Packing your bikepacking bike for one or two nights

An 11-litre saddle bag filled with water would weigh 11 kg. Ortlieb, which makes the Seat-Pack in that volume, allows only 3 kg in it and asks you to weigh the load if in doubt. Cyclite applies the same 3 kg limit to each of its fork bags.

So the volume of a bikepacking bag is for the things that weigh little. Weight goes where it least affects the handling, in the frame triangle and as low as possible. On a road or gravel bike without a rack, for one or two nights out, you load from the centre outwards, from the densest to the bulkiest, and you fill each bag in an order that suits its shape. You will not climb any faster. The steering will stay precise, and the saddle bag will stay still when you accelerate out of the saddle.

Measure the bike before loading it#

The Cyclite Saddle Bag 02 needs 23 cm between the saddle rails and the rear tyre, and 15 cm of exposed seatpost. Every bag has a measurement like this. A tape measure is all you need. Cyclite publishes those for its bikepacking range, and a single maximum load.

On a full-suspension bike, Cyclite measures the gap under the saddle with the suspension compressed. With a dropper post, add its travel to the measurement. A fork without bosses takes the Fork Bag 01 with an adapter on the thru-axle, sold separately. If you do not know the load your fork is rated for, ask its manufacturer before screwing anything on.

Then spread all your gear out on the floor and make two piles. On one side the dense items: tools, inner tube, battery, food, stove. On the other the bulky ones: sleeping bag, sleeping mat, tent, clothes. Weigh both.

On a climb, the total counts wherever it is packed. We reran the calculation for our reference rider, 1.75 m and 67 kg at 250 W, changing two assumptions for bikepacking: a 10 kg ready-to-ride gravel bike instead of 8, then 8 kg of luggage, bags included. Everything else stays the same, including tyres that roll on tarmac. Below 15 km/h, air resistance takes only 4 to 5% of the power.

Each kilo of luggage costs about 27 seconds on this climb. It costs as much in the triangle as behind the saddle.

Where it goes changes something else: how the bike handles.

The frame triangle takes everything dense#

The Cyclite Frame Bag 02 holds 2.8 L in the front triangle, between the two wheels. The weight stays low there and does not turn with the handlebar. It is only 6 cm wide.

1. Put the heaviest items at the bottom, on the crankset side: tools, lock, stove and gas canister.
2. Lay the battery and the cook pot flat, against the side wall.
3. Slip your papers and bank card into the flat document pocket.
4. Keep the day's food at the top, just under the zip.

On a frame long enough for it, the Frame Bag Large 02 stacks two compartments separated by a removable divider. Tools go at the bottom, the jacket and bars at the top, and each opens with its own zip.

CycliteCYCLITE Frame Bag 02 frame bag €119,90 CycliteCYCLITE Frame Bag Large 02 frame bag €139,90

How many kilos in a saddle bag?#

Cyclite does not publish a maximum load for its Saddle Bag 02 and Saddle Bag Small 02. Ortlieb publishes one for its own, 3 kg for the 11 L Seat-Pack and 3 to 5 kg for the Seat-Pack QR depending on where the hooks sit on the rails. These figures give the order of magnitude.

According to Cyclite, this type of bag tends to sway from side to side, especially out of the saddle. The lever arm shows why. Three kilos with their centre 25 cm from the seatpost pull on the mount with about 7.4 N·m. Brought back to 15 cm, they exert only 4.4, or 40% less.

So the packing order matters as much as the weight.

1. Stand the bag upright, roll-top open at the top. The pointed end of the bottom will sit against the seatpost.
2. Slide the densest items right to the bottom, into that point.
3. Take the sleeping bag out of its stuff sack and push it in on top. Without a stuff sack, it fills the gaps and wedges everything else in place.
4. Add your change of clothes for the evening, then close the roll-top, pushing the air out through the valve.
5. Hook the bag onto the rails and tighten the strap around the seatpost. It should no longer move when you push it sideways.

If your sleeping bag and change of clothes fit in 6 L, the Saddle Bag Small 02 is enough. The Saddle Bag 02 goes up to 12.9 L and hooks onto each rail with an aluminium hook. The elastic cords on top, on both models, hold a rain jacket that comes out without opening anything.

CycliteCYCLITE Saddle Bag Small 02 saddle bag €149,90 CycliteCYCLITE Saddle Bag 02 saddle bag €179,90

What goes in the handlebar bag?#

Cyclite intends the Handle Bar Roll Bag 02 for the tent, the sleeping mat and warm clothes, the things you do not use while riding. The brand presents it as the counterweight to the saddle bag. Anything fixed to the handlebar turns with it, and a front end that is too heavy makes itself felt in every corner.

Cyclite does not publish a maximum load for this roll. Ortlieb limits its 9 L Handlebar-Pack to 5 kg.

1. Measure the space between your hands on the handlebar. On a road handlebar, the roll must not get in the way of the brake levers.
2. Fill it from both ends, then tighten the compression straps to draw the ends in towards the centre. With a 17 cm diameter, a 40 cm roll still holds about 9 L.
3. Close it, pushing the air out through the valve, and strap it on at the four mounting points.
4. Check that at least 21 cm remains between the handlebar and the tyre.

Two fork bags, or none#

The Cyclite Fork Bag 01 carries 3 kg at most, and Cyclite recommends fitting two, loaded to equal weight. A single full bag shifts weight to one side of the front wheel. The steering feels it. Loaded evenly, they put the weight low, close to the wheel axle, and Cyclite highlights this low centre of gravity for stability.

If the triangle, saddle and handlebar already take all your gear, the fork can stay bare. Otherwise, weigh the two bags one after the other before bolting them on, and split the extra dense load, food or water, between the two sides.

CycliteCYCLITE Handle Bar Roll Bag 02 handlebar bag €124,90 CycliteCYCLITE Fork Bag 01 fork bag From €119,90

What you need without getting off the bike#

The Cyclite Top Tube Bag 03 holds 1.1 L behind the stem, under a flap with a magnetic buckle. Bars, phone and sun cream stay within one hand's reach. Against the stem, the Food Pouch 02 has no closure. Its height keeps the contents in on rough tracks, and it fits on a stem of at least 60 mm.

Your body carries too. The 7mesh MK3 Cargo adds five pockets to a pair of bib shorts, two on the thighs and three on the back. For water, which weighs a kilo per litre, Cyclite's Hydration Vest 01 takes a 2 L hydration bladder. Those two kilos cost as much on a climb on your back as on the frame. They do, however, leave the triangle free for the frame bag.

The test ride, fully loaded#

Do a first loop with all your gear, including a climb out of the saddle and a descent on a rough track. If the saddle bag sways, move the dense items back against the seatpost and push the air out a second time. If the steering feels heavy, lighten the handlebar or rebalance the fork legs.

All the Cyclite bags mentioned are in our bikepacking collection.

Weigh the saddle bag when full, before hooking it on. If the scale reads more than 3 kg, the limit Ortlieb sets for its 11 L Seat-Pack, move the densest items into the triangle.