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I’m excited to announce my annual update of the Touring & Bikepacking Bike Buyer’s Guides is now complete. The latest versions now feature more than 300 different bikes each, which will help you to 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 be sharing all of my favourite bikes in the coming months – stay tuned for that.
New Bike Category (Bikepacking Guide)
With lots of new gravel bikes coming with suspension forks, I’ve now separated these models into a new category in the Bikepacking Bike Buyer’s Guide.
Bike-On-Bike Comparison Tool
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 one of my buyer’s guides will have just received an email with the latest editions attached. If you cannot find the email, there is a chance your email service has filtered it to the ‘junk’ folder. The email was sent on the 30th of January, 2024.
Alternatively, you can search your email system for your original “Gumroad” receipt. That will take you to the 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 – or via email (please note: I’m currently cycling through South 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 300 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.
