Bike Tour Packing List: Cycling Around Iceland’s Ring Road
Whether you’re a beginner going on your first bike tour, you're looking to cycle around Iceland, or you want to check out our touring setups, this one’s for you. This is a complete packing list on the gear we used to cycle around Iceland. And if you’re a visual person, watch our packing video on Youtube HERE!
We just got back from an 840 mile bike tour around Iceland's iconic Ring Road. The trip was hard, epic, extreme, incredible and pretty much every other emotion and feeling you could think of. To keep it short, ( since this is a packing list, not a full breakdown on the trip ) it was life changing.
This bike tour was our first bike tour ever. Prior to this, we had zero experience in this realm of things. It’s safe to say that we learned a whole lot on this journey.
We wanted to compile a list of what we packed for this 3 week tour around Iceland just in case you were in the same boat: a beginner wanting to get into bike touring with no idea where to start. We referenced many packing lists and packing videos before heading out on this adventure, so we feel pretty confident in the gear we brought with us and are happy to share. Let’s dive in!
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TEAGANS BIKE
The Bike: Surly Disc Trucker
Pedals: Race Face Chester Pedals
Frame Bag: Fish Ski Designs Half Frame Bag
Top Tube Bag: Fish Ski Designs Top Tube Bag
Feed Bags: Swift Industries Gibby Stem Bag
Handlebar Bag: Swift Industries Zeitgeist Pack
Front Fork Bags: Rhinowalk Front Fork Bags
Rear Paniers: Ortlieb Back Roller Paniers
Bike Lights: Cygolite Dash Pro 600
Helmet: Trek Rally WaveCel
CASEYS BIKE
The Bike: Trek 920 Adventure Bike
Pedals: Race Face Chester Pedals
Frame Bag: Fish Ski Designs Half Frame Bag
Top Tube Bag: Top Rock Top Tube Bag
Feed Bags: Swift Industries Gibby Stem Bag
Front Panniers: Ortlieb Gravel Pack Panniers
Rear Panniers: Ortlieb Back Roller Panniers
Handlebar Bag: Revelate Egress Handlebar Bag
Bike Lights: Cygolite Dash Pro 600
Helmet: Trek Rally WaveCel
TEAGANS CLOTHES
BIKE SHORTS/CHAMOIS
Chamois Shorts #1: Rapha Short Cargo Short
Chamois Shorts #2: Wild Rye Alyssa Chammy Short
Winter Chamois Tights: Rapha Winter Tights
PANTS
Regular Pants #1: Cotopaxi Subo Pants
Regular Pants #2: Tenson Himalaya Stretch Pants
Regular Pants #3: Fjallraven Abisko Midsummer Zip Off Pants
Leggings: Athleta Leggings
Wool Base Layer Leggings: Kari Traa Rose High Waist Base Layer Pants
Shorts: Patagonia Baggies
TOPS
Fleece: Cotopaxi Abrazo Fleece
Winter Jersey: Rapha Core Long Sleeve Jersey
Wool Base Layer Top: Kari Traa Rose Base Layer
Wool T-Shirt: Smartwool T-Shirt
Tank Tops: Rachel Pohl Art Eco Crops
Puffy: Patagonia Fitz Roy Down Hoodie
RAIN GEAR
Rain Jacket: Arcteryx Beta LT Jacket
Rain Pants: REI Trailmade Rain Pants
Gloves: REI Wind Pro Fleece Gloves
SHOES
Riding Shoes: Keen Jaspers
Camp Shoes: Teva Hurricane XLT2’s
Socks: Darn Tough Hiker Micro Crew Socks x4
ACCESSORIES:
Sunglasses: Smith Bobcat Chroma Pop Sunglasses
Watch: Garmin Fenix 7s
5 Panel: Rachel Pohl 3 Sisters Hat
Beanie: Funky Sun Yarn Beanie
CASEYS CLOTHES
BIKE SHORTS/CHAMOIS
Chamois Shorts #1: Pearl Izumi Expedition Bike Shorts
Chamois Shorts #2: Pearl Izumi Attack Cycling Shorts
Winter Tights w/ Chamois: Pearl Izumi Quest Thermal Cycling Tights
PANTS
Riding Pants: Fox Ranger Bike Pants
Normal Pants #1: Roark Mens Layover Pants
Regular Shorts: Wowie Mens Shorts
Base Layer Pants: Found at a thrift shop years ago but Smartwool is always a good option!
TOPS
Wool Short Sleeve: Smartwool T-Shirt
Wool Long Sleeve #1: Smartwool Intraknit Thermal Merino Wool Long Sleeve
Wool Long Sleeve #2: Smartwool Classic Long Sleeve
Sun Hoodie #1: REI Sahara Shade Hoodie
Sun Hoodie #2: Kuhl Engineered Hoodie
Fleece: Eddie Bauer Fleece
Base Layer: Cotopaxi Otero Half Zip
Jacket: Thrifted Outdoor Research Puffy
RAIN GEAR
Rain Jacket: REI Flash Stretch Rain Jacket
Rain Pants: REI Trailmade Rain Pants
SHOES
Riding Shoes: Cariuma Vallely Pros
Camp Shoes: Teva Hurricane XLT2’s
Socks: Darn Tough Hiker Micro Crew x4
ACCESSORIES
Sunglasses: Blenders Eclipse
5 Panel: Cotopaxi Altitude Tech 5 Panel
Beanie: Funky Sun Yarn Beanie
CAMP SLEEP SETUP
Tent: Nemo Dragonfly Osmo 2P Tent
Tent Footprint: Dragonfly 2P Tent Footprint
Teagan’s Sleeping Bag: Sea to Summit 15F Spark Down Sleeping Bag
Teagan’s Sleeping Pad: Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Sleeping Pad
Sleeping Bag Compression Sack: Sea to Summit EVAC Compression Dry Bag
Teagans Camp Pillow: Sea to Summit Aeros Pillow
Casey’s Sleeping Bag: Sierra Designs Sleeping Bag
Casey’s Sleeping Pad: Big Agnes Divide Sleeping Pad
Eye Mask: Ostrich Pillow Eye Mask
CAMP ACCESSORIES
Camp Stove: JetBoil Flash Cooking System
Teagans Camp Mug: Sea to Summit Mug
Caseys Camp Mug: GSI Outdoors Mug
Fanny Pack: Cotopaxi Fanny Pack
Travel Towel: Rumpl Everywhere Towel
Water Bottle #1: CamelBak Water Bottle x2
Water Bottle #2: HydraPak Flux Water Bottle
Sea to Summit Dry Sacks: Set of 3 ( we had at least 5-6 each! )
First Aid Kit: Adventure Medical Kit
Wipes: Sea to Summit Wilderness Wipes
Water Filter: Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter
ELECTRONICS
Portable Power Bank: BioLite Charge 80PD Power Bank
Solar Pannel: BioLite Solar Pannel 5+
Headlamp: BioLite Headlamp 425
Digital Camera #1: Canon R5
Digital Camera #2: Sony ZV-1
Film Camera: Olympus mju ii
Film Stock: Kodak Portra 400, Kodak Gold
Action Camera: Insta360
FOOD
BACKPACKING MEALS
Backpackers Pantry: Lasagna
Backpackers Pantry: Mac & Cheese
Backpackers Pantry: Beef Bolognese
Backpackers Pantry: Pad Thai with Chicken
Backpackers Pantry: Blueberry Peach Crisp
Backpackers Pantry: Summit Breakfast Scramble
Good to Go: Granola
Good to Go: Oatmeal
ENERGY GELS
BARS
ELECTROLYTES
Tailwind Nutrition: Berry Endurance Fuel
Tailwind Nutrition: Mandarin Endurance Fuel
Tailwind Nutrition: Chocolate Recovery Mix
COFFEE
OTHER BIKE TOURING THINGS
Voile Straps: we used these for everything!
Chamois Cream: an actual life saver
Gerber Multi Tool: this came in hand way more than anticipated!
Bike Multi Tool: if you’re biking, you need one.
Tire Patch: we luckily did not have to use these. But very glad we had them.
Tube Patch: Casey did have to patch his tube once while changing a spoke.
Tire Levers: again, you need them.
Extra Master Links: adds lots of peace of mind. We didn’t need them on this trip, but it would’ve saved our butts!
Extra set of Brake Pads: didn't need, but added peace of mind.
Extra Spokes: actually used these twice! Two riders broke spokes on the trip.
Zip Ties: we used these for lots of things including fixing my broken pannier.
Chain Lube: good to have!
Brake Cleaner OR Dish Soap: came in handy when things needed to get cleaned out!
Tubes: you should definitely have these.
And that is a complete list of all of the gear we took with us to bike around Iceland!
I just want reiterate that this isn’t a gear review deep dive, it’s simply just a list of what we brought for the trip. Although I will say, all of our gear held up and we wouldn’t change a whole lot for our next tour. (BUT next time I would invest in some more GoreTex gear if I was headed to somewhere wet & cold!) If you have ANY questions at all regarding gear, drop a comment or send me a DM on Instagram.
Our first bike tour was nothing short of epic and I am counting down the days till the next one. Exploring a new place by bike is hands down, the BEST way to experience a new place. I couldn’t recommend it enough.
Over & out, Far Out Stoke. :)