A lot of times it feels like one bikepacking bag company is just copying the next, so it is always reassuring to see someone out there doing things a bit differently. With their handmade-in-Berlin touring bags, Gramm seems to be doing a good job of combining some of the traditional bag styles of classic randonneuring with the benefits and performance of modern lightweight fabrics. At the same time, the Italians at Miss Grape have a couple of new bags and some refined touches that look to give them even more off-rad adventuring capabilities. And then to finish it off, an artists & computer specialist buts some birds on bags to carry your goodies around town…
Gramm
Gramm is all bout giving you as many places to haul your gear, and their Triangle Bag is a good example. From 60€, the little tool bag isn’t cheap (remember that it is all handmade in Germany), but being bigger than a traditional small saddle bag, it fits inside a space that otherwise is left empty on a lot of bikes, providing a nice secure place to stash a tube and some tools that you want to have quick access to, but don’t want to have to dig through a bigger pack when you need to make a repair out on the road.
Their PBP handlebar bag is another example of a unique take on storage. It is basically a traditional rando bag, but gets the same light weight X-Pac 4-layer waterproof ripstop nylon as the rest of their bags for contemporary performance. For a whopping 350€, the PBP (that’s Paris-Brest-Paris for those wondering along) bag adds a light plastic internal frame and a handlebar clamp for a secure upright positioning of the bag that makes it easy to get into, and magnetic claps that mean you can get in and out with gloves on, and even with sleep deprivation.
Rounding out their line up is a full suite of bags for touring – they call it tourpacking. A set of full-size roll-top or these flap-top panniers, medium or large and expandable saddle bags, a frame bag, and even a toptube bento box bag. All of them come in black or white X-Pac fabric and get waterproof zippers and reflective accents throughout. These bright orange bags are not a standard color, but since they make everything in house in their Berlin workshop, I’m sure you could convince them that it would be much better to have a bright set of bags than boring old black. Gramm-Tourpacking.com
Miss Grape
The last new gear we had seen from Miss Grape was last year at Eurobike, but here in Vienna they were showing a few new bits. While most of their bags had more of a dirt road touring vibe before, they seem to have jumped on the idea of full-on off-road trail touring. Paired with an alt-bar bike and fat 27.5+ wheels, they are loading down the bike for some longer adventures.
Their Internode frame bag, Cluster saddle bag, and Bud bottle bags look to be mostly unchanged, but Miss Grape has redesigned the 59€ Node toptube bag to include an easier to access to-loading zipper, plus small mesh pockets on either side to provide fast access to a gel or other small snack.
Their 110€ Tendril handlebar bag gets a bigger overhaul, opting for more simple design with two lash-down straps around the middle and a greater width overall to bring it up to 17l of storage when used on a mountain bike bar. It still keeps the rubber spacers that lets you cinch it tight to the bar, but still leaving room to wrap your fingers (or other accessories) around the bar too.
Strapped down to the lower legs are a pair of new for Miss Grape waterproof fork bags. Using a fully waterproof drybag construction with a tarpaulin fabric, sealed seams, and a roll-top closure, the bags are designed to take the brunt of your adventure abuse as you bomb through puddles and stream crossings. The bags use two straps to lash themselves onto a light composite hanger (much like Salsa’s Anything Cage) that bolts onto the fork’s braze-ons. MissGrape.net
Rille Fix
This little one is a bit of an oddity. I was drawn in by the amusing, and one of the oldest hipster tricks – put a bird on it. The simple cotton canvas drawstring backpacks were handmade & screen printed locally in Vienna. At 45€ they aren’t cheap, but at least get a nice little zippered pouch on the inside. The weird part, the company that makes them is a computer data recovery outfit… that apparently also makes art bags. Figure that out for yourself. Shop.RilleFix.com
So Rille Fix gave us a bit more of an update… Apparently a lot of their customers didn’t bring a bag to pick up their fixed laptop, so they decided to make their own bags, from scratch. Upcycled cotton now, the next batch will be Austria-grown hemp. For the show the limited bags got a reflective coating, so night riders are seen & safe.
