Volume and cost. Bikepacking first.
Revelate Design Viscacha: 15 L, $150 (in 2000)
Revelate Design Harness with Salsa side load bag: 13L (for bag) plus 5L (Big Agnes Fly Creek tent), $85 plus $400 for tent
Revelate Design pocket: 2.8L, $70
Oveja Negra snack pack: 0.5L, $50
Oveja Negra Superwedgie, large: 4L, $95
Salsa Anything bag (2): 7L, $70
Rock Brother’s pockets (similar to Revelate pocket): 7.5L, $50
Camelbak Mule: 12L, $115
Total (volume, cost): 66L, $1075
There’s a rack on my bikepacking bike as well...Airy Titanium, $250
Road touring
Ortlieb Front Roller Classic: 25L, $170
Ortlieb Rear, Roller Classic: 40L, $190
Ortlieb Ultimate 6, large: 8L, $110
20L stuff sack for sleeping bag: 20L, $30
Tent: 5L, $400
Camelbak Mule: 12L, $115
Total: 110L, $1015
I have two Tubus racks on the bike...Cargo and Tara. About $200 for both.
Those numbers don’t tell the whole story, however. When it comes to putting all the stuff together, the traditional pannier system is far easier to deal with. There are only 4 panniers, a handlebar bag, tent, and sleeping bag to deal with.
2015-04-23 07.38.13 by
Stuart Black, on Flickr
2015-04-23 06.25.21 by
Stuart Black, on Flickr
If, for some reason you have to carry the bags somewhere...like the stupid circular stair at Harper’s Ferry...it can be done in one trip. The handlebar bag goes over the shoulder, the tent under one arm, the sleeping bag under the other and each set of bags in each hand.
The bikepacking set up is far more involved. I did a trip (pre-Covid) in the Colorado Rockies that involved using a bus service my state has. I had to put the bike on th front of the bus and the driver made me take everything off the bike except the little gas tank. I had to carry the wedge bag, the seat bag, the harness, the two fork leg bags and the pocket system for the micropanniers (not in the pictures below).
And I had to do it down a narrow bus aisle. They are difficult to carry because they don’t fit together well and they are many different shapes and sizes.
The bags attach to the bike really well and they are very useful on narrow trails (not the fork leg bags) but they are a hassle to carry if you have to do so. They also take a lot more effort to remove...because they stick to the bike so well in rough terrain.
I do carry more stuff on a road tour because I do actual cooking. On the bikepacking bike, I carry a small tea kettle, a stove, and some untensils. On road trips I add a pot set. In both situations, I carry several days of food. The bikepacking is freeze dried to save weight and I’m likely not to find any kind of store on the routes I use. Existing on freeze-dried for more than about 5 days is less then desirable but that’s about the longest I’ve gone on backcountry bikepacking.
On road trips, I still carry about 3 days of food because I’ve found that I’m not always near a grocery store when I camp. It pays to have food along, especially since HelMart has hollowed out small towns.
Weight wise, I’d say it’s mostly a wash. Bikepacking might have slightly less weight due to the volume but the more bags add up. I also carry a water filter on bikepack trips that I don’t carry on road trips. I might carry more fuel as well, depending on how long I’m going to be out.