Getting people on bikes is what we have always been about since our birth some 10 years ago!

We never wanted to be a snobby bike shop for experienced cyclists only. From launching our Sunday social ride to providing hire bikes to New Forest visitors, our aim was always to introduce people to the side of cycling that we enjoy most!

As gravel and bikepacking have grown, we have seen more and more demand for quality gravel hire bikes, so we recently introduced the 2026 Surly Straggler to our hire fleet. The Straggler isn't just a quality gravel bike, it's the kind of gravel bike we in the shop want to ride! All steel, comfortable geometry – we'd be happy to sit on one for many days in the saddle.

So, we're now also offering these bikes complete with a full set of bags! Bike and bags for your trip, covered. Just bring your camping gear!

Our Surly Bikepacking Hire Bikes

The Straggler for drop handlebars, and the Preamble for flat bars.

Choose your bike, size, and then select the relevant bag set.

  Book HERE!

Bikepacking routes local to the New Forest

Having published our first Bikepacking.com route (The Woods Rat Run) 3 years ago, we've seen so many groups of riders pass through the shop on their way round the 160-mile off-road loop, many of whom were setting out on their first ever bikepacking trip! It's literally my favourite thing to see, we love chatting to the crews, offering advice, and I soooo look forward to hearing their stories on the return, often 3 days after meeting them for the first time. 

The Route starts and finishes right here at 'The Woods Cyclery', where you can fuel up on coffee and snacks, grab some spares, and grab any last minute advice you might need before setting off!

The first bikepacking route we had some input on was The New Forest Gravel taster a gentle 63-miler around the New Forest designed to be an entry point for people to embark on their first overnighter. The terrain is mostly easy, smooth gravel, undulating, but not overly hilly. 

We can't think of a better route to test the water, and see if the blend of riding and camping is something you will enjoy!

For more route ideas, check out our Komoot Bikepacking Collection!

Let's Talk About The Bags

We didn't just want to throw some budget bags on our beautiful Stragglers and Preambles, we wanted to set the bikes up with the standard of bikepacking bags that we use ourselves!

Wizard Works are a London-based bag maker that we love, we've been working with them for many years. The Badjelly handlebar/saddle bag is our favourite Wiz product: you can stuff your gear in and keep it accessible, it's easy to organise, and has the ability to increase its capacity with the 'Long Flap' design. We tend to prefer it as a handlebar mounted bag, but it can also attach to the saddle if you have a Brooks-style saddle, saddle loops or a Carradice Bagman QR support.

The Wizard Works Bad Jelly
(Supplied with a Jack The Rack)
See Here!

The Wizard Works Osyth Frame bag
See Here!

The Wizard Works Figwit (mounted on Blackburn Outpost cages)
See Here!

Tumbleweed T-Rack - Rear rack & Sea-To-Summit Big River Roll top bag
See Here!

The total carrying capacities are as follows:

XS/S Bag setup - 37.9L

M Bag setup - 38.5L

L/XL Bag setup - 39.5L

Well, we hope we have inspired you to get out there and explore our beautiful part of the world on our Bikepacking Hire Bikes! We really believe in these setups, they're a great way to try bikepacking out, and we can't wait to get people out on some adventures! It's magic!

Happy riding,

TWC x