketrip.com says in his article on the subject, “One camp really just wants to go travelling. The other camp really just wants to go biking.” Though I do generally agree with this, I think this point has more exceptions than most of the others. So don’t get your chamois in a bunch if you’re a bikepacker who loves travel or a bike tourer who loves biking. Many of us have been doing all this long enough that the lines are blurry anyway.

Bikepacking Is…

Riding more gravel and dirt than pavement, and thus in more remote places. Whether it’s singletrack or nontechnical surfaces like dirt roads and 4×4 tracks, bikepacking’s goal is to get “out there.” This distinction – less pavement and fewer people – is the core of bikepacking.com’s take on the subject, and they’ve probably done more to shape the sport than any other entity.

Paring down your gear list so you can ride rough stuff more gracefully and safely. While bikepacking you might find yourself carrying your steed across a river, dragging it up a steep hillside, or maneuvering between tight trees on technical trail. There’s no question that a lighter and more streamlined setup makes all this easier and more fun.

Hauling gear in soft bags instead of racks and panniers for a more streamlined setup. The original idea was that a svelte bikepacking bag setup limits your load, keeps the bike agile on technical trail, and has no rigid parts to break if/when you crash. These days smaller bikepacking-style panniers are making a comeback, but the guiding principles of bikepacking bags — soft attachment points, smaller capacity, and rattle-free design — still apply.

A newer term. “Bikepacking” first started picking up steam around 2009 (at least as an internet search term) and was a fringe of a fringe activity, folks strapping gear to mountain bikes so they could ride for days without having to come home in between. It’s been steadily growing in popularity ever since, taking off for real sometime around 2015 after bikepacking.com (founded in 2012) began hitting its stride.

Riding an off-road capable bike like a rigid MTB, hardtail, or even full-suspension mountain bike. Though you can bikepack on a touring bike, I’ve done it and I’m here to say that the right bike for the job makes it easier and more fun.

Camping in the woods (or desert or wherever), filtering water from natural sources, and cooking your own meals. You might be carrying food for several days at a time between resupply stops. Bikepackers usually choose routes with at least some camping opportunities, though there are always exceptions.

Being more self-reliant and self-contained. This is usually a consequence of the routes bikepackers seek out. If we have a mechanical disaster in the middle of nowhere or get caught in a storm, we need enough skills and supplies to survive without help. Bike tourers, on the other hand, can more easily count on meeting other humans nearby and the possibility of hitchhiking or detouring to get help.

Often following a preplanned route. The difficulties of stringing together an off-pavement route (private land, limited access to food and water, greater chance of no one finding your body if something goes wrong… just kidding) mean that many remote bikepacking routes are carefully planned and mapped in advance. By contrast, when touring it’s more common to make decisions as you go based on standard maps or local advice.

Focused more on nature, scenery, and traversing remote spaces over culture, sightseeing, and traditional “travel” experiences. These lines can be blurred though, as with my trips in Kyrgyzstan and Morocco that blended rough riding and remote spaces with the challenges of navigating unfamiliar countries and cultures. This style of bike travel, in large part due to the extensive global route network on bikepacking.com, is on the rise and for good reason.

A western US thing? I couldn’t resist looking at the breakdown of search queries for bikepacking versus bike touring on Google Trends. The states where bikepacking gets more interest are solidly Rockies westward, and a few patches on the east coast. Certainly this has to do with another factor: public land. A quick look at % of public land by state shows that of the top 10 states with highest search traffic for “bikepacking,” seven of them are also in the top 10 for highest % of public land. In other words, people are more interested in bikepacking in the places where key aspects of bikepacking — wild camping, quiet dirt roads and trails, vast natural spaces — are more available. No surprise there!

A marketing fad? I’ve heard the cynical argument that bikepacking is just an invention of gear makers trying to lure old-school bike tourers into buying new gear. I don’t know if it’s true, but I don’t care, because I’m thankful for the wonderful array of gear and bikes we can choose from today. In my opinion today’s gear options create new possibilities and improve the bike travel experience.

A short trip of just a few days? I’ve heard some folks say they’re bikepacking on short trips close to home and touring on longer trips. I personally don’t use the term this way, and I think that usage probably has to do with where people live and how they ride. If you can find the time, you can bikepack for months on routes like the GDMBR or Western Wildlands, or you can tour for a quick weekend on the Ohio to Erie rail trail.

Touring Versus Racing

Here’s one more confusing twist. In the world of bikepack racing people often say they are “just touring” when they’re bikepacking outside of a racing context. Used in this way, “touring” doesn’t have the same connotation as above. If someone who likes to race says they’re “touring” a bikepacking route, they mean they’re going slowly, getting plenty of sleep, and riding for pleasure rather than competition or personal achievement. 

John Watson of The Radavist recently wrote a somewhat controversial article (at least in the rather self-obsessed little world of bike travel) asserting that bikepacking always means some kind of competitive intent with self or others. Personally I wouldn’t go this far. I think if you’re riding dirt with bikepacking bags and camping a lot, you are bikepacking, even if you’re doing it slowly and noncompetitively. Only someone in the racing scene cares about the distinction implied by “touring a bikepacking route,” and that’s a small minority of multi-day riders.

Exceptions

I hesitate to press publish on this article because I can think of an exception for pretty much every statement I just made. A few sub-sub-niches of bike travel are especially difficult to label, for example…

Round-the-world tourers challenge many of my points above. They’re likely to show up in the most remote corners of the world, riding dirt roads and camping every night like bikepackers, running touring tires and a touring bike and a full four-pannier setup. Ultimately we call them “tourers” because they’re focused primarily on travel and their trip includes a lot of pavement, where available. It’s logistically very difficult to “bikepack around the world” because so much of the world is too populated. The site worldbiking.info does a good job exploring the distinction within the long-distance-focused bike world specifically, pointing out that bikepackers often combine “riding adventurous terrain with bussing over the ‘boring bits’ ” — guilty (raises hand)!

Bikepack racers are another wacky group that defies categorization. We would all agree they’re not “touring” — their focus on speed and their minimalist bikepacking bags both rule that out. Most bikepack races focus on unpaved routes, so it’s easy to call this bikepacking. But what about when they’re riding the TransAm or Transcontinental? Road bikes! So much pavement! Ultimately I’m at a loss for what label to use here, and thankfully no one cares. We all know exactly what they’re doing, and it’s awesome.

On long trips, lines can blur. I once spent several weeks bikepacking (rough, mostly unpaved riding in remote places) in Morocco, then took a ferry to Europe and spent the next few weeks touring (mostly paved riding with frequent restaurant and hotel stops) in Spain and Portugal. Same bikes, same gear, same trip, but a definite vibe shift.

Summing Up the Vibes

So which one are you, a bike tourer or bikepacker? As for me, it’s hard to say. My heart will always be most at peace in remote wild places, but culture and people are usually the most engaging and memorable parts of my bike trips. I ride pavement, gravel, and dirt, often all on the same day, and have both bikepacking bags and panniers in my gear pile. I suppose I prefer the term “bikepacker” as an identity, but that’s probably because it’s trendier and my bike obsession came of age during its rise.

When I “tour” I’m usually riding pavement, have rear panniers on my bike, eat more calories per day, and spend more money on food and lodging. I’m thinking about traffic, wearing a bright vest, and making sure to keep my tail light charged. I meet more people and have more conversations. I bring more clothes (gotta have a town shirt) but my bike repair and first aid kits are less extensive. I use my water filter rarely and may not bring a stove. I might navigate by smartphone, no need for a GPS device. When I feel awe it’s usually for an impressive human-built structure, the scale of a city, or a way of life different from my own. I come home feeling energized by everything I saw.

When I “bikepack” I’m riding more dirt and gravel than pavement, and my tires are wider and knobbier. I usually have bikepacking bags but might use small rear panniers if I need the capacity. I’m looking for solitude and natural beauty and can go many hours between seeing another human, but when I do meet people I have some nice interactions. I depend on my water filter and stove and rarely carry less than two days of food. I have a Garmin InReach Mini with me for emergencies and a couple power banks for charging. I’m more likely to navigate with a dedicated GPS device. When I feel awe it’s usually for the power of nature, a breathtaking view, or the vastness of a landscape. I come home feeling rejuvenated and calmed by natural beauty and a slower pace of daily life.

Alright, bring on the comments, but be nice. 🙂  How do you think about bikepacking versus bicycle touring, if you even care at all? Do you do both, have you transitioned from one to the other, or do you weave them together in your own creative way?

Whatever you call it, wherever and however you ride, and whatever gear you’re carrying, I wish you tailwinds on your next bike trip.