The best bikepacking bike for small riders?
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Demo ride of the Cotic Cascade
They say the best things in life are worth waiting for. That sentiment was certainly true as I whipped out my credit card to pay the deposit for my new bike. I’d started looking into the best bikepacking bike for my small 5’2” frame around 18 months ago, so this was no impulse buy! I’d patiently waited over a year for my frame size to arrive in the UK so I could demo the one that had really caught my eye.
The process I followed to find my new bike
First up, I’m just gonna put this out there - I’m not that interested in reading up on different bike specs 🤫
I’ve tried over the years, genuinely I have. But something doesn’t compute in my brain and most of the time it’s like a foreign language. In an ideal world I’d understand more, but it simply goes in one ear and out the other.
Luckily, my husband loves that kind of thing, so he was in charge of searching manufacturer websites, checking specs, and seeing whether a specific bike came in a small enough size.
My contribution to the search was asking friends what they were riding and checking whether we were a similar height. I also scoured women’s bikepacking groups online to ask for recommendations. I had some great replies from people genuinely wanting to help (thank you if you were one of them).
If I’m honest, the choice wasn’t that good
I discovered that I often fell outside the height range for great looking bikes. Others that did suit my height would come with compromises such as entry level components or a lack of pannier rack mounts. Availability was also a problem - places didn’t keep bikes in my size for me to test, or even look at, before buying.
I genuinely understand the reasons for this. The bike industry is on its arse, and it’s dead money for something that doesn’t sell in high volumes. But what’s the point in me testing a bigger size that doesn’t fit - and how on earth could I evaluate whether a smaller size would be any good from that kind of test?
In the past, like many on the outer margins of the height spectrum (taller or smaller than average), I’ve sucked it up. Found a bike that was ‘close enough’ and tweaked to make it work. But I didn’t want to do that this time. I still had my mountain bike, so there was no rush.
This was about finally owning my dream bike, not making yet another compromise. I’ll let you know in a moment which bike I finally chose but first, thought it would be useful to share a few things to think about if you’re in the market for a new bike.
Five things to think about when choosing a bikepacking bike
Let me start by saying that no one bike is the best bikepacking bike per se.
The best for you will be different to the best for me. You’ll see bikepackers riding everything from full suspension bikes through to touring road bikes. For that matter, you’ll also see kit carried in everything from minimalist seat packs to fully laden pannier bags front and back.
Having said I didn’t want to compromise on my purchase, this next statement may sound contradictory. But stick with me, it’s in a different context.
Finding the best bike and bikepacking setup is about a balance of priorities and knowing there will be some tradeoffs.
For example, on our bikepacking trip to the Outer Hebrides, I used my hardtail mountain bike. A touring bike would have performed better in that scenario, but changing the tyres to faster rolling ones helped minimise drag. It was a tradeoff. It was the only bike I had, and using it meant I could still go on an adventure.
If you want to work out the important priorities when buying a bikepacking bike - and what you’re prepared to have as a tradeoff - take a look through the following questions.
1. What kind of terrain do you want to ride?
Most bikes can be ridden on well-surfaced roads but, unless you’re happy to compromise on speed and pedalling efficiency, road, hybrid, or touring bikes with narrower tyres will perform better.
If you’re riding mixed terrain such as gravel tracks with a few bumpy bits here and there, take a look at gravel bikes with wider tyres and a bigger tread.
For gnarly mountain trails, think about a mountain bike set up. Then you’ll also have a choice between rigid forks, hardtail, or full-suspension.
2. How much do you want to carry?
For a lightweight, overnight trip, you can add frame bags, saddlebags, and handlebar bags to most bikes without needing specific rack mounts.
That said, if you’re riding a small bike, you may find that rear saddlebags don’t work because there’s not enough clearance between the saddle and rear tyre. My workaround on my mountain bike was adding a pannier rack, but the tradeoff was bulk and weight.
If you want to carry more kit, on longer adventures for example, look at bikes with specific rack mounting points. That way, you can add pannier racks, bottle cages, and basket bags. They’ll give you more capacity but, again, you’ll have the tradeoff of a heavier bike that’s less suitable on gnarly terrain.
3. How do you use your gears?
A fully-loaded bike is a heavy bike, so you may be thankful for a few extra gears to get up the hills.
The best size of cassette and chainring will also be determined by how you like to ride. For example, my husband loves to grind out a bigger gear on hills. Me, I prefer to spin my legs in an easier gear - meaning we both need a different set up.
Having demo’d my bike before buying, I decided to go for more gears than the standard option. Plus, I’ve changed to a shorter crank. That means my knee won’t come up as far when pedalling (so less push is needed at the top of the rotation) and I’ll have more ground clearance at the bottom.
4. Do you want the option of changing your riding position?
With flat bars, you’ll pretty much be in the same riding position all the time which can lead to fatigue and muscle soreness over long distances. You could add bar ends to change things up, or even a Jones bar.
Interestingly, some small women shared that they used a Jones bar to help make a bigger bike fit them better.
Drop handlebars have lots of options for riding position. By changing hand position regularly, you can reduce hand and wrist fatigue over long rides. Drop handlebars will also give you the chance to ride in a more aerodynamic position which is good for long distances and higher speeds.
5. What kind of tyres do you want?
The type of terrain you’re riding will help determine the right tyre size and tread. You’ll also need to think about weather and trail conditions - will you be riding on dusty, dry summer roads, or wet trails full of claggy mud?
Tyre choice will also be dictated by the type of bike you’re riding. Road bikes have different tyres to gravel and mountain bikes.
I’ve bought a gravel bike, with origins closer to a mountain bike than road bike. Because we’re heading towards a UK winter - and I’ll be riding with rigid forks and drop handlebars instead of my usual front suspension and flat bars - I’ve decided to start with a wider, grippier tyre. In spring, I’ll probably change it to a narrower, faster rolling tyre.
In simplistic terms - and I’m all about simplifying things - wider knobbly tyres are great on rough and muddy terrain but will drag on road surfaces making it harder and slower to pedal. Narrower and smoother tyres will roll faster on hard surfaces like tarmac, but have less grip in the mud.
The best bikepacking bike for me
Coming from a mountain biking background, I wanted a gravel bike with off-road origins, rather than one based on a road bike geometry.
Finding a frame size to fit was one of my biggest challenges - most manufacturer recommended rider sizes started a couple of inches taller.
My height is 5’2” (158cm) and riders of a similar height gave the following recommendations:
Salsa Fargo - XS size rider height of 150cm – 160cm
Bombtrack Beyond 1 - XS size rider height 150 – 161
Surly Bridge Club - XS size rider height 152cm – 165cm
Specialised Chisel - S size rider height 158 - 165
They’re all worth checking out, but I struggled a) with local availability and b) specs. For example, the Specialised Chisel didn’t have the rack mounts I wanted.
The Cotic Cascade ended up being the best bikepacking bike for me
The Cotic Cascade was the bike I kept coming back to.
On the Cotic website, the Cascade is described as a “29 adventure bike”. I could choose between a build with drop or flat bars, and rigid or 100mm suspension fork. In other words, I could ride it as a hardtail mountain bike, or rack it up for longer bikepacking trips.
I read and watched many reviews of the Cascade, and it was consistently described as both fun and stable on technical off-road. I also chatted to people already riding the Cascade, one of whom ended up taking hers across Africa.
In short, it seemed like the perfect bike especially as Cotic were introducing an XS size to the range with a rider height of 155cm - 166cm. Bang slap in my height range!
Wahooo 🙌 when could I book a demo?
And that was where I had to exercise a little patience.
Even though I found the Cascade a year ago, the XS frame was delayed coming into the UK. I decided to wait for the XS rather than testing the bigger S frame and being tempted to compromise. Then, when it did arrive, I had a little longer to wait before we had a spare weekend that fit in with Cotic’s Super Saturday event.
Finally, the Cascade demo day arrived
Fully expecting to want a Cascade with flat handlebars and front suspension, I was a bit miffed that the demo bike only had drop handlebars and rigid forks.
In hindsight though, I’m glad it did!
I’d never ridden with drop handlebars before, and the last time I rode with rigid forks was in the 1990’s before suspension became the norm on mountain bikes.
The Cascade rolled along nicely on the pavement, up a gravel track, across a field, and along more gravel. But it really came into its own with precision on the downhill technical singletrack, leaving me with a huge smile at the end.
I loved the Cascade - and that little section of singletrack sold the bike to me!
I got back to Cotic HQ, chatted about a few tweaks to make it work better for me, and placed my order. Next month, I’ll be a member of the Cotic Owners Club and I’m already starting to think of the adventures we can have together.
Interested in a Cascade demo? Get in touch with Cotic
© Cotic bikes: Cotic Cascade
You may also be interested in reading:
20 of the UK’s best long-distance cycling routes for bikepacking
Bikepacking the Hebridean Way: Getting started
Adventure bucket list: 40 amazing ideas in the UK and Europe
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Outdoor-Girl is run by Jacquie Budd, an outdoor adventure and marketing content writer for brands that care about their impact on people and the planet.
