Tried, Tested and Evolved

Our Apidura Expedition bike packing setup is a result of real world testing over the past few years. It’s thanks to Jenny’s adventures that we’ve been able to really drill it down to this. Her recent enthusiasm for camping has also enabled us to fine tune it even further which is what you see here.

We’ll do a future post or video to show how she packs everything into the bags on her setup.

This mighty 39 litre Apidura Expedition setup will allow you to carry your entire bike packing and camping world with you on your next big adventure.

We’d also recommend an Apidura Packable Backpack (13L) or Packable Musette (7L). These are great for when you get closer to your stop off point to grab supplies from a local shop. They are also helpful if you are lucky enough to be staying at a camp site for heading to the shower blocks. They pack down really small and fit perfectly at the back of the frame bag by attaching them to the seat tube.

You may also want to add a Backcountry Food Pouch on the bars for snacks and/or your phone for quick access.

We’ve a detailed kit run down below.

Apidura Expedition Luggage

Expedition 9L Handlebar Pack (This is the smaller one in the range, the other is 14L)
Expedition 4.5L Accessory Pocket to mount to front of the Handlebar Pack
Expedition 3L Fork Pack x2 (6L) mounted on 2x Tailfin Small Cargo Cages
Expedition 1L Bolt-On Top Tube Pack
Expedition 4.5L Frame Pack (this is the medium of the compact range, the others are 3L and 5.3L)
Expedition 14L Saddle Pack (this is the medium size of the range, the others are 9L and 17L)

Total carrying capacity is 39L

Hydration, Bottles and Cages

Elite MTB 550 ml and 750 ml Bottles. These are fantastic as the caps keep all the muck off of the nozzle.
Elite Cannibal XC cages to enable easy access and secure fitting.
Apidura Bottle Cage Adapter to lower the seat tube bottle down. We also needed to fit flush bolts in the front mech bracket mounts to accommodate it.

Total hydration volume is 1.2L

The hydration volume can be easily increased with different bottle combinations depending how easy you want them to be removed. Ultimately, have in mind that you don’t really want to carry fluid for the sake of it. We’d say it would be better to stop a few times and refill rather than carry fluid you’ll not actually drink.

1 litre of water is 1kg, so it’s a bit of a waste of energy carrying it around the countryside if you don’t need it.