I’m excited to announce my annual update on the Touring & Bikepacking Bike Buyer’s Guides is complete. The latest versions now feature more than 320 different bikes each, which will help you find the best bikepacking bikes of the year.
I’ve spent the last month researching the latest touring and bikepacking bikes, calculating various measurements, observing the latest trends, contacting bike manufacturers (for additional information), and updating all the terminology and general advice in my guides.
I’ll share my favourite bikes in the coming months – stay tuned for that.
Latest Changes To The Bikepacking Bike Buyer’s Guide
A big change for 2025 has been the re-classification of what it is to be a “gravel” bike.
Gravel bike tyre clearances are currently getting wider; it’s not uncommon to find bikes designed to fit 2.20” or 55mm wide tyres. To reflect the evolving design of gravel bikes, I’ve pulled a bunch of models from the “off-road” category and put them in the “gravel” category.
Another change I’ve made is the introduction of around 20 new lightweight cross country hardtail mountain bikes. These bikes fill the gap between gravel bikes with a suspension fork, and the more capable mountain bikes in my guide.
Cross country MTBs are often just as light as gravel bikes, however, they offer more off-road capability thanks to their suspension fork, longer front centre, and ability to swallow wider tyres. Downsides include smaller front chainring sizes (for top-end speed), smaller frame triangles (limiting frame pack volume), and a longer reach to the handlebar (less upright riding position).
The last big change is that I’ve created more off-road bikepacking bike categories.
With the influx of lightweight XC mountain bikes with 2.3 to 2.5″ tyre clearance, creating a category of bikes with 2.6 to 3.0″ wide tyres made sense. Most of these bikes use rigid forks and are broadly known as “plus” bikes (eg. 27.5+ or 29+ tyres).
The Touring Bicycle Buyer’s Guide has seen another wave of new bikes with a gearbox (or internal gear hub) and belt drive. There are now more than 100 models!
These gear systems are less susceptible to damage and experience significantly less component wear than derailleur drivetrains. They have a very wide gear range, instant gear changes and don’t require any tuning or adjustment. The only maintenance is an oil change every 5,000 to 10,000 km.
Almost all gearbox bikes are equipped with belt drives, which are maintenance-free, very clean, and can last significantly longer than a chain.
Compare Bike Sizing On Bike Insights
A large proportion of my time has been spent inputting the latest frame geometry numbers of every bike in my books into the website Bike Insights.
If you haven’t seen this nifty web tool before, it allows you to visualise the size differences between any two bikes found in my guides. It is particularly useful when determining the best bike size for you, as manufacturers do not have a standardised way of sizing them.
For example, use this link to see the 63cm Bianchi Impulso gravel bike overlayed on the 56cm Kona Sutra. Given the sizing name, you’d think they’d be 3 to 4 sizes apart, but they measure up almost identically in terms of frame length and handlebar height.
While the sizing discrepancies aren’t always this stark, Bike Insights is a useful way of checking you’re getting the right-sized bike.
Another useful way to use Bike Insights is to borrow, hire, test, or get professionally fitted to a bike that (1) feels good in terms of size, and (2) is listed in the Bike Insights database. You can then use this bike as a size benchmark for comparing any of the bikes in my guides.
Accessing The Update
Those who have already purchased my buyer’s guide(s) will have received an email with the book updates on the 5th of February 2025.
If you have already purchased these guides, you can also search your email system for your original “Gumroad” receipt. That will take you to your portal with the latest book(s), along with the buyer’s guides from previous years.
Failing that, please get in contact with me using a private message on Facebook or Instagram (note: I’m currently cycling through Africa and don’t always have an internet connection).
If you’re a new customer, awesome! My guides will teach you everything about bikepacking or touring bikes, before allowing you to compare over 320 bikes at the back of the books. These guides are updated yearly – for free – so you can always keep on top of the latest bikes and information.
You can get the Bikepacking Bike Buyer’s Guide HERE.
You can get the Touring Bicycle Buyer’s Guide HERE.
